Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has underscored the need to accelerate South-South Cooperation to rebuild the small countries affected by the Covid pandemic.

Addressing the 77th Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Rajapaksa said: “There is need to accelerate South-South Cooperation to rebuild the small countries affected by the Covid pandemic”.

Towards that end, UNESCAP should commit itself to being relevant and responsive, he said, The Daily Star reported.

He called upon UNESCAP to initiate measures for assisting small countries with pandemic recovery and vaccination programmes, encouraging growth of foreign employment opportunities and promoting eco-tourism and Health-tourism.

He also suggested UNESCAP take steps to boost investments into and find markets for emerging nations.