Việt Nam's 124-member rescue team arrived in Venezuela on June 29. — Photo from the Ministry of Public Security

CARACAS — Acting President of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez on June 29 expressed thanks to Việt Nam for its solidarity and timely assistance after two consecutive earthquakes caused extensive damage in Caracas and La Guaira state.

Speaking to the press, Rodríguez said the Venezuelan Government and people highly value Việt Nam's decision to deploy a 124-member rescue team, calling it a remarkable boost to ongoing search-and-rescue and humanitarian relief operations.

Việt Nam is among 30 countries that have dispatched rescue teams to support Venezuela's quake response, Rodríguez announced at a meeting that established a General Staff in charge of building temporary camps and fast-tracking housing projects.

At midday on June 29 (local time), a Vietnamese aircraft carrying the 124-member rescue mission, drawn from the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security, landed at Maiquetía International Airport in La Guaira state.

The team was welcomed upon arrival by Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Yvan Gil Pinto, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mauricio Rodríguez Gelfenstein; Sen. Lieut. Gen Jonás Gerardo Páez Cabrera, Director General of the Office of Integration and International Affairs under the Venezuelan Ministry of Popular Power for Defence, and officials from Venezuelan ministries and agencies. Vietnamese Ambassador Vũ Trung Mỹ, Defence Attaché Vũ Thế Trung, and embassy staff were also present.

At the welcome ceremony, Pinto expressed his heartfelt appreciation to Việt Nam, saying that on behalf of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the Venezuelan Government and people, he extended sincere and profound thanks to the Vietnamese Party, State, Government and people, and especially General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and State President Tô Lâm.

The presence of Vietnamese military personnel in earthquake relief and recovery is a vivid demonstration of the Venezuela – Việt Nam traditional friendship and comprehensive partnership, he said.

Speaking to local media, head of the Vietnamese delegation Maj. Gen. Phạm Văn Tỵ affirmed that the Vietnamese rescue team would carry out its mission with the highest sense of responsibility, guided by the spirit of "saving earthquake victims in Venezuela as if they were our own people".

Shortly after the Vietnamese team finished deployment preparations, Venezuelan Minister of People's Power for Defence Gen. Gustavo Lopez visited them to express profound appreciation for the Vietnamese army’s support. He also voiced confidence that the traditional friendship and comprehensive partnership between the two nations, particularly their armies, would keep growing. — VNA/VNS