President Erdoğan: Turkey to announce financial pledge by May 23 to global efforts to develop COVID-19 vaccine”

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sent a video message to the Coronavirus Global Response International Pledging Event hosted by the European Commission.

Stating that the coronavirus pandemic has ceased to be a mere health crisis and turned into a unique global test with political, economic and social dimensions, President Erdoğan said: “This pandemic has reminded us of the fact that our fate is common even though our languages, our religions are different. With this point of view, Turkey has provided 57 countries with the assistance of medical supplies so far. We also continue to be a reliable partner in terms of the supply of critical medical supplies that are needed in this process, ranging from masks to ventilators. We also share our country’s experiences in the fight against the virus with our friends along with our means.”

“COVID-19 VACCINE MUST BE THE SHARED PROPERTY OF THE WHOLE OF MANKIND “

Underscoring that the vaccine appears to be the most effective instrument to eradicate the virus, President Erdoğan went on to say: “Besides our national initiatives, we also support the global efforts for diagnosis, treatment and vaccine development. Under the G20 Statement we agreed on March 26 we pledged to provide financing for the rapid development of a vaccine. We have therefore considered it a duty to be a part of today’s Coronavirus Global Response International Pledging Event. It will pave the way for achieving our target without allowing room for tautologies and bureaucracy in our efforts. COVID-19 vaccine must be the shared property of the whole of mankind. In this regard, it is critical that global access to the vaccine to be produced is guaranteed and the principle of ‘leaving no behind’ is implemented diligently. We will take all these matters into consideration when deciding on our financial contribution to vaccine development efforts. We will announce the amount that we will determine following the assessments by May 23.”