A woman sells fruits on HCMC's tourist hotspot Bui Vien Street,
which has become more vacant as Vietnam shut doors to foreign
arrivals, May 16, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Nguyen.
 

Australia has pledged AUD10.5 million ($7.3 million) to support Vietnam's recovery post Covid-19, particularly on protecting vulnerable sections of the society. 

At a Friday meeting between Australian ambassador Robyn Mudie and Vietnam’s Planning and Investment Minister Nguyen Chi Dung, agreement was reached on bilateral efforts to minimize the impacts of the coronavirus crisis on people's livelihoods.

Mudie praised Vietnam’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"I have been impressed and inspired by the swift and decisive actions taken by the Vietnamese government to tackle the threat of Covid-19. With just a few hundred confirmed cases and no recorded deaths, Vietnam’s management of the pandemic has been exemplary, deservedly capturing the world’s attention," she said.

She said Australia has committed AUD10.5 million towards supporting Vietnam’s Covid-19 response and recovery in a step that further strengthens economic and development cooperation between the two countries.

Australia would support Vietnam by ensuring access to the best available economic analysis as the country shifts its focus toward stimulus and recovery and facilitate efforts to protect the most vulnerable, especially women and girls who carry much of the burden as a result of the pandemic, Mudie said.

She also said that the flagship programs through which Australia and Vietnam cooperate on workforce development, economic reform, infrastructure, gender equality, agriculture, tourism and innovation support Vietnam’s economic recovery priorities.

Australia is one of the successful countries in handling the Covid-19 pandemic and bringing it under control. It has recorded over 7,200 infections and 102 deaths. Australia is among countries showing effective pandemic control that Vietnam is considering reopening its doors to.

Other countries that have helped Vietnam deal with the Covid-19 crisis include the U.S., which has provided a $9.5 million support package - $4.5-million in medical assistance and the rest to help mitigate Covid-19 impacts on the Vietnamese economy.

Japan has donated biologicals worth 20 million yen ($184,600) to Vietnam in February and March and offered aid worth at least 200 million yen ($1.84 million) via international organizations to support Vietnam’s Covid-19 fight.

Saturday morning marked day 51 that Vietnam has gone without community transmission of the novel coronavirus. Vietnam has reported 329 infection cases so far, with the latest being a 22-year-old student returning from the U.K. on a repatriation flight.

Vietnam’s Covid-19 active cases stand at 22, 307 patients having recovered.

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected 213 countries and territories, with more than 397,400 deaths reported.