Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu has pledged an aid package worth at least JPY200 million (US$1.84 million) for Vietnam in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (Photo: VGP)

In a telephone exchange on March 31 with his Japanese counterpart to discuss cooperation amid the complicated evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh highly appreciated the support of the Japanese government and people for Vietnam in the disease prevention, and asked the Japanese government to continue supporting the Vietnamese community in Japan in this difficult pandemic circumstance.

As ASEAN chair in 2020, Vietnam is actively coordinating with member countries to promote ASEAN's joint efforts and cooperation with partners to prevent and combat the pandemic.

For his part, Toshimistu highly spoke of the drastic measures implemented by Vietnam to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. He thanked the Vietnamese government for its efforts to ensure the safety of some 20,000 Japanese living and working in Vietnam.

Toshimistu affirmed that the Japanese government will make every effort to do the same for Vietnamese citizens in Japan.

The two sides agreed on the importance of international cooperation in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in fields such as sharing information and experience in vaccine production, medical equipment and citizen protection.

The Japanese side affirmed to actively partner with Vietnam to promote the joint work in the fight against the pandemic within the ASEAN cooperation framework.