G7 foreign ministers say will work to expand COVID-19 vaccine production

FILE PHOTO: The word "COVID-19" is reflected in a drop on a syringe needle in this illustration taken November 9, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

LONDON (Reuters) - The Group of Seven foreign ministers pledged on Wednesday to work with industry to expand the production of affordable COVID-19 vaccines, but stopped short of calling for a waiver of intellectual property rights of the pharma firms.

"We commit to working with  industry  to facilitate expanded manufacturing at scale of affordable COVID-19  vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics and their component parts," the G7 foreign ministers said in a joint statement after a meeting in London.

The ministers said the work would include "promoting partnerships between companies, and  encouraging voluntary licensing and tech transfer agreements on mutually agreed terms".

(Reporting by Alistair Smout, editing by Elizabeth Piper)

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