Germany supports Vietnam with another 2.6 million vaccine doses

The vaccine donation originates from German stockpiles and follows an offer made by German Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel to Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, according to a press release by the Germany Embassy in Vietnam.

This is the second delivery of vaccines from Germany, following a batch of 852,480 AstraZeneca vaccine doses via the Covax initiative that arrived in Hanoi on September 16.

At a ceremony held Monday, German Ambassador to Vietnam, Dr. Guido Hildner, said: "This support is an expression of our solidarity with the people of Vietnam.

"Germany stands with Vietnam in fighting and overcoming the Covid-19 pandemic."

Germany has been the biggest vaccine donor among EU member nations to Vietnam.

Earlier, European nations including the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Poland, and the U.K. also supplied Covid vaccines to Vietnam.

Besides the vaccine donation, Germany and Vietnam are also cooperating in activities worth up to 104 million euros ($121.65 million) in the areas of technical and vocational training, pandemic prevention, social security and digitalization.

These include the establishment of a center for pandemic prevention together with the Vietnamese Ministry of Health and the creation of advisory services to combat illegal wildlife trade.

Vietnam and Germany celebrate the 10th anniversary of their Strategic Partnership this year.