The Korean Cultural Center will support the cost of inviting Korean lecturers and curriculum and some ingredients of dishes during the course.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on June 27 between the Korean Cultural Center, the Thang Long University, the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corp. and the local foodstuff firm K-Market.

Accordingly, Thang Long University will be the first Vietnamese university offering a Korean cuisine course. As the MoU says, this course will be taught as an optional subject for tourism students, under the guidance of Korean teachers, at the elementary level, intermediate level and advanced level.

The Korean Cultural Center will support the cost of inviting Korean lecturers and curriculum and some ingredients of dishes during the course.

The Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corp. will also partly offer free teaching materials (ingredients of dishes), organize typical Korean cooking events as well as Korean culinary promotion events. In addition, K-market will provide ingredients at preferential prices.

Mr. Lee Dae Joong - Director of the Korean Cultural Center in Vietnam hoped that this programme will provide more opportunities for people of the two countries to exchange, cooperate and develop bilateral relations. 

National conference addresses child, early marriage

Foreign experts and representatives from governmental agencies and local authorities gathered in Hanoi on June 29 to discuss experiences, effective strategies and interventions and policy recommendations for Vietnam in a conference to address child and early marriage.

The national conference on “Preventing and ending child and early marriage: Learning from promising strategies and good practices” was held by the Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs (CEMA), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and the Irish Aid.

Opening the event, Vice Chairman of CEMA Ha Hung said that underage marriage limits girls’ opportunities for education and leads to early pregnancy before their bodies have matured, severely affecting their mental and physical development.

Early marriage also put them at greater risk of domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence. Overall, it directly affects socio-economic development, resulting in a vicious cycle of poverty among ethnic minority groups, Hung noted, adding that it is behind the decline in quality of human resources and sustainable development of ethnic minority communities.

Shoko Ishikawa, Country Representative of UN Women in Vietnam, highlighted that the key to breaking the cycle of child and early marriage lies in empowering and investing in girls and women.

Every girl and woman at risk of or affected by child and early marriage must have access to quality services in education and training, legal and healthcare counselling, including for sexual and reproductive health, housing and others, the UN official stated.

This requires all state bodies to ensure that planning, budgeting, policymaking and monitoring reflects the needs of girls and boys, and that investment in girls’ empowerment is prioritised in all aspects and areas, she added.

In Vietnam, despite the Law on Marriage and Family setting the minimum legal age for marriage at 18 for women and 20 for men, 11 percent of women aged 20-49 years were married or in a union before the age of 18, most of whom come from disadvantaged regions and ethnic minority groups.

The first socio-economic survey of the country’s 53 ethnic minority groups conducted by the CEMA and the General Statistics Office in 2015 found that the prevalence of child marriage among these groups was 26.6 percent; some groups even reported rates of 50 – 70 percent.

During the conference, delegates discussed the main barriers to preventing and putting an end to early marriage and outlined opportunities for multi-sector cooperation in coping with the issue. They also looked into integrating child marriage interventions into Vietnam’s development projects and socio-economic programmes, especially those exclusively for ethnic minority areas.

Sinkhole appears in Lai Châu Province after rain

At least five households in Sùng Chô Hamlet, Nậm Loỏng Commune, in northern Lai Châu Province, were evacuated on Thursday after a sinkhole with area of some 600sq.m appeared nearby.

The sinkhole caused cracks to develop in their house walls.

The sinkhole may have been caused by the collapse of underground karst caves as heavy rain has poured down in the city in the last few days. Karst topography is a landscape shaped by the breakdown of layers of soluble bedrock, usually carbonate rock such as limestone or dolomite, by the percolation of water.

Vice chairman of the city People’s Committee Lê Bá Anh said relevant agencies were closely monitoring the situation and taking measures to minimise the impact of the sinkhole.

“Work, including filling the sinkhole, if it is possible, will be completed within 30 days if the weather is conducive,” he said.

According to the committee, Nậm Loỏng Commune has karst topography, which affects a 5,000sq.m area and earlier destroyed a road leading to a school.

In the past three days, torrential rainfall has caused losses worth VNĐ2 billion to Lai Châu City, inundated over 260 houses and led to 10 households being evacuated to avoid landslides.

HCM City: more than 35 billion VND for rural worker training

Ho Chi Minh City authorities have launched a plan worth 35 billion VND ($1.54 million) to provide vocational training to 12,000 rural workers in 2017.

Courses under three months will be provided to 11,300 rural workers, disabled and poor people. Of which, about 8,000 people will be trained in non-agricultural sectors. Meanwhile, 700 labourers will attend college and vocational schools.

The city aims to have more than 80 percent of trainees employed after trainings. It will support the procurement of equipment for four public vocational training facilities in Binh Chanh, Can Gio, Cu Chi and Hoc Mon districts.

Le Thanh Liem, Vice Standing Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee said the plan aims to enhance vocational training in the city and generate jobs for rural labourers, especially poor and near poor households, disabled and ethnic minority people.

The city will also review rural workers’ demand for vocational training in line with its agriculture restructuring and economic transition, he added.

HCM City has recently focused on sustainable and hi-tech urban agriculture in combination with tourism development, along with the supporting industry.

Documentary on Vietnamese AO victim screened at US Senate

A 35-minute documentary about a Vietnamese teenage victim of Agent Orange (AO) was screened at the US Senate headquarters in Washington DC on June 28.

The event was held by the War Legacies Project (WLP), US Senate and the Vietnamese Embassy in the US. 

Senator Patrick Leahy affirmed he will continue to endorse two countries’ relations, including cooperation to recover war and AO consequences in Vietnam. By mobilising support from the US Senate, he hoped Vietnamese AO victims will receive more attention from the US public.

For his part, Vietnamese Ambassador Pham Quang Vinh thanked Leahy and his colleagues for backing Vietnam and helping Vietnamese war victims. 

He also expressed his gratitude to the director, Courtney Marsh, for spending eight years making such a touching documentary, which was nominated for the 88th edition of the Oscars in the short documentary category.

The film conveys a humanitarian message and calls for the US and international organisations to offer more assistances to Vietnamese AO victims, Vinh said.

Meanwhile, Marsh said that the her documentary project was extended from one week to eight years, filming Vietnamese teenagers who were born with birth defects due to Agent Orange.

She pledged to call for further support for the victims and hoped to return to Vietnam soon.
  
“Chau, beyond the lines” focuses on the life of Le Minh Chau, an AO victim. It depicts the teenager’s struggle in realising his dream to become a professional artist and clothing designer.

Despite being told that his ambitions were unrealistic, Chau was determined to live an independent and productive life.

Nine years ago, Marsh, who was in her final year at university, arrived in Vietnam to make a documentary about street children in Ho Chi Minh City. Later, she was introduced to the Peace Village where AO victims being cared for. After that she decided to change the topic of her documentary.

Chau was no ordinary 15 year-old, forced to walk on his knees after being born with debilitating birth defects that resulted from the lingering effects of the herbicide that was widely used during wars in Vietnam.

Marsh found him to be extraordinary, specifically his persistence in his desire to become an artist.

One quarter of HCMC families yet to own private houses

More than 476,000 out of some two million families in HCMC own no private houses, accounting for nearly 24% of the total.

These include 300,000 families as migrants from other provinces, 156,000 low-income families affected by urban development projects, and 20,000 families of State employees.

According to a report of the HCMC Department of Construction, the city has approved 56 social housing projects with a total of 48,000 apartments from 2006 to 2016. Social housing refers to low-cost condos partially subsidized by the Government.

However, only 14 social housing projects with some 5,100 apartments have been completed, including six projects funded by the State budget and eight others financed by private sources.

The department said that an additional 12 social housing projects will be implemented in 2017 with about 9,500 apartments, plus 16 projects with 28,500 apartments to be developed in 2018-2020. These projects will use both State and private funds.

In the past five years, preferential policies and a home credit package worth VND30 trillion (US$1.32 billion) have been provided to support enterprises to build social houses. However, the huge demand for housing in the city has not been satisfied.

The construction agency pointed out many problems hindering social housing development, such as the limited number of social housing types, the shortage of resources, late payment of site clearance compensation, slow progress of many projects and complicated investment procedures.

To speed up the progress of projects, the department proposed reducing red tape to facilitate investors, raising housing development funds and offering loans to low-income residents.

Ceremony marks Vietnam-Moldova diplomatic ties

The Vietnamese Embassy in Ukraine and Moldova held a ceremony in Moldova’s capital of Chisinau to mark the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Moldova (June 11, 1992-2017).

Attending the ceremony was General Secretary of Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Anatol Vangheli, ambassadors of countries and representatives of international organisations in Chisinau as well as the Vietnamese community in the country.

Addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador in Ukraine and Moldova Nguyen Minh Tri said that the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Moldova 25 years ago showed the determination of leaders and people of both sides in fostering and promoting bilateral ties in all fields when Moldova became an independent country.

He expressed his hope that with joint efforts of leaders and people of both sides, the two countries will continue tapping their cooperation potential to expand and deepen bilateral collaboration.

For his part, Anatol Vangheli noted that Moldova and Vietnam have shared a long-standing friendship. Moldova recognised Vietnam’s market economy in 2015, while the two sides have supported each other at international forums.

He stressed that Moldova always wishes to further bolster cooperation with Vietnam, especially in education and training, economy-trade. The two sides should also coordinate with and support each other at multilateral forums.

On the occasion, Moldova’s Central Post Office has announced the publication of envelops and stamp collection with Vietnam and Moldova’s symbols.

Fourth bridge to Thu Thiem in the offing

The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) is working with HCMC, the Ministry of Transport and other relevant agencies over a project to build a fourth bridge to Thu Thiem Peninsula which will be developed into a modern financial and commercial center. 

According to a document issued by the Government Office, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung has assigned the MPI to take charge of coordinating with HCMC, the Ministry of Transport and others to evaluate the project and pass it to the Prime Minister for approval.

The 2.16-kilometer bridge would connect District 2 where Thu Thiem is located and District 7, and require a total of VND5.2 trillion (US$230 million).

Last year, HCMC sought to award a no-bid contract to an investor to construct the bridge under BT (build-operate) form in which the investor would be allocated land in exchange for the bridge it builds and transfers to the city.

The bridge will connect Saigon South and Thu Thiem New Urban Area, thus reducing traffic congestion on the roads from Binh Thanh and Thu Duc districts to districts 7, 8, Binh Chanh and Nha Be as well as in the city center.

The city plans to have four bridges to Thu Thiem by 2020. Thu Thiem 1 Bridge is now in use while the second is under construction. Thu Thiem 3 and 4 and a pedestrian bridge connecting District 1 and Thu Thiem have not got off the ground.

Before work on Thu Thiem 2 Bridge began, experts said Thu Thiem 1 Bridge and Thu Thiem Tunnel were enough to ensure smooth traffic between Thu Thiem and the rest of the city, so no new bridges would be needed.

However, the HCMC Department of Transport said the city would need four bridges to Thu Thiem New Urban Area and a pedestrian bridge to facilitate movements of 120,000 future residents and about 350,000 other people who would work in Thu Thiem.

In related news, two branches of Nguyen Van Cu Bridge will be opened to traffic on July 29, said the Saigon River Tunnel Management Center, the investor of the project.

The VND168-billion project will help facilitate traffic between districts 1 and 5 and districts 4, 7 and 8. The N1 branch connecting Vo Van Kiet Avenue in Binh Chanh District and Nguyen Van Cu Bridge is 167 meters long and 6.5 meters wide while the N2 branch with a length of 142 meters will link to Vo Van Kiet Boulevard in District 1.

The two branches of Nguyen Van Cu Bridge are complete five months earlier than expected.

Nguyen Van Cu Bridge over Ben Nghe Canal links downtown HCMC and southern urban areas.

As the bridge has no exits to Vo Van Kiet Avenue, vehicles from districts 4 and 8 must pass through Tran Hung Dao-Nguyen Van Cu Intersection to enter the avenue, thus causing traffic congestion.

IBM Institute, UBIS University cooperate in management training

The Institute of International Business Management (IBM Institute) and the University of Business and International Studies (UBIS University) of Switzerland have signed a cooperation agreement on leadership and management training.

IBM Institute director Pham Quang Vinh said UBIS University will transfer European training know-how to the institute and send professors to Vietnam to provide training and advice for trainees at the institute.

Local trainees can also come to UBIS campuses in more than 40 countries for study and exchange.

The cooperation will help develop human resources for HCMC and other parts of the country, especially finance and banking managers.

The two will also jointly hold seminars on business administration, strategies and leadership, training courses on finance and banking, and enterprise management training programs, Vinh added.

Established by the HCMC Association of Science for Economy and Management and the HCMC Department of Science and Technology, IBM Institute specializes in business administration, management training and technology transfer.

The institute has trained numerous leaders for domestic and international corporations and State agencies. The institute has also teamed up with foreign partners to hold short training courses on leadership and management and those at the request of businesses.

HCMC to replace old fleets by eco-friendly buses

The Public Transport Management and Operation Center will replace old buses with the CNG-powered vehicles, said center deputy director Ha Le An yesterday.

To improve the vehicle quality, 26 eco-friendly vehicles will be added to replace dilapidated ones from July 1; accordingly, the center will adjust the bus fleets which have shuttled between the Western Bus Station to Ga Crossroad Station.

The new fleets will travel from 4AM to 7PM every day.

As per the municipal Department of Transport, as of the time, 173 CNG-powered bus fleets travel in the metropolis. 

For next years, the program will replace 1,680 new CNG-powered buses with gradually 3,000 old ones. 

The new bus fleets will run in the route from Ben Thanh Market to Cho Lon Bus Station.

Khmer people to receive more support

Khmer ethnic people in southern Vietnam are set to benefit from more support in educational, training, cultural, medical and religious affairs in the future.

The Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region and the Government’s Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs held a workshop in Can Tho city on June 28 to review and set plans for Khmer-related works in the southern region until 2020. The event was attended by officials of the boards of ethnic minority affairs in Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, An Giang and Kien Giang provinces, Can Tho city and Ho Chi Minh City.

Huynh Thi Somaly, an official from the Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee said there are about 1.3 million Khmer people in the south, accounting for 7 percent of the region’s population.

The Party and State have issued several policies supporting the development of the ethnic group. They include Directive 68-CT/TW on works in Khmer ethnic areas issued by the Party Central Committee Secretariat in 1991, which resulted in improvements in local economic, social, security and defence issues, she noted.

However, she also admitted shortcomings such as unsustainable poverty reduction, poor cultural and communication activities in the Khmer language and difficulties in vocational training and job provision.

At the workshop, officials said Khmer-related works should focus on solutions to develop socio-economic infrastructure, improve both material and spiritual life of Khmer people and raise the quality of cultural, educational and medical activities. They need to sustainably eliminate poverty so as to reduce the Khmer household poverty rate in the south by between 50 – 70 percent by 2020.

They said authorities in the southern region should promote teaching and learning quality, provide incentives for Khmer students and teachers in Khmer communities and reduce or exempt tuition fees. They also need to maintain teaching of the Khmer language at schools in areas with large Khmer populations.

Vocational schools should be built across southern localities while local residents should be given financial support to enroll in vocational training.

Provinces and cities need to raise the number and quality of Khmer-language media outlets, facilitate mass cultural and sports activities in the ethnic group and protect traditional cultural values and craft villages, participants said.

Medical services and health-related communications should be expanded in Khmer communities, they noted, underlining the necessity to maintain traditional religions, restore Khmer Buddhist pagodas, visit religious dignitaries during traditional festivals and help Khmer monks study in Vietnam and overseas.-

JICA helps build circulars on water environment management

Experts from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have assisted the Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA) in building circulars on water environment management in river basins.

JICA and VEA co-organised a technical consultation workshop in Hanoi on June 29 to discuss the building of circulars defining the rivers’ loading capacity and waste discharge quota.

Nguyen Manh Hung, Director of the Department of Waste Management and Environment Promotion, said socio-economic development activities in key economic regions and urban areas in the lower parts of big river basins or coastal estuaries have resulted in pollution and degradation of the water environment. 

He cited the serious environmental contamination on rivers flowing through urban and industrial areas and craft villages in the basins of Cau, Nhue, Day and Dong Nai rivers.

To implement the Law on Environmental Protection and the Government’s Resolution No. 38/2015/ND-CP dated on April 24, 2015 on waste management, the VEA has conducted studies to evaluate the loading capacity of river basins, which will help improve the management of water quality at central and local levels, he said.

JICA will help the VEA build circulars defining the loading capacity of rivers and waste discharge quota, and stipulating the inspection of waste water sources within the framework of the project “Strengthening the capacity of water environment management in river basins”, he added.

During the workshop, participants discussed the building of database on waste water to implement effectively the Law on Environmental Protection and Law on Water Resources Management.

Charity treatment provided to over one mil people

The Vietnam Red Cross (VRC) plans to provide free treatment and drugs to at least one million poor people, social welfare brackets nationwide this year

VRC, the Ministry of Health, the General Political Department and the Central Young Physician Association yesterday held a press brief on the charity treatment and community healthcare program 2017 themed “Join hand for the community health”

The activity will be performed in the country with the goal that at least one million of needy people and social welfare beneficiaries will be provided examination, treatment and medicine gratis. 

The program will be carried out from January, 1 to December 31, 2017.

The program will focus on free treatment and medications, healthcare consultation, detecting people with serious illness to transfer them to big hospitals for timely treatment, disease prevention guidance, raising people’s awareness of health.

In addition, the organizers will give gifts to disadvantaged families.

Especially, from July 1 to 31 to mark the 70th  anniversary of the Vietnam War Invalids and Martyrs Day, (July 27), the program will be performed in 63 cities and provinces to hand over free medicines and primary health care to local people. 

The central management board asked the organizers to pay more attention on practical activities such as giving free healthcare, gifts and charity houses to families of wounded soldiers, martyrs, families which served in the country’s revolution and the Vietnamese Heroic Mothers in Hanoi, the central provinces of Nghe An, Phu Yen, the northern provinces of Son La, Phu Tho, Hai Duong, the central highlands province of Gia Lai, and the southern provinces of Dong Nai, Tien Giang and Soc Trang.

The launching ceremony will take place on July 2 in Nghe An. Hundreds of soldiers, medical workers of the Military Force and volunteers of the Vietnam Physician Association are expected to participate in the event.

Many activities like burning the incense to commemorate martyrs heroics in the cemetery in Anh Son District, and donating drugs and healthcare consultation to 1,000 locals, presenting 50 gifts and five charity houses to families of wounded soldiers, martyrs and those families in serving the country’s revolution will be launched.

From 2014 to 2016, the program has provided free treatment and healthcare for 4.4 million people, providing healthcare consultation to over 1.9 million people as well as handing over 2.5 million gifts totally worth VND908 billion. 

The program has attracted more than 52,640 doctors and pharmacists; 61,268 nurses & technicians, and 94,788 volunteers. 

Special art performance to honor HCM City

A special art performance titled “My beloved City” will be held in Nguyen Hue walking street in Ho Chi Minh City on July 1-2.

The event marks the 41st anniversary of the day Saigon-Gia Dinh which was officially named after the great Vietnamese national leader, President Ho Chi Minh (July 2, 1976 - 2017).

A large number of artists will join the show, namely Thanh Bui, Duc Tuan, Ha Anh Tuan, Ha Kio, Ai Phuong, Vu Cat Tuong and among.

The performance will present the city’s history and achievements as well as popularizing the colorful and beautiful city.

Vietnam – Korea Cultural Exchange Program held in Hanoi

The Vietnam – Korea Cultural Exchange Program will be held at the Center for Women and Development in Hanoi on June 30.

The event will include a variety of activities, such as traditional Korean games, traditional art performances, food fair and traditional costume show of the two countries.

Folk art performers, food experts together with young students from Vietnam and Korea will bring very interesting experiences on traditional culture of the two countries.

The program will also deepen cultural exchanges and contribute to the mutual development of the friendship between two sides.

50 years of Vietnam-Cambodia relations marked in HCM City

The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City held a ceremony to celebrate the 50th founding anniversary of Vietnam-Cambodia diplomatic relations on June 29.

Addressing the event, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong said braving ups and downs over the last five decades, the two countries’ friendship has become a priceless asset. Bilateral cooperation has been lifted to a new level under the motto “good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation and long-term sustainability”, reeling in a number of achievements in all aspects.

As an economic, cultural and scientific-technological centre in Vietnam, HCM City has made efforts to realise the two countries’ policies, thus greatly contributing to bilateral ties through cooperation activities with Cambodian localities, particularly the capital city of Phnom Penh, he said.

The city’s administration and people pledge to actively work to reinforce and develop the time-tested friendship and all-round cooperation between the two countries’ Governments and people, thereby contributing to stability, peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world, he added.

Phong expressed his belief that on the basis of the two sides’ long-standing friendship and non-stop efforts, relations between Vietnam and Cambodia, as well as between HCM City and Phnom Penh, will bring about even greater attainments in the time ahead.

Consul General of Cambodia to HCM City Im Heng said the traditional friendship, built and nurtured by late King Norodom Sihanouk, Vietnamese leaders and the two countries’ people, has been growing in all spheres.

He affirmed that the Cambodian people never forget the assistance of Vietnam’s Party, State, army and people in overthrowing the Pol Pot genocidal regime and building the country since the 80s.

He added he believes bilateral relations will continue developing sustainably in the time ahead.

Also on June 29, a photo exhibition was opened on Nguyen Hue walking street in District 1 of HCM City, featuring 95 photos on the Vietnam-Cambodia friendship, solidarity and cooperation, along with the country and people of Cambodia.

Vietnam News Agency inks cooperation deal with Sputnik

The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) and the Sputnik Information Agency, an arm of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency (RSIIA), will exchange information in order to promote cooperation between Vietnam and Russia. 

An agreement to this effect was inked by VNA General Director Nguyen Duc Loi and RSIIA Director General Dmitry Kiselev on June 29 in the framework of President Tran Dai Quang’s official visit to Russia. This is one of the seven official documents signed in the witness of President Tran Dai Quang and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. 

The agreement allows the two agencies, both are the largest of their kind in their respective countries, to access and use each other’s text news on events occurring in territories of Vietnam, Russia and some other countries. 

In addition, the two sides will participate in projects to expand information space and increase professional and impartial coverage of political, cultural, economic and sport issues. 

Under the agreement, they will promote the flow of information as well as mutual understanding and solidarity between the two countries’ people, and share experience to successfully implement joint projects. 

Besides, the two sides will support each other’s correspondents operating in their respective countries. 

In an interview with the Sputnik news agency, VNA General Director Nguyen Duc Loi highlighted that Vietnam and Russia have enjoyed a close and long-standing relationship. The Vietnamese public always pays great attention to the growth of bilateral ties as well as the strong development of Russia.

As Vietnam’s sole national news agency, the VNA has set up information partnership with about 40 news agencies around the world, he said, expressing belief that the signing of the cooperation deal between the VNA and Sputnik will help both sides improve their services in providing news of each country and bilateral relations to people in both countries.

He also showed hope that the two news agencies will continue seeking new effective measures to implement the agreement in the current digital era.

The VNA General Director is accompanying President Tran Dai Quang in an official visit to Russia from June 28 to July 1.