BERLIN: Vaccines offer the best way the world has of exiting the coronavirus crisis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday, adding that this meant it was crucial to ensure the medicines were fairly distributed around the world.

Addressing the World Economic Forum's virtual summit by video link, Merkel said it was also essential to support programmes subsidising poor countries' access to vaccines.

"It has become even clearer to me than it was before that we need to choose a multilateral approach, that a self-isolating approach won't solve our problems," she said. "We see that first of all in the question of vaccination since it is the route out of the pandemic."