Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh proposed four main measures to fight the COVID-19 pandemic while addressing the Ministerial Video-Conference of the Alliance for Multilateralism on COVID-19 on April 16.

The first measure, Minh suggested, is to strengthen international solidarity and multilateral cooperation with the United Nations and the World Health Organisation (WHO) playing the central role, and improve the WHO’s operation efficiency to support developing countries.

Vietnam, within its capacity, will contribute to the joint efforts and is willing to provide “Made-in-Vietnam” medical equipment for others, he affirmed.

Secondly, it is important to share information, experience and research achievements, to ensure everyone have access to vaccines and medicine.

Thirdly, Minh called for stopping activities that affect disease response efforts, especially power politics and unilateral actions contrary to international law.

Vietnam supports the UN Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire and his appeal to waive sanctions that can undermine countries’ capacity to respond to the pandemic, he added.

The fourth measure the Vietnamese official proposed is to build post-COVID-19 development plans which include coordinated policies and measures to stimulate the economy, trade and investment, stabilise the financial market, and restore the confidence of businesses and people.

He also shared Vietnam’s active and prompt response efforts with people’s life and health given the top priority.

With high political determination and social unity, Vietnam has synchronously implemented such measures as compulsory quarantine, tracing people in contact with infected patients, and applying extensive testing and effective treatment methods. Therefore, Vietnam has to date basically controlled the disease with below 300 infections and no fatalities, Minh added.

The Ministerial Video-Conference attracted the participation of Foreign Ministers from 26 European, Asian-Pacific, Latin American and African countries, seeking ways to promote international solidarity to overcome the pandemic and discussing measures to strengthen multilateral mechanisms, espcially the WHO, to help them well fulfil their missions.

The Alliance for Multilateralism was created by Germany and France in April 2019. Vietnam has yet to enter the organisation./