Israeli Ambassador to Vietnam Nadav Eshcar (L) and Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Hieu. Photo: Israel Embassy in Vietnam

With Vietnam in the midst of its deadliest outbreak of COVID-19 so far, Israel has transferred medical equipment to aid the country’s pandemic efforts, the latest of several signs of warming ties between the two nations.

The medical supplies were handed over on Friday by Israel’s ambassador to Vietnam, Nadav Eshcar, to Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Hieu at a ceremony also attended by representatives of the country’s Ministry of Health. The equipment is destined for a new field hospital that has opened in Hanoi to treat coronavirus patients. Eshcar and Hieu also discussed steps to promote relations between the two countries.

“The assistance reflects the growing friendship between Israel and Vietnam,” Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said Friday.

The equipment includes 10 oxygen ventilators provided by the Israeli firm Inovytec Medical Solutions. In the coming days, about 10,000 medical masks will also be delivered, as well as 20 oxygen generators and antiviral plastic sheets to cover surfaces, donated by the Israeli company Poli Film. Some of the protective equipment will be transferred for use at a major hospital in Ho Chi Minh City and to cover ATMs throughout major cities. Ambassador Eshcar added that additional medical equipment was on the way.

Cumulative cases of COVID-19 in Vietnam surged from just a few thousand before the summer to over 480,000 today, with over 12,000 new cases reported on Thursday.

The effort comes after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh spoke on the phone in July, during which they discussed the aid transfer.

Earlier this week, Israel signed a cooperation agreement with the Mekong River Commission (MRC) — a joint body between Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand — to share expertise for more efficient and sustainable water management in the Mekong Basin.