Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a meeting on November 30 to review the outcomes of past efforts in vaccine diplomacy and draw lessons to continue such efforts in the new era.

He told the gathering that, more than year ago, the government issued Resolution No. 128/NQ-CP on the safe, flexible adaptation to and effective control over Covid-19, with a focus on vaccination strategies. It proved effective and timely, he said, with the economy growing strongly from negative growth in the third quarter of 2021 and the country successfully controlling the pandemic.

Earlier, the government launched a vaccine strategy with three elements: setting up a Covid-19 vaccine fund, conducting vaccine diplomacy, and establishing a government working group on vaccine diplomacy with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the core.

“Despite the difficulties, we managed to have enough sources of vaccine for pandemic prevention and control,” he said.

As of September, Vietnam had received more than 258 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, including nearly 120 million doses donated from foreign countries and partners.

Highlighting the important role of diplomacy in the country’s socio-economic development, the government leader said valuable lessons from vaccine diplomacy will be applied to economic diplomacy for rapid recovery and sustainable development.