KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 — Malaysia has taken the priority to strike the balance between protecting lives and livelihoods in handling Covid-19 in the country.

This was highlighted by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin when participating in the Virtual Asia Commonwealth Leaders Regional Roundtable Discussion hosted by Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales yesterday.

According to the statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office today, the Prime Minister, during the Roundtable, also discussed efforts to incorporate Circular Economy in Malaysia’s development plan as a means to drive systemic shifts towards long-term resilience, and generate green business and jobs.

"The Prime Minister also highlighted Malaysia’s successful pricing of the world’s first sovereign US Dollar Sustainability Sukuk, whereby the proceeds of the Islamic bond will be used for social and green projects aligned to the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda,” it said.

Other issues discussed at the Roundtable, which was also attended by Presidents of Maldives and Sri Lanka as well as the Prime Ministers of Bangladesh and Singapore, were key issues that the Commonwealth could address including approaches to green recovery; accelerate a sustainable transition to green economy; and opportunities for collective action ahead of the 26th United Nations Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP26).

The President of Rwanda in his capacity as the Chair-designate of CHOGM (Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting), the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth also participated in the Roundtable.

The Roundtable also provided the opportunity for leaders to share new and emergent initiatives and practices in their effort to revive and accelerate economic recovery from the devastation caused by the pandemic through Circular Economy; the transformation of carbon-intensive industries; and sustainable green financing.

Meanwhile, Prince Charles also invited the leaders to encourage their private sector to consider signing on to the Sustainable Markets Initiatives, which he leads, that could help businesses and companies to transition to green businesses that are resource-efficient and environmentally friendly. — Bernama