JOIN USCoronavirus: Vietnam to send medical equipment, protective gear to India
Vietnam, which sent 450,000 units of protective gear to the United States recently, has now offered to provide more medical supplies to India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke to his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc over the phone to discuss the coronavirus outbreak and the ways to step up bilateral cooperation, not only in containing the pandemic, but also in other areas, including in the energy sector.
The two leaders agreed “on the potential for bilateral collaboration in fighting the COVID-19, including facilitating supplies of medical equipment”. They also pledged to provide necessary support to citizens from India and Vietnam stranded in their territories, according to a press-release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office in New Delhi.
Phuc told Modi that Vietnam would stand ready to cooperate with and provide assistance to India in the fight against the COVID-19, within its capacity.
India has already placed order with a South Korean company with manufacturing ties in Vietnam and Turkey for 20 lakh units of protective gear for healthcare professionals dealing with COVID-19 patients.
Phuc promised Modi that Vietnam would be ready to provide more assistance to India, if required.
Modi has been regularly speaking to the leaders of other foreign nations over the past few weeks and discussing the pandemic and ways to deal with the social and economic crisis caused by the curbs on travel and transport due to the lockdown enforced to contain the pandemic.
His phone call with the Prime Minister of Vietnam on Monday has additional significance though.
Vietnam has been embroiled in a territorial conflict with China over South China Sea. Tension escalated between the two nations recently after a Chinese Coast Guard and a fishing vessel of Vietnam collided near the disputed Paracel Islands on April 2. The Government of Vietnam claimed that the fishing vessel had sunk after the Chinese Coast Guard ship had rammed it.
A press-release issued in New Delhi after Modi and Phuc spoke over phone stated that the two leaders had reviewed regional and international developments.
They stressed the importance of strategic partnership between India and Vietnam and expressed satisfaction at the recent progress on various fronts, the release said.