Guest of the G7, South Africa wanted to be the voice of the continent on vaccines
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa (L) was the only African leader invited to the G7 held in the UK.
AFP - STEFAN ROUSSEAU
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3 min
President Cyril Ramaphosa regretted that the African Union was not invited to the summit, but expressed his satisfaction at having "been
able to get our message
across
".
The South African head of state welcomed the G7's commitments: the lifting of all barriers on vaccine exports, the donation of 5 million doses to the African Union by the end of the summer.
He also believes that he has made progress on the issue of equitable access to vaccines.
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With our correspondent in Johannesburg,
Romain Chanson
Relentlessly, South Africa and India demand the lifting of patents on intellectual property.
Or give access to the vaccine formula to produce more everywhere in the world.
On this subject, Cyril Ramaphosa believes he has scored points ahead of the G7 countries.
“
We got the commitment that negotiations should continue at the WTO and we're pretty happy with that.
Our proposal has now received the support of over 100 countries.
I think we have made progress in allowing the negotiations to take place.
"
In fact, the WTO countries had already agreed last Wednesday to initiate discussions on the subject.
The G7 countries have supported this dynamic.
French President Emmanuel Macron underlined the role played by South Africa in these negotiations.
“
I really want to salute the leadership of South Africa and India, who made a strong proposal and which we have worked on together.
The discussions that will come in the next few weeks at the WTO are absolutely essential in this regard. It was urgent and I believe that this reaction is salutary, it must now be followed by all acts in accordance with these commitments.
"
At the end of the G7 Cyril Ramaphosa believes he has been heard.
Will it be at the WTO where 164 countries are represented?
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South Africa
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Vaccines