French President Emmanuel Macron has called on the world community to reach a new consensus at the Third Paris Peace Forum. The French leader believes that without a new vision it will not be possible to overcome the coronavirus pandemic and the accompanying economic and social challenges.
"We understand that the world needs a new consensus. And when I use the word 'consensus', I do not mean any weak compromise or any balance of power agreement. We must give the international community a new vision, all together – developed, developing and forming countries - to present it. Despite the social and economic differences. We cannot overcome the challenges without helping each other," Macron said.
The president noted that the key issue now in terms of countering the pandemic is how to ensure universal access to medicines and financial assistance for all countries and citizens. In his opinion, Efforts to overcome coronavirus will fail without poor countries getting help.
"We must rebuild a transparent global trading system while paying attention to the situation in different communities around the world. The recovery of international trade and economy must also take into account climate change and the challenges behind it. It must be part of the same consensus," Macron said.
European Council President Charles Michel also called for a new consensus, an agreement to fight the pandemic.
"We call for an international agreement to fight the pandemic. Such an international commitment will help prevent future pandemics. We see that this is necessary, but it also means that if we have to deal with other, subsequent pandemics, we can respond and coordinate better and much faster to counter them. This will allow us to develop the necessary resources faster, transfer them to different countries. This way we will be able to better protect our citizens," Michel said.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) predicts that after 2020 Ukraine will face the worst recession in 10 years, as a result of which more than 9 million Ukrainians will find themselves below the poverty line.