Vietnam, China Red Cross Societies intensify cooperation

• President calls for further support from int’l Red Cross societies
• Hanoi hosts SE Asia Red Cross Red Crescent Leadership Meeting
• Vietnam Red Cross asked to continue ensuring social welfare

The consensus was reached during a meeting between VRCS President Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu and RCSC President Chen Zhu in Hanoi on January 18.

The two sides encouraged their chapters in cities and provinces sharing the border line to set up cooperative ties and increase the exchange of experience in carrying out activities for youths and volunteers. 

Chen Zhu, who is also Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee of China and Vice President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, expressed his hope that the two sides will continue to join hands in developing projects and mobilising more resources, contributing to easing difficulties facing vulnerable groups in Asia. 

The RCSC will try to provide more financial aid to its Vietnamese counterpart and continue to help the society implement humanitarian and training projects, as well as community activities in Vietnam through concrete cooperation agreements, he said. 

In the time to come, the RCSC will step up cooperation with the five Mekong River countries of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand and establish a cooperation mechanism to deal with humanitarian challenges in the region, especially to increase public resilience to climate change. 

For her part, Thu reviewed the RCSC’s assistance to her society in coping with natural disasters in 2016-2017, noting its relief aid worth about VND7 billion (US$308,000). 

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President Xi Jinping witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the two societies for 2017-2020 during the Vietnamese Party leader’s visit to China in January 2016.