US President Donald Trump has thanked “our friends in Vietnam” and two American companies for the delivery of 450,000 made-in-Vietnam protective suits to support the country’s anti-pandemic effort.

US President Trump at a White House press meeting on April 8. Photo: AFP

“This morning, 450,000 protective suits landed in Dallas, Texas. This was made possible because of the partnership of two great American companies—DuPont and FedEx—and our friends in Vietnam. Thank you!” Trump wrote in a tweet Thursday.

This is the first of two shipments bringing protective suits and medical equipment that Vietnam delivers to the US. The batch departed Hanoi on April 7 and arrived at the US Strategic National Stockpile on April 8.

“This shipment will help protect healthcare professionals working on the front lines against Covid-19 in the United States and demonstrates the strength of the US-Vietnam partnership,” US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink said in a statement.

The US embassy in Hanoi, and the Vietnamese government worked together to facilitate the logistics and approvals necessary to expedite the delivery of personal protective equipment to the US, the embassy said.

The US and Vietnamese governments have cooperated extensively in the Covid-19 fight. Since the beginning of this crisis, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have been collaborating with Vietnamese officials to monitor and respond to the evolving COVID-19 situation.  

A recently announced US$2.9 million in additional health assistance from USAID will help the Vietnamese government to accelerate laboratory systems; strengthen case-finding and event-based surveillance; and support technical experts for rapid response, risk communication, and infection prevention and control.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc said late last month that the US is considering importing several types of medical equipment from Vietnam to help fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. This would be a good opportunity for Vietnamese producers to penetrate and boost export to the US market as Vietnam is capable of producing good-quality medical supplies and equipment for domestic use and export.