Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Ann Mawe has thanked the Vietnamese government for a donation of 100,000 antibacterial cloth face masks, affirming the time-tested bilateral relationship when her country is struggling to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam To Anh Dung and Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Ann Mawe at the handover ceremony in Hanoi, March 17, 2020. Photo: Tuan Anh/The gioi va Viet Nam

She reminded that when Vietnam needed it the most, during the Vietnam War and in the post-war reconstruction process, Sweden helped to train and build capacity of Vietnamese doctors and public health experts. “Sweden was a reliable friend and trusted partner.”

“Today Sweden is in need. More than 1,300 people have died from Covid-19 until today and we have in total more than 12,000 cases in Sweden. Our hospitals are working around the clock and there is an acute need for medical safety equipment in the capital of Stockholm.

I am touched, and also honored, to say that when Sweden now is suffering and in need, Vietnam is a reliable friend and trusted partner,” the ambassador said at a symbolic handover ceremony in Hanoi on Friday, with Vietnam being represented by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam To Anh Dung.

“A relationship goes both way; “A friend in need is a friend indeed,” she stressed, echoing her predecessor’s idea at a ceremony to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam-Sweden relations in January 2019.

She stressed that the gift is a proof of that relationship which has been tested in more than five decades. “And we also hope to be able to purchase some of the medical safety equipment that is needed in Sweden from Vietnam.”

“When this is over, we will continue to build our partnership, including through cooperation in the areas of innovation and sustainability, through the implementation of the EVFTA and through our joint support for multilateral solutions – something that both Sweden and Vietnam believe in,” said the ambassador.