04:52Germany: EU 'quite advanced' in COVID vaccine negotiations - Merkel
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that negotiations of the COVID vaccine will begin shortly, at a press conference in Berlin after the two-day virtual G20 summit on Sunday.
"Not only do we in Europe secure vaccines, as the European Commission does, but that it is also important for the countries of the world as a whole, and rightly so, this is a particular concern of the G20 participants in Africa," she said, stressing the importance of distributing vaccines worldwide including among developing countries.
"There is a chance for us not to face a long term global economic crisis and the possibility of a good outcome is unchanged, especially if we succeed in developing the vaccines and, as the Chancellor has outlined, in distributing them equitably internationally and ensuring that the poorest countries can also benefit from them," German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz remarked.
Merkel and Scholz announced there would be further information on the strengthening of a lockdown on Wednesday.
"there is a lot of discussion from everyone, looking at the facts and figures. The fact is that, we are not yet as far as we would like to be. Because of the contact restrictions, we have reached a plateau in many countries," she said.
Merkel also showed her concern on the vaccine budgets running out, and she stressed the need to establish talks with the Vaccine Alliance GAVI, as budgets must also be enough for the developing countries.
Saudi Arabia hosted a remote G20 summit which ran through Sunday. Talks were centred on the global response to COVID-19 and the distribution of the upcoming vaccines.
04:52German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that negotiations of the COVID vaccine will begin shortly, at a press conference in Berlin after the two-day virtual G20 summit on Sunday.
"Not only do we in Europe secure vaccines, as the European Commission does, but that it is also important for the countries of the world as a whole, and rightly so, this is a particular concern of the G20 participants in Africa," she said, stressing the importance of distributing vaccines worldwide including among developing countries.
"There is a chance for us not to face a long term global economic crisis and the possibility of a good outcome is unchanged, especially if we succeed in developing the vaccines and, as the Chancellor has outlined, in distributing them equitably internationally and ensuring that the poorest countries can also benefit from them," German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz remarked.
Merkel and Scholz announced there would be further information on the strengthening of a lockdown on Wednesday.
"there is a lot of discussion from everyone, looking at the facts and figures. The fact is that, we are not yet as far as we would like to be. Because of the contact restrictions, we have reached a plateau in many countries," she said.
Merkel also showed her concern on the vaccine budgets running out, and she stressed the need to establish talks with the Vaccine Alliance GAVI, as budgets must also be enough for the developing countries.
Saudi Arabia hosted a remote G20 summit which ran through Sunday. Talks were centred on the global response to COVID-19 and the distribution of the upcoming vaccines.