Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne speaks at the meeting. (Photo: VNA)
Phnom Penh (VNA) – The special ASEAN-Australia ministers’ conference on the COVID-19 pandemic was held on July 1, highlighting the importance of the cooperation to roll back the ravaging disease.
An announcement by the Cambodian Foreign Ministry said participants of the teleconference discussed ways to intensify the cooperation and partnership against COVID-19, focusing on the three fields of common concern, namely health security, stability maintenance and economic recovery.
Besides, they also touched upon the future orientations for the ASEAN-Australia strategic partnership in the post-pandemic period.
Speaking at the conference, Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn highlighted that right at the beginning, ASEAN was very proactive by mobilising a collective response, not only within the bloc but also with outside partners.
The official also held that the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership should be made the soonest possible as part of the economic recovery plan.
He warned ASEAN and Australia against the second wave of the COVID-19, holding that the two sides should cooperate at every level to develop, test and broaden the scale of the production of the medicine and vaccine against the disease with high quality, safety and reasonable prices so that the people can access them in a timely way./.
VNA
