Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said a multilateral health system must be strengthened to respond to COVID-19.

Speaking during a virtual ministerial meeting of the Alliance for Multilateralism held Friday on the sidelines of the 75th UN General Assembly,
Kang said a global multilateral health system must be strengthened to fight COVID-19 and respond to similar health crises in the future. 

She called on the international community to discuss concrete, practical measures to achieve this.

Kang said international health regulations must be improved so that countries can enhance healthcare capabilities, share information, guarantee essential travel and protect privacy and human rights.

She also urged accelerated effort on the research, development, production and distribution of COVID-19 test kits, vaccines and treatments while stressing the importance of equitable access.

The virtual meeting led by Germany and France was attended by minister level officials from around 20 countries as well as representatives from the UN and civic groups.