Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam stands ready to provide appropriate support for Venezuela following the devastating earthquake that struck the South American nation on June 24 evening, while closely monitoring the situation to ensure the safety of Vietnamese citizens there, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang said on June 25.
Speaking at the ministry’s regular press briefing in Hanoi, Hang said Party General Secretary and State President To Lam sent a message of sympathy to Acting President of Venezuela Delcy Eloina Rodriguez Gomez following the disaster, which caused significant human and material losses.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung, who recently paid an official visit to Venezuela, also conveyed his condolences directly to the Venezuelan side.
Based on the traditional friendship between the two countries, Vietnam is ready to provide appropriate forms of support for Venezuela, the spokesperson said.
She cited the Vietnamese Embassy in Venezuela as informing that Vietnamese citizens living, studying and working in the country remain safe. The embassy is maintaining close coordination with local authorities and monitoring developments to promptly implement citizen protection measures should any Vietnamese nationals be affected.
Vietnamese citizens requiring emergency assistance are advised to contact the embassy’s citizen protection hotline at +58 424 267 4447 or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ 24/7 citizen protection hotline at (+84) 981 84 84 84.
At the same press briefing, Hang also provided updates regarding a recent fire at the Sadovod trade centre in Moscow, Russia, which affected several Vietnamese-owned businesses.
According to the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia, embassy officials travelled to the scene immediately after the incident and worked with the trade centre’s management board to assess the situation and offer support to affected traders.
To date, Vietnamese business owners have been assisted to resume their commercial activities, she said.
Responding to a question about the June 16 hearing before France’s Court of Cassation concerning the lawsuit filed by Vietnamese-French citizen Tran To Nga against 14 US chemical companies over Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin, the spokesperson reiterated Vietnam’s longstanding position on the issue.
Although the war ended decades ago, its severe consequences continue to affect Vietnam and its people, including the long-lasting and serious impacts suffered by AO/dioxin victims, she said.
“Once again, we support the efforts by AO/dioxin victims to seek accountability from the chemical companies that produced and supplied AO/dioxin to the US during the war in Vietnam, and to require them to address the consequences caused by their actions,” Hang stated./.
VNA
