Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung on April 24 symbolically handed over 50,000 USD as a contribution of the Vietnamese Government and people to the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s COVID-19 response fund.

At the hand-over ceremony (Photo: VNA)

The handover ceremony was attended by representatives from the Government Office, the Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs, the UN, and WHO Representative in Vietnam Kidong Park, among others.

Trung reiterated the Vietnamese Government’s twin targets of containing the pandemic and ensuring socio-economic stability and social welfare.

He used the occasion to thank the WHO and relevant UN agencies in general and the WHO Office and UN Resident Coordinator Office in Vietnam in particular for their support to the country during the fight against the pandemic, helping to deepen the partnership between Vietnam and the UN.

As an active and responsible member of the international community, ASEAN Chair 2020, and a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021, Vietnam decided to contribute 50,000 USD to the WHO fund to help ease the adverse impacts of the pandemic, Trung said.

He called on the WHO to maintain its central role in leading and coordinating international efforts, meeting the aspirations of member countries while continuing to assist developing countries, especially those with a poor healthcare system.

For his part, Kidong Park said Vietnam is taking the lead in medical diplomacy and thanked the Vietnamese Government and people for their support to the COVID-19 response fund.

He congratulated Vietnam on its achievements in containing the pandemic, with more than 80 percent of patients recovering, no fatalities recorded, and no new cases reported for the last eight days.

He attributed its results to the drastic engagement of the Government, ministries, and agencies as well as public support.

WHO agreed with a proposal Vietnam raised at the Ministerial Video-Conference of the Alliance for Multilateralism on April 16 regarding solidarity, sharing, prevention, and post-COVID-19 economic stimulation, and backed the country’s initiative to designate a global solidarity day against disease, he said./.

Source: VNA