Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (C) speaks at the ASEAN+3 Summit on COVID-19 (Photo: VNA)
Singapore (VNA) - As ASEAN Chair in 2020,Vietnam has played an active role in leading joint efforts between regional countriesto cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Hoang Thi Ha from the Instituteof Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.
In an interview given to the Vietnam News Agency’s Singapore-based correspondent,she highlighted the Special ASEAN and ASEAN+3 Summitson COVID-19 Vietnam hosted on April 14, saying they sent a strong message on theimportance of sharing information and coordinating action and cooperation regionallyin the fight against the virus.
Apart from the top priority of health cooperation, economic priorities arealso mentioned clearly at both events.
The decision made at the ASEAN Summit to ensure supply chain connectivity, especiallyfor essential commodities, is particularly important. It is the highest expressionof the motto “Think Community and Act Community” that Vietnam is actively promoting in ASEAN, Ha added.
The COVID-19 pandemic, she went on,poses the greatest challenge to Vietnam’s tenure as ASEAN Chair because it causes not only a healthcrisis but also impacts severely on economies and strains regional and global connections.
Vietnam has actively promoted intra-blocsolidarity and proactively proposed specific initiatives to strengthen cooperationin controlling the pandemic.
It issued an ASEAN Chair declarationproposing the coordination of action between ASEAN member nations through the timelysharing of epidemiological information, the provision of consular support for ASEANcitizens, and medical quarantining at border gates.
Ha said with the participation of defencechannels from the outset, Vietnam’s initiative of introducing online drills on diseaseprevention for ASEAN countries’ military medical personnel will soon come intobeing.
Vietnam has also promoted the role ofthe ASEAN CoordinatingCouncil (ACC) through face-to-face and online meetings, and establisheda group of senior ASEAN officials from different sectors to enhance multi-sectoralcoordination among member nations in tackling COVID-19, she added.
The ACC and the group will play an importantrole in ensuring the implementation of the decisions made at the Special ASEAN Summiton April 14 on regional cooperation in preventing the spread of the disease.
Vietnam is fully aware of the importanceof maintaining and promoting international cooperation through ASEAN channels, especiallywith dialogue countries and within ASEAN 3. This is significant for informationexchange relating to the research, production, and supply of medicines and COVID-19vaccines.
According to Ha, in the context of countries inside and outside ASEANclosing their borders due to the pandemic, continuing international cooperationis of long-term economic and geopolitical importance, contributing to minimisingdisruptions in the supply chain, restoring post-outbreak international trade and investment quickly, and maintaining an open and inclusive regional structure.
Vietnam’s efforts in the fight againstCOVID-19 have been truly impressive, she believes, winning the confidence of localpeople and the appreciation of the international community.
Another highlight is that Vietnam hasmobilised its entire political system to combat the disease, with substantial supportcoming from the people.
𒁃 Despite its limited resources, Vietnam’sdisease prevention policy is considered quite friendly on the poor and foreigners,she said, adding that this contributes to improving the country’s reputationin the international arena./.
