HCMC - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will provide Vietnam with three mobile real-time PCR testing systems and a number of biological products worth 470,000 euros, equivalent to US$558,000 as the Southeast Asian country is coping with the spike in Covid-19 cases.

IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi announced the donation at a meeting with National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on September 6, during Hue’s trip to Austria to attend the fifth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament. These devices were researched and developed by the IAEA based on the application of nuclear technology for accurate diagnosis and the early detection of viruses, the local media reported. NA Chairman Hue expressed his gratitude and appreciated the IAEA’s valuable gifts, adding that the support would help Vietnam respond to the Covid-19 pandemic effectively. In addition, at the meeting, Grossi thanked Vietnam for its active contributions to the IAEA, including a commitment to helping complete the second phase of a modern laboratory to enhance the agency’s capacity to help many countries fight infectious diseases. Aside from the non-proliferation, the agency is launching other activities to support countries, including Vietnam, in cancer treatment, water management and the Covid response. NA Chairman Hue highly valued the role played by the IAEA in promoting the application of atomic energy to solve global problems and scientific and technical cooperation in the nuclear field for peace and development, ensuring safety and security in this field. Hue also praised the IAEA for its effective support for its member countries affected by the pandemic by sharing knowledge, assisting medical experts in radiation medicine and therapy, nuclear medicine, diagnostic imaging and training in genetic sequencing to characterize the virus that causes Covid-19. The NA chairman asked the IAEA for cooperation with Vietnam in technology transfer, training and improving capacity in applying nuclear technology in the health sector and Covid-19 prevention and control. Apart from this, he expressed hope that the agency would help Vietnam participate in its important initiatives, including the IAEA Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action project and the activities of the Working Group on Science and Technology of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.