I. ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. The Vice President of Laos’ delegation will pay an official visit to Viet Nam

At the invitation of Vice President VoThi Anh Xuan, member of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, Vice President of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic Pany Yathotou will pay an official visit to Viet Nam from 25 to 27 April 2022.

Recently, relations between Viet Nam and Laos have maintained positive growth despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both sides have regularly maintained visits and exchanges at the high level and at all levels, continued to work closely in politics, diplomacy, defense, security, economy, trade, investment, transport, education and training, culture, locality cooperation, and mutual support and assistance in COVID-19 prevention and control.

Vice President Pany Yathotou is expected to meet with Vietnamese high-level leaders and former leaders, and hold talks with Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan to exchange measures to further strengthen relations between the two countries, among other activities.

2. Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son will lead the delegation on a visit to Laos

At the invitation of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Laos Saleumxay Kommasith, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son will pay an official visit to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and co-chair the 9th Viet Nam - Laos Ministerial Political Consultation from 27 to 29 April 2022.

The trip takes place as the cooperation between the Foreign Ministries of Viet Nam and Laos has been effectively and substantively strengthened. Relevant agencies of both Ministries have continued consulting, exchanging information and coordinating positions on international and regional issues at multilateral forums.

As part of the trip, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son is expected to pay a courtesy call on some high-level leaders of Laos, and co-chair the 9th Viet Nam - Laos Political Consultation with the Foreign Minister of Laos.

3. 9^th Viet Nam - Vatican Joint Working Group

Implementing the agreement achieved at the 8th Viet Nam - Vatican Joint Working Group in August 2019, Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc and Undersecretary for the Relations with States at The Holy See MiroslawWachowski will co-chair the 9th Viet Nam - Vatican Joint Working Group on 22 April 2022 in Hanoi to discuss issues related to Viet Nam - Vatican ties.

During his stay in Viet Nam, Undersecretary Miroslaw Wachowski is expected to meet with leaders of Viet Nam and leaders of relevant agencies.

II. Q&A

1. Central News Agency: Despite travelers arriving in Chinese Taipei from Viet Nam having negative PCR tests within two days of boarding, the number of people receiving positive test results following their entry remains comparatively high. Thus, Chinese Taipei has recently requested all visitors traveling from Viet Nam to present a negative anti-gen rapid test result within 6 hours prior to boarding, in addition to the usual PCR test result within 2 days of boarding. What is Viet Nam’s view on the cause of the high infection rate among travelers from Viet Nam to Chinese Taipei? Chinese Taipei’s request for an additional anti-gen rapid test result for travelers from Viet Nam to Chinese Taipei means that Chinese Taipei is tightening its travel restrictions for Viet Nam. Will Viet Nam discuss this with Chinese Taipei to provide favorable conditions for visitors to travel to Chinese Taipei?

At the outset, I wish to reiterate that Viet Nam’s efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, including the acceleration of vaccination coverage for its people, have yielded encouraging results. The number of infected, severe and hospitalized cases has been drastically reduced in recent days. The Government has also implemented its “new normal” policies, promoting safe adaptation and re-opening to international tourists. In addition, Viet Nam still have strict measures in place to prevent and contain the pandemic.

Given its guideline of facilitating the entry of foreigners in the new normal, recently, Vietnamese competent authorities have issued several new regulations and guidelines on COVID-19 prevention measures for entrants into Viet Nam. Accordingly, entrants are not required to stay under medical isolation, including those from Chinese Taipei.

We also hope that other countries and territories will implement similar regulations and guidelines, and simplify entry procedures for entrants from Viet Nam, so as to foster economic recovery and development, and step up post-pandemic cultural exchanges.

2. Central News Agency: What is Viet Nam’s comment on the security agreement between China and the Solomon islands?

We believe that all security and defense cooperation between countries need to abide by international law, particularly the United Nations Charter, international conventions that they are a party of, contributing to the maintenance of peace, stability, security, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

3. TTXVN: What is Viet Nam’s comment on some of the intermodal railway routes transporting import and export goods between Viet Nam and China (the Anhui - Hanoi route, and the Chengdu - Hanoi route) officially going into operation?

We’ve been informed that on 15 and 16 April, some intermodal railway routes transporting import and export goods between some Chinese localities such as Sichuan, Anhui and Viet Nam have officially gone into operation. We believe that the intermodal railway is a safe, effective route of transport with numerous advantages regarding timing and pricing. It will contribute to strengthening transportation connectivity between the two countries, as well as connectivity with other markets. Railway connectivity is in line with the two countries’ cooperation in promoting connectivity as part of the “Two Corridors, One Belt” and “Belt and Road” initiatives.

It bears mentioning that Viet Nam and China are each other’s important trading partners. In 2021, total bilateral trade turnover amounted to 165.9 billion USD, a 24.6% year-on-year increase. In the first quarter of 2022, bilateral import and export turnover amounted to 40.8 billion USD, a 10.6% year-on-year increase. Viet Nam stands ready to work with China to strengthen bilateral trade ties in a stable, balanced, sustainable manner, bringing about substantive benefits for both sides.

4. Channel News Asia: Channel News Asia: According to information from the press agencies of Russia’s Eastern Military District, Russia and Viet Nam will conduct a joint military exercise to enhance the capacity of command and advisory in organizing combat training activities. Please verify this information. What is Viet Nam’s view on this activity?

Viet Nam's consistent policy is that Viet Nam's defense cooperation activities with other countries, including exchanges and joint exercises for tournament and competitions, are aimed at enhancing friendship and cooperation, solidarity, mutual trust and understanding, for peace, cooperation and development in the region and in the world.

5. Vietnamnet: Can you provide more information on the progress of the reception of vaccines for children?

Implementing the policy to vaccinate children aged 5 to 11 to ensure full vaccine coverage among the people, recently, under the directive of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs worked closely with the Ministry of Health to actively negotiate with the COVAX Facility, partners and vaccine manufacturers to expedite the supply of vaccine for children.

To our knowledge, the government of Australia has pledged to provide Viet Nam with 12.8 million vaccine doses (of which 4.6 million doses are Moderna), the Netherlands pledged 2 million Moderna doses and France pledged 2 million Pfizer doses (which are expected to arrive in Viet Nam in April 2022). Currently the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to actively cooperate with the Ministry of Health to discuss with international organizations and partners to ensure sufficient vaccine supply for children, contributing to completing the children’s vaccination plan in the second quarter of 2022 in accordance with the directives of the Prime Minister.

We also share parents’ wish for children to be able to safely attend school.

6. Zing News: On 16 April, the White House Press Secretary announced that the ASEAN - US Special Summit will convene in Washington from 12 to 13 May. Can you verify this information, and will Vietnamese leaders pay an official visit to the US on this occasion?

The ASEAN - US Special Summit commemorating the 45th anniversary of ASEAN - US relations will be convened on 12 and 13 May 2022 in Washington, D.C.

At the invitation of US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will lead the Vietnamese delegation attending the ASEAN - US Special Summit, and work with the United Nations during the working visit to the US.

It can be said that 27 years after establishing diplomatic relations, the Viet Nam - US ties have witnessed significant progress on the basis of mutual interest and respect for each other’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political systems.

On this basis, we stand ready to cooperate with President Joe Biden’s administration to strengthen and deepen bilateral ties in an effective and sustainable manner, for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

7. Zing News: In addition to evacuating Vietnamese nationals in Ukraine, what other measures has Viet Nam implemented to safeguard their possessions?

The Party and State of Viet Nam pay particular attention and priority to citizen protection, safeguarding their lives, properties, and the lawful and legitimate interests of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities in Ukraine and relevant areas.

With this in mind, since tensions began in Ukraine, in addition to implementing measures to protect citizens and evacuate them, the Embassy of Viet Nam in Ukraine, under the directive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has maintained regular contact with competent authorities, requesting the implementation of necessary measures to safeguard the properties of Vietnamese nationals and businesses in Ukraine, cooperate with Vietnamese associations to send people to guard properties of Vietnamese nationals in areas with large Vietnamese populations against those who would take advantage of the situation to commit theft, in order to minimize losses for them.

8. VnExpress: Some foreign newspapers have published articles on foreign interns, including Vietnamese interns, encountering difficulties during their pregnancies while in Japan. What is Viet Nam’s comment on this matter, and what citizen protection measures have been implemented to ensure the interests of Vietnamese laborers?

Facilitating Vietnamese laborers’ overseas employment is a policy of the Vietnamese government to create employment, income, and increase workmanship and language skills for Vietnamese laborers.

The Government also pays particular attention to ensuring the legitimate rights and interests of Vietnamese nationals overseas. In this spirit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has paid particular attention to this matter and directed Vietnamese diplomatic missions to maintain regular contact with the Vietnamese community in the host country, competent authorities, and companies managing and utilizing Vietnamese laborers, to grasp the situation and cooperate in handling cases where Vietnamese citizens are encountering difficulties.

Regarding the specific case you’ve mentioned, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has directed the Embassy of Viet Nam in Japan, while the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs directed the Labor Relations Commission in Japan to verify and clarify the information, work with local competent authorities to implement necessary measures to ensure the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Vietnamese citizens.

9. Channel News Asia: What is Viet Nam’s reaction to the Ambassador of the US to Viet Nam’s statement that he hopes the US will upgrade relations with Viet Nam to a strategic partnership at the earliest? Could the two countries’ relations be upgraded during the upcoming US visit by high-level Vietnamese leaders?

As I have mentioned in a previous answer, the Viet Nam - US Comprehensive Partnership has witnessed positive growth and on that basis, Viet Nam stands ready to cooperate with President Joe Biden’s administration to strengthen and deepen bilateral ties in an effective and sustainable manner, for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world, for the interest of both countries and peoples. 

Viet Nam is currently making active preparations for Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's attendance of the ASEAN - US Special Summit, and meeting with the UN during his working visit to the US.

10. Phoenix TV: Regarding the ASEAN - US Special Summit, has Myanmar received an invitation and if so, which representative of Myanmar will be attending?

Preparations for the ASEAN - US Special Summit are unfolding in accordance with ASEAN’s procedures. At present, relevant parties are actively finalizing preparations for this important event. Both ASEAN and the US are looking forward to successfully organizing this Special Summit.