RoK to donate 1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Vietnam

VOV.VN - President Moon Jae-in of the Republic of Korea (RoK) said that the RoK will provide Vietnam with at least 1 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine in October.

This will be the first vaccine shipment that the RoK offers to a foreign country in addition to its financial support to help developing countries combat COVID-19. The vaccine will be channeled through the COVAX Facility.

President Moon announced the decision during his talks with Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc in New York on September 21 on the sidelines of the 76th UN General Assembly.

Moon affirmed that the two countries have worked closely together to control the coronavirus outbreak from the early stage by sharing relevant medical supplies.

Thanking the RoK for timely vaccine support, President Phuc emphasized that Vietnam will continue to create favourable conditions for RoK firms to do business in the country.

Vietnam will ensure human resources and protect the health of Korean individuals and businesses in their host country, Phuc assured Moon.

The Vietnamese President also hoped that relevant agencies of the two Governments would work closely to support their citizens to have a safe and stable life in their respective countries during the current pandemic time.

The two leaders shared the view that the two countries are each other’s best partners that have deepened their cooperation in various fields, including politics, economy and people-to-people diplomacy.

They agreed to promote the Vietnam –RoK partnership to new heights in 2022 to commemorate 30 years of diplomacy.

The two countries upgraded their relationship to a level of the strategic cooperative partnership in 2009.

Expecting additional ODA from Ireland

At a meeting with Prime Minister Michael Martin of Ireland that is currently the rotating President of the UN Security Council for September, the two leaders expressed their delight at the positive developments in bilateral cooperation in recent times.

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, they said two-way trade turnover between the two countries still reached US$4.2 billion last year.

President Phuc requested that Martin lobby the Irish parliament to soon ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese goods to enter the Irish market and helping to balance bilateral trade balance.

He expressed hope that Ireland would continue to maintain its official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam in line with its socio-economic development strategy in the new period.

Phuc highly appreciated Ireland’s marked achievements in COVID-19 response, and suggested that Ireland support Vietnam in accessing COVID-19 vaccine supply and medical equipment such as ventilators and test kits to help it soon control the outbreak and resume trade activities.

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