(VOVWORLD) - Vietnam will soon introduce a set of criteria to accept vaccine passports for early welcoming of foreign tourists. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang was speaking at an online press conference Thursday.
 Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang |
Hang said, “Vietnam accepts vaccines licensed by the World Health Organization, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), or the European Medicines Agency as well as those approved by the Vietnamese Ministry of Health for emergency use. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is working closely with relevant agencies to study and build a pilot plan to welcome vaccinated tourists to Vietnam, firstly to Phu Quoc island in the near future.”
She spoke of preparation for vaccine passport approval, 'The Foreign Ministry has received some partners’ request for mutual recognition of vaccine passports. The government has agreed on a set of criteria for the recognition and use of other countries' vaccine passports in Vietnam as proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and detailed information will be revealed shortly.'
Amid the complicated and prolonged COVID-19 pandemic which cannot be absolutely controlled, the Vietnamese Government agreed to change from the policy of zero COVID-19 to safely and flexibly adapting to and effectively controlling the pandemic, she said.
The spokeswoman said that in the process of effectively fighting the pandemic and restoring socio-economic development, vaccine passports, health green cards or digital health certificates are considered feasible solutions to gradually reopening the economy, especially services and tourism.
Commenting on a report that a group of British aircraft carriers and New Zealand corvette vessels are heading to the East Sea to prepare for a large-scale military drill near Singapore, Hang affirmed Vietnam’s consistent stance that all countries’ activities and cooperation at sea must comply with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea for mutual interests, rule of law, peace, stability, security, safety and cooperation in the East Sea.
As China is about to launch a TV serial titled "Ace Troops," distorting Vietnam’s 1979 border defending war, the spokeswoman said Vietnam holds its consistent view of setting aside the past and looking towards the future with objective and correct view about the history to seriously implement both countries leaders’ shared awareness of strengthening friendship communications to facilitate bilateral ties.