Vietnam donates face masks to Japan, US, Russia

The Vietnamese government on April 16 donated hundreds of thousands of made-in-Vietnam antibacterial face masks to Japan, the US, and Russia, after doing the same with other major partners, in a bid to support their fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the day, the Vietnamese government presented made-in-Vietnam medical supplies, face masks included, worth US$100,000 to the Japanese government and people, and 50,000 surgical masks to Japan’s Cabinet Office.

Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and Minister-Chairman of Government Office Mai Tien Dung hand over the gifts of medical supplies to Japanese Deputy Ambassador to Vietnam Asazuma Shinichi. Photo: MOFA

Vietnam and Japan are cooperating within bilateral and multilateral frameworks to deal with the pandemic, including the successful holding of the Special ASEAN Plus Three Summit on coronavirus disease 2019 on April 14, Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son said at the handover ceremony.

The Vietnamese diplomat said that this gift of medical supplies is a token of solidarity with Japan in the fight against the pandemic.

For his part, Japanese Deputy Ambassador to Vietnam Asazuma Shinichi said Japan is "deeply grateful" to the Vietnamese government and people for their support.

Shinichi stressed that based on the Vietnam -Japan extensive strategic partnership, Japan would continue to work closely with Vietnam in fighting and managing diseases.

Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and Minister-Chairman of Government Office Mai Tien Dung present the symbolic token representing gifts of face masks to US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel J Kritenbrink. Photo: MOFA

On the same day, the Vietnamese government gifted 200,000 cloth masks to the US government and people. In addition, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc made another donation of 50,000 medical masks for the White House Office.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son noted Vietnam and the US have effectively cooperated in combating Covid-19, including mutual support in terms of medical supplies and information exchange or citizen protection.

Vietnam will continue to work closely with the US to push back the pandemic and minimize its negative impacts, Son added.

On behalf of US President Donald Trump and the American people, US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink express gratitude to the Vietnamese government and people, saying the gift was a tremendous show of solidarity and support from Vietnam for his country.

He pledged that the US would enhance collaboration with the Vietnamese side in dealing with the pandemic and in ensuring public health and safety.

On its Facebook page, the US Embassy in Hanoi affirmed the donation and said: “These masks will be used where they are most needed in the United States to fight #COVID19,” accompanied by the hashtag #TrustedPartnersStandTogether in the fight against #COVID19.‎

Minister-Chairman of Government Office Mai Tien Dung (R) presents gifts from Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to Russian Ambassador Konstantin Vnukov. Photo: VNA

On behalf of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Minister-Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung presented a gift of 50,000 antibacterial face masks to the Russian Presidential Executive Office.

Before this gift, Vietnam on April 13 made a donation of 150,000 cloth masks to the Russian government and people.

On April 7, the Vietnamese government has donated 550,000 made-in-Vietnam anti-bacterial face masks to France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, which are battered by the Covid-19 pandemic and in a critical shortage of medical supplies.

Before these donations, Vietnam had sent medical equipment to China, Indonesia, Cambodia and Laos.

Vietnamese companies are capable of producing eight million antibacterial cloth face masks a day. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has allowed the export of medical face masks after domestic demand is met.