Hanoi (VNA) – Vaccine diplomacy is one of thestrategies Vietnam is pursuing to secure supply of foreign-made COVID-19vaccines as fast and many as possible to combat the pandemic, Deputy Ministerof Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu told reporters in a recent interview.

The complex COVID-19 crisis has hit every corner ofthe world, with its increasingly complex evolution in the Southeast Asia, and Vietnamis no exception.

The country has been internationally recognised forsuccessful response to the COVID-19 as it remains among 10 nations with thelowest count of infections and deaths despite being the world’s 15th most populous country, he said. But the days ahead remain challenging for Vietnamas the country has been hit hard by the larger fourth wave of coronavirus dueto the wide spread of the more contagious Delta strain.

“To fight the pandemic, vaccine access and vaccination are of great importance,” Vu said. Since the global outset of the COVID-19, the Party Central Committee’s Politburo and Secretariat and the Government have takencomprehensive measures to respond to the pandemic, including the adoption of avaccine strategy, he noted, adding that it comprises three key points –accessing external sources of vaccine supply, strengtheninginternational cooperation in vaccine production and technology transfer, and facilitating domestic vaccine development, in order to ensure safe andeffective mass inoculation.

The deputy FM held that vaccine diplomacy is a verycrucial part of the vaccine strategy as it is a not only urgent but alsolong-term solution to secure enough vaccines for Vietnamese people and to pavethe way for the recovery of economic activities, given that the global suppliesare limited and distribution remains unequal.

The vaccine strategy and “vaccine diplomacy” have beendrastically underway at all levels, especially high level. The PrimeMinister has engaged the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and relevant ministries and agencies as well as more than 90 Vietnamese missions overseas in the concerted effort, he continued. Noneof hundreds of high-level phone talks and meetings have gone without leaders of the Party and State discussing ways to step up vaccine cooperationand vaccine access with domestic and foreign partners.

The “vaccine diplomacy” has proved effective, Vu said, adding Vietnam has so far received 2.6 million vaccine doses via the COVAX globalvaccine-sharing facility. COVAX has also committed to prioritising Vietnam inthe next distribution, with 2 million doses of Modernavaccine supplied by the US to the Southeast Asian country to be delivered on July 10. China senthalf a million doses of its vaccines to Vietnam last month, while Japan vowed toprovide the country with 2 million doses, half of which arrived in Hanoi onJune 16 while 400,000 others were delivered to Ho Chi Minh City on July 2. The remainderwill be on the way next week.

He added that Russia has agreed to supply Vietnam amaximum of 20 million doses of Spunik V vaccine this year and transferred productiontechnologies to Vietnamese vaccine maker VABIOTECH since July. Vietnam is alsoamong the destinations of 80 million doses the United States has pledged toallocate worldwide via COVAX.

The Government and Prime Minister are urging for moredrastic and effective “vaccine diplomacy” in the coming time, the officialstated. Firstly, relevant ministries and agencies are requested to closelycoordinate with each other to follow up the commitments made by suppliers toproviding Vietnam with 150 million shots of vaccines, enough to inoculate 70percent of its population. Secondly, the country will continue campaigningbilateral partners and international organisations to secure more doses; andthirdly, it will further bolster partnership to promote vaccine technologytransfer and production for self-supply in the future./.