Vietnam seeks US cooperation in ventilator production

Vietnam’s Ambassador to the US Ha Kim Ngoc has suggested major US corporations, including Medtronic, Gilead, and Bayer, step up cooperation with Vietnam in producing medical equipment, especially ventilator, against the Covid-19 pandemic, VnExpress reported.

First shipment of protective suits from Vietnam to the US. Source: Trump's Twitter.

Ngoc made the suggestion during an online meeting with President of Business Council for International understanding (BCIU) Peter Tichansky and representatives of over 40 major US firms on April 14.

During the meeting, Ngoc proposed US companies share information related to the development of Covid-19 vaccines, and Google share about the technologies tracking the spread of the pandemic.

Vietnam’s biggest private conglomerate Vingroup has recently announced it had acquired a licence agreement with the US's Medtronic for its PB560 ventilator production in a move to support the country's fight against the virus. Vingroup would be able to produce up to 55,000 units a month at its existing automobile and smartphone factories in Vietnam, including 10,000 PB560 ventilators.

According to the latest figure from Worldometers, the number of infection cases and deaths in the US due to Covid-19 has reached 613,886 and 26,047 respectively. The main factor that has complicated the Covid-19 situation in the US is attributed to the lack of medical equipment such as ventilators.

To date, nearly 900,000 protective suits made by DuPont in Vietnam have been shipped to the US, which could eventually rise to 4.5 million units in the coming days.

On April 8, US President Donald Trump wrote on his Twitter of his thanks to “friends in Vietnam” for making the shipment possible, while these suits would be delivered to the US Strategic National Stockpile in order to address the urgent need for protective equipment for frontline workers responding to the Covid-19 pandemic in the US.

Spokeswoman of Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang in the latest press conference said the US companies are looking for partners in Vietnam to produce N95 face masks.