Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh attends the online G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting on Thursday. —VNA/VNS Photo

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh affirmed that global and regional solidarity, cooperation and coordination are essential to help the world overcome the COVID-19 crisis while addressing the online G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Thursday.

Minh attended the meeting on strengthening international cooperation across borders amid the COVID-19 pandemic as 2020 ASEAN Chairman at the invitation of Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia which assumes the 2020 G20 Presidency Faisal bin Farhan AI Suad.

This is a special Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the G20 which was held as the COVID-19 pandemic continues developing across the globe, causing many big economies to fall into serious economic crisis. Solutions such as closing border gates and travelling limitations have contributed to controlling the spread of the disease but also had negative impacts on socio-economic development, leading to disruption in trade-investment chains and international exchanges.

Deputy PM Minh applauded the G20’s efforts and contributions in the fight against the COVID-19 and coronavirus vaccine research as well as promoting global economic recovery. He thanked the G20 for supporting Việt Nam in effectively coping with the disease and coordinating with Việt Nam to help repatriate Vietnamese citizens abroad safely.

He affirmed that Việt Nam, as ASEAN Chair in 2020, has closely coordinated with partners to maintain cooperation activities as well as proposed many initiatives to promote common acts in COVID-19 prevention and control, supporting people and boosting economic recovery.

Minh shared measures to enhance cooperation in border management to cope with COVID-19 such as increasing border management in the spirit of “double goals” – ensuring effective disease prevention while creating conditions for trade and investment exchanges across the borders.

He called for promoting cooperation in border management, including sharing of information and experience, ensuring health safety measures at the border checkpoints, applying technologies to discover and trace cases, and illegal migration.

He said the G20 could work together with international organisations and other countries to advance discussion on a Code of Conduct or Roadmap for cooperation in border management and international travel facilitation.

He urged G20 countries to continue taking the lead with innovative actions, joined by the international community and institutions to promote the research and development of effective and safe vaccines against COVID-19 while ensuring equitable access to affordable vaccines.

Minh stressed that it is important to enhance cooperation in capacity-building to prepare for and respond to future non-traditional security challenges.

At the meeting, participants affirmed their commitment to increased cooperation in responding to COVID-19 and mitigating its impacts on socio-economic development and promoting economic recovery.