Boris Johnson Urges G7 Accord On Covid-19 'passports'
Faizan Hashmi Published May 31, 2021 | 01:20 AM
Montreal, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 31st May, 2021 ) :British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants the upcoming Group of Seven summit to reach agreement on Covid-19 vaccine passports and to open talks on a "world treaty" to prepare for future pandemics.
"We need to have agreements on issues such as vaccine passports, Covid status certification and the rest," Johnson said in an interview broadcast Sunday by Canadian public channel CBC.
"There has to be some sort of agreement then, at the G7 level to start, on how travel and passports are going to work." Johnson was speaking ahead of a June 11-13 summit of the G7 economic powers (US, Canada, Japan, Britain, France, Germany and Italy) which he will host in Cornwall, at the southwestern tip of England.
"What we need, I think, is a global treaty on pandemic preparedness," he said, adding that 2020 had been a "terrible year for humanity." To date, the pandemic has killed more than 3.5 million people worldwide. Britain was among the hardest-hit countries, though it has been recovering since beginning vaccinations.
Johnson said it was also a bad time "for believers in global cooperation, because the world simply became balkanized," with many countries slow to share stocks of protective equipment, medicines and vaccines.
"We've got to do better than this," the prime minister added.
"Vaccination has got to be a global enterprise," Johnson said in the interview taped Friday.
He said it was crucial that developing countries receive vaccine supplies as quickly as possible.
Rather than the goal set by some of vaccinating the world by 2024 or 2025, Johnson set a more ambitious target, saying, "We need to get this done by the end of next year." As to the debate over the origins of the pandemic -- which flared up recently when President Joe Biden ordered a new intelligence report on the problem -- Johnson said he still leaned to the theory that it had spread from wild animals to humans, not leaked from a Chinese laboratory.
"But," he added, "I'm not going to exclude any possibility."Johnson, who himself was hospitalized last year with a serious case of Covid, has faced sharp criticism in Britain for his early handling of the pandemic there.
The G7 summit will be an in-person affair. The group was set to meet last summer in the US, but Covid concerns led to the meeting's cancellation.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Currency Rate In Pakistan - Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal Rates On 20 April 2024
Today Gold Rate in Pakistan 20 April 2024
Tennis: ATP Barcelona Open results - 1st update
Swiatek's perfect 10 in Stuttgart as Vondrousova stuns Sabalenka
Arandu's roads closed due to flooding
Oil tanker catches fire in Islamabad’s Blue Area
Pakistan committed to ensure safety of foreign nationals: FO
Tennis: WTA Stuttgart results - 1st update
Four passengers injured as train hit an empty vehicle
Over- speeding bus crushed to death two bike riders
Turkey's Freedom Flotilla ready to set sail for Gaza
French teen dies from heart failure after knife attack near school
More Stories From Miscellaneous
-
Transforming education sector: from job hunters to job creators
1 day ago -
Amjad Bobby remembered on 19th death anniversary for timeless contributions to music
5 days ago -
Legendary actor Nadeem’s 26 films released on Eid-ul-Fitr days in 50 years
6 days ago -
Besant Hall Cultural Centre to celebrate evening with Sanam Marvi on 26 April
6 days ago -
Radio Bahawalpur presents program “Eidi Shidi”
9 days ago -
Radio Bahawalpur to broadcast Eid programs
11 days ago
-
DC, DPO Haripur inspect bus terminals to review fares compliance
13 days ago -
Second phase of refugees’ repatriation to start after Eidul Fitr vacations
13 days ago -
Reaping bounties as Ramazan culminates
13 days ago -
Digital transformation – a boon or bane
13 days ago -
Plants’ business: Another casualty of climate change
15 days ago -
Eid shoppers prioritize children’s joy over personal comforts
15 days ago