TOKYO, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and German Chancellor Angela Merkel held talks on Thursday, with both sides agreeing to cooperate on the development of an effective vaccine to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Japanese government, during the 35-minute virtual meeting, Abe told Merkel that Japan will contribute to the development and distribution of vaccines via what is known as the ACT-Accelerator.

The ACT-Accelerator is a global collaborative framework led by the World Health Organization to accelerate the development, production and equitable access to new COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines.

Abe added that Tokyo is seeking to improve the health care system in developing countries, while Merkel responded that Germany hopes to work with Japan to that end, according to the Japanese government.