US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken reaffirms the US support for ASEAN’s central role (Photo: VNA)At the meeting, Blinken and Foreign Ministers of ASEAN member countriesdiscussed pressing international and regional challenges, including fighting theCOVID-19 pandemic and climate change, solutions to human resource development,and the situation in Myanmar.
Blinken emphasised the US’s commitment to supply more than 500 million doses ofvaccines to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) for distributions to 92 low- and middle-incomecountries worldwide, as well as the African Union, through the COVAX (COVID-19Vaccines Global Access) Facility.
He noted that the US has sofar donated more than 23 million doses of vaccines and nearly 160 million USDto support ASEAN member countries to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Blinken announced that his country intends to contribute 500,000 USD to theASEAN COVID-19 Response Fund to support vaccine procurement, and it will also continueto assist the ASEAN Secretariat in developing an ASEAN Public Health Emergency CoordinationSystem.
He highlighted the importance of taking boldactions in the 2020s to address challenges related to the climate change crisis,and promote green recovery, emphasising the US’s support for the region to minimiseeconomic losses caused by the pandemic.
Blinken also underlined the need to develop human resources in ASEAN,while reaffirming his country’s consistentsupport for the next generation of ASEAN leaders, the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Academic Fellowship at Fulbright University Vietnam, among otherprogrammes./.
VNA
