Germany offers more quick test kits to Vietnam

Hessen state and the Messer Group GmbH of Germany has presented 160,000 rapid COVID-19 test kits worth 500,000 EUR (US$590,300) as part of efforts to help the nation cope with the ongoing impact of the pandemic.

At the handover ceremony (Photo:VNA)

During a handover ceremony held on July 15 in Hessen state, Le Quang Long, Vietnamese Consul General in Frankfurt, received the donation of 130,000 test kits from Boris Rhein, president of the Hessen State Parliament. This is in addition to a further 30,000 test kits from Stefan Messer, CEO of the Messer Group.

Long stated his belief that through the Vietnamese Government’s stringent and effective policies aimed at battling the pandemic, along with the consensus and widespread support of the Vietnamese people and international friends, the country will soon be able to contain the epidemic.

In response, Rhein highlighted Hessen state’s traditional friendship with their Vietnamese partners, with the Vietnam-Germany University (VGU) viewed as a project which showcases the best of both sides, adding that the two have paid attention to and helped each other in times of hardship.

Most notably, when Germany faced a scarcity in face masks in early 2020, the Vietnamese people were swift in presenting more than 100,000 masks to the European country, he recalled.

Rhein used the occasion to express his gratitude to Dr. Kambiz Ghawami, executive chairman of the World University Service (WUS) non-governmental organisation, for connecting the aid provision, along with national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines for transporting the assistance free of charge.

The Messer Group specialises in industrial gases and has operated in the country for approximately 25 years, running six plants, with two others in the pipeline.

Ghawami previously called on all 16 German states to support Vietnamese efforts to combat COVID-19. The first batch of aid containing over 190,000 test kits from the states of Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Sachsen-Anhalt arrived in the nation in late June.