Acting President of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez on June 29 expressed thanks to Vietnam for its solidarity and timely assistance after two consecutive earthquakes caused extensive damage in Caracas and La Guaira state.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto welcomes the Vietnamese delegation at the airport. Photo: VNA
Speaking to the press, Rodríguez said the Venezuelan Government and people highly value Vietnam's decision to deploy a 124-member rescue team, calling it a remarkable boost to ongoing search-and-rescue and humanitarian relief operations.
Vietnam is among 30 countries that have dispatched rescue teams to support Venezuela's quake response, Rodríguez announced at a meeting that established a General Staff in charge of building temporary camps and fast-tracking housing projects.
At midday on June 29 (local time), a Vietnamese aircraft carrying the 124-member rescue mission, drawn from the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security, landed at Maiquetía International Airport in La Guaira state.
The team was welcomed upon arrival by Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs Yvan Gil Pinto, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Mauricio Rodríguez Gelfenstein; Sen. Lieut. Gen Jonás Gerardo Páez Cabrera, Director General of the Office of Integration and International Affairs under the Venezuelan Ministry of Popular Power for Defence, and officials from Venezuelan ministries and agencies. Vietnamese Ambassador Vu Trung My, Defence Attaché Vu The Trung, and embassy staff were also present.
At the welcome ceremony, Pinto expressed his heartfelt appreciation to Vietnam, saying that on behalf of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the Venezuelan Government and people, he extended sincere and profound thanks to the Vietnamese Party, State, Government and people, and especially General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and State President To Lam.
The presence of Vietnamese military personnel in earthquake relief and recovery is a vivid demonstration of the Venezuela – Vietnam traditional friendship and comprehensive partnership, he said.
Speaking to local media, head of the Vietnamese delegation Maj. Gen. Pham Van Ty affirmed that the Vietnamese rescue team would carry out its mission with the highest sense of responsibility, guided by the spirit of "saving earthquake victims in Venezuela as if they were our own people".
Shortly after the Vietnamese team finished deployment preparations, Venezuelan Minister of People's Power for Defence Gen. Gustavo Lopez visited them to express profound appreciation for the Vietnamese army’s support. He also voiced confidence that the traditional friendship and comprehensive partnership between the two nations, particularly their armies, would keep growing./.