The handover ceremony in Hanoi on April 21 (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Minister of Information andCommunications Nguyen Manh Hung, who also chairs the Vietnam-India FriendshipAssociation, presented 100,000 antibacterial cloth masks to Indian AmbassadorPranay Verma on April 21 to assist the South Asian nation in the fight againstCOVID-19.
Hung said the two countries boast a long-standingfriendship and now, their relations in all aspects, from economy, trade,investment to security, defence, science, technique, culture and education,have been developing strongly.
The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the biggest challenges thehumankind has faced over the last 100 years, he said, noting that Vietnam andIndia can share many practical experiences and valuable lessons to jointlydefeat this outbreak.
The official added with the wish to help India prevent thedisease, the Vietnam-India Friendship Association has called on businesses inthe information and communications sector to donate 100,000 antibacterial clothmasks to the Indian people.
The small gifts demonstrate the Vietnamese people’s solidarityand friendship with their Indian peers, he noted.
Offering thanks to the Vietnam-India Friendship Association,Ambassador Verma said the face masks will be distributed widely to the Indianpeople.
He also said the Vietnamese and Indian Prime Ministers heldphone talks on April 13 during which they agreed that their agencies would keepin touch in the time ahead to coordinate the countries’ response measuresagainst the pandemic and boost cooperation in other spheres of bilateral ties.
In an earlier meeting with Ambassador Verma, Minister Hungtouched upon the big changes in social activities amid the COVID-19 outbreaksuch as working from home, online learning, e-payment, and online health checkup.
Vietnam plans to put the 5G network and devices intooperation this October. Meanwhile, India is known as a software workshop of theworld. Therefore, he said he hopes IT businesses of the two countries willenhance collaboration in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and dealing withglobal issues like cyber security.
Verma also shared his views on current technological issueslike 5G technology, e-Government building and IT manpower training which, hebelieves, Vietnam and India have their own advantages in, and can worktogether for common development./.
VNA
