(VOVWORLD) - Vietnam considers protecting its citizens abroad a primary task during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Prime Minister says bringing overseas Vietnamese home should give priority to the most vulnerable people – the elderly, the sick, children, and people with expired visas.
 Vietnam continues to take overseas Vietnamese citizens home to escape the COVID-19 pandemic in other countries. (Photo: Foreign Ministry) |
The Prime Minister has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to work with foreign agencies to protect Vietnamese citizens abroad.
The Foreign Ministry’s Consular Department has maintained close contact with Vietnamese representative offices and overseas Vietnamese liaisons abroad to monitor the pandemic.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has directed overseas bureaus to work with relevant agencies to bring Vietnamese citizens home. They are stranded because airlines have curtailed their operations during the pandemic. Many have no accommodation or an expired visa. Vietnamese representative agencies have worked with airlines and local authorities to resolve problems, provide medical care and food and arrange flights.”
Vietnamese diplomatic offices have visited Vietnamese people living in pandemic areas and warned them to follow local preventive measures.
Thousands of Vietnamese people have returned home from the US, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and other countries. The government has a plan to return about 14,000 overseas Vietnamese.