New India made a case for building a global framework to enhance affordable access to medicines for fighting pandemics and facilitating easier movement of health professionals across national borders, at a meeting of the trade ministers of G20 nations on Monday.

“In his intervention, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal stressed on the need to uphold multilateral commitments and improve upon their effectiveness to meet current challenges,” said an official release.

Trade and investment ministers of the G20 group — which includes India, the US, the EU, China, Australia, Argentina, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey and the UK — have endorsed the need to ensure continued flow of vital medical supplies and equipment, critical agricultural products, and other essential goods and services across borders to meet the challenges thrown by the fast-spreading Covid-19 virus.

“We will support the availability and accessibility of essential medical supplies and pharmaceuticals at affordable prices, on an equitable basis, where they are most needed, and as quickly as possible, including by encouraging additional production through incentives and targeted investment, according to national circumstances. We will guard against profiteering and unjustified price increases,” said a joint statement issued after the video conference.

The heads of states of G20 nations, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had met last week and decided to inject $5 trillion into the global economy to limit the losses from the coronavirus outbreak. They also decided to work towards easing supply disruptions caused by border closures by national governments.

Logistics network

Following directions of the leaders, the trade ministers decided to explore ways for logistics networks via air, sea and land freight to remain open, as well as ways to facilitate essential movement of health personnel and business people across borders, without undermining the efforts to prevent the spread of the virus.

The ministers called on international organisations to provide an in-depth analysis of the impact of Covid-19 on world trade, investment and global value chains.

“We will continue working with them to establish coordinated approaches, and collect and share good practices to facilitate flows of essential goods and services,” the statement said.

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