MoFA SpokeswomanLe Thi Thu Hang made the remark on March 1 in response to reporters’question about Vietnam’s reaction to the tensions in Ukraine and moves toprotect its citizens there.
She notedthat Vietnam has paid close attention to and kept a close watch on the developmentsin Ukraine, as well as the situation of Vietnamese people in this country. Thereare about 7,000 Vietnamese people in Ukraine at present, and they have not suffered from any damage.
Prioritising theultimate safety of the lives, property, and legal and legitimate interests of Vietnamesecitizens and legal entities in Ukraine, since tense developments began, theMoFA has promptly moved to protect citizens.
The ministry has directed theVietnamese Embassy in Ukraine to keep frequent contact with the Vietnamesecommunity there, operate hotlines around the clock soas to receive information and provide timely support, ask the host country’s authorisedagencies to assist and ensure safety for Vietnamese citizens and businesses,and coordinate with agencies in Vietnam to have citizen protection plans ready,according to Hang.
She added the MoFA andthe embassy have also issued recommendations and safety guidance for the overseas Vietnamese. The State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs set up a communicationchannel with Vietnamese associations in Ukraine to stay updated on their situation and give them safetyguidance while requesting associations in nearby countries to prepare forhelping Vietnamese people in Ukraine.
Vietnam’s representative agencies in Poland,Russia, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia have been ordered to keep the citizenprotection hotlines available; liaise with the host countries’ agencies toupdate information about the Vietnamese coming from Ukraine; ask for thefacilitation of Vietnamese people’s entry, transit, and temporary stay; provide evacuated Vietnamese with essential goods; and coordinate with Vietnameseassociations to aid the evacuation.
The MoFAhas also asked authorities of the relevant parties to create a “safe corridor”for Vietnamese people to evacuate, the spokeswoman went on, saying that Vietnamhas called on agencies of the United Nations and the host countries to helpprovide the conditions necessary for citizen safety and evacuation.
As of March 1 noon,about 200 Vietnamese were helped to move out of war zones. The Vietnamese Embassyin Ukraine is continuing to gather the citizens’ needs in order to carry outappropriate plans, Hang added./.