Representatives of the Pasteur Institute in Vietnam and the Paris Pasteur Institute signed a cooperation agreement to deal with epidemics in the Southeast Asia in Hanoi on September 15.

The agreement is part of a 5.9 million Euro project to manage epidemics in China, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam between now and 2010 under the sponsorship of the French Development Agency.

The project will help improve the diagnosis and control of emerging epidemics in Southeast Asia, set up a laboratory network, and accelerate coordination within the region and with the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The signing ceremony was attended by Vietnamese Health Minister Tran Thi Trung Chien,  French Minister delegate for Cooperation, Development and Francophony Brigitte Girardin, and French Ambassador to Vietnam Jean Francois Blarel.