Acting Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long (L) and Japanese Ambassador Yamada Takio sign the exchange note in Hanoi on September 7 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – An exchange note on anon-refundable aid for COVID-19 prevention and control was signed between theVietnamese and Japanese governments on September 7.
On the behalf of the two governments, ActingMinister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long and Japanese Ambassador Yamada Takiosigned the note.
The ODA grant is worth 2 billion JPY (18.8million USD) in total, including 1.8 billion JPY for the Vietnamese side andabout 200 million JPY for the agents designated by the Japanese Government. Itwill be disbursed in 18 months, from August 2020 to January 2022.
The assistance aims to provide technical supportin upgrading medical equipment at four hospitals of the Vietnamese Health Ministry,namely the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the National Lung Hospital,the Da Nang C Hospital, and the National Institute of Hematology and BloodTransfusion, thereby helping to improve their capacity in COVID-19 preventionand control.
Appreciating the grant, Acting Health MinisterLong expressed his hope that the equipment will be provided for the hospitalssoon, asking them to use the new facilities as efficiently as possible so as tocontinually improve the quality of health examination and treatment.
For his part, Ambassador Yamada Takio said the JapaneseGovernment highly values the Health Ministry of Vietnam’s role in successfullycontaining the novel coronavirus in the country although this pandemic is stillravaging around the globe.
He also noted when Japan faced a face maskshortage in spring, the Vietnamese Government supported it with over 1.2million masks, adding that the Japanese people appreciated the gift.
The grant for the four central hospitals ofVietnam is an initiative of the Japanese Foreign Minister that is meant tosupply medical equipment for other countries, including Vietnam, in the fastestmanner to promote their healthcare capacity, the diplomat added./.
VNA
