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European Commission Representation in Cyprus
Press release18 May 2022Representation in Cyprus

G7: Commissioners Kyriakides and Urpilainen attend the Development and Health ministers meetings in Berlin

Commissioners for Health and Food Safety, Stella Kyriakides, and for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, will participate in the G7 Development and Health ministers meetings in Berlin.

Press conference by Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner, on preparing and responding to COVID-19 in the future

Commissioner Urpilainen will represent the EU in the Development ministerial meeting on 18-19 May that will discuss the consequences of Russia's aggression of Ukraine and the repercussions on food security worldwide. Wide-ranging discussions will follow on topical development subjects such as Africa, infrastructure investments for sustainable development, climate, gender equality and health. Commissioner Kyriakides will participate in the meeting of the G7 Health Ministers on 19-20 May, to discuss “G7 Health Track” priorities such as preparedness for future pandemics, antimicrobial resistance and health risks due to climate change. Both Commissioners will attend a joint session of Development and Health Ministers on global health. Ahead of the meetings, Commissioner Kyriakides said: “The pandemic is not over. We need to continue building our resilience and strengthening the global health architecture. We have to deepen our strategic partnerships with our partner countries and ensure sustainable financing to better deal with global health threats. Vaccination remains our best response worldwide. Today's global health challenges require collaboration and coordination beyond borders and the G7 is crucial for this. This is also why we need to launch a robust new Global Health Strategy, to connect the dots across the globe to improve health systems to be ready to respond to global health threats.” Commissioner Urpilainen added: “In the light of current global challenges worsened by Russia's aggression against Ukraine, the EU has to remain fully committed to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, including food security. Through the G7, we can deal with the consequences of multiple crises in a more targeted and coordinated way. I am also convinced that our Global Gateway strategy can contribute to it positively. It is a critical moment and only by working together as Team Europe, we are increasing our impact on the way to a sustainable recovery. A new EU Global Health Strategy would be a major component of these efforts.” The G7 Development Ministers will adopt a Communiqué entitled “Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in times of multiple crisis”, together with a statement on the global effects of Russia's aggression against Ukraine and the G7's comprehensive support for Ukraine, affected neighbouring countries, as well as countries of the Global South. On Thursday, you will be able to access the G7 communiqué and G7 statement here and a joint statement on global health by the Commissioners here.

Details

Publication date
18 May 2022
Author
Representation in Cyprus