Vietnamese, Lao provinces step up multifaceted cooperation

Leaders of the central province of Thua Thien-Hue and the Lao province of Sekong signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in various fields during their talks in Hue city on August 9. 

Accordingly, the two sides will facilitate the exchange of regular high-level visits. In the near future, Thua Thien-Hue province will help Sekong with short-term training courses on Party building and share its operation experience of the People’s Council. 

They will continue raising public awareness of strictly implementing an agreement on Vietnam-Laos land border and border gate management regulations, and a Protocol on Vietnam-Laos borderline and border markers. 

Thua Thien-Hue and Sekong provinces will continue effectively deploy a model of village-village twinning relations in border areas and assisting local firms in trade promotion activities held in each locality. 

The two provinces will jointly hold cultural exchanges and boost educational and health cooperation, under which Thua Thien-Hue will provide 10 full scholarships each year for Sekong students and offering health checks-up to residents in border areas. Sekong will help Thua Thien-Hue enterprises seek business opportunities in Ka Lum district. 

Over the past years, Thua Thien-Hue and Sekong have regularly held friendly visits, unearthed and repatriated remains of Vietnamese soldiers, experts and voluntary soldiers who sacrificed in Laos during the war. 

Since 2002, Thua Thien-Hue has created favourable conditions for 110 Lao students to study at local universities and colleges. Since 2009, the Vietnamese locality has annually offered 10 full scholarships to Sekong students.

Thua Thien-Hue also donated some 8.8 billion VND to help Sekong build a bridge, a primary school, seven houses and a clean water system in Ka Lum district.

Tokyo workshop celebrates 50 years of ASEAN

A workshop focusing on the 50-year history of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was held in Tokyo, Japan on August 8 on the occasion of the bloc’s jubilee anniversary.

The event, jointly organised by the ASEAN Japan Centre (AJC) and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN (ERIC), was attended by ambassadors and embassy representatives of the ten ASEAN nations and its dialogue partners, and 300 delegates of the government, academic and business circles in Japan.

Opening the workshop, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Nguyen Quoc Cuong, who is also Chairman of the ASEAN Committee in Tokyo, described the event as one of the significant activities to mark the ASEAN’s 50th anniversary.

From the first five founding members, the bloc has continuously, overcome difficulties and challenges, maintained its solidarity in diversity, and grown into the ASEAN Community with 10 member nations, with open external relations.

The ambassador noted that while ASEAN Community has become a model for successful regional cooperation, it is also facing challenges in the context of fast changes in the region and the world, along with the ongoing fourth Industrial Revolution 4.0. 

He affirmed that Japan is one of the leading and closest partners of ASEAN.

At the event, participants analysed the achievements and challenges of ASEAN, and envisioned the prospects for the growing relationship between Japan and ASEAN in the next decades.

Lao Cai to put 864 classrooms into use for new academic year

The northern mountainous province of Lao Cai will put into use 344 works with 864 classrooms before August 30 to serve the new school year, said Director of the provincial Department of Education and Training Nguyen Anh Ninh. 

During the 2017-2018 academic year, the province will inaugurate a total of 417 semi-boarding works with 1,895 classrooms and five toilets built at a combined cost of over 205 billion VND (9 million USD). 

At the fourth meeting of the provincial People’s Council (15th tenure), Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Dang Xuan Phong asked relevant units to complete construction of these projects before August 31. 

At present, construction on 58 works with 246 classrooms is underway while two semi-boarding houses with 25 rooms and seven houses for teachers have yet to be kicked off. Several other projects have yet to be deployed due to difficulties regarding site clearance. 

Up to 46 percent of schools in Lao Cai have met national standards, placing the province at fifth position among 15 northern mountainous and midland provinces while all local educational establishments have solid classrooms.

Japan helps Hanoi improve flood prevention capacity

A ceremony to sign a project on improving Hanoi’s capacity of managing water drainage works took place in the capital city on August 9. 

Signatories were the municipal Department of Construction, the Department of Innovation Management and Environmental Sciences of Yokohama city, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). 

The second-stage project will be carried out from September 2017 and August 2020 with a total cost of around 60 million JPY. 

It will cover operation and maintenance of pilot wastewater treatment plants, mud treatment, mitigation of losses from floods in pilot areas, and organisation of seminars with the cooperation of member firms from the Yokohama water enterprises’ association. 

Thanks to the support of the Japanese government over the past years, construction on a number of transport and technical infrastructure has been concluded in Hanoi, including Yen Xa wastewater treatment plant and garbage collection system, a water drainage system in To Lich river basin, among others.

Youth’s role in Industry 4.0 highlighted at Hanoi forum

The role of the youth in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) was highlighted at a forum that attracted 20 domestic and foreign investors and over 1,000 young people in Hanoi on August 9.

The “Innovation in the 4.0 Era” forum also drew 30 outstanding startup founders who shared their experience in doing business in the IT sector.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Van Tung said Industry 4.0 has been developing strongly across the world, and some of its components like Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, big data and smart robots are greatly influencing economic growth in countries around the globe, including Vietnam.

To capitalise on the advantages of Industry 4.0, young citizens of Vietnam need to swiftly gain a full understanding of this industry and take appropriate actions to contribute to the national development in the smartest way, he noted.

He also affirmed his ministry’s support to and favourable conditions for the development of Industry 4.0 in Vietnam.

At the forum, speakers analysed Industry 4.0 and the mutual impacts between this industry and Vietnamese youth.

Participants in the event also had a chance to directly experience a number of technologies.

The forum is part of the Connecting Viet Youth programme, held by the Hanoi Students Association, the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community and the Vietnamese Students Association in the UK, among others.

Sympathies sent to China on heavy losses in Sichuan earthquake

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc offered on August 9 his sympathies to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on human and property losses caused by a strong earthquake in Sichuan province one day earlier. 

The China National Radio reported that as of 3pm (local time) of August 9, the 7-magnitude earthquake in Jiuzhaigou county of Ngawa prefecture, the southwestern province of Sichuan, on late August 8 had killed 19 people and injured 217 others.

The China National Committee for Disaster Reduction wrote on its website that according to initial analyses, more than 130,000 houses might have been damaged in the earthquake.

Hanoi targets parts supply growth

Hanoi needs more favourable policies to boost the parts supply industry, experts said at a recent conference on developing the industry in the capital. 

The city plans to increase the number of parts supply firms from the current 200-250 to 900-1,000 firms by 2020.

According to the Heavy Industry Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the development of the parts supply industry in Vietnam has a potentially important role in economic development but is performing below expectations with modest local procurement rates. For example, local procurement by the footwear industry is just 20-25 percent and by the auto industry 7-10 percent for cars with fewer than nine seats.

A number of industries are still largely dependent on imported raw materials, the department said, adding that State support for the parts supply industry is limited while foreign manufacturers tend to use suppliers from their home countries.

Nguyen Hoang, Chairman of the Hanoi Support Industries Business Association, said the capital city needed policies to support existing parts supply firms and encourage new ones.

Experts at the conference attributed the slow development of the industry to hesitation resulting from over-complicated procedures and less favourable policies than those enjoyed by foreign-invested firms.

According to Phan Nhat Minh, general director of the Nhat Minh Company, local companies should be provided with incentives similar to those granted Samsung or at least equal to half of Samsung’s, adding that there was a significant difference in incentives between local and foreign companies.

Lai Minh Duc, a representative from the municipal Department of Industry and Trade, said the city had a developed mechanical industry but lacks coordination among firms. 

“It is important to promote co-ordination among parts supply firms to improve competitiveness in the rapid international economic integration,” Duc said.

According to Hoang, Hanoi needs to develop human resources for the parts supply manufacturers and establish special zones for support industries.

Vietnam Red Cross launches donation campaign for flood victims

The Vietnam Red Cross Society (VRC) on August 9 launched a text-message programme to raise funds for people in flood-hit areas in northern Vietnam.

By texting “UH” to the number 1409, a donor can donate 20,000 VND to the programme, which lasts from August 9 to October 7.

Other material aid can be delivered to the VRC headquarters at No 82 Nguyen Du street in Hanoi or its southern representative office at No 201 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.

Money can also be sent to the bank account “Trung uong Hoi Chu thap do Viet Nam”, number 124 02 02 005 348 (for VND), 124 02 02 018198 (for USD), or 124 02 02 006862 (for EUR), at the Hoang Mai branch of the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (No 127 Lo Duc street in Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi).

All of the collected money and materials will be used to support flood-affected people with fundamental goods, housing and livelihoods.

On August 8, the VRC also called on its chapters, members and people nationwide to provide assistance for flood victims. The campaign will last until the end of September.

Heavy rains and subsequent flash floods occurred across northern mountainous provinces over the last few days, especially in Yen Bai, Son La and Lai Chau provinces.

According to the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, by August 7, heavy rains and flash floods had claimed 26 lives and left 15 others missing and 27 injured. 

About 230 houses had been swept away or collapsed while 245 others had been damaged and 340 hectares of rice had been submerged by floodwater. Nearly 400 households had had to leave their homes to safer places.

The intense floods had also eroded over 25,000 cubic metres of national highways, 117,706 cubic metres of provincial and district roads; damaged 145 irrigation works and 2,072 metres of river dike, causing about over 940 billion VND (41.36 million USD) in economic losses in the region.

On August 4, the VRC delivered initial flood relief worth 1.05 billion VND (46,200 USD) to the worst-affected families in Yen Bai, Son La and Lai Chau.

Two Hanoi districts recognised as new-style rural areas

Hanoi’s Dan Phuong and Dong Anh districts have been recognised as new-style rural areas, the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development reported on August 8.

Tranh Tri and Hoai Duc districts have also submitted dossiers for the recognition of new-style rural area title, according to the department.

As of July 2017, Hanoi has 255 out of 386 communes fulfilling all 19 criteria of the new-style rural building programme. 

Among the remaining 131 communes, 93 have completed 15-18 criteria and 38 others have achieved 10-14 criteria. Fifty two communes plan to complete the programme in 2017.

Chu Phu My, Director of the department said that the biggest difficulty in implementing the programme is criteria for infrastructure and schools, especially in remote areas such as Phu Xuyen, My Duc and Ung Hoa districts. 

Clean water standards are another challenge for the city as only 39 percent of locals in Hanoi have access to clean water.

At the same time, the national criteria for new-style rural areas in 2016-2020 are higher than old ones, making it difficult for the city in areas of uneven development.

In the rest of the year, the city will continue with communication campaigns to raise public awareness of the significance of building new-style rural areas, said My.

The city will also try to attract more social investment to agriculture and rural development, while increasing the use of science and technology in agriculture.

Building trust, from farmer to the consumer plate

Local smallholders in the food production industry in Vietnam looking to increase their earnings can now benefit from a new low-cost certification scheme that focuses on helping farmers sell their products under an organic label.

It’s all part of an initiative to build trust between participants in the food supply chain – from smallholder farmer to the consumer plate – said experts at a recent workshop in Hanoi.

The overarching goal of the workshop was to provide farmers with information and training on how to better access local markets with organic foodstuffs while boosting their sales and earnings.

Participatory guarantee systems, or PGS for short, act as locally self-implemented organic labels and offer an alternative to costlier third-party certifications for organic fruit, vegetables and other produce, explained speakers at the conference.

About 90% of the food produced in Vietnam is processed by small households that face numerous challenges such as lack of working capital, inadequate amount of land, poor infrastructure, inability to use information technology and high transport costs, among others.

Supermarkets are often disinclined to work with smallholders because of their inability to provide quality produce on a timely and economical basis. Most notably the larger stores are turned off by the lack of transparency regarding compliance with food safety standards.

The workshop was held against the backdrop of a World Bank report titled – Vietnam Food Safety Risks Management: Challenges and Opportunities –  released earlier in 2017 that shed some light on the most critical food safety challenges facing the Southeast Asian country.

The World Bank report found that most consumer concerns about chemical contamination in the food chain were unwarranted and the result of false media reports and misinformation.

The ‘food scare’ in Vietnam, said the report, has also been perpetuated by competitors making false claims about the safety of the country’s produce.

While chemical contamination is not the problem it is portrayed to be in the media, however, the World Bank report did mention that – microbial contamination – is a legitimate concern that can and should be dealt with appropriately.

The report recommended the adoption of cost effective improved food safety measures such as PGS and the development of a farm to consumer plate approach to build the capacity of all participants in the food production chain.

PGS is a quality control scheme developed by International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements under which a range of local stakeholders—particularly farmers, producers and consumers—are actively engaged to guarantee the quality and safety of the food produced.

The establishment of PGS among farmers will result in more consumers being assured of the organic quality of vegetables and allow farmers to affix an organic logo on the packaging of the marketed produce.

One of the best examples of a PGS in Vietnam is the Tu Xa Cooperative which currently sells safe vegetables to VinEco and VinMart. Another is the Trac Van Collaborative Group, which sells organic vegetables to the Hanoi-based chain Bac Tom.

In a nutshell PGS is all about increasing consumer trust in the food system and smallholder farmers by opening to scrutiny and increasing the transparency of the food supply chain.

It uses farmers, consumers and inspectors working collectively to continually cross check the supply chain for food safety compliance.

As part of the system, representatives of supermarkets and other buyers are encouraged to regularly visit the PGS farms and check their documentation so that transparency and trust can be established.

Once that trust is formed the additional monetary cost to run a PGS as compared to a traditional Vietnamese farm is virtually zero, said the experts at the workshop.

Farmers will gain access to markets because their products are certified as PGS and they can charge higher prices for their fruit, vegetables and other produce while building a reputation for superior quality.

Work begins on tunnel under Biên Hòa intersection

Construction of a tunnel under the Tân Phong intersection in Biên Hòa city began on Tuesday.

The work, to cost VNĐ259 billion (US$11.40 million), will include a tunnel along Đồng Khởi Street, roads leading into and out of it, and related works like lighting and drainage.

The four-lane tunnel will have a 380 metre open section and a 50m covered section.

Trần Văn Thanh, deputy director of Đồng Nai Province’s construction investment project management board, said Tân Phong intersection is where Nguyễn Ái Quốc and Đồng Khởi streets meet, adding they are major roads leading to the city’s industrial parks.

Not surprisingly, they are very congested.

Construction Corporation No 1 is the contractor, and it is expected to complete the work by June next year.

Trucks and large vans are not allowed to travel past the construction site, though city buses are.

Cars are banned from 6am to 9am and 4pm to 7pm.

Japanese language training centre inaugurated in south

The Saigon International Services Company (Saigon Inserco) held a ceremony on August 9 to inaugurate a centre training Japanese language for labourers who wish to work in Japan.

Covering 5,000 sq.m in District 2, HCM City with classes, a library, a dormitory, a canteen and a sports ground, the centre can accommodate about 1,000 trainees. It was built at a cost of 150 billion VND (6.6 million USD).

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Nguyen Gia Liem, deputy head of the Overseas Labour Management Department under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, stressed the importance of training Japanese language for labourers as Japan is now home to around 100,000 Vietnamese apprentices.

[Vietnamese nurses, orderlies in demand in Japan]

When workers are equipped with knowledge, skills and Japanese language, they will easily get good jobs with high salaries, he said, adding that they will also have many opportunities to work in Japanese-invested businesses in Vietnam after their contracts expire.

Saigon Inserco annually sends nearly 1,000 guest workers to Japan, with monthly wages ranging from 20 to 35 million VND.

Traffic safety film fest needs entries

Traffic culture among Vietnamese youths is the theme of a national film festival on traffic safety to be held in December, launched yesterday by the National Traffic Safety Committee, the Department of Transportation Police and Toyota Motors Vietnam in Hà Nội.

Speaking at the festival’s opening ceremony, senior lieutenant-colonel Nguyễn Quang Nhật, the manager of Department of Transportation Police, said the festival focuses on the role of youths in ensuring traffic safety, traffic law compliance among youths and the education on traffic culture in families and schools.

According to major-general Trần Sơn Hà, director of the department, the film festival was first held in 1996. After nine editions, the festival has attracted participation from organisations and individuals nationwide.

“It is considered as one of the effective channels to popularise the laws among the citizens and encourage them to obey traffic safety laws. By means of the images and sounds which are illustrated in various forms like documentaries or musicals, the TV programmes about traffic have left thorough impacts on the viewers as well as effects in limiting violations, preventing traffic accidents and significantly contributed to ensuring traffic safety and order,” he said.

Speaking about this year’s theme, the director added that forming traffic culture among Vietnamese youth demonstrates the strategic vision of a developing society.

“Each youth not only has to directly improve their own traffic culture but also become an active communicator of traffic safety in their families, at their schools and in social organisations,” he said.

The festival is expected to arouse artistic thinking and creativity among youths, and also be an opportunity for them to enrich their knowledge about traffic, thereby improving the awareness of following traffic laws.

The entries of the festival are divided into three categories: documentary, short clip and educational programme. The eligible applicants are all Vietnamese citizens and organisations within Việt Nam.

The deadline to submit entries is October 15 and the winning entries will be honoured this December.

Five nutritional supplement businesses fined for violations

The Vietnam Food Administration under the Ministry of Health has decided to issue administrative fines to five businesses to sell nutritional supplement because these companies violated safe food regulation. 

These companies had improper advertising for their products or put advertisements without responsible agencies’ permits.

Along with fines, the Administration forced them to remove incorrect advertisements and rectify its advertisement on the website, take back violating products with wrong labels and destroy the products.

Goldhealth Pharmaceutical Vietnam was fined VND25 million ($1,099) for its incorrect advertisement of three products including TPBVSK GHV KSOL, GHV BONE, GENK STF in the website http://ksol.vn, http://bone.vn, http://genk.com.vn with the content approved by the authority.

Gia Phat Pharmaceutical and Commercial Company was also fined VND25 million because it had not sent the product for annual test.

The Joint Venture USA received a fine of VND37 million because it had not sent the product for annual test and the product label’s content violated the regulation.

Phuc Vinh Pharmaceutical Company was fined VND65 million because its product’s advertisement on the website http://duocphucvinh.com/ had not censored by health authority and the advertising misled people that the supplement can be used a medication.

VTC biological Company was fined VND40 million for false advertising on the website http://bachuanam.com without authority’s censor and its products has not been tested annually.

Inspectors collected fines worth VND192 million ($8,446).

Nearly 70ha of crop inundated in An Giang

 Nearly 70ha of rice crop have been inundated by flood waters in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang’s Vĩnh Hội Đông Commune.

Although authorised agencies had warned local farmers this year’s floods might come earlier than previous years, farmers ignored and continued to grow more rice for the autumn-winter crop.

Nguyễn Văn Tùng, vice chairman of the People’s Committee of the commune, said the rice was planted in an area out of the dyke.

As normal, in other localities, farmers only cultivated rice in the winter-spring and summer-autumn crops in the area out of the dyke to avoid floods, he said.

However, local farmers, hoping to earn more money, cultivated rice during the autumn-winter season, he said.

In previous years, the flood season often arrived late there and local farmers benefited from the autumn-winter crop.

“But this year, this is not the case,” he said.

The floods came one month earlier than previous years, therefore local farmers were not prepared to save their crop, he said.

The agricultural sector has supported the farmers to deal with the situation.

Viettel enter national U15 football final

Viettel defeated Sông Lam Nghệ An 2-0 to take the first slot in the final of the National U15 Football Championship on Wednesday in Tây Ninh Province.

Ngọc Tú opened the score for Viettel in the 10th minute after he got away from Sông Lam Nghệ An’s defenders and beat goalkeeper Văn Việt with a low shot in the far corner. A minute later Bá Dương doubled the score with his finish, which hit the bar before entering the net.

Sông Lam Nghệ An had several chances in the first half, but they could not score. And in the last 10 minutes, they had to play with only 10 men as Bá Quyền was sent off after he got the second yellow card.

Viettel will wait to see their final rival, who will be the winners of the second semi-final match, to be played between Promotion Fund of Vietnamese Football Talents Club and Tây Ninh this afternoon.

Sông Lam Nghệ An and the losing team will share the third position.

Hòa Bình hospital’s director demoted after May deaths

The northern province of Hòa Bình’s Department of Health on Wednesday afternoon announced its decision to demote the director of Hòa Bình General Hospital, Trương Quý Dương, after eight patients undergoing dialysis died.

As per the decision, Dương has been demoted to a regular doctor. The decision will be valid for one year.

In one of Việt Nam’s most serious medical incidents, on May 29, eight patients who underwent kidney dialysis at the hospital died after substandard water was allegedly used in the dialysis machines.

Trần Quang Khánh, head of the province’s health department who signed the decision to demote Dương, said disciplinary action had been taken against Dương as a serious incident occurred when he was head of the hospital but failed to fulfil his duties.

On July 21, Khánh had sat with the hospital’s disciplinary council to discuss the matter; all five members of the council have agreed with the decision.

The medical incident is still under investigation.

Also on Wednesday, the department assigned Quách Thiên Tường, deputy director of the hospital, to take responsibility for the hospital’s functioning.

Cần Thơ museum hosts exhibitions to celebrate 50th ASEAN birthday

The Cần Thơ City’s Museum in collaboration with Vietnam News Agency (VNA) has launched a photo exhibition to mark the 50th founding anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The exhibition displays 120 photos featuring the development of ASEAN in politics, the economy, social affairs and culture, taken by VNA photojournalists.

The works include images of important events marking the cooperation and development of the ASEAN community, such as the 34th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Hà Nội in 2001, the 5th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Transnational Crime in Hà Nội in 2005, and the 30th ASEAN Summit in Manila in April.

The showcase also features works reflecting Việt Nam’s economic and social achievements as well as culture.

Trần Việt Phường, director of the Cần Thơ City’s Department of Culture, Tourism and Sports, said at the exhibition’s opening ceremony on August 8 that the exhibit “offers a special opportunity to Cần Thơ’s people to learn more about the ASEAN community, as well as their people and culture.”

Another photo exhibition on President Hồ Chí Minh’s hometown opened at the museum on the same day.

The event also includes photos of the President’s childhood, life and career, as well as rare documents on the President’s visits to his homeland in Kim Liên Commune in Nghệ An Province.

The exhibition was organised by the Cần Thơ Museum and the Hồ Chí Minh Museum in Hà Nội to mark the 72nd anniversary of the August Revolution (August 19) and National Day (September 2).

The two exhibitions will close on September 30.

The museum also worked with An Giang Province’s museum to host a special exhibition on costumes and jewelry of the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta’s people.

The collection includes more than 300 photos and items such as traditional dresses, earrings, bracelets, necklets and rings from ethnic minority groups from Việt Nam and China.

The event ends on December 15 at the Cần Thơ Museum, 1 Hòa Bình Boulevard, Ninh Kiều District.

No Vietnamese reported injured in Sichuan earthquake

No Vietnamese people were reported injured or dead from the earthquake in Sichuan, according to the Vietnamese Embassy in China.

Chinese National Radio (CNR) reported that at 3pm (local time) on August 9, the 7-magnitude earthquake hit Jiuzhaigou county of Ngawa prefecture, in the southwestern province of Sichuan. On August 8, 19 people were reporter dead and 247 others injured. Some of the victims were foreign tourists.

The Vietnamese Embassy has worked with the Sichuan Provincial Foreign Affairs Office and the former Vietnamese Students Association and found out that no Vietnamese people were victims of the earthquake.

Sichuan local authorities have mobilized nearly 3,000 rescue staff and hundreds of machines and equipment to search for the missing and support the victims and tourists. The rescue forces have evacuated more than 45,000 tourists out of Jiuzhaigou Valley, Sichuan.

Text-message campaign supporting flood victims launched

A campaign raising donations for flood victims through SMS has been kicked off nationwide from August 9 to October 7.

By texting "UH” to 1409, an individual can donate VND20,000 to residents in flood-hit localities in the northern mountainous region of Vietnam, including Yen Bai, Son La and Lai Chau provinces.

The campaign is co-organized by the Vietnam Red Cross Society (VNRC) and the National Humanitarian Portal 1400.

All of the collected money and materials will be donated to flood-affected people by providing fundamental goods, housing and livelihoods.

On the same day, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has also offered VND250 million and launched a program to call on individuals and organizations to join hands to assist the northern mountainous provinces.

The Voice of Vietnam on August 9 supported VND300 million in support for flood victims in northern region.

According to the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s Central Committee, to date, the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control has received the donation of VND2 billion from individuals and organizations, and 30 tons of aid relief from the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA) to help flood victims.

The Vietnam Fatherland Front’s Central Committee has also asked its member organizations in cities and provinces throughout the country to cooperate with local authorities to estimate loss of flooding and the situation of provinces affected by flash flooding.

Dong Nai speeds up Long Thanh progress to avoid land price heat

The southern province of Dong Nai had been working with ministries and authorized agencies to speed up the progress of Long Thanh International Airport project to prevent land price increase from raising difficulties for compensation and site clearance afterwards.

That was announced by Long Thanh district People’s Committee deputy chairman Ngo The An at meeting hosted to review the province’s socioeconomic conditions in the first half 2017 in Bien Hoa city yesterday.

Replying to Sai Gon Giai Phong reporter’s query about land price rocket in areas surrounding Long Thanh airport, Mr. An, authorized by deputy chairman of the provincial People Committee Nguyen Hoa Hiep, admitted that the land price increase is real.

It has been caused by the airport and traffic infrastructure development in areas leading to the project such HCMC-Long Thanh-Giay Giay expressway, which has also affected land prices in the eastern part of the city such as Districts 2 and 9.

The land price rocket is also been due to clearer than before land policies.

Increasing land price is feared to expand the difference between market price and compensation prices and raise difficulties in state management and compensation later on.

Therefore, the province has speeded up the project’s progress. On August 9, it organized a meeting with the steering board on compensation and site clearance to complete the feasibility report of the project.

The report will be sent to the Ministry of Transport before August 20 and submitted to the Prime Minister afterwards.

Hanoi Party official receives Baha’i community

Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Hoang Trung Hai has said he hopes the Baha’i religious community of Hanoi will continue to maintain good relations with local authorities.

Hai made the statement on August 9 during a reception for a delegation from the Le Dai Hanh Spiritual Council of Baha’i Faith in Hanoi on the occasion of the 200th birth anniversary of Baha’u’llah, the founder of the religion. 

The Party and State respect freedom of religion of all people in an effort to build national unity, the secretary said.

He lauded the religious community for conforming to laws, standing with other religions to live a good life and being active in social activities, particularly charitable events.

He also urged the Baha’i dignitaries and followers to promote the country’s traditional cultural values and work with the Fatherland Front Committee and people to create a peaceful living environment and cope with social issues. 

Lauding the support of the city’s government in recent years, President of the Le Dai Hanh Spiritual Council of Baha’i Faith in Hanoi Pham Van Duyen reiterated that the Baha’i community wishes to join hands to develop a better society and establish harmonious relations with other communities.

The Baha’i Faith was introduced in Vietnam in 1954 by an Indian female follower. The Baha’i community now has nearly 7,000 followers in 45 cities and provinces nationwide.

It was officially recognised as a religious organisation in Vietnam in July 2008.-