UK offers an additional 320,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to Vietnam

The British government has decided to donate 320,000 more doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to the Vietnamese government.

Deputy Foreign Minister To Anh Dung of Vietnam.

Amanda Milling, Minister for Asia at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, announced the decision during his phone talks on December 9 with Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung.

Dung thanked the British Government for this decision and asked the UK to continue to support Vietnam in accessing vaccines and drugs for COVID-19 treatment, especially technology transfer for COVID-19 vaccine production.

The two sides noted that despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries have effectively promoted high-level exchanges, including Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s working trip to the UK from October 31 to November 3 where he also attended the 26th UN Conference on Climate Change.

They agreed to maintain these exchanges and contact in flexible forms, and at the same time to effectively implement bilateral cooperation mechanisms, including early organizing the coming strategic dialogue at the deputy foreign minister level.

Milling highly appreciated Vietnam’s strong commitment at COP26 and voiced the UK’s willingness to support Vietnam in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to clean energy.

Meanwhile, Dung affirmed that the Vietnamese Government is determined to fulfill its declared commitments by accelerating the implementation of measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with support from the international community.

The two sides consented to promote investment and trade cooperation by taking advantage of the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA), including attracting investment in potential fields of digital economy, green transformation, renewable energy development, green finance, and infrastructure development.

They also agreed to work closely at multilateral forums, especially at the United Nations.

Milling thanked Vietnam for supporting the UK in becoming a full dialogue partner of ASEAN, as well as in negotiations to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Exchanging views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, the two diplomats stressed the importance of respecting and maintaining peace, stability and security, as well as ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on The Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

VOV