The four main parties to the negotiations on a patent breach for Covid-19 vaccines have prepared a “final document” for members’ approval, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Tuesday (3) – in the hope of a final agreement by June.
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who has made vaccine equity her top priority since taking office in 2021, has been working for months to broker a compromise between the United States, the European Union, India and South Africa. South to break an 18-month stalemate.
“The aim of the discussions was to come up with something that is workable,” Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters, saying he hoped the 164 WTO members would finalize and approve the proposal at a major conference in June.
“This will advance the discussion and dialogue. For the next pandemic or an outbreak, this is extremely important,” she said.
The document showed that there were still unresolved areas in the draft agreement, including the duration of the waiver application, which could be three or five years.
Okonjo-Iweala explained that recent negotiations have focused on gaining broader support for the deal, including from China.
She said the Chinese capital has indicated that it is “willing” to be considered a developed country in this agreement and therefore subject to stricter rules. China’s WTO envoy in Geneva did not respond to a request for comment.
Source: CNN Brasil
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