A batch of 501,600 COVID-19 vaccine doses donated by the Polish Government was handed over to Vietnam at a ceremony held at Warsaw Chopin on August 20. (Photo: VNA)

Present at the handover ceremony was Deputy Foreign Minister Paweł Jabłoński, Deputy Health Minister Anna Goławska and head of the Government Agency for Strategic Reserves Michał Kuczmierowski of Poland, and Vietnamese Ambassador to Poland Nguyen Hung.

The batch of the vaccine is set to arrive in Vietnam on August 21.

Addressing the event, the Polish officials stressed the importance of the traditional friendship and relationship between Poland and Vietnam, and highly appreciated the valuable assistance from the Vietnamese Government and people, including the Vietnamese community in Poland, in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak in the country.

The Government of Poland shares difficulties facing Vietnam and expects the assistance will help Vietnam will soon overcome the pandemic to promote economic recovery, they said.

Ambassador Nguyen Hung thanked the Polish Government and people for their valuable assistance, and expressed his belief that the two countries will win the fight against the pandemic together, and the 70-year traditional relationship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Poland will continue to grow.

On August 17, the Polish Government announced its decision to donate more than 501,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Vietnam, its willingness to transfer an additional 3 million doses of vaccines, along with a grant of essential medical equipment worth 4 million USD.

Vietnam is the first non-European country to which Poland provides the COVID-19 vaccine and medical equipment.

It is expected that a shipment of essential medical equipment for COVID-19 prevention and control will be transferred to Vietnam in early September./.

Source: VNA