Vietnam a success model in battling COVID-19: Canadian diplomats

Ambassador of Canada to Vietnam Deborah Paul (Photo courtesy of the Embassy of Canada in Vietnam)

Hanoi (VNA) – Ambassadors of Canada to Vietnam Deborah Paul and to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Diedrah Kell have praised Vietnam as a success model in containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an article, Ambassador of Canada to Vietnam Deborah Paul and Ambassador of Canada to ASEAN Diedrah Kell salute Vietnam’s efforts to reinforce the linkages between the United Nations and regional bodies such as ASEAN.

“Canada was proud to support Vietnam in its overwhelmingly successful bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council. We have a shared interest in promoting respect for international rule of law, strengthening multilateral organisations, and advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda,” the article read.

“As a long-standing ASEAN dialogue partner, Canada believes that we are stronger together and that Vietnam’s Chairmanship theme 'Cohesive and Responsive' is more relevant than ever in light of the pandemic.

“Through our development co-operation programme in Vietnam, we are working together with partners on shared priorities. These include clean energy and climate financing, skills development for co-operatives and small and medium enterprises, and working to ensure that the most vulnerable groups - and women and girls - are able to benefit from economic recovery so that no one is left behind.”

Thanks to its early and decisive action, and efforts of the whole society, Vietnam has become a model of success in combating the spread of the infection, keeping its people safe, and preparing for economic recovery, they underlined.

“One of the many areas where Canada and ASEAN have been working together is an initiative to mitigate biological threats to strengthen health security. Together we have strengthened capacities across the ASEAN region to prevent, detect and respond to emerging infectious disease outbreaks, including COVID-19,” the diplomats said.

Ambassador of Canada to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Diedrah Kell (Photo courtesy of the Embassy of Canada in Vietnam)

“This crisis is both the biggest test to our modern multilateral architecture and the most significant opportunity to demonstrate that only through organised global collaboration can we defeat this common threat and build back better.”

More broadly in response to the pandemic, Canada has announced a contribution of 850 million CAD (approximately 600 million USD) in support of global efforts to combat COVID-19 and another contribution of 600 million CAD for vaccine research through Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.

Further, Canada has not forgotten the ongoing global challenges. It has also contributed 47.5 million CAD to efforts to eradicate polio and 306 million CAD to assist UN agencies and civil society organisations in delivering humanitarian assistance to address the needs of the world’s most vulnerable.

The UN plans to hold elections in New York in June to fill the rotational seats on the UN Security Council for 2021–22.

Canada is vying for a seat and seeking to work together to sustain peace, address climate change, advance gender equality, and strengthen multilateralism, according to the ambassadors.

“Canada has also placed economic security at the centre of our Security Council platform. Indeed, for four years, Canada has pushed for more inclusive growth through the Group of Friends on innovative financing it co-founded with Jamaica,” they continued.

All this time, the country has been striving to bridge the gap between private sector investors and finance ministries around the world by leveraging the economic potential of developing nations.

The diplomats affirmed that Canada understands that peace requires economic opportunities both to prevent conflict and to maintain fragile truces.

They added that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made this one of the cornerstones of Canada’s presidency of the G7 in 2018. Now, in the face of this pandemic, Canada is redoubling efforts to address debt relief, supply chains and food security, they noted./.