Vietnam photo exhibition opens in Ukraine

A photo exhibition featuring Vietnam’s beauty and tourism potential recently opened at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv in Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv. 

On display were photos of Vietnam’s reform achievements, landscapes, people and cultures. 

At the opening ceremony, Dean of the Department of Linguistics and Philology of the Far East and Southeast Asian countries Professor Dr. P.I Bodanrenko expressed his admiration for Vietnam and hoped to vist the country soon. 

Kisik Nikita, a representative of Vietnam Victoria Tour Travel Agency in Ukraine, said Vietnam has stable politics, a dynamic economy and potential for tourism development. 

The event attracted hundreds of researchers, locals and foreigners interested in Vietnam as well as overseas Vietnamese in Ukraine.

Conference gathers views on draft denunciation law

Opinions on the revised draft Law on Denunciation were collected at a consultation conference held by the Vietnam Lawyers' Association (VLA) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in Hanoi on April 20. 

Chairman of the VLA Nguyen Van Quyen underlined the importance of Law on Denunciation, which came into effect in July 2012, saying that it contributes to improving the effectiveness of denunciation settlement. 

However, he noted that there are limitations related to the authority and order of solving denunciations  and the enforcement of conclusions on denunciations. 

Attention has not yet been paid to protecting denouncers in recent times, while policies to ensure safety for them remain ineffective, Quyen added. 

He said the conference is hoped to gather opinions of prestigious lawyers, thus building mechanisms to protect denouncers as well as laying a foundation for building the Law onDenunciation (revised) to submit to the National Assembly for approval. 

According to Michael Trueblood from USAIDS, all citizens have rights to denounce violations of State agencies. He said the Law on Denunciation (revised) will not only remove legal barriers but also increase transparency of the process of settling denunciations and better protect denouncers.

Participants at the conference focused their discussions on regulations on rights of denouncers and those to protect them. 

They said the revised law should have more specific regulations on the principle to define the authority to settle denunciations, and the responsibility of State agencies in applying measures to protect denouncers and their privacy.

Vice President presents gifts to child patients with facial defects

Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh, who is also President of the Council of the National Fund for Vietnamese Children (NFVC), visited and presented gifts to children with cleft lip and palate at the Vietnam – Cuba hospital in Hanoi on April 20.

Eighty gifts, worth 500,000 VND (22 USD) each, were delivered to the children, who are currently under treatment of an orthopaedic surgery programme organised by the hospital and Operation Smile.

The programme offers cleft lip and palate surgeries for about 100 children free of charge this time.

Vice President Thinh urged doctors, nurses and families to care for the children and help them recover after operations.

She said she is looking forward to further engagement of sponsors in the programme for the sake of the young generation.  

Every year, about 2,000 Vietnamese children are born with the deformities. 

Since 1994, the NFVC launched free corrective operations for the group and extended the initiative in 1997 by cooperating with Operation Smile.

The NFVC has so far supported nearly 30,000 children, with operation costs amounting to almost 70 billion VND (3.08 million USD). 

Operation Smile has carried out operations on nearly 40,000 children with facial deformities in Vietnam over the past 27 years.

It plans to carry out 2,500 surgeries this year.

Dialogue focuses on urban development, management policies

The Ministry of Construction, in collaboration with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN–Habitat), held a dialogue on urban policies towards a new urban agenda on April 20 in Hanoi.

Participants shared experience and made proposals on feasible urban development and management policies.

Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Dinh Toan said that his ministry is completing institutions and a system of legal documents related to urban areas to ensure synchronous development. It also considers building the Urban Development and Management Law and a report evaluating Vietnam’s national urban policy.

Director of UN-Habitat in Vietnam Nguyen Quang said that the national urban policy must balance the demand for equal land access and sustainable environmental issues and effective land use in order to avoid binding agreements on land.

According to him, Vietnam is facing a challenge on land clearance and resettlement, land distribution and registration, together with complicated administrative procedures.

Therefore, it is necessary to define the role and legal responsibility of local authorities to ensure the feasibility of the policy, he said, suggesting the policy be in line with other development policy frameworks, including those related to energy, water, transport, and infrastructure.

The urban system in Vietnam has seen positive progresses over the past 20 years. Urban areas continue to play a core role in speeding up economic structure shifting and become a motivation for socio-economic development. Economic activities in urban areas have created millions of jobs for people nationwide.

AIPA internal network introduced in Hanoi

An ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA)’s online internal network (AIPA Connect) was introduced to member parliaments of the AIPA during a meeting in Hanoi on April 20.

Speaking at the meeting, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Office Do Manh Hung said that the development of the network aims to share knowledge and information among AIPA member parliaments, thus improving their capacity in information management as well as policy study and consultation.

Conferences on AIPA Connect have also been held for specialists from AIPA member parliaments to exchange ideas and learn from each other’s experience in information technology, he said.

Meanwhile, regional advisor of the German Agency for International Development Cooperation(GIZ) and AIPA technical support coordinator Bernardo R.Agawin Jr., the meeting aims to foster AIPA connection through encouraging the using of the internal network. 

The meeting also looked into the implementation of the network in each member parliament, while defining priorities for users and collecting feedback on difficulties facing users and giving solutions to technical obstacles, he added.

At the meeting, Director of the National Assembly Office’s IT Centre Le Hoang Hai briefed participants on IT application in the office with regards to organisation, human resources, legal framework, and technical infrastructure system.

He also introduced the orientations of using the network as well as its major features and using policies.

Earlier on June 3, 2016, the NA Office held the third conference on the AIPA Connect in Ho Chi Minh City. It also sent IT specialists to the conferences as well as IPA Connect-related training activities co-held by the AIPA Secretariat and the GIZ.

President meets ethnic village chiefs, artisans, prestigious people

President Tran Dai Quang met 112 chiefs of villages and communes, artisans and prestigious people from ethnic minority groups in 15 northern mountainous provinces at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on April 20, part of activities to celebrate Cultural Day of Vietnamese Ethnic Groups (April 19). 

Speaking at the event, the President affirmed that since its establishment, the Party has placed importance on ethnic affairs and solidarity of ethnic groups, especially the preservation and upholding of ethnic groups’ traditional cultural values. 

The leader lauded the efforts of ethnic chiefs of villages, artisans and prestigious people in the north in the national construction and defence cause, including ethnic cultural affairs, saying that they have made important contributions to improving the lives of ethnic minorities. 

He hailed the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST) for working with ministries, agencies and localities to hold a conference gathering chiefs of villages, artisans and prestigious people from ethnic minority and border regions and a seminar discussing preserving ethnic cultural identities. 

As the ethnic minorities still live in need, they are easily incited by hostile forces which seek to divide them and sabotage national unity, causing political instability, he said, adding that this requires the MoCST, ministries, agencies and localities to continue implementing the Party and State’s resolutions and decrees on ethnic affairs and policies, with a focus on the resolution adopted by the 12th National Party Congress and the 12th Party Central Committee’s resolution on developing Vietnamese culture and people for national sustainable development. 

The leader requested improving the quality of cultural activities in tandem with socio-economic development, ensuring national defence-security, and new rural construction while involving the entire political system and people in preserving traditional cultural values. 

He also underscored the importance of issuing policies to instruct village chiefs, artisans and prestigious people how to execute the Party and State’s ethnic policies. 

The host took the occasion to ask them to carry out their role in mass mobilisation to implement the Party’s guidelines and policies and enforce laws on ethnic affairs and culture.

Over the past years, the MoCST has proposed practical measures and coordinated with ministries, agencies and localities to hold regional cultural exchanges, contributing to honouring cultural values of ethnic groups and strengthening national unity.

New forest law excludes disadvantaged groups

From now until 2020, elderly people with no pension or State allowance, living in poor circumstances or in mountainous, island or ethnic minority areas will be entitled to social benefits.

This is one of the objectives of the project "Renovating and developing social benefits in 2017-2025 period, with a vision towards 2030,” which was recently approved by Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc. The ultimate goal during the entire implementation period of the project is to provide timely support for 100 per cent of disadvantaged people.

Also, according to this project, from this year until 2020, 50 per cent of the seriously disadvantaged population will be able to receive social welfare that suits their needs, with at least 10 per cent receiving comprehensive social services.

Moving on to the 2021-2025 period, the project aims to raise monthly social welfare allowance and provide support for children below 36 months old, pregnant women of poor or near-poor households, and households in mountainous, island or ethnic minority areas.

The coverage will be extended gradually, so that, by 2030, all elderly people without pension or State allowance, children below 36 months old and pregnant women from disadvantaged households will be entitled to social welfare. The level of support will be adjusted in line with the budget capacity and international trends. 

Hải, Trâm of HCM City lead in chess champs

HCM City athletes dominated the show at the National Chess Championship yesterday in Hà Nội.

Their masters, Đào Thiên Hải and Hoàng Thị Bảo Trâm, came from behind to take the lead in the men’s and women’s categories, respectively.

After two rounds yesterday, Grandmaster (GM) Hải grabbed 5.5 points from one win and one draw to replace Hanoian GM Trần Tuấn Minh at the top position.

Minh with five points is second, followed by International Master (IM) Bảo Khoa of Lâm Đồng.

Veteran master Hải will next meet IM Nguyễn Văn Huy of Hà Nội while Minh will see Khoa.

Women’s GM Trâm also snatched a win and a draw yesterday to garner a total of six points in seven matches.

She is followed by Hanoian Lương Phương Hạnh, who drops down after a loss in the sixth-round match, and IM Phạm Lê Thảo Nguyên of Cần Thơ.

The eighth match will see Trâm versus her teammate WGM Nguyễn Thị Thanh An. Hạnh will meet Hải Phòng’s Lê Thị Hà and Nguyên will play Nguyễn Thị Phương Thảo of Bắc Giang.

HCM City to widen two north-western streets

The HCM City People’s Committee has approved the widening of Trường Chinh and Tân Kỳ Tân Quý streets in Tân Phú and Tân Bình districts to ease traffic congestion.

A 765m stretch of Trường Chinh Street between Cộng Hòa and Âu Cơ streets will be expanded from around 12m to 30m.

A 645m section of Tân Kỳ Tân Quý between Cộng Hòa Street and Lê Trọng Tấn Street will be widened from 8m to 30m.

The works are estimated to cost VNĐ2.61 trillion (US$114.47 million).

According to the city Department of Transport, the Management Authority for Urban Traffic No 1 will manage them.

Since there are many houses on the two streets, compensation payments are expected to top 2.23 trillion ($97.81million).

When 40 per cent of the land is acquired and cleared, likely next year, the work will start. 

Hotel room shortage looms as MICE arrivals increase

A sharp increase in MICE (Meeting, Incentive, Conference and Event) tourist arrivals in HCM City has fuelled concern among tourism firms over possible shortages of hotel rooms and conference halls.

Major hotels have reported high occupancy rates in the first quarter of 2017, with many four- and five-star hotels managing over 80 per cent in February.

There is a match between demand and supply at the moment, but if the MICE market grows further, the possibility of a room shortage for MICE tourists would be high, a source at the Saigontourist Travel Service Company warned.

With the number of MICE visitors increasing steadily since last year, some tourism companies moved some groups to other cities and provinces.

HCM City has great potential for MICE tourism but the city needs to invest more in infrastructure, hotels and convention centres, Nguyễn Ngọc Châu, chairman of Bến Thành Tourist, said.

As of last February the city had 1,926 star-rated hotels with 48,182 guest rooms, according to the city Department of Tourism.

The department has urged the city administration to offer incentives for building and expanding three- to five-star hotels.

Tourism firms have called for building more exhibition and convention facilities. Currently there are only two such centres: GEM Center in District 1 and Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center in District 7. 

ROK permit program swells ranks of foreign workers

In the competition to recruit much-needed foreign talent, the Republic of Korea work permit program is outperforming the scheme established by Japan.

In raw numbers, Japan recruited an estimated 1.08 million foreign workers to edge out the 960,000 of the ROK even though its population of 50 million is less than half the size of neighbouring Japan.

In other words, the proportion of foreign workers in the ROK is more than double that of the East Asian island nation.

Foreign workers had entered through the Industrial Training System, which was akin to the current Technical Intern Training Program of Japan.

However, Seoul replaced that framework with a broader Employment Permit System in 2004, which has since allowed 480,000 nonprofessional workers entry into the country for work purposes.

Among the number, the ROK granted regular work permits to 260,000 people from Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia and 11 other nations under bilateral agreements.

They generally work in agriculture and for small manufacturers. In contrast, Japan has taken in only 210,000 technical recruits.

The number of nonprofessional workers accepted increased sharply after the introduction of the Employment Permit System, said Koji Sano, a professor at Fukushima University and expert on the labour policy of the ROK.

What sets foreigners working in the ROK apart is the sheer number who have learned to speak the language.

Some 220,000 people were recruited through the special work permit system— among them ethnic Koreans from China as well as other foreign nationals of Korean heritage, substantially all of whom have the ability to speak the language fluently.

These workers can be found predominantly working in the service segments of the economy, such as restaurants and nursing care.

Meanwhile, the language barrier has prevented Japan from attaining and retaining higher levels of recruits of talented foreign workers.

On the other hand, Japan has been much more successful at recruiting younger students. There are currently approximately 210,000 foreign students in Japan compared to only 13,000 in the ROK.

Right at 80% of these students have joined the work force in Japan while only 10% of the students in the ROK are in the work force.

Tourist arrivals in Danang surge during holidays

The number of tourists to Danang is estimated to increase 30.1% to over 290,000 on holidays between April 30 and May 1 against the same period last year, of which foreign arrivals reaching nearly 82,000, mostly from China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. 

Deputy director of the Danang Tourism Department Tran Chi Cuong revealed in a report at a meeting on April 20.

Cuong attributed the increase to the opening of Danang International Firework Festival 2017 and diverse art shows on the occasion.

Hotel occupancy rates are predicted to reach 72-75% while high-end occupancy rates are estimated at 80-85%.

Phu Yen gets ready for culture festival

Members of the Phu Yen Provincial People’s Committee are gambling that their 3-day cultural festival, which gets underway April 28, will attract a larger crowd than it did last year.

Whether they meet their goal remains to be seen, said Phan Dinh Phung, vice chair of the Committee. But with a food festival, sporting events, art performances and a beauty contest planned, he said the event is well worth a visit.

The event running April 28-30 aims to celebrate Vietnam Reunification Day (April 30).

Central region tackles respiratory, tropical diseases

A review of project Carlo Urbani on strengthening control of acute respiratory infectious diseases was held by the Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy (HUMP) on April 20 in Hue city, the central province of  Thua Thien – Hue. 

The 1.1 million Euro (about 1.18 million USD) project, sponsored by the Italian government and Italian Association, has been conducted by HUMP and Italy’s Sassari University since 2007.

It helped build a laboratory for high school students and an Intensive Care Unit while training health staff in nine central provinces on respiratory disease prevention. 

It also provided training for university staff in hospitals and education institutes in Italy, Canada and China. 

Under the project, five master’s degree courses on medical biotechnology were opened with 46 participants. 

The same day, HUMP worked with professors and specialists from Italy, Japan and Germany to organise a workshop on tropical diseases, attracting more than 500 participants. 

Hải Phương Nam Phú Nhuận beat Khánh Hòa

Hải Phương Nam Phú Nhuận beat Sanna Khánh Hòa 3-2 in the round eight of the National Futsal Championships in HCM City yesterday.

Both sides attacked relentlessly from the first whistle, with Mai Thành Danh Toại of Phú Nhận opening the scoring in the middle of first half.

Khánh Hòa quickly turned the game on its head, scoring two goals in the last minutes of the first half through Mai Thành Đạt and Trần Văn Thanh.

Shortly after the break, Phú Nhuận levelled the score at 2-2, with Đinh Văn Toàn feeding Lê Tấn Tiếp to beat the Sanna Khánh Hòa goalkeeper.

The match seemed destined to end in a draw, however, in the dying seconds Vũ Quốc Hưng pounced to leave the score 3-2 to Phú Nhuận.

Coach Đặng Đình Khang of Khánh Hòa said they created many chances but couldn’t take full advantage of their opportunities.

“I am very satisfied with the spirit of my players who carried out my tactics very well. We made many chances but failed to convert them into goals,” said Khang.

Coach Nguyễn Tuấn Anh of Phú Nhuận said this was an important win for his team.

In other matches, defending champions Thái Sơn Nam received their first loss of the tournament, falling to Sanatech Khánh Hòa 5-3.

With the win Sanatech Khánh Hòa have 17 points to rank second, behind Thái Sơn Nam who top the rankings on 19 points.

“This was the best interesting match of Sanatech Khánh Hòa in terms of spirit, skills and tactics. Sometimes, we made mistakes but we tried our best. Thái Sơn Nam are a very strong team so we played well,” said coach of Sanatech Khánh Hòa, Trần Duy Hiếu.

Coach Nguyễn Bảo Quân of Thái Sơn Nam said his team didn’t defend well and didn’t focus, leading to the poor result.

Earlier, Thái Sơn Bắc thrashed Sanest Tourist Khánh Hòa 4-1.

Elsewhere, Hoàng Thư Đà Nẵng vs Tân Hiệp Hưng and Cao Bằng vs Sài Gòn FC (to be updated).

Tài wins stage 11 of HCM city cycling event

Nguyễn Trường Tài won the 11th stage of the HCM City Television Cycling Tournament yesterday.

Tài of VUS-TP.HCM finished first in the 180km stage from Quảng Ngãi City to Quy Nhơn City with a time of 4:16.31.

Huỳnh Thanh Tùng of the Military Zone 7 and Nguyễn Anh Khoa of BTV Đại Nam-BD finished second and third, respectively.

With support from his teammates Nguyễn Văn Dương of Bike Life ĐN retained the yellow jersey for best overall time of 20.00.37. Nguyễn Minh Việt of BTV Đại Nam-BD and Trần Lê Minh Tuấn of the Military Zone 7 are second and third.

The green jersey as best sprinter is held by Tùng of the Military Zone 7 with 69 points, followed by Lê Nguyệt Minh of HCM City with 63 points and Nguyễn Tấn Hoài of Domesco Pharmacy Đồng Tháp with 52 points.

Military Zone 7 retained top spot in the team rankings with a time of 78:58.24.

Today, cyclists will race 12 laps around Quy Nhơn city lasting 45km.

National beach volleyball event begins

The National Beach Volleyball Tournament began yesterday at Nhật Lệ Beach in Đồng Hới City in Quảng Bình Province.

The event featured 32 women’s and men’s teams from across the country.

The tournament aims to develop beach volleyball nationwide and is a chance for players to hone their skills and gain experience.

It will end on April 23.

Binh Duong’s second waste water plant begins operation

The second waste water plant capable of treating 17,000 cubic metres per day was put into use in Thuan An town, the southern province of Binh Duong on April 21.

The plant is in the second phase of the project to improve the water environment in the south of Binh Duong province. It cost nearly 2.5 trillion VND (110 million USD), 85 percent of which came from Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds and the remainder from local budget.

The modern plant, using an activated sludge system, will treat waste water collected from 3,163 hectares covering Lai Thieu, An Phu, Thuan Giao, Binh Hoa and Vinh Phu wards in Thuan An town.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Thanh Liem said that the plant aims to improve and protect local water environment as well as promote economic growth and ensure public health, making contributions to realising the national strategy on environment protection.

According to President of the Vietnam Water Supply and Sewerage Association Cao Lai Quang, while other localities are facing formidable flooding challenges, Binh Duong has invested in a line-up of waste treatment plants to improve the environment and hygiene as well as reduce diseases caused by waste water.

Thu Dau Mot waste water treatment plant with a designed capacity of 17,650 cubic metres per day was operational in 2013. It had an investment of nearly 2 trillion VND (88 million USD), 1.6 trillion VND (70.4 million USD) of which from Japan’s ODA.

Laos awards medals to Da Nang’s volunteer soldiers

The Lao State has presented medals and orders to 33 officials, experts, and volunteer soldiers in Vietnam’s central Da Nang city in recognition of their contributions to Laos’s revolution.

The presentation ceremony took place in Da Nang on April 20 as one of activities to salute the 55th anniversary of Vietnam-Laos diplomatic ties and the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Vietnam-Laos Friendship and Cooperation Treaty.

Khamsena Phommaseng, Consul General of Laos in Da Nang, said Vietnamese volunteer soldiers fought side by side with Lao armed forces during the two resistance wars.

Da Nang sent hundreds of courageous volunteer soldiers to Laos, he noted.

In 2016, the State of Laos presented orders and medals to nearly 9,000 officials, experts and soldiers of Vietnam to acknowledge their exploits and sacrifices to Laos’s revolutionary cause, he said.

Hanoia Design Contest launched for fine arts students

Vietnam’s leading haute-lacquerware Hanoia has launched the Hanoia Design Contest to inspire students of applied arts to tea culture.

The contest is open to all students of traditional arts and design from universities, colleges and vocational schools in Hanoi. A candidate is required to design a product with the theme of tea culture on an A1 paper sheet which can be applied on lacquer.    

The first prize winner will receive VND15 million in cash while five consolation prize winners will get VND1 million each.

Addressing the launch ceremony, Dr Dang Hoai Anh, Vice Principal of the University of Industrial Fine Arts said the school and teachers from the faculty of traditional fine arts will try their best to help their students complete their entries.

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Thanh, director of Hanoia hoped that the constest will offer a good East meet West opportunity for local and foreign designers.

More than 300 students compete in National Physics Olympiad

The 20th National Physics Olympiad officially kicked off on April 20 at Tan Trao University in Tuyen Quang province, attracting the participation of more than 300 students across the country.

The entrants, coming from 44 universities and colleges nationwide, are competing in multiple-choice exams, practical exercises and experiments.

A symposium on modern physics and its applications will also be held under the framework of the contest, in addition to an arts performance featuring the participating students.

The four-day event is held jointly by the Ministry of Education and Training, the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Association, and the Vietnam Physics Association.

The annual Olympiad aims to improve the quality physics education, recognise outstanding students in physics, and promote enthusiasm for studying the subject among them. It also provides a venue for students who share a common interest in physics to exchange experiences in studying and researching the subject.

Activities marks Vietnam Book Day 2017

The Vietnam Book Day 2017 themed “Book-Knowledge and social development” opened at the National Library of Viet Nam in Hanoi on April 20. 

A series of activities will be held during the 10-day book show, such as book donations for libraries in remote areas; exhibitions on humanity knowledge, civilization, cultures, economy, science-technology, education, health, defense and security; display on books of culture, history, literature, landscapes in Vietnam and countries worldwide.

On the same day, the opening ceremony of the Vietnam Book Day 2017 was also held in Ho Chi Minh City Book Street. The city’s book show includes family bookshelf competition, exhibition on children books and valuable books with 12,000 titles; photo exhibition honoring the beauty of the book street and reading culture; discussions and exchanges between writers and readers. 

The Vietnam Book Day 2017 will run until May 1.

The Vietnam Book Day was approved in 2014 by former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and it is scheduled to occur every year on April 21. The event is to encourage and promote reading habit in the community and raise awareness of using books as a tool for critical thinking. It also celebrates appreciation for readers, writers, publishers, distributors, and other affiliates of the publishing industry.

Veteran artist Thanh Sang passes away

Meritorious Artist Thanh Sang, one of the southern region's most talented cai luong artists, passed away at his home from illness in Ho Chi Minh City on April 21. 

The veteran traditional performer whose real name is Nguyen Van Thu was born in 1943 in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. He joined the first cai luong troupe, Ngoc Kieu in 1960 and took stage name, Thanh Sang.

The cai luong actor received the most prestigious and revered cai luong award, Thanh Tam Prize, in 1964.

Thanh Sang is well-known for many main roles in cai luong plays, such as Tran Minh in “Ben cau det lua” (Weaving Silk by the Bridge), Thi Sach in “Tieng trong Me Linh” (Me Linh War Drumbeats), Luc Van Tien in “Kieu Nguyet Nga” and more.

His funeral is held at his home in Thu Duc District. He will be buried at Binh Duong Cemetery in Binh Duong Province on April 25.

Dak Nong reinforces connections with Cambodian province

The Military High Command of the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong and the military sub-region of Cambodia’s Mondulkiri province signed the third memorandum of understanding on cooperation on April 20.

The signing took place at the third bilateral talks held in Gia Nghia township of Dak Nong province.

Accordingly, the two sides pledged to intensify cooperation in line with the motto “sound neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation and long-term sustainability”.

They will continue joint patrols along the shared borderline and facilitate border demarcation and border marker planting. Both sides will also strengthen collaboration in fighting drug crimes, smuggling and illegal forest product transport and exploitation.

Dak Nong and Mondulkiri are set to step up cooperative relations, exchanges and pairing between their border communities.

They said the two sides made strides in military cooperation in the latter half of 2016 and the first quarter of 2017. They have foiled many dangerous and organised crime activities. Border patrols and the protection of border markers have also been carried out well.

The Military High Command of Dak Nong has also visited Mondulkiri to offer greetings and gifts on traditional festivals and supported the Cambodian province with equipment, house building expenses and medical aid for the poor.

Construction of Ca Pass tunnel project nears completion

Deo Ca Investment Joint Stock Company on April 20 launched a drive to accelerate the construction of the tunnel road running under Ca Pass and linking two central provinces of Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa. 

The 100-day drive is aimed at opening the tunnel to traffic on August 10, on time to mark the August Revolution anniversary (August 19) and the National Day (September 2).

The tunnel road stretches 13.19 kilometres from Phu Yen province’s Hao Son commune to Khanh Hoa province’s Co Ma commune. It has two bi-tube tunnels: Deo Ca (Ca Pass) tunnel (4.1 kilometres in length) and Co Ma tunnel (500 metres).

The maximum speed for vehicles traveling along the tunnels will be 80 kilometres per hour.

Construction for Co Ma tunnel has already completed. 

The Deo Ca tunnel road was invested at 15.6 trillion VND (742.8 million USD). Upon completion, it will shorten the distance between the two central provinces by 8 kilometres, cut travelling time by half and ensure convenient traffic between central and southern regions.

It is expected to connect Nam Phu Yen economic zone and Van Phong economic zone and contribute to the development of industry, trade and tourism in central and Central Highlands region.     

ICA urged to support Vietnam’s cooperative development

National Assembly (NA) Vice Chairman Uong Chu Luu suggested the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) continue supporting Vietnam in improving its cooperatives’ capacity, helping Vietnamese producers make deeper inroads into regional and international markets. 

He made the suggestion at an April 20 meeting in Hanoi with President of ICA- Asia Pacific (ICA-AP) Li Chunseng, who is on a trip to Vietnam to attend the 10th Asia Pacific Cooperative Ministers' Conference. 

The host also called for more technical assistance from the alliance to Vietnam to make it easier for the county to innovate and apply high technologies in agriculture production, thus promoting sustainable business. 

He stressed that the conference provided a good chance for Vietnam to learn experience from other countries in promoting the role played by cooperatives in developing the national economy. 

To facilitate cooperatives’ development, the Vietnamese NA issued and amended the Law on Cooperatives for three times and adopted a resolution on development of new-style cooperatives to 2020, he said.

He revealed that Vietnam’s cooperatives are in the process of shifting organisational structure, operational model and scale in combination with the programme on new-style rural area building, towards modernising agriculture and rural areas.

For his part, Li Chunseng hailed Vietnamese cooperatives’ effective operation in recent time and recognised the country’s contributions to the organisation of the conference. 

He said the activities of the ICA and ICA-AP have helped create jobs, promote agriculture production and reduce poverty. 

He hoped Vietnam continue supporting and actively joining the ICA’s activities, thus setting forth proper programmes and measures to foster peace, security, prosperity and sustainable development.

Vietnam, Iran explore economic partnership potential

A Vietnam – Iran business forum was held in Hanoi on April 20 with a view to fostering the two countries’ friendship and economic-trade partnership.

The event attracted a number of Vietnamese and Iranian companies engaging in garment, footwear, construction materials, aquatic and agricultural products, and household appliance production.

Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Vu Tien Loc said the two countries have signed many agreements relating to agriculture, aquatic products, culture, education, banking, customs and aviation.

In 2016, bilateral trade reached 116.9 million USD, including 86.8 million USD worth of Vietnamese exports.

While Iran is a big market in the Middle East and has advantages of energy, petrochemistry and mining, Vietnam is a gateway to the ASEAN region and boasts considerable agricultural and fishery potential, he noted.

Tourism is also a promising field for cooperation as Vietnam is home to many beautiful landscapes attractive to Iranian visitors, Loc added.

Gholamhossein Shafei, President of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, said with the largest oil reserves in the world, Iran can supply Vietnam with petrochemical products, asphalt, polymer, base oil and minerals. In fact, it has exported a large volume of asphalt and polymer to Vietnam every year.

He said Vietnam can act as a bridge for Iran’s goods to enter other ASEAN countries. Meanwhile, Iran, located in a 400 million-strong region, is also a gateway for Vietnamese products to access the Middle Eastern, Central Asian and European markets.

Tran Van Tri, Chairman of the board of directors of the An Viet Investment and International Cooperation JSC, highlighted the potential partnership in cruise ship building and fishing. 

He elaborated that as Iran owns rich fisheries resources in the Caspian Sea and Persian Gulf, its fisheries sector is attractive enough for Vietnamese firms to seek investment and cooperation opportunities.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNE