Malaysia proposes reciprocal COVID-19 vaccine certificate recognition among D-8 member states

Malaysian Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin put forward the proposal in his keynote speech at the 10th Summit of the D-8 on Thursday as he addressed the summit virtually, in view of the vaccines roll-out plans that are already in motion in most countries.

Muhyiddin is leading Malaysia's delegation to the virtual summit, chaired by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed. The D-8 consists of eight developing countries namely Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Turkey.

In his address, Muhyiddin said the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the lives and livelihoods of people and triggered an alarm specifically on the issue of poverty, as he called on D-8 member states to work together to address the issue collectively.

"Malaysia's main focus under its poverty eradication strategy has been on income-generating, expansion of education and training facilities, employment generation, and modernisation of rural life as well as improvement in living conditions," he said.

Muhyiddin said Malaysia would also share its experience with D-8 member states for a joint approach in moving forward in the post-COVID-19 global landscape.

Muhyiddin said Malaysia was pleased with the activation of the D-8 Health and Social Protection Programme, adding that it was indeed a timely move towards facilitating member states in mitigating the impacts of the pandemic.

"The pandemic has made us realise the need to achieve a more robust, viable and effective healthcare system," he said.

Malaysia is also delighted to be a member of the Resource Mobilisation Working Group, responsible for articulating strategies and suggestions for domestic resourcing by countries, and would continue to share its expertise and experiences on the issue and work closely with the working group members, he said.

Muhyiddin said Malaysia also welcomed the D-8 Tourism Strategy and the Crescent Moon Initiative adopted as it believed the initiative was imperative in facilitating member states to revive its tourism industry severely affected by the pandemic.

"The initiative, designed to promote tourism and cultural, social, and human and business inter-connectivity, is essential in complementing the Dhaka Declaration's aspiration to promote tourism activities among member states," he said.

Muhyiddin said the Dhaka Declaration and the D-8 Decennial Roadmap for ‪2020- 2030‬, which will be adopted today, will serve as a basis for transformation and guide the work of the D-8 for the betterment of the people.

"The adopted documents would provide an opportunity for D-8 member states to renew our cooperation and commitment towards achieving our shared vision," he said.

Other leaders who participated in the virtual summit include Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

This year's D-8 Summit is hosted by Bangladesh with the theme "Partnership for a Transformative World: Harnessing the Power of Youth and Technology".