Leaders of the Central Military Hospital 108 honor international experts who have made great contributions to the development of the Hospital and VG CARE.  (Photo: Bui Thuan)

Deputy Defense Minister, Senior Lieutenant General Vu Hai San made the statement on Monday on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Institute of Tropical Medicine and the 5th anniversary of the VG‑CARE.

At the celebration, Deputy Ambassador of the German Embassy Hanoi, Simon Kreye reiterated the role of Central Military Hospital 108, VG‑CARE, and the PAN‑ASEAN coalition for Epidemic and Outbreak Preparedness (PACE‑UP) of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) in the fight against infectious diseases and epidemics.

“Vietnam is one of Germany’s closest partners in science and the Vietnamese-German Center for Medical Research is a specific example of this cooperation,” said the German diplomat.

He added, “This is also a significant success in scientific cooperation between the two countries and between the Central Military Hospital 108 and the University of Tübingen. The scientific successes have helped us bring life back to normal.”

Deputy Defense Minister Vu Hai San presents the Certificate of Merit to Professor Dr. Thirumalaisamy P. Velavan. (Photo: Bui Thuan)

On this occasion, multiple domestic and international experts were honored for their special contributions to the development of the hospital and VG‑CARE.

Among them was Professor Dr. Thirumalaisamy P. Velavan of the University of Tübingen, VG‑CARE’s co‑director, who was awarded a certificate of merit and a medal by the Vietnamese Ministry of Defense, and Associate Professor, Dr. Le Huu Song, the director of VG‑CARE and the Central Military Hospital 108.

Major-general, Associate Professor, Dr. Le Huu Song receives the full professor title of Germany’s University of Tübingen. (Photo: Bui Thuan)

Song is the first Vietnamese person appointed as full professor of Epidemiology and Pandemic Preparedness at the University of Tübingen.

As part of the event, a scientific conference on emerging and re‑emerging infectious diseases was held.