A global summit to chart an end to the Covid-19 crisis and plan for future upheavals will take place on May 12, the White House said Monday, AFP reported.
Reportedly, the virtual gathering will be co-chaired by the United States, along with current G7 president Germany, G20 president Indonesia, African Union chair Senegal, and Belize, the current chair of the CARICOM Caribbean grouping.
"The summit will redouble our collective efforts to end the acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic and prepare for future health threats," the countries said in a joint statement as per the AFP reports.
"In advance of the May 12 Summit, we are calling on world leaders, members of civil society, non-governmental organizations, philanthropists, and the private sector to make new commitments and bring solutions to vaccinate the world, save lives now, and build better health security," the leaders said in a joint statement ahead of the summit.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden will host a special in-person summit with ASEAN leaders on May 12-13, a White House statement said Saturday (April 16).
"The Special Summit will demonstrate the United States' enduring commitment to ASEAN, recognizing its central role in delivering sustainable solutions to the region's most pressing challenges, and commemorate 45 years of US-Asean relations," the statement by White House press secretary Jen Psaki had said Sunday.
"It is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration to serve as a strong, reliable partner in Southeast Asia. Our shared aspirations for the region will continue to underpin our common commitment to advance an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, secure, connected, and resilient," she said.
According to Psaki, President Biden will host the Leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the aforementioned date as the summit will commemorate 45 years of US-ASEAN relations.
It will build on President Biden's participation in the October 2021 US-ASEAN Summit, where the president announced $102 million in new initiatives to expand our engagement with ASEAN on COVID-19 recovery and health security, fighting the climate crisis, stimulating broad-based economic growth, promoting gender equality, and deepening people-to-people ties.
The summit is being held amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine which has entered the 51st straight day.
