Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Countries have to collaborate now to develop system to verify authentic Covid-19 tests and vaccines: PM Lee

SINGAPORE — Countries should immediately collaborate to develop a standardised and robust system to verify the authenticity of tests and vaccinations, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Friday (Jan 29).

Mr Borge Brende (left), president of the World Economic Forum, and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (right) attending a virtual dialogue on Jan 29, 2021.

Mr Borge Brende (left), president of the World Economic Forum, and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (right) attending a virtual dialogue on Jan 29, 2021.

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp

  • PM Lee Hsien Loong said a system to verify the authenticity of tests and vaccinations should be an immediate task
  • Strengthening international cooperation is crucial in the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, he said
  • This is to allow borders to reopen, to deal with the aftermath of the pandemic and for economic recovery
  • American president Joe Biden would have to steer US-China ties towards safer waters as a key strategic priority, he added

 

SINGAPORE — Countries should immediately collaborate to develop a standardised and robust system to verify the authenticity of tests and vaccinations, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Friday (Jan 29).

This is essential for countries to reopen borders and resume international travel, he said in his closing address at the World Economic Forum Davos Agenda Week, which held a series of virtual discussions on global issues.

Mr Lee talked about the importance of strengthening international cooperation, which is crucial in the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

He noted that globalisation was already under pressure before the pandemic.

“Confidence in multilateral institutions, rules and norms was eroding. Populist politics, nativism, nationalism and protectionism were on the rise,” he said.

Countries’ initial reactions to the Covid-19 pandemic also “seemed to herald globalisation’s demise”.

“Borders were closed. Supply chains were badly disrupted. Each country scrambled to secure its own supplies of essential goods, especially medicines, face masks and ventilators. It was each man for himself.”

Then, as the Covid-19 situation unfolded, countries worked together to restore supply chains, repatriate each other’s citizens stuck overseas, shared medical supplies and supported multilateralism initiatives such as the Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access (Covax) scheme.

This cooperation will continue to be essential in dealing with the aftermath of the pandemic and tackling challenges such as economic recovery and climate change, Mr Lee said.

He hopes that as vaccination becomes more widespread, Covid-19 restrictions can be progressively eased and economies will rebound.

When the world enters a new phase, governments will come under pressure to adopt protectionist and nativist positions as businesses that are not viable and jobs have to be let go for new jobs to be created, he added.

“To resume growth, we must look beyond returning to status quo ante. We must look ahead. Within countries, governments and businesses must collaborate to tap new markets and develop novel technologies.”

He gave the example of developing new electronic trade regulations to sustain the growth of the digital economy and facilitate safe, secure and efficient cross-border e-payments and data flows.

On climate change, Mr Lee said that individual countries must muster support for policies and measures that will limit global warming.

Noting that 2020 was the world’s hottest year on record and extreme weather events have become much more frequent, he added that higher common standards need to be set and mutual commitments must be followed — whether it is tightening emissions rule, phasing out fossil fuel subsidies or promoting renewable energy.

“We can take some comfort that countries are now taking climate change more seriously. The United States has re-joined the Paris Agreement. China has announced a zero-emissions target by 2060.

“But much more still needs to be done, going beyond our Paris commitments. Otherwise we risk grave consequences in the not too distant future, even within our own lifetimes,” said Mr Lee.

The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change involving nearly 200 nations and it went into force in November 2016. Countries have to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to limit the global temperature increase in this century to no more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and 1.5°C at best.

US president Joe Biden re-entered the country into the Paris Agreement on his first day of office.

Mr Lee acknowledged that getting countries to work together is “not simply a matter of nurturing and showing goodwill” and that the international order must be underpinned by stable great power relations.

Recent years have witnessed growing friction and distrust among major powers rather than cooperation and confidence building, raising the alarm about the tensions between the US and China, which have intensified sharply in the last four years. Both powers have adopted “more assertive and uncompromising postures”, he observed.

He said that the new US administration led by Mr Biden can steer the relationship towards safer waters, which should become a key strategic priority among the new president’s many urgent preoccupations.

“Given the enormous stakes, difficult as it will be, it cannot possibly be too late for the US and China to reset the tone of their interactions, and avert a clash between them, which will become a generational twilight struggle,” Mr Lee said.

At a separate dialogue with Mr Borge Brende, president of the World Economic Forum, Mr Lee said that Singapore will see its social compact be under greater stress due to inequality, job uncertainty and more rapid technological changes and structural changes in the world economy in this new world.

This is because industries such as tourism and, perhaps, aviation will not bounce back for a long time. 

“We also have to take advantage of what people see in Singapore as a hub — trusted, reliable, well-connected, able to function in this new world, in order to keep on developing our ties with Southeast Asia, to prosper with our neighbours, with China, with Australasia or India, to prosper with the whole region. 

“Therefore, you are not just making a living selling meals and cakes to one another or giving one another services, but servicing the wider world and, therefore, earning a place for ourselves in a different future,” he said. 

Related topics

Lee Hsien Loong Covid-19 test coronavirus climate change economy Travel

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.