Inaugural Plenary Sustainable Development in Times of COVID-19
- COVID-19 has shown that governments in developing countries can longer ignore social sector spending. In fact, they must increase the development budget for social protection, poverty alleviation, health, and education on urgent and priority basis and ensure investment in human development systems.
- While COVID-19 has had negative impacts, its positive effects should be considered in terms of the environment and climate change to improve the quality of life around us.
- Effects of COVID-19 should be analyzed holistically in the long run to monitor global and national preparedness for future crises in a post-COVID era.
- Digitalisation of economic trade routes, in terms of textiles and exports, should be done to overcome economic losses due to the pandemic.
- A large number of pharmaceutical companies must contribute to the development of COVID-19 vaccines rather than just a handful of companies.
- Governments of developing countries must explore opportunities of digital transformations in social, health and economic sectors as a result of COVID-19.
- Small and Medium-sized Enterprises must explore cross-border e-commerce and digital economy to promote regional connectivity in the post-COVID era.
- Introduction of latest technologies and digital tools will reinforce multilateral trade routes for strengthening economic connectivity. In this regard, the SCO Development Strategy 2025 may prove to be a valuable document.
