Vietnam to contribute 5 million USD worth of medical supplies to ASEAN medical reserve: Spokeswoman

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will announce a list of medical supplies worth 5 million USD that Vietnam contributes to the ASEAN Regional Reserve of Medical Supplies (RRMS) when he attends the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits, Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang has said.

During the ministry’s regular press conference that was held virtually on October 21, Hang affirmed that COVID-19 response will be one of the major topics tabled for discussions at the 38th and 39th ASEAN Summits from October 26-28.

Accordingly, 10.5 million USD from the ASEAN’s COVID-19 response fund will be used to buy vaccines for regional member states, with a goal to have the first batch delivered in the fourth quarter of this year or the first quarter of next year. Countries will also continue urging contributions to the fund and the RRMS.

Towards recovery efforts, the spokeswoman said ASEAN will continue discussing measures to effectively carry out the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework and implementation plan.

Leaders are also due to adopt the ASEAN Travel Corridor Arrangement Framework, and look into the possibility of forming regional travel facilitation agreements, and of mutual recognition and application of electronic vaccination certificates, she said.