US President Donald Trump thanks Việt Nam for supporting the US on his Twitter account. — Photo vietnamplus.vn

HÀ NỘI — US President Donald Trump thanked Việt Nam for supporting the country in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, confirming that 450,000 ‘Made-in-Vietnam’ protective suits have arrived in the US.

“This morning, 450,000 protective suits landed in Dallas, Texas. This was made possible because of the partnership of two great American companies – DuPont and FedEx – and our friends in Vietnam. Thank you!” Trump tweeted on Wednesday. This the first of two initial shipments of more than 450,000 DuPont protective suits made in Việt Nam which departed Hà Nội on Tuesday.

The deal to send to the personal protective equipment (PPE) vital in the treatment of COVID-19 patients was reached between the Vietnamese Government and the US embassy in Việt Nam.

The US Department of Health and Human Services contracted with FedEx Express to expedite delivery of the suits to the US Strategic National Stockpile to address the urgent need for PPE for frontline health workers tackling the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. 

US Ambassador to Việt Nam Dan Kritenbrink said the shipment would help protect medical workers working on the front line against COVID-19 in the US and demonstrate the strength of the US-Việt Nam partnership.

The US and Vietnamese governments have co-operated extensively in the COVID-19 fight. Since the beginning of this crisis, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have been collaborating with Vietnamese officials to monitor and respond to the evolving COVID-19 situation. — VNS