Quang Nam, RoK’s Gwangyang city ink cooperation deal

Chairman of the People’s Committee of central Quang Nam province Dinh Van Thu and Mayor of Gwangyang city of the Republic of Korea Jeong Hyun Bok signed an agreement on bilateral cooperation on June 10.

The two sides agreed to expand economic, investment, trade exchanges, share experience in managing and developing economic zones, and boost cooperation in seaport logistic services, tourism, and health care.

The signing took place at a meeting between Quang Nam’s leaders and representatives from foreign localities and partners which have developed friendship with the province and accompanied it during the development process.

It was part of the activities of the sixth Quang Nam Heritage Festival 2017.

Thu affirmed that Quang Nam is keen to further international cooperation with foreign localities and partners.

After 20 years, Quang Nam has been listed among the 20 best economies of the nation, he said.

The province has set up cooperation with nine localities of Laos, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Japan, France, Belarus, and the US.

The ties have supported and boosted the province’s economic development as well as promoting the locality’s images internationally, Thu said.

Quang Nam hosts first Ngoc Linh Ginseng Festival

A festival featuring Ngoc Linh ginseng was opened in the central province of Quang Nam on June 10.

The event, the first of its kind, was jointly organised under the theme “Ngoc Linh ginseng legend” by the People’s Committee of Nam Tra My district and the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Numerous activities are being held during the four-day festival, including art performances, and exhibitions introducing Ngoc Linh ginseng root products, and tours to the plant growing areas.

Ngoc Linh ginseng was first found on Ngoc Linh Mountain on the border between Quang Nam and Central Highlands Kon Tum province and in the late 1960s.

Vietnam’s Ngoc Linh ginseng contains 52 saponins (saponin is the main component of ginseng. The more saponins, the better).

Besides saponin, Ngoc Linh ginseng contains 17 amino acids, 20 trace minerals and 0.1 percent of attar. The ginseng has high effects in anti-stress and anti-aging conditions. It helps improve immunity, enhance liver function, and lower cholesterol. Besides, it also works well with antibiotics and diabetes medications.

Ngoc Linh ginseng is one of the world’s most precious ginsengs. It has been approved as a national product under the Prime Minister’s Decision 787/QD-TTg.

Quang Nam has zoned off over 15,000 hectares to plant the ginseng, with the participation of over 1,000 households in seven communes in Nam Tra My district.

In 2016, the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Intellectual Property Agency recognised the Geographical Indication (GI) of Ngoc Linh for ginseng root products.

Yoko Ono project at new art centre

Hundreds of art lovers attended the opening of an exhibition showcasing contemporary artworks by 18 Vietnamese and foreign artists in Hanoi on June 6 night.

Entitled Toa or The Foliage, the exhibition marks the launch of the Vincom Centre for Contemporary Art (VCCA), sponsored by Vietnam’s biggest real estate developer, VinGroup. The VCCA is locates within the 4,000sq.m basement of the group’s Royal City Shopping Mall.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, VinGroup deputy chairwoman Le Mai Lan said: “Many people may wonder – an art centre located at a megamall. However, there is a message that we wish to spread: Art, especially contemporary art, not only resides at luxurious and glittering venues, but is present anywhere that it can reflect the breath of life, which is an endless source for it.”

“Following that motto, the VCCA not only honours art values, but also is a place where anyone can access easily and enjoy art.”

Developed and financed by VinGroup, the non-profit centre aims to support artists as well as to bring contemporary art closer to the public in Vietnam. It also helps improve cultural values and to promote the development of a stable and professional art market.

At The Foliage exhibition, visitors can join in an art project called Wish Tree by Yoko Ono.

Conceived sometime in the early 1980s after the assassination of John Lennon, Ono’s multi-site project Wish Tree consists of installations of any number of trees native to the sites. Visitors to the installations are invited to write their wishes on small pieces of paper – known as "wish-tags" – and hang them onto the tree branches. 

The wish-tags are collected by Ono, buried in capsules in and around her Imagine Peace Tower in Reykjavik, Iceland, which emanates a skyward light for two months every year, starting on John Lennon’s birthday, ending on each anniversary of his passing. A monument to his memories and legacy, Wish Tree is a celebration of life, love and unity. To date, the project has visited 19 different cities around the world, with something close to 1 million wishes collected for the Imagine Peace Tower.

The Foliage – the first time the Wish Tree has been presented in Vietnam – loc vung trees have been chosen for the installation. 

Indigenous to Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries, loc vung trees are most likely to be found in people’s houses and gardens, giving shade on sunny days, and also meant to bring good luck.

Alongside the Wish Tree, The Foliage also displays several artworks by other artists.

The Foliage is open to the public until August 6.

Quang Nam University helps train Lao human resources

Quang Nam University in the central province of Quang Nam is said to be a prestigious training institution that helps train students for neighbouring Laos.

The university is now training 179 students from Laos’ Sekong and Champassak provinces, which are twinned with Quang Nam province.

The Lao students are studying information technology, economics, tourism and pedagogics at the school. They have always received support and the best conditions from the provincial People’s Committee during their study.

Those who have graduated from the university are making remarkable contributions to their localities’ development. 

At a June 8 ceremony to celebrate the university’s 20th founding anniversary, its leaders revealed that in the coming time, the school will intensify efforts to improve training quality, through providing high-quality training courses, fine-tuning management, improving lecturers’ capacity and renovating teaching methods. 

Attention will be paid to fostering international cooperation, including the continued support for Lao localities in training high-quality human resources, they said. 

The university is providing training programmes in 15 majors in university level, 25 majors in college level and 18 majors in intermediate level. 

On the occasion, it was presented with the second-class Labour Order of the State.

Kites fly high as Quang Nam hosts Heritage Festival

More than 300 kites of all colours, shapes and sizes are being showcased in Hoi An ancient city and on Tam Thanh beach of Tam Ky city in the central province of Quang Nam.

The International Kite Festival, taking place from June 8-10, is part of the Quang Nam Heritage Festival 2017.

They are the art works of nearly 100 international and domestic craftsmen from Canada, Japan, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and New Zealand.

The kites, with designs combining traditional and modern features, reflect the artists’ creativity and skills, while sending messages of integration and exchanges among communities.

Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho Tan Cuong, who is head of the event’s organising board, said viewers can contemplate hundreds of kites of all shapes and sizes along with enjoying art performances.

The event is expected to bring viewers back to their childhood while contributing to the enhancement of friendship and cultural exchanges among nations and their people.

Ceremony marks Vietnam Seas & Islands Week 2017

Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh attended a ceremony in the southernmost province of Ca Mau on June 8 which was held in response to the Vietnam Seas and Islands Week 2017 and the World Oceans Day (June 8).

Addressing the event, Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh said themed “For Our Future”, the Vietnam Seas and Islands Week 2017 from June 1-8 aims to raise public awareness of the importance of seas and islands, the responsibility towards sea and island sovereignty protection, and the management and sustainable development of marine resources and environment.

She emphasised that generations of Vietnamese people have sacrificed their lives to establish and protect the country’s maritime territory. It is necessary to combine defence-security tasks with socio-economic development activities in sea and island areas, proactively protect the country’s rights and interests, and attract resources for developing the sea-based economy.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha said seas and oceans make up two-thirds of the earth’s surface area and are a critical to human life. However, they are being seriously threatened by human activities.

This year’s World Oceans Day is themed “Our Oceans, Our Future”, which calls for people’s unity in protecting oceans, the life and the planet, he noted.

Despite considerable achievements in the 10 years of implementing the Vietnam Sea Strategy towards 2020, the country is still facing a number of major challenges, including marine resources overexploitation, marine pollution, and flaws in marine environment management.

Ha added the World Oceans Day and the Vietnam Seas and Islands Week are an occasion to strengthen the commitment to protecting seas and islands, optimise marine advantages to boost economic development, and maintain the huge values of seas and oceans, thereby joining global efforts to protect oceans.

At the ceremony, Vice President Thinh and other participants released shrimp and fish fry into the sea and planted trees on Khai Long beach of Dat Mui commune. They also presented gifts to soldiers and residents in Hon Chuoi Island of Ca Mau province.

PM asks for efforts to reduce drug supply, demand and impact

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has signed a directive on intensifying drug prevention, control and detoxification with the target to reduce the supply, demand and impacts of drugs.

In Directive 25/CT-TTg, the Government leader requested Ministers and head of ministry-level agencies to consider the battle against drug crime and drug detoxification work a key, urgent and uninterrupted task.

He stressed the need to increase international cooperation, better relevant policies and laws, enhance prevention work and apply administrative punishment on illegal drug users, and encourage voluntary detoxification.

The PM also instructed intensifying education drives on drug crime combat and drug detoxification to attract the involvement of all people in this work, along with diversifying treatment and detoxification methods, and tightening control over legal drug-related activities.

He assigned the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs to coordinate with other agencies and localities to build a programme on strengthening management of drug addicts and detoxification, and assess and multiply effective detoxification models.

The Ministries of Public Security and Defence were required to reinforce the fight against the crime, especially along the border line.

Meanwhile, the Health Ministry was urged to research safe and effective medicine and methods for drug detoxification, while increasing the capacity of medical staff at detoxification facilities and popularising methadone treatment.

In Vietnam, a total of 19,333 drug crimes were discovered during 2016, with more than 31,000 suspects arrested.

The same year, there were nearly 211,000 registered drug addicts in the country, up 10,600 from 2015. 

Legislators mull over Law on Irrigation 

The draft Law on Irrigation was discussed during the National Assembly’s ongoing third session in Hanoi on June 8 under the chair of Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. 

Legislators heard a report on adjustments to the draft Law on Irrigation on the basis on collected opinions presented by Chairman of the NA’s Committee for Science, Technology and Environment Phan Xuan Dung. 

They then debated contentious contents of the bill, focusing on the State’s principles and policies regarding irrigation activities; fundamental irrigation investigation, strategy and planning; sciences and technologies in irrigation activities; the diversification of investigations in irrigation facilities; and rights and responsibilities of organisations and individuals in irrigation work.

In the afternoon, the law-makers approved a resolution on a law and ordinance building programme for 2018 and adjustments to the programme for 2017.

They scrutinized the separation of the work on compensation and relocation of residents from the Long Thanh international airport project as a component project.

They are scheduled to work on the supplementary assessment of the implementation of the socio-economic development plan and the State budget in 2016 and the first months of 2017 on June 9. The session will be broadcast live on the Vietnam Television and Radio the Voice of Vietnam. 

Forum discusses Vietnam – Japan cooperation in hi-tech farming

A forum on high-tech agricultural cooperation between Vietnam and Japan took place in Ho Chi Minh City on June 8.

The event, the second of its kind this year, aimed at connecting southern enterprises with their Japanese peers and helping Vietnamese high-tech farming centres promote their products and indicate their collaboration needs.

Tu Minh Thien, deputy head of the management board of HCM City's High-Tech Agricultural Park, said constructive relations between the two countries have brought mutual benefits for their people, with Vietnam seeing more opportunities to export goods to Japan.

Japan is a demanding market with strict requirements on food safety and quality, which is a challenge to Vietnamese firms, he added.

Vietnam has zoned off 29 high-tech industrial parks in 12 provinces and cities, seven of which have been operational in cultivation, aquaculture and animal husbandry. The Vietnamese Government has also issued various incentives and support policies targeting hi-tech agriculture, with the latest being a credit package worth 100 trillion VND (4.4 billion USD).

Representatives of Vietnamese high-tech agricultural parks said they hoped for not only Japanese investment but also cooperation in human resources training, laboratory research and technological transfer.

Participating Japanese firms stressed their willingness towards the cooperation.

They asked the Vietnamese Government to offer more incentives and help them remove barriers when investing in the local high-tech farming, particularly land issues.

As part of the forum, a pact was signed among the management board of the HCM City High-Tech Agricultural Park, Fuji Consulting Japan Co. Ltd, and Nakashima Bussan Co. Ltd. Under the deal, they will pilot the fine-bubble water treatment system and the use of bio-microorganisms in aquaculture.

HCM City boosts cooperation with RoK province

Ho Chi Minh City and Gangwon province of the Republic of Korea signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation on June 8, which focuses on the fields of health, biotechnology, and energy.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong stressed the pact will help cement Vietnam – RoK strategic partnership and collaboration between his city and RoK localities.

He said HCM City currently needs investment in health, biotechnology and energy, which are the strength of Gangwon, thus their cooperation is sure to produce good outcomes. 

Gangwon Governor Choi Moon-soon said his province is committed to reinforcing affiliations with the Vietnamese southern economic hub.

He unveiled a plan to establish a Gangwon representative office in the city to facilitate joint projects and Gangwon investments.

He said his entourage includes 150 investors and business representatives from his province, which means future partnerships are on the cards.

According to Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong, HCM City has previously signed similar MoUs with four other localities from the RoK.

Eighty-seven countries and territories worldwide are investing in the southern city, and the RoK is taking the lead with over 1,300 projects.

Party leader hopes for more women legislators

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said he hopes there will be more women in the National Assembly, especially those from ethnic minority groups, and hailed the performance of the nine-year-old Group of Female NA Deputies through three terms of the legislature. 

Meeting with a delegation of the Group of Female NA Deputies of the 14th tenure in Hanoi on June 8, the Party chief reiterated the consistent policy of the Party and State on facilitating women’s advancement and promoting gender equality. 

He noted that the proportion of women in the Vietnamese legislative body has always been among the highest in the region and the world, and through the NA activities, female parliamentarians have matured into key officials of Party and State agencies. 

The female parliamentarians called on the Party and State to continue paying attention to policies on women, creating more favourable conditions for women to receive training, thus improving their capacities and enhancing their performance and role in national politics and economy. 

The 14th National Assembly has 491 deputies, 132 of whom are women, with the youngest - born in 1992 – being a Dao ethnic from the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai. The NA has a woman as its Chair – Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, and a female Vice Chair – Tong Thi Phong.-

Vinh Long holds forum for children

The Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long on June 8 held a children’s forum 2017 to discuss the prevention of violence against children and children abuse.

Participants at the forum focused on the protection of children in the Internet environment; the prevention of violence against children; the avoidance of children abuse; and the prevention of accidents and injuries on children.

The event created a chance for children to directly dialogue with provincial department and agency leaders on the issues of children sexual abuse, violence at school, swimming lessons for children, and playing grounds for street children.

Addressing the forum, Nguyen Thi Bach Hue, Vice Director of the provincial Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs said that the event aims to give opportunities for local children to raise their voice, viewpoints and aspirations and ideas on children’s rights and issues of their concern.

The opinions will serve as references for provincial authorities to design proper policies for better observation of children’s rights, contributing to minimizing the number of abused children and violence against them, ensuring that all children enjoy a safe and healthy environment for their optimal and comprehensive development, she said.

Along with discussions and dialogue, participants also visited the local Martyrs’ Cemetery and a number of historical relic sites in the province.

Russia’s Independence Day celebrated in HCM City

The Russian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City on June 8 held a ceremony to mark Russia’s Independence Day (June 12, 1990 – June 12, 2017).

The ceremony was attended by Vice Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Huynh Cach Mang, representatives from diplomatic agencies, international organisations and Russian people living in the city.

Addressing the event, Mang said that since the two countries established comprehensive strategic partnership in 2012, the bilateral cooperation has been thriving. This is a favourable ground to bolster ties between HCM City and Russian localities.

HCM City has formed friendly cooperation with the Russia’s capital city of Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Vladivostok cities, Moscow and Sverdlovsk provinces, focusing on five areas of economy, environment and water management, education and science, culture and tourism.

The official affirmed that the city has been cooperating with the Russian Embassy and Consulate General to ensure the effective implementation of joint programmes and projects.

For his part, Popov Alekey Vladimirovich, Russian Consul General to HCM City, noted that recent high-level visits of the two countries’ leaders show the thriving bilateral relations.

He also expressed his belief that the upcoming visit of Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang, scheduled for late June, will enhance the comprehensive strategic partnership.

In 2016, trade between HCM City and Russia hit more than 146 million USD, up 58 percent year-on-year.

Exhibition on central region’s Cham towers kicks off

An exhibition on Cham towers in the central region of Vietnam opened in the central province of Quang Nam on June 9, as part of the ongoing Quang Nam Heritage Festival 2017.

The event aims to introduce artistic, historical and cultural values of Cham towers in My Son complex and in other localities of Vietnam’s central region, including Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan.

Many valuable documents and items are also on display.

All the exhibits are arranged according to the map of Vietnam’s central region, helping visitors identify the locations of Cham towers in the country. It also represented the theme of the sixth Quang Nam Heritage Festival – “Quang Nam - Connecting Cultural Heritages”.

Phan Ho, head of the My Son world cultural heritage site management board, stressed that each Cham tower holds its own value, contributing to the rich Champa culture.

The exhibition runs until June 14 at the My Son Museum, Duy Xuyen district.

Khanh Hoa: ceramic, brocade exhibition highlights Cham culture

An exhibition showcasing ceramic and brocade products of the Cham people in central Ninh Thuan province, began in the Ponagar Tower centre in central Khanh Hoa province on June 9 as part of activities of the upcoming Khanh Hoa-Nha Trang Sea Festival 2017. 

On display are nearly 1,000 ceramic products from the Bau Truc ceramic village, and 2,000 brocade products woven by artisans from the Cham ethnic group in the central province of Ninh Thuan. 

Visitors can learn to make ceramic and brocade products. 

According to Nguyen Van Thich, former director of the Khanh Hoa provincial preservation centre, prominent Cham culture – related architecture works in the locality are promoted and preserved effectively. 

The Ponagar Tower - a national history and culture relic site in the locality attracts dozens of thousand of believers and tourists for exercising religious practice and spending holidays every year, Thich said, adding that ceramic and brocade trade crafts of the Cham people are also widely introduced to visitors and locals. 

This is the fifth time ceramic products from the Bau Truc ceramic village and woven brocade products of the Cham people in Ninh Thuan have been displayed in the Khanh Hoa-Nha Trang Sea Festival.

The festival, slated for June 10-13, is expected to greet about 150,000 domestic and foreign tourists.

The biennial festival is estimated to cost more than 28 billion VND (1.23 million USD), of which 17.3 billion VND (761,000 USD) will be funded by enterprises.

Border, poor residents in Long An, Dak Lak get support

Poor children and families in border and remote areas in the Mekong Delta province of Long An and the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak received support during charitable events on June 10-11.

The southern representative office of Vietnam News Agency and the non-profit, non-governmental organisation Share Your Love offered free health check-ups and medicines to impoverished households and policy beneficiary families living in the border commune of My Quy Tay, Duc Hue district, Long An.

Ten scholarships and 200 gifts worth nearly 350 million VND were also presented to local children.

My Quy Tay commune, sharing border with Cambodia, is home to about 2,755 households, including 483 poor and 132 policy beneficiary ones.

Meanwhile, on June 11, Dak Lak province partnered with the Ministry of Labour, Invalids, Social Affairs, the Vietnam Bank for Social Policy and the VTV24 News Centre to organise the programme “Cap La Yeu Thuong” (A pair of leaves for love), providing support for 66 children with difficulties, most of whom are from remote areas or ethnic minority groups.

Each will receive 400,000 VND in monthly allowance from sponsors. 

Some orphans were adopted at the event.

Almost one third of communes recognised as new-style rural areas

As many as 2,720 communes, or 30.48 percent of the country’s total, have been recognised as new style rural areas as of the end of May 2017, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). 

The figure showed an increase of 389 communes since the end of 2016. Meanwhile, 34 districts nationwide have received the title, with four newly-recognised districts this year. 

On national-scale average, a commune has met 13.8 categories out of the overall 19 criteria on socio-economic development, politics and defence in order to be recognised as a new style rural area. 

To accelerate the programme, the MARD has submitted to the Prime Minister a pilot project on environment protection in building new style rural areas in disadvantaged localities, border and island communes in 2017-2020. 

A significant goal of the project is to build clean water supply and garbage treatment models. 

The ministry has also completed a guidebook on how to implement the new-style rural area criteria in 2017-2020. 

The national programme on building new-style rural areas was initiated by the Government in 2010. It sets out 19 criteria, ranging from infrastructure development, production capacity improvement, environmental protection and cultural value promotion.

National event for para athletes starts in HCM City

The National Sport Games for People with Disabilities will be held in HCM City from June 14 to June 20.

The 18th tournament will see more than 1,000 participants from 31 cities and provinces. They will compete for more than 700 sets of medals in nine track-and-field disciplines, swimming, table tennis, powerlifting, badminton, chess, boccia, blind football and tennis.

Athletes such as Paralympic powerlifter winner Lê Văn Công, Paralympic bronze medallist in javelin Cao Ngọc Hùng and Paralympic silver holder in swimming Võ Thanh Tùng will take part in the competition, which is one of their warm-up events for the upcoming ASEAN Para Games in Malaysia in September.

“I respect all the competitors. I will try my best to maintain my performance to achieve the best result,” said Công at a press conference yesterday.

The organisers hope to find more athletes for the national teams to take part in the Asian Junior Para Games and world championships.

Fire guts bookstore in heart of Hanoi

An investigation is under way into a fire on a narrow street in the city of Hanoi urban centre of Ha Dong that severely damaged a bookstore yesterday (June 11), reports the Zing Online Newspaper.

Flames and thick plumes of black smoke were spotted high in the sky that originated from a building housing the store on Phung Hung Street at around 3.20pm, Hanoi city police said.

The fire started on the ground floor and spread elsewhere. The upper floors as well as the facade of the building were seriously damaged. City fire fighters were able to quickly bring the blaze under control and no-one was injured.

Occupants of an adjacent building attempted to douse the flames with fire extinguishers prior to the arrival of firefighters to no avail, reported the Zing Online Newspaper.

Fortunately, the nearby structures remained relatively unscathed and the occupants escaped injury.

A section of the street was closed temporarily while emergency police and fire service workers responded to the scene.

'Kong: Skull Island' director plants trees in Nha Trang

Many international delegates, including Vietnam’s Tourism Ambassador and Hollywood film director Jordan Charles Vogt-Roberts planted trees along Nha Trang beach on June 11 within the framework of the Nha Trang-Khanh Hoa Sea Festival.

Thirty coconut trees were planted along Tran Phu Road, the most beautiful coastal road in Khanh Hoa province.

'kong: skull island' director plants trees in nha trang hinh 1 Tree planting is an annual activity of the sea festival, aiming to tighten the friendship between Khanh Hoa and other cities in the world, especially with sister cities such as Incheon (the Republic of Korea), and Lorient (Morbihan, France). 

It also sends a message that Nha Trang needs more green trees to protect the environment in order to build a better and friendly city.