Qatari Emir Says Market Rules Should Not Govern COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution

ST.PETERSBURG (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th June, 2021) Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani said on Friday that the development and global distribution of coronavirus vaccines should not be determined by market rules.

"The situation where people's health is determined by rules of market and world trade is unacceptable," the emir said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

He stressed that the COVID-19 pandemic showed that no country can fight epidemics on its own. The research into ways to combat the pandemic and address its effects in the future should become a priority for global investors in the future, the monarch continued.

"The world community must ensure that vaccines and treatment are available to all, especially to poor and indigent peoples, as well as countries that are suffering from wars and instability," Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani noted.

SPIEF-2021 is taking place from Wednesday through Saturday in person at the Expoforum Exhibition and Convention Center in St. Petersburg. Rossiya Segodnya is a media partner of the event.