Turkey ready to take part in post-pandemic efforts for stronger world: President

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey is ready to take part in post-pandemic efforts for a stronger world in all aspects, the Turkish president told the Global COVID-19 Summit on Tuesday.

"A new pandemic is not a possibility, it is only a matter of time," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a video message. "Therefore, eliminating the deficiencies identified is not an option but a political responsibility."

"It is our duty to future generations to make the multilateral system robust and prepared against global health threats in the light of the lessons learned from the (COVID-19) pandemic," he continued.

He underlined that it is "a moral imperative" to support "the universal health right" of disadvantaged groups -- their access to vaccines, diagnosis, treatment, and personal protection tools.

Since December 2019, the coronavirus pandemic has claimed over 4.75 million lives in at least 192 countries and regions, with more than 232.4 million cases reported worldwide, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University.