AKEL has added its name to a joint open letter of more than 230 political parties around the world calling for cooperation against the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the international working class.

The appeal, initiated by the Communist Party of China, appeals for “improving people’s well-being, promoting national development, and safeguarding world peace and stability.”

The appeal urges the facilitation of cross-border transportation of urgently needed medical equipment and protective materials to fight the pandemic. It also extends “heartfelt sympathies and support for those suffering from pain and whose lives are under the threat of COVID-19, as well as bereaved families.”

The signatories call for cooperation in the application of modern science and technology to the full to ensure the quickest and best possible results. While dealing with the health crisis, the appeal also encourages all countries to adopt an integrated approach to ensure economic and social development of vulnerable groups and full commitment to people’s living standards and social progress.

It calls for all countries to set up international coordination and exchanges on macroeconomic policies to prevent a world economic recession and to foster shared growth future. The broader appeal is towards a sense of a shared future, one calling for mutual help and mobilization of resources globally to defeat the virus.

The appeal welcomes the Extraordinary G20 Leaders Summit Statement on COVID-19 which encouraged countries to share experience and medical cooperation in containing the outbreak, including joint research and development of specific medicines, vaccines, and tests.

The appeal also calls for the provision of material, technical, and other support to developing countries and countries with vulnerable public health systems. It asks governments to “support the leading role of the United Nations and the World Health Organization in global public heal governance.” It calls for “all parties to enhance coordination and cooperation within the framework of the G20 and other international mechanisms for effective international prevention and control as we strive to build a global community with a shared future for public health.”