Singapore: Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Wednesday (October 27) that members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, South Korea, and Japan should continue to cooperate in “challenging times”.
At the 24th ASEAN Plus Three Summit, Mr. Lee stated that the prospects for cooperation among ASEAN Plus Three (APT) countries continue to be “promising”.
“These challenging times have once again proved the ability of APT countries to deepen regional cooperation and jointly respond to crises. We should meet these challenges and see them as opportunities to further develop our partnership,” Mr. Lee added.
He said that APT countries should continue to work together to prepare for the pandemic and prepare for economic recovery.
He pointed out that in fighting COVID-19 and preparing for a future pandemic, APT countries must continue to build public health capacity through cooperation, exchange of information and sharing of best practices.
“We look forward to making progress in the discussions on the APT Public Health Emergency Medical Supplies Reserve and the APT Epidemiological Task Force proposal, which will complement ASEAN’s efforts,” Mr. Lee said at the virtual summit.
“In addition to urgent health issues, the pandemic has caused damage to the mental health of our citizens. Singapore welcomes the adoption of the APT leaders’ statement on mental health cooperation. This addresses a related but often overlooked aspect of our people’s well-being.”
Speaking of preparing for economic recovery, Mr. Lee said that he is very pleased that Chiang Mai has proposed a further update of multilateralization this year to strengthen the “regional financial safety net.”
“We should also build on the “APT Leaders’ Statement on Strengthening APT Cooperation to Meet New Challenges in Economic and Financial Resilience” adopted last year. These efforts will not only reduce the impact of the pandemic, but also help prepare for the epidemic. Prepare. Safely reopen our economy and society,” Mr. Lee said.
“We can also use innovative digital solutions to do this. For example, by using the ASEAN Smart City Network (ASCN) to develop an interoperable platform to obtain mutually recognized health certificates (with vaccination status).”
