Vietnam seeks Poland refuge for Vietnamese people amid crisis

Vietnam has expressed its hope that Poland would provide refuge to Vietnamese people who have settled down in Ukraine for many years.

Vietnam's Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son meets Chargé d'Affaires of Poland in Vietnam Maciej Duszyński in Hanoi on Mar 7. Photos: MOFA

Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Bui Thanh Son put forth the idea at a meeting on Mar 7 with Chargé d'Affaires of Poland in Vietnam Maciej Duszyński, hoping that Vietnamese-Ukrainians are eligible to stay in Poland until the situation is safe enough for their return to Ukraine.

In addition, Son expected Poland to give shelter to Vietnamese who are on their way to reach the country from Ukraine and facilitate repatriation flights.

He thanked the Government of Poland for providing nearly 2,000 Vietnamese people who were displaced from Ukraine with basic necessities, medicine, and accommodation.

Son also handed over a letter to Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau requesting coordination and support in citizen protection for the Vietnamese.

Chargé d'Affaires Maciej Duszyński said that the Government of Poland has been facilitating the refuge for citizens of different countries, including Vietnam, who are fleeing Ukraine and affirmed support in the repatriation mission.

Vietnamese people from Ukraine get support from the Vietnamese mission in Hungary on Mar 5.

Russia’s military attacks in Ukraine on Feb 24 have displaced millions of people who fled to seek safe haven in neighboring countries like Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, Romania, and Russia. Of them, Poland has taken in more than one million people, the largest number of refugees.

There are about 7,000 Vietnamese people in Ukraine. Many of them reside there for generations.

In the latest move, Vietnam Airlines, the national flag carrier, will operate the first repatriation flight to bring Vietnamese citizens home on Mar 8. The next flights in the coming days would be operated between Vietnam and Poland and Vietnam-Romania.

Plans to evacuate Vietnamese citizens from Ukraine were built shortly after the military attacks. Top Vietnamese leaders like President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked local authorities to speed up the mission, which are designated to three local airlines Vietjet, Bamboo Airways, and Vietnam Airlines.

According to MoFA, as of Mar 7, the Vietnamese missions in Eastern European countries had welcomed more than 3,500 citizens evacuated from the conflict zones in Ukraine. Of all, 2,200 are in Poland, 830 in Romania, 310 in Hungary, and more than 100 in Slovakia.