The Speaker of the People’s National Assembly, Mr. Ibrahim Boughali, called Today, Tuesday in Vienna (Austria), for “real and effective international cooperation and solidarity” to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, by adopting a “multilateral approach” to face up to this health challenge, according to a statement issued by the to the lower house of parliament.
The same source indicated that Boughali said in a speech during the proceedings of the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament held in the Austrian capital, which was read on his behalf by the Vice-President of the Assembly, Fites Ben Lekhal, that “there is no other way for the Covid-19 pandemic to recede except through real and effective international cooperation and solidarity,” considering that “” Crises may turn into a powerful incentive to enhance cooperation, consolidate multilateral relations and ensure health security at the global level.
He explained that the outbreak of Covid-19 in an “already tense” world has renewed the need for a “multilateral approach to confront this health challenge, due to which the countries’ economies have collapsed,” warning against “the danger posed by the protectionist policy over the entire international cooperation.”
Boughali went on to say, “the health crisis should be an opportunity for non-governmental organizations and bodies to move again and explore innovative mechanisms for cooperation,” he considered that “the success of the conferences for financing the initiative to accelerate the availability of tools to combat Covid-19 in June 2020 is decisive evidence of the efficacy of the multilateral system and international solidarity in times of crises.”.
In the same context, the Speaker of the People’s National Assembly called on the governments of countries to “renew their commitments towards the goals that they set in the field of financing development programs as part of the Addis Ababa Action Plan,” and urged “the establishment of more effective partnerships, while activating the existing ones, especially with the private sector and partners of triangular cooperation and South-South cooperation as well as various multilateral partners.
Boughali also highlighted the importance of the “COVAX” mechanism in the current situation for middle-income or weak-income countries, and explained that this mechanism represents “a comprehensive and harmonious response thanks to international coordination and is an exemplary behavior for launching similar initiatives.”
At the end of his speech, the Speaker of the People’s National Assembly stressed the need for “the sustainability of the initiative to provide tools to combat Covid-19, and to move forward in strengthening the multilateral system in order to address the repercussions of the pandemic on the health, economic, social and geopolitical levels.”
It’s worth recalling that the two chambers of Parliament are participating in the proceedings of the Fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, held the Austrian capital on September 06 and 07, with a delegation headed by the Vice-President of the People’s National Assembly, Mr. Fites Ben Lekhal, representing the Speaker of the People’s National Assembly.
