Vietnam attends meeting of ACC working group on public health emergencies
Hanoi (VNA) – The
seventh online meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Council Working Group on
Public Health Emergencies (ACCWG-PHE) was held on September 27.
Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc
Dung, head of the ASEAN SOM Vietnam, led a Vietnamese delegation to the event.
Speaking at the event, Dung hailed
the progress of implementing ASEAN initiatives on coping with COVID-19. He suggested the
bloc step up vaccine purchase for its member states and encourage the sharing
of vaccines on a voluntary basis to help countries in demand.
He also proposed regional states
make further contributions to the ASEAN COVID-19 response fund and ASEAN
reserve of medical supplies.
Vietnam is completing internal procedures
to announce a list of contributions to the regional reserve of medical supplies
and working actively with member states to soon put the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED) into effective operation, Dung said.
Speaking highly of
achievements in the
implementation of the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework, he suggested the
grouping continue focusing on promoting economic recovery and mitigating the negative impacts of the pandemic on residents in the region.
Participants agreed that ASEAN will evenly
distribute about 100,000 – 250,000 doses of vaccine to each nation depending on
types of vaccine, striving to deliver the first batch of vaccine in the fourth
quarter this year and continue with it in the first quarter of 2022.
They also recommended ASEAN leaders
adopt the ASEAN Travel Corridor Arrangement Framework (ATCAF) and continue discussing
the possibility of adopting “vaccine passport”./.