Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc (upper, left) and other diplomats at the teleconference of the ASEAN Committee in Washington DC (Photo: VNA) Washington DC (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador to theUS Ha Kim Ngoc and diplomats of other ASEAN countries recently took part in thefirst teleconference of the ASEAN Committee in Washington DC (ACW).
At this session, chaired by Cambodian Ambassadorand head of the ACW Chum Sounry, the ASEAN ambassadors and chargé d’affairesdiscussed the outcomes of the special ASEAN and ASEAN+3 summits on COVID-19 onApril 14 and the special ASEAN-US foreign ministers’ meeting on the issue onApril 23.
They thanked and congratulated Vietnam on itstimely response, proactiveness and flexibility as the ASEAN Chair amidst theCOVID-19 pandemic’s complex developments which have affected multiple aspects,including external activities.
The diplomats also highly valued Vietnam’sinitiative to promote cooperation within ASEAN as well as between the bloc andpartners, including the US, in coping with the pandemic.
Looking into the pandemic’s economic impact onthe Southeast Asian region, they shared the view on an economic growthslowdown, stressing the importance of maintaining the connectivity in supplychains of food, medicine and medical supplies.
They also underlined the need for ASEAN to keepenhancing ties in the disease prevention and control, vaccine and medicationdevelopment, and post-pandemic economic recovery, thereby helping to intensifythe ASEAN-US strategic partnership.
At the meeting, Ambassador Ngoc updatedparticipants about the initial encouraging outcomes of the VietnameseGovernment’s anti-COVID-19 measures, noting that the test kits produced byVietnam have been recognised by the World Health Organisation and Europeancountries.
The diplomats highly valued Vietnam’s efforts toconcurrently fight the pandemic in the country and assist other ASEAN nationswith medical supplies. They also called on Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand toshare the research outcomes on the vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, the virus thatcauses the disease.
The Philippine ambassador appreciated Vietnam’scontinuation of rice export and hoped that the country will maintain theactivity to help ensure food security.
Participants also asked countries to issuenotifications before applying new policies that may affect other members of theassociation./.
VNA
