G20 Summit: Leaders agree to increase cooperation against pandemic

The G20 leaders have decided to establish a Joint Finance-Health Task Force to increase cooperation to combat the pandemic and work towards reopening international travel by mutual recognition of vaccine certificates.

These two issues had dominated proceedings in the run-up to G20 summit. India has been pushing for mutual recognition of certificates across continents as well as the recognition of indigenously developed Covaxin by the WHO.

Briefing reporters after the summit, commerce minister and India's Sherpa Piyush Goyal said the leaders decided to work on steps for international travel. Lots of issues of the developing world that India highlighted were acknowledged by the G20, Goyal said.


The G20 is understood to have decided to work for the recognition of Covid-19 vaccines deemed safe by the WHO and in accordance with national legislation and circumstances, and to strengthen the organization's ability regarding approval of vaccines, including optimising procedures and processes, with the aim of broadening the list of vaccines authorised for emergency use, while continuing to protect public health and ensuring privacy and data protection.

"We establish a G20 Joint Finance-Health Task Force aimed at enhancing dialogue and global cooperation on issues relating to pandemic PPR, promoting the exchange of experiences and best practices, developing coordination arrangements between finance and health ministries, promoting collective action, assessing and addressing health emergencies with cross-border impact, and encouraging effective stewardship of resources for pandemic PPR, while adopting a One Health approach," according to the draft declaration.