The 31st meeting of the Intergovernmental Coordinating Committee for the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Centre was held via video conferencing on December 15.

Deputy Minister of Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen Nguyen Chi Vinh speaks at the meeting
(Photo: VNA)

The event was co-chaired by Deputy Minister of Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen Nguyen Chi Vinh and, on the Russian side, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education Aleksey Mikhailovich Medvedev, who are heads of the Vietnamese and Russian Sub-committees.

The two sides agreed that despite the adverse impact of COVID-19, the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Centre has fulfilled its tasks under the plan for this year and the scientific research programme for 2020-24 approved at the previous meeting of the Coordinating Committee.

Accordingly, the centre carried out 50 research projects, arranged 34 fact-finding trips, held symposiums, and published 126 articles on prestigious scientific magazines of the world and Russia.

Of note, a mobile lab vehicle provided by Russia has performed tests for nearly 200,000 soldiers and citizens at pandemic-hit areas in Vietnam.

At the meeting, delegates approved the scientific research plan for the centre in the next year.

They proposed that the centre increase technology transfer, promote the application of research outcomes into reality, and effectively implement sci-tech programmes.

The sides also agreed on the agenda of the 32nd meeting.