Drawing accolades for compassionate actions

photo VNA

The US ambassador to Vietnam Daniel J.Kritenbrink told VIR that Vietnam “has done an exemplary job of adopting substantial measures to contain the outbreak of COVID-19 within its borders.”

The measures that Kritenbrink mentioned includes adopting a whole-of-government approach by mobilising resources from all sectors, drawing the technical input of international partners, developing evidenced-based guidelines and training healthcare and laboratory professionals to implement these guidelines down to the local level, proactively identifying cases and their contacts and monitoring them for additional signs of disease, and communicating proactively by providing information through a public website and text messages.

Danny Lee, former director of Community Affairs Development in the ASEAN, was in Nanning in February when the disease was at its peak in China, before witnessing first-hand his mother land of Singapore fighting against the virus. He told VIR, “As ASEAN chair, Vietnam’s sterling performance in controlling the outbreak will be a stamp of confidence in the country’s products. It will also raise confidence in investors looking for a well-managed economy to put their money in.” Lee’s evaluation has been proven by continuous large orders of Vietnamese-made medical equipment from the US, Germany, and Israel.

On April 23 around 1.5 million Vietnamese masks, equal to 40,000 tonnes, were shipped to Germany. In person at the airport to receive the masks, Lorenz Caffier, Minister of the Interior and Europe of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, told media that his ministry had “used tax money responsibly” by ordering the masks from Vietnam.

Earlier, US president Donald Trump sent a tweet to say thank you to “friends in Vietnam” after 450,000 Made-in-Vietnam protective suits landed in Dallas, Texas.

Along with masks and protective suits, coronavirus test kits from Vietnam that have received quality certification from both Europe and the World Health Organization have also been exported to dozens of countries around the world.

“During the pandemic, the Vietnamese government and businesses have demonstrated to the world their ability of analysing, predicting, operating and making decisions to cope with difficulties,” Do Cao Bao, a member of FPT Corporation’s Board of Directors, told VIR.

According to Bao, the “mask diplomacy” campaign, along with medical protective suits and high quality test kits, is a beautiful image proving that Vietnam is a friendly, kind, and trustworthy partner. “Many analysts have commented that Vietnam will benefit greatly from this diversification because it has proven to be friendly while ensuring economic efficiency for Western companies which may choose Vietnam for their first option for seeking a reliable reloation,” Bao said.

So far, the Vietnamese government has presented 550,000 masks to European countries suffering the most damage from the disease; 300,000 masks to the US and Japan; 500 test RT-PCR real-time COVID-19 kits to Indonesia, and $100,000 of test kits along with other medical equipment to both Laos and Cambodia.

Despite being a small country with limited resources, Vietnam continues to carry out good deeds, demonstrating its responsibility at a time when it is also taking on the roles of United Nations Security Council non-permanent member and ASEAN chair this year.

On April 27 the Mothership, one of the largest digital platforms in Singapore, ran an article on COVID-19 and Vietnam’s remarkable performance in handling the crisis thus far. The article pointed out Vietnam’s disadvantages of a long border with China and having limited resources but added, “Vietnam is quietly winning its war against the virus”. Highly appreciating Vietnam’s measures in battling the outbreak, the article added that “the world can learn lessons from this quietly-successful Southeast Asian country.”

Ibnu Hadi - Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam Vietnam has done a great job in its fight against COVID-19. The government along with the people have been working hand in hand proactively and in a transparent manner. During the third phase of the outbreak, Vietnam has displayed effective public health response, such as swift identification of cases, contact tracing, and application of quarantine. The government has also ensured the capacity of medical staffs in the country and provided a number of laboratory testing to accelerate the identification of cases. When it comes to international aspect, I can say that Vietnam is a country with a high sense of responsibility to the international community. Vietnam have sent medical aid to several countries, including Indonesia. I, myself, highly appreciate the helpful action of Vietnam. This year, Vietnam is holding two significant positions, as chairman of ASEAN and non-permanent member of UNSC. As we can all see, the coronavirus crisis has showed that Vietnam can act as a donor not only as a recipient. It certainly improves the Vietnam’s image and prestige as a reliable and responsible member of ASEAN and the UN.