Vietnam, Japan work on int’l-standard labour training

A Vietnam-Japan training and technology transfer centre was inaugurated at the Saigon Hi-tech Park (SHTP) in Ho Chi Minh City on June 14, marking an important milestone in cooperation between the park’s management board and Japanese partners in training international standard human resources.

The centre will launch advanced and high-quality training programmes, aiming to narrow the gap between university education and the real demand. 

It will work to support technology transfer from Japanese enterprises to Vietnamese firms through enhancing technology business activities between the two countries’ partners. 

It will also give consultancy to the two sides’ enterprises in recruiting labourers, and support SHTP in developing high-quality human resources serving socio-economic development in HCM City in particular and in Vietnam in general. 

According to Le Hoai Quoc - head of the SHTP’s management board, VJTC will train high-quality human resources in specialised knowledge and practical skills, thus meeting the demand of human resources of high-tech enterprises in the era of Industry 4.0. 

The centre will focus on robot and automation industry through implementing official development assistance (ODA) projects, which will be funded by the Japanese Government and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The centre is hoped to become the leading robot industry and automation-training centre in Vietnam in the next five years, and in Southeast Asia in the next ten years. 

On the occasion, the SHTP’s training centre signed agreements with Nidec group, Mitsubishi Electronics Vietnam and Tan Phat Automation JSC on cooperation in training and developing human resources. 

Founded in October 2002, SHTP has attracted numerous domestic and foreign investors, namely Intel, Samsung, Nidec, FPT, and Jabil. Its production output is expected to surge from US$500 million in 2010 to US$20 billion by 2020. 

From 2020, it is forecast to contribute more than US$1 billion to the city’s State budget.

India funds building IT centre of defence ministry’s university

Work started on the second phase of the information technology and foreign language centre of the Defence Ministry’s Telecommunications University in Nha Trang city, central Khanh Hoa province, on June 14.

The building of the centre’s IT infrastructure is funded with VND120 billion (US$5.19 million) by the Indian Government. 

The second phase of the centre is set to be put into use in late 2019.

Maj. Gen. Khuc Dang Tuan, Commander of the Signal Corps, said the centre covers 30,000 square metres of land in Vinh Hoa ward of Nha Trang city. Once completed, it will be able to provide training for 2,000 people and also be the working place of 1,000 people with research and development tasks to provide services for the army and the society.

Visiting Indian Minister of Defence Nirmala Sitharaman highly valued the two countries’ cooperation through the outcomes of the first phase of this centre, adding that India is ready to send experts to continue supporting Vietnam in IT infrastructure building and personnel training.

She said this cooperation is a demonstration of the enhanced comprehensive strategic partnership between India and Vietnam.

At the ceremony, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Defence Nguyen Chi Vinh described the centre’s achievements as an illustration of the right development direction of the cooperation and friendship between the Governments, armies and people of Vietnam and India.

This is also an important pre-condition for the two defence ministries to continue investing in the second phase to turn the centre into a prestigious establishment in training high-quality IT and foreign language manpower and researching, applying and transferring IT and telecommunication technologies.

With strong support of India, phase I of the IT and foreign language centre was inaugurated in April 2015. It has opened 52 training courses on IT and English for more than 4,000 army and non-army students so far. 
World Cup 2018: Vietnam asks Russia to support football fans

The Vietnamese Embassy in Russian has asked the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant authorities to help Vietnamese football supporters perform temporary residence procedures and ensure their safety during their stay for the 2018 FIFA World Cup from June 14 to July 17.

The fans should study Russia’s regulations on visa exemption (including valid passport and Fan ID) and temporary residence.

They are also advised to bring winter clothes, keep identity papers and luggage and obey regulations of the host nation.

In case of emergency, it is recommended to contact the hotline of the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia: +7-930-182-1617, the Consulate General of Vietnam in Ekaterinburge: +7-343-253-0284 or +7-965-506-6868 and the Consulate General of Vietnam in Vladivostok: +7-914-708-0939, or the citizen protection hotline: +84-981-848-484.
Five Vietnamese fishermen rescued by foreign ship

Five Vietnamese fishermen have been rescued by a Marshall Island-flagged ship when their boat sank in the sea.

According to Nguyen Xuan Binh, director of Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Co-ordination Centre’s branch in Nha Trang, the five fishermen were all from Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province and were on fishing boat KH 97517 TS owned by Tran Van Con. 

On the afternoon of August 8, Khanh Hoa authorities were informed of the incident. The fishing boat was said to collide with a ship whose nationality has not yet been defined in the sea, causing it to sink.

Luckily, the fishermen were saved by crew on the Bomar Jupiter which was in the area, some 87 nautical miles southeast of Nha Trang City. They have been taken to Zhuai Port in China.

Binh said that the fishermen’s health condition is normal and have been arranged to return home by air on June 15.

Khanh Hoa Province has 9,700 fishing boats and nearly 25,000 fishermen.

Programme promotes actions for green Ha Long

Training on waste collection and classification, a contest on initiatives to reduce plastic rubbish and beach clean-up campaigns were featured at the programme “Action for a Green Ha Long: Towards zero-waste tour programmes” organised in Ha Long Bay, the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh on June 14.

The event was jointly held by the Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Centre for Supporting Green Development (GreenHub) and the Live and Learn environmental education organisation.

It was part of the Ha Long-Cat Ba Alliance, a three-year initiative financed by the US Agency for International Develoment (USAID).

According to Mission Director for USAID Vietnam Michael Greene, this was the fourth programme of its kind. Volunteers joining in the previous events collected four tonnes of waste, mostly float buoys and plastic garbage. 

More than 100 participants at this year’s programme, who were representatives from cruisers, travel agents, tourism and hotel colleges, non-governmental organiations and press agencies, learned about “zero waste” and its application in tourism, he added.

They also discussed measures to support tourism companies to apply a “zero waste” model in their business. Local firms need to choose the most rational action to cut the amount of waste while saving operation costs.

With stunning natural landscapes and more than 500 tourist vessels, Ha Long Bay is one of the leading tourist attractions in Vietnam. The World Natural Heritage site welcomes some 4 million tourists every year. Thus, investment in waste treatment and management system is significant to protect its environment.

Nguyen Huyen Anh, deputy head of the Ha Long Bay Management Board, the locality has paid attention to preserving and promoting the values of the bay by carrying out a national strategy on green growth and a project to improve the environment in the province.

Applying science and technology in environmental protection has been promoted as well, she said.

The tourism sector in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh has grown at a fast pace in recent years, establishing its important role in the province’s economy. 

Quang Ninh is endowed with natural advantages for sea and island tourism. It is home to the Ha Long and Bai Tu Long Bays, the Ha Long Bay National Park and some islands.

Ha Long Bay has twice been recognised as a World Natural Heritage site by UNESCO. The heritage site has become a magnet drawing visitors to Quang Ninh. 

In 2017, a total of 9.87 million tourists visited the province, including 4.28 million foreigners. More than 70% of the tourists came in sea and island tours. The province aims to attract more than 12 million visitors this year, including 5 million foreigners.

Quang Ninh is expanding the space for sea and island tourism farther from Ha Long Bay towards islands such as Co To, Van Don and Hai Ha. 

Equipped with a strategic vision for developing the sea-based economy, the province in 2014 approved an Overall Plan for tourism development to 2020 with a vision to 2030. Under the scheme, the sea space in Quang Ninh is divided into five zones, which are the strictly preserved Ha Long Bay, the conservation area in Bai Tu Long National Park, the tourism zone, the zone with restricted development to serve national defence and security and the zone with no development. Each zone has close links with each other to support the development of sea-based tourism and economy while ensuring national defence and security and serving the province’s sustainable development.

The plan has made positive impacts on the local tourism sector, helping attract a series of investment projects. Many big investors such as Vingroup, Sun Group, Myway, Tuan Chau and FLC have poured money into tourism infrastructure and entertainment facilities in Quang Ninh.

Huge fire destroys workshops at Thuy Van IP in Phu Tho

A huge fire broke out at the workshops of Yakjin Vietnam Co, Ltd in Thuy Van Industrial Park, Viet Tri city in the northern province of Phu Tho at 11pm on June 13.

According to a local witness, the blaze sparked from the company’s workshop area and rapidly spread to neighbouring areas.

The fire engulfed the workshops which mostly contained fabric and machinery. Fire fighters encountered difficulties in tackling the size and intensity of the blaze. 

By 7am on June 14, the fire had been brought under control but three workshops were completely destroyed.

Another workshop which is located at distance from the three workshops was not affected by the fire.

Scrap imports choke Ho Chi Minh City ports

An increasingly larger quantity of imported scrap has overloaded several seaports in Ho Chi Minh City, which has become an ‘alternative destination’ for the waste dumping after China ceased buying it earlier this year.

Within the first two weeks of May alone, 7,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of overseas scrap paper and plastic were unloaded at the Cat Lai Terminal, 2,000 more TEUs against the beginning of the month. (1 TEU = a 39-cubic-meter container)

Located in District 2, Cat Lai is one of the key and modern international shipping terminals in southern Vietnam.

The growing presence of plastic and paper scrap imports has been choking the port and become highly detrimental to the business of the facility, as well as shipping firms and companies in need of importation or exportation, said Nguyen Nang Toan, director of the Saigon Newport Logistics, a unit of Saigon Newport Corporation.

Military-run Saigon Newport Corporation is the operator of Cat Lai Terminal and Hiep Phuoc Terminal.

Around 5,234 TEUs are estimated to linger long at Cat Lai in the future, according to the company.

The Saigon Newport Corporation said the cause for the pile-up was that China, which used to be the world’s largest buyer of trash, has banned imports of scrap from the EU, the US and Japan.

The move by China has made waste products to be transferred instead to Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam.

The Saigon Newport Corporation has as of early June tightened regulations on receiving scrap shipments via both Cat Lat and Hiep Phuoc Terminals, requiring waste containers to have necessary valid import documents and written promises of picking them up by a specific date to be allowed for unloading.

Those failing to meet these requirements will have to move the containers to another port.

This is simply a stopgap measure, Toan admitted, adding that he wished competent agencies in Ho Chi Minh City to join hands to solve the problem.

HCM City police suggest lowering speed limits on 10 busy roads

Ho Chi Minh City’s traffic police have proposed shrinking speed caps on ten of the city’s busiest streets in an effort to reduce road accidents caused by fast-moving vehicles.

The proposal asks for exceptions to a 2015 circular by Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport which raised speed limits on all roads in the country by 10 kilometers per hour, to up to 90 km/h in non-residential areas and up to 60 km/h in residential areas, starting March 2016.

In a letter sent to the Ho Chi Minh City transport department, traffic police officers said the speed limit raise had been partly to blame for recent growth in the number of traffic accidents citywide.

Therefore, lowering speed limits on ten roads with high traffic volume in Ho Chi Minh City could be a feasible measure to ensure traffic safety and reduce accidents, they said.

The streets proposed for change are National Highways 1 and 22, Pham Van Dong, Truong Chinh, Nguyen Van Linh, Kinh Duong Vuong, Quang Trung, Nguyen Kiem, Nguyen Van Luong and Phan Van Tri.

Speed caps on these roads will be lowered by 10-20 km/h, according to the proposal.

For instance, on Truong Chinh and Nguyen Van Linh Streets, the max speed for passenger buses and cars with nine seats or less has been suggested to be lowered from 80 km/h to 60 km/h.

Nguyen Ngoc Tuong, deputy head of the city’s traffic safety committee, said the streets up for reduced speed limits have been identified as accident-prone areas where the flow of vehicles is complicated.

Over 300 people were killed and more than 1,000 others injured in 1,474 traffic accidents in Ho Chi Minh City in the first five months of 2018, according to the municipal transport department.

Compared to the same period of 2017, the number of deaths went up by 37 people this year.

Two Vietnamese sentenced to death for heroin smuggling

The Hanoi People's Court sentenced two men to death for drug smuggling on June 13, months after they were caught with 16 kilograms of drugs.

According to the prosecutors, Ta Anh Tuan, 41, confessed that he was hired to transport the drugs from Son La Province near the Laos border to Hanoi, around 400 kilometers (248 miles) to the west, for VND120 million (US$5,300) and he asked his friend Nguyen Hong Quan, 36, to join.

Having worked as drivers, Quan and Tuan rented a car to transport the drugs on their own. On December 4, 2017, they drove to Son La and received a bag of 15.5 kilograms of heroin and around half a kilo of methamphetamine worth a total of VND7 billion (US$307,000).

Police in Hanoi's Ba Vi District arrested them early the next morning after inspecting their car.

Tuan confessed that he had accepted to transport heroin for a man named Tho, but he had not been paid. Quan denied any involvement, saying he was just Tuan's driver.

The court rejected Quan’s contention and found both the accused guilty of drug trafficking.

It reserved sentence on Tho, about whom further information has not been revealed.

Vietnam has some of the toughest drug laws in the world. Those convicted of possessing or smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine face the death penalty. The production or sale of 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of other illegal narcotics is also punishable by death.

Then singing promoted to wider public

“Then” singing is an indispensable practice in the cultural and religious life of Tay, Nung, and Thai ethnic minority communities in Vietnam’s northern mountainous provinces.

The sixth national festival celebrating the art of Then singing and the Tinh gourd lute of the Tay, Nung, and Thai ethnic groups took place in mid last month in the northernmost province of Ha Giang. The festival gathered more than 500 artisans from 14 provinces nationwide. Joining many senior artisans at the festival were very young artists in their twenties.

19-year-old Tran Thanh An of Cao Bang provincial art troupe told VOV that he started to study Tay ethnic language in order to learn Then singing when he was 14.

"I heard Then singing since I was very little and my love for this folk art has grown with time. This has encouraged me to pursue this art form professionally. My mom is a Tay ethnic and we live in Cao Bang province, two factors that brought me closer to Then singing," said An. 

Many Then singing festivals and seminars have been held in recent years to seek ways to better promote the folk art.

"Local people’s awareness on preserving Then singing has improved remarkably. At such festivals, it’s encouraging to see that many ancient versions of Then singing have been well preserved. Old artisans have passed down all their knowledge, singing skills, as well as passion to the younger generations. You can only perform Then singing once you have studied the art thoroughly. A number of ancient versions of Then singing have been lost and it’s urgent to devise plans to preserve this cultural heritage of Vietnam," said  Trieu Thi Tinh, Deputy Director of the Ha Giang provincial Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

From 2002 to 2016, the Association of Vietnam’s Folklorists conferred the title of “folklore artisans” to Then singers. Starting from 2015, Then singers have been honored with Emeritus Artist title presented by the State President.

Other activities to preserve The singing include listing, identifying, documenting, recording, and collecting materials about Then singing with the participation of senior Then singers. Artifacts related to the art form are put on display in museums across Vietnam. Classes on Then singing and Tinh musical instrument playing are organized regularly in localities that are home to Then singing.

"Over the past 6 festivals, Then singing has become more popular among a wider public. Best performances of Then singing have been brought to these events. We are confident to say that preserving Then singing has become an obvious task of all Vietnamese people," said Associate Professor Dang Hoanh Loan, former Head of the Vietnam National Academy of Music.

"These festivals are contributing to the preparations for a dossier to ask for UNESCO’s recognition of Then singing as a cultural heritage of humanity. Also through these events, a young generation of Then singing lovers have been born with strong passion and determination to promote the art form," Loan added.

​Planned nonstop flight to boost already rising Indian arrivals to Vietnam

The number of visitors from India to Vietnam has climbed rapidly and is expected to spike further when a direct air route between the two countries is launched later this year, an industry insider has said.

​Approximately 85,000 Indian tourists visited Vietnam in 2017, a 30% year-on-year growth rate, Randir Brar, an executive from Destinos India, said at a working session between the New Delhi-based travel firm and Vietnamese tour operators in Ho Chi Minh City.

For comparison, he added, 1.6 million Indians spent their holidays last year in Thailand.

This means there is still room for Vietnam to attract more Indian holidaymakers in the future, Brar said.

The Destinos India representative expressed his belief that Indian arrivals to Vietnam will continue to soar, once the direct route between the two countries is launched at the end of this year as planned.

Low-cost Vietnamese carrier Vietjet is working with related agencies and ground services to prepare for the launch of a nonstop service between Ho Chi Minh City and New Delhi by the end of this year, Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Parvathaneni Harish revealed last month.

The air route, having been approved by the Indian government, is expected to allow more Vietnamese tourists to visit India, Harish was quoted by The Saigon Times economic newspaper as saying on May 8.

The nonstop flight will help passengers avoid transit time and only spend around six hours traveling between the two countries, thus promoting bilateral tourism, Brar elaborated.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism also expects tourist numbers from India, one of its key markets, would grow three to four times in 2018.

The southern metropolis has had plans to focus on serving tourists from India through quality restaurants and accommodations.

On the other hand, some 50,000 Vietnamese visited India in 2017, and the figure is expected to rise to 70,000 - 75,000 this year, according to Brar.

Indian travel companies are looking to introduce new tour packages to the Vietnamese market, he added.

In addition to the existing pilgrimage, medical and yoga tours, Indian companies have also designed a multi-destination journey for guests to visit Nepal and Bhutan from India, he said.

Blockchain leads the way for Industry 4.0

Among key technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, blockchain is one of the breakthrough examples which is predicted to lead the revolution in the coming decades.

Head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Nguyen Van Binh spoke at the Blockchain Forum 2018 – Vision and Development in Hanoi on June 14.

"It can be seen that the fourth industrial revolution is fundamentally changing the world’s production, creating a powerful impact on all aspects of socio-economic life, leading to big changes in production methods and productive forces," Binh said.

According to him, blockchain is defined as the technology for storing and transmitting information and data by blocks linked together and expanded over time.

With its decentralised, transparent and high-security features, blockchain is evaluated as a revolutionary technology that drives change in the future and is applied in many areas such as finance, retail, logistics and telecommunications.

Binh also said that many countries are seriously considering, studying and putting policies into effect for the full development of blockchain.

Following global trends, Vietnam needs to continue to monitor, encourage and promote the advantages of blockchain technology, as well as, studying and developing policies to minimise risks, said Binh.

Also speaking at the forum, Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh said the Blockchain Forum 2018 aimed to create an open space for discussion on potential and challenges, the development trend of blockchain technology through the sharing of international and domestic experts, comments from representatives of Vietnamese Government agencies and enterprises.

The forum is one of the official channels for the authorities, aiming to directly connect blockchain developers, enterprises applying the technology to management agencies to discuss, make recommendations and proposals to improve the legal framework for the technology, electronic money, and digital assets in the future, he added.

The minister also said they will deploy related works to support the application of blockchain technology in socio-economic fields.

These works include coordinating with ministries and agencies to study and develop plans for the application of blockchain; study the experiences of other countries, advise the Party and the State to promote and control the blockchain technology in Vietnam; and support the development of blockchain technology through national-level science and technology programmes.

The Ministry of Science and Technology will prioritise supporting start-up enterprises to implement the project “Supporting the national innovative start-up ecosystem by 2025.”

The minister also asked the organising board of the Blockchain Forum 2018, especially online newspaper VnExpress, to set up online information channels and forums for information sharing as well as receiving policy recommendations from experts, scientists, enterprises and managers in and outside the country about the experiences and trend for blockchain development.