WASHINGTON—The Embassy of Vietnam in the United States presented 10,000 face masks to the state of Maryland at a ceremony held on August 7. At the handover ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to the U.S. Ha Kim Ngoc voiced his hope that the face masks will contribute to containing the spread of COVID-19 in Maryland.
He added that the assistance demonstrates the friendship, cooperation, and mutual support between the governments and people of Vietnam and the U.S., including joint efforts in battling the ravaging pandemic.
The diplomat also spoke highly of the U.S. government’s support for Vietnam in terms of health care, information-sharing, and disease research, and especially the donation of 100 ventilators for treatment of COVID-19 patients in the Southeast Asian nation.
For his part, Secretary of State of Maryland John Wobensmith said the aid is the result of cooperation activities between the localities within the two countries.
Maryland established a relationship with Vietnam’s southern province of Ninh Thuan in 2011. The two sides inked a memorandum of understanding on trade, education, and cultural cooperation.
On the occasion, Ngoc and Wobensmith discussed orientations to bolster the bilateral cooperation in the coming time, including trade and investment activities, with the aim of promoting Maryland’s strengths in marine mechanics, shipbuilding, high technology, and education, among others.
Ngoc also asked Maryland authorities to continue creating optimal conditions for the Vietnamese community of about 30,000 people who are living and studying in the state.
The two sides also thanked Ecom Net, a Vietnamese company that donated the face masks and is planning to build a factory producing protective products for the U.S. market.
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