Seoul (VNA) – Vietnam received eight used ambulances and medical supplies donated bypartners of the Republic of Korea (RoK) in a ceremony held in Yongincity on December 28.

The ceremony wasorganised by the fire police department of North Gyeongsang province andthe International Fire Suppression Alliance (IFSA) of the RoK, and the Korea-Vietnam Cultural Exchange Association (KOVECA).  

Since the end of August, through KOVECA, theVietnamese Embassy in the RoK and IFSA have deployed a project to receive usedKorean ambulances to donate to Vietnam, which have received support from the Vietnamese Ministries of Public Security and Health,the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, as well as the RoK’s National FireAgency, and especially North Gyeongsang province’s fire police department.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Vu Tung said theambulances donated by RoK partners are useful for local health authoritiesin Vietnam in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, helping them have better conditionsin caring and treating COVID-19 patients.

The ambulances are scheduled to be delivered to Ho ChiMinh City in January 2022.

On the same day, HoChi Minh City's Department of Foreign Affairs held a ceremony toreceive 80,000 medical masks from the RoK’s Gangwon province.

Tran Phuoc Anh,director of the department, appreciated the assistance from the Korean locality forHCM City and other southern provinces.

According to the official, besides the support from foreign localities, the departmenthas received assistance and donations from southern localities. The agency decided to present35,000 out of the 80,000 medical masks it has received to the Departmentsof Foreign Affairs of the provinces of An Giang, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Duong,Dong Nai, Long An, Tay Ninh and Tien Giang.  

Addressing the ceremony, YeonSong-heum, chief representative of the Gangwon office in HCM City, expressed his hope to further promote cooperation, especially in applying hightechnologies in the medical sector, between Gangwon and HCM City as well as othersouthern provinces of Vietnam.

Previously, the Consulate Generalof the RoK in HCM City and member enterprises of the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kocham) donated medical equipment and funding worth over 5.9billion VND (nearly 259,000 USD) to help the southern hub combatthe COVID-19 pandemic./.