
TOKYO: Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said Thursday that he has proposed to his Group of Seven counterparts medical assistance for developing nations amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The G-7 major powers should establish a fund to buy the patents for medicines and vaccines against COVID-19 to make them available to developing nations at low prices, according to Aso's proposal.
At a press conference, Aso said he made the proposal at a teleconference of the G-7 finance ministers Thursday night.
Even if developed countries manage to contain the virus, it would spread again around the world if developing countries fail to stop the infection. Assistance to developing countries is therefore important.
In the teleconference, Aso underscored Japan's desire to achieve powerful global economic recovery in cooperation with other G-7 nations.
JIJI Press