Japan pledges to continue vaccine donations to Viet Nam

Japan will continue vaccine donations to Viet Nam to help the Southeast Asian country reach herd immunity, paving the way for economic recovery, said Japanese Lower House chief Oshima Tadamori.

Oshima made the above statement at online talks with Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on Monday.

Last week, the Northeast Asian country donated one million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Viet Nam. About 800,000 doses were transported to Ho Chi Minh City while the rest was delivered to the two northern provinces of Bac Giang and Bac Ninh.

Both Vuong and Oshima expressed their pleasure at the robust growth of the Viet Nam-Japan extensive strategic partnership through regular exchange of high-level visits and contacts, including Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide’s first foreign visit to Viet Nam after taking office and his online conversations with Vietnamese Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong, State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

Along with good political trust and relations, both sides have also maintained contacts at all levels and enhanced economic ties despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, contributing to economic recovery in each country.

Vuong reaffirmed Viet Nam’s support for Japan to promote its role on the global arena, thus making positive contributions to peace and development in the region and the world.

Both sides attached importance to the ASEAN centrality in addressing regional and international issues while underlining the importance of ensuring peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea, respecting the rule of law, and settling disputes through peaceful means in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The sides also spoke highly of ASEAN’s efforts to seek peaceful solutions to the Myanmar issue.