Canadian scholars praise Vietnam’s successes in COVID-19 control, economic development

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s successes in promoting economic development and containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic were spotlighted at an online workshop held by the Canada-Vietnam Friendship Society (CVFS) on April 24.

Over 100 delegates participating in the workshop were especially interested in Vietnam's effective measures to respond to the pandemic.

Vietnam showed that even a small country can thrive strongly and maintain sovereignty, independence and national values, said Steve Rutchinski, a representative from the CVFS.

With only 35 fatalities caused by COVID-19 since the pandemic broke out in Vietnam, the Southeast Asian country has been admired by the international community, he said.

Vietnam's economy, even amid the pandemic, still expanded 2.91 percent in 2020 - one of the highest growth rates in the world, he noted.

Vietnam's democracy was reflected in the fact that people throughout the country have contributed their opinions to documents of the 13th National Party Congress, outlining a roadmap to further apply science-technology towards a brighter future for the nation, he added.

As a key speaker at the workshop, Deputy Director of the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam Nguyen Hung Son shared 10 lessons on COVID-19 prevention and control in Vietnam, where the pandemic has been effectively curbed with only 2,833 infections confirmed so far.

Participants were extremely impressed with this number, especially in the context that Canada reported nearly 59,000 new COVID-19 cases in the last seven days, which lifted the tally in the North American country to over 1.1 million.

Margaret Villamizar, a representative from the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist), praised Vietnam's achievements in the fight against COVID-19 and maintaining economic growth, saying this is a miracle.

Canadian scholars said the Vietnamese Government has soon "suppressed" COVID-19 via measures such as quarantine, contact tracing, and communications campaigns.

Vietnamese people have shown their ability and strong spirit in the fight against COVID-19, poverty elimination, and response to climate change, to build a strong and rich nation, they said./.