Hanoi,(VNA) – President Nguyen Xuan Phuc delivered a speech at theGlobal COVID-19 Summit hosted by US President Joe Biden in New York onSeptember 22 (local time). The following is the full text of the President’sremarks.

“Ladies and gentlemen,
I wish to thank President Joe Biden for theinitiative to convene this important Summit on Ending the Pandemic and BuildingBack Better. Particularly, it took place at a time when the pandemic isclaiming the lives and damaging the livelihood of the people, taking awaydecades of accomplishments accumulated by many countries, including ASEANmembers, and resulting in several socio-economic crises across various regions.

I concur with the major directions and concretegoals initiated by President Biden at this Summit.

Facing such adversary, I believe that it is ourtop priority to protect the life and well-being of the people. To this end, weneed to take bolder action in ensuring early detection, fast contact tracing,timely quarantine and effective treatment. It is also necessary to improvetesting capacity, gain sufficient access to oxygen, ventilators andmedications, and especially provide large-scale vaccination.

As such, we need to step up global cooperation,make further investment in bolstering the resilience of our healthcare systems,and improve industries specialized in producing medical equipment andpharmaceuticals, especially in developing countries. I welcome theestablishment of a Global Health Security Fund, for it would help mobilizesufficient resources for these endeavors.

I believe that expanded vaccination programs,combined with the use of effective medications, is key to contain the pandemic,protect the life of the people, and foster economic recovery and development.

We need to step up vaccine R&D capacity,including through the establishment of vaccine production hubs and networks inthe region. This can be achieved through working closely in producing vaccinesand transferring technology to developing countries, thereby removing barriersthat hinder vaccine supplies. Viet Nam stands ready to join in these efforts.

Given the rapid transmission of COVID-19,particularly its new variants, we need to ensure greater access to vaccines,especially for developing countries. I highly appreciate the role of COVAX, andthe donation of vaccines to Viet Nam by many countries. I do hope that COVAXand vaccine manufacturing countries will supply more vaccines to developingcountries, with a view to vaccinating at minimum 70% of their population at theearliest, ideally before the UNGA’s session next year.

On its part, Viet Nam is implementing itsnationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign. To promote equal access to vaccines,we also donated 500,000 USD to the COVAX Facility. Viet Nam will continue tocontribute to COVAX in the future.

At the regional level, Viet Nam and fellow ASEANcountries have established the COVID-19 ASEAN Response Fund in 2020. Recently,ASEAN has decided to use 10.5 million USD from this Fund to purchase vaccinesfor its members.

Ladies and gentlemen,
The COVID-19 pandemic poses a major challenge inthe history of mankind. It requires concerted efforts and close cooperation ona global scale. I am confident that, together, we can overcome the COVID-19pandemic, protect the life of the people, and build back better.”/.