On the afternoon of August 13, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Headquarters, authorized by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc, Head of the Steering Committee for Citizen Protection of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Consular Department, as the Standing Body of the Steering Committee, chaired a meeting with the Heads of Vietnamese Representative Agencies in Israel, Iran and Egypt concurrently in Lebanon, and functional units under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss measures to protect Vietnamese citizens in the face of escalating tensions in the Middle East.

At the meeting, Vietnamese representative agencies updated developments as well as assessed and forecasted developments in the regional situation in the coming time.

Regarding the situation of Vietnamese citizens, the representative agencies said they regularly coordinate with local authorities to update citizen warnings, and closely contact Vietnamese associations/groups in the host country to update information related to the thoughts and aspirations of the people to prepare citizen protection plans in case of emergency.

Based on the contributions of representative agencies, the Steering Committee for Citizen Protection will finalize citizen protection plans, including citizen evacuation plans, to submit to competent authorities for approval.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues to warn Vietnamese citizens not to travel to Lebanon, Iran and Israel at this time; comply with regulations and instructions on security and safety measures of local authorities; regularly monitor warning information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Consular Department or Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt, Iran, Israel and neighboring countries) to respond promptly.

Citizen Protection Hotline Phone Numbers:

- Embassy of Vietnam in Israel: +972 50 818 6116.

- Embassy of Vietnam in Iran: + 98 21 224 11670

- Embassy of Vietnam in Egypt (concurrently in Lebanon): +20 1026 1398 69

- Citizen protection hotline of the Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: +84 981 84 84 84. Email: [email protected].