VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto proposed health system synergy and digital connectivity as policy focuses of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) at the APEC ministerial meeting in Bangkok, Thailand.

"Access to vaccines and transparency in health policy are fundamental to implementing (overseas) safe travel and reconnecting the APEC region," he noted in a statement here on Friday.

To this end, Hartarto encouraged the interoperability of the COVID-19 vaccination certificate system among APEC members by recognizing various types of vaccines used by inter-governmental forum members.

Indonesia had recognized 98 different COVID-19 vaccines and kept conducting assessments to identify more COVID-19 vaccines.

"Different types of vaccines (used) among states should not be an obstacle for travelers within the APEC area (to visit other countries)," the coordinating minister remarked.

He also accentuated the importance of global solidarity to handle the pandemic.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that global solidarity is not just a saying. No one is truly safe, until the whole world is safe," he remarked.

Furthermore, he highlighted the significance of digital connectivity that has become an inseparable part of people's lifestyle nowadays in the context of COVID-19 mitigation.

Indonesia has developed interoperability of its COVID-19 tracking application PeduliLindungi with applications from other countries, such as TraceTogether used by Singapore, Tawakkalna applied by Saudi Arabia, and the European Union DCC that is used by the European Union.

However, Hartarto highlighted several challenges in realizing digital connectivity, such as the digital divide that occurs among APEC countries.

"APEC needs to promote wider regional interconnectivity. APEC can be a solution to respond to the challenges posed. We can encourage Public-Private-Partnership for the development of digital infrastructure and human resources," he stated.

Furthermore, he emphasized that solidarity among APEC countries is crucial to bolster economic growth in the region.

The 29th APEC Summit is being held in Bangkok, Thailand, on November 18-19, 2022. (antaranews)