Vietnam has funded over US$50,000 to Myanmar to support the latter’s fight against novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), according to the official Vietnam Government Portal (VGP).

Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung symbolically handed over the fund to Myanmar Ambassador to Vietnam Kyaw Soe Win at a ceremony in Hanoi on Friday morning. 

Speaking at the event, Dung affirmed Vietnam and Myanmar are not only members of ASEAN, a socio-political bloc of ten countries in Southeast Asia, but also long-lasting friends.

Vietnam’s decision to provide the fund to Myanmar although it is also being hit hard by the pandemic demonstrates the close relationship and mutual support between the two countries as well as the solidarity of ASEAN members.

Dung said that with its role as Chair of ASEAN in 2020 and as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2020-21, Vietnam will maintain close coordination with Myanmar and other countries inside and outside of the region to together overcome the global pandemic.

For his part, Ambassador Kyaw Soe Win expressed thanks to the government and people of Vietnam for the fund, which he said is a great source of encouragement for his country to overcome the current difficult time.

He also spoke highly of Vietnam's outcomes in preventing and containing the epidemic as well as its active support for other countries.

On Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Deputy Minister To Anh Dung symbolically handed over 550,000 Vietnam-made face masks as gifts from the Vietnamese government and people to France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK.

Earlier, Vietnam also presented medical equipment, including specialized protective clothing, medical masks, testing systems and COVID-19 test kits, worth over VND7 billion ($300,000) as gifts to Laos and Cambodia on Friday last week.

In February, Vietnam sent breathing equipment, cleanroom suits, gloves and face masks worth $500,000 in total to China to help battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many agencies and organizations in Vietnam have also donated medical supplies to foreign countries in support of global anti-epidemic efforts.

Vietnam has so far confirmed 257 COVID-19 infection cases, of whom 144 have walked out of the hospital free of the virus. No death related to the disease has been reported in the country to date.

Meanwhile, Myanmar has confirmed 28 patients, with three deaths, as of Saturday afternoon, according to data pooled by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

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