36 Vietnamese contestants to compete at ASEAN Skills Contest
 
Vietnam will compete in 18 out of 21 skills at the 8th ASEAN Skill Contest held in Bangkok, Thailand from November 14-24.

At the departure ceremony in Hanoi on November 11, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Dam Huu Dac, said that Vietnam has abundant human resources but their quality is not high. Workers’ skills are lower than those in some neighbouring countries.

Despite significant progress, the quality of vocational training does not meet the country’s development demand. Therefore, joining the contest will help Vietnamese contestants to gain experience, Dac said.

Vietnam has joined the contest five times and ranked first and fourth both twice and second one time. The country also sent two delegations to attend World Skills Contest in Japan and in Canada.

Vietnam joins university and post-university education co-operation project
 
A delegation from the Hanoi Polytechnique University has visited Montpellier, France to kick off a Europe-Asia education co-operation project.

The project aims to accelerate technological, scientific, economic, cultural and educational co-operation between Asia and Europe, strengthen high-quality university and post-university education, carry out research on environmental protection and society, and enhance co-operation between European and Asian universities.

The project also encourages acknowledgement of mutual teaching curriculums, certificates, and degrees to increase occupational opportunities for Asian students and helps Asian universities to improve tertiary education by exchanging teaching and studying experiences.

Third national environment conference to be held in Hanoi
 
A press conference was held in Hanoi on November 11 to introduce the third national environment conference and related events which will take place in Hanoi on November 17-18.

The conference will focus on reviewing the results and lessons after six years of implementing the Political Bureau’s resolution 41on environmental protection in the country’s modernization and industrialization process, five years of implementing the national strategy on environment protection till 2010 and future plans for 2020.

The conference will help raise pubic awareness of businesses and community about environment protection activities in the new period and during the time of implementing the ten-year strategy on socio-economic development in the 2011 - 2020 period.

Many scientific seminars will be held during the event to discuss issues on environment technology, environment management, biodiversity and an exhibition to introduce environment achievements as well as a ceremony to honour outstanding activists on environment.

Charity run targets sick children
 
The “Run for Children” campaign is scheduled for November 21 to commemorate 10 years of running for a good cause in Hanoi.

All proceeds from individuals, organizations and donors at the event will go to disadvantaged children, Canadian Ambassador Deborah Chatsis said at a press briefing in Hanoi on November 11.

This year marks 10 years of the Terry Fox Run and the Run for Children, jointly held by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CCC), the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations Hanoi chapter, the Vietnam-Canada Friendship Association and other donors, according to Alexandre Legandere, CCC’s Vice Chairman.

Over the past ten years, close to 43,000 people have supported the initiative and helped to raise more than VND3 billion.

In 2009 alone, the event attracted 5,000 participants and raised nearly VND900 million. The funds had been used to support more than 50 children from poor families who have cancer or heart diseases at the National Hospital of Paediatrics, Hanoi Heart Hospital and Heart Beat Vietnam programmes.

Int’l organizations assist flood victims
 
The Hanoi Union of Friendship Organizations (HUFO) held a ceremony on Nov.11 to receive aid for flood victims in the central region.

The event was attended by representatives from the embassies of Saudi Arabia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Morocco, Myanmar, Russia, Palestine, Panama, Thailand, Venezuela and HUFO member organizations.

In response to the appeal of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and Hanoi city, the Malaysian embassy and its community in Vietnam donated VN200 million, the Laos embassy VND20 million and the UNESCO Association of Hanoi, VND10 million.

On Oct.23-25, HUFO visited and offered gifts for the flood victims in the central provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh with the participation of Palestinian Ambassador to Vietnam Saadi Salama.

Vietnamese goods win trust of consumers
 
Vietnamese consumer confidence in domestic goods has risen from 23 percent to more than 58 percent one year after the “Vietnamese people using Vietnamese goods” campaign was launched by the political bureau, according to a survey by TV Plus Company.

At a conference held in Hanoi on November 11 in order to review the campaign one year after implementing, Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Mass Mobilization Ha Thi Khiet emphasized that the campaign has gained positive results as it has raised public awareness about using Vietnamese goods.

She said that through the campaign, organizations, individuals, and businesses have heightened their responsibilities to the country, contributing to the sustainable development of the domestic economy.

However, Ms Khiet added that there are still legal shortcomings that need to be addressed in order to facilitate better business operations. In addition, consumers’ habits cannot be changed immediately. Therefore, she expressed her wish that relevant agencies, businesses and people would make greater efforts to actively respond to the campaign, thus help to build a rich and strong Vietnam’s economy.

According to a report from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, around 80 trade fairs have been organized in rural areas so far, attracting nearly 4.8 million of visitors and earning a sales turnover of nearly VND1.5 billion.

Vietnam, Japan boost tourism cooperation
 
Vietnam will do its best to attract one million Japanese tourists per year to the country by 2015, said Hoang Thi Diep, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT).

Diep made the statement at the third meeting of a joint committee on tourism cooperation in Hanoi on November 11.

In order to achieve the target, Vietnam should further promote the country’s image in Japan by advertising Vietnamese tourism in Japan’s mass media, printing publications about Vietnam in Japanese, organising cultural events, and establishing a Vietnamese tourism representative office in Japan, she said.

Madera Ryuhei from the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, & Tourism, said Japan is eager to boost tourism cooperation under which promotional campaigns will be held to increase Japanese tourists to Vietnam and vice versa.

During the meeting, Vietnam and Japan agreed to exchange information regarding tourism, help each other develop human resources, and invest in Vietnam’s tourism sector.

According to VNAT statistics, Japan is among Vietnam’s top ten tourism markets with 360,000 tourists visiting Vietnam in 2009. It is expected to reach more than 430,000 in 2010.

Japan to increase ODA for Vietnam
 
Total Japanese official development assistance (ODA) in the first half of this year for Vietnam is estimated at 100 billion Yen and the amount will continue to increase in the coming years.

Kenzo Oshima, Vice Chairman of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) made the statement at a press conference during his working visit to Vietnam from November 7-10.

He said that he came to Vietnam 16 years ago and he was impressed with the rapid development of the country in many fields.

The Vice Chairman met with the Head of the Ho Chi Minh Municipal People’s Committee, Le Hoang Quan, visited the Dong Tay-Sai Gon highway, Cho Ray hospital, Bach Mai hospital, Hoa Lac high-tech zone and Hanoi Industry University.

At the meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Areas, Minister of Planning and Investment and Minister of Transportation, Oshima exchanged the possibility of strategic cooperation between Vietnam and Japan in the future.

He said that the visits of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in July and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan in October and the signing of the Japan-Vietnam Joint Statement shows that the two countries should work closely on many key projects.

Oshima stressed that JICA will implement all the agreements in the Joint Statement and Japanese ODA for Vietnam will be targeted towards infrastructure development.

Vietnam is striving to become an industrialised country by 2020. To help Vietnam obtain this goal, Japanese will work with Vietnam in 4 major fields including developing economics and strengthening international competitiveness; improving social living standards and narrowing the gap between the urban and rural areas; protecting urban environment, forests and preserving bio-diversification; supporting Vietnam to consolidate state administrative capacity.

As part of his working visit, Oshima also attended the 3rd International Rice Festival. He reported on the new cooperation activities between JICA and Vietnam in supporting rice production in Mozambique and Africa.

Vietnam, UK boost audit cooperation
 
State Audit of Vietnam (SAV) and the UK’s National Auditing Office (UK NAO) co-organised a conference on November 10 to draw up a plan of action for SAV’s development until 2020.

The event is aimed at introducing international donors to the plan of action to develop SAV while revealing demand for donations and other major issues regarding donations, said SAV’s Chief Auditor Vuong Dinh Hue.

Apart from domestic assistance, SAV wishes to receive technical support from major auditing agencies across the world as well as from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, said Chief Auditor Hue.

Bill Burnett, an audit specialist in the UK public sector, put stress on the need for SAV to conduct after-action reviews and learn skills as well as sharing experiences of foreign countries during the implementation of the strategy.

Burnett also underlined the significance of considering SAV’s involvement in deciding terms to be set in projects at the same time as it was receiving donations.

In order to deal with shortcomings SAV has set up and ratified a development strategy by 2020.

The plan of action has mapped out a concrete programme to achieve success in the implementation of the strategy with priority given to the next five years. It also points out what SAV needs to do in the 2016-2020 period.

Vietnam shares anti-corruption experiences with int'l friends
 
A Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Chief of the Government Inspectorate, Tran Duc Luong, attended the 14th International Anti-Corruption Conference in Bangkok ,Thailand on November 10.

The biennial meeting attracted leaders, academics and activists from more than 100 countries and territories with a call for greater action to combat corruption.

The four-day conference themed “Restoring trust: global action for transparency” focused on anti-corruption efforts to restore trust in five key areas: peace and security, natural resources and energy markets, climate governance, the corporate world and the Millennium Development Goals.

At the opening ceremony, Thai Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva said that corruption badly affects economic growth and worsens poverty so countries should strengthen anti-corruption and build a transparent social network. He expressed his hope that the results of the conference will lay a firm foundation for international co-operative efforts on anti-corruption.

Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International (TI), added that corruption distorts markets and badly affects people’s lives, especially the poor. If the international community does not have proper preventive measures, it will destroy citizens' trust in government. He expressed his hope that participants at the conference will find practical solutions to empower both individuals and institutions to work towards a world free of corruption.

First training workshop on gender reporting network
 
The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) in coordination with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) organised the first training workshop on the gender reporting network on November 10.

The two-day event drew the participation of journalists from central and local press agencies. The seminar focused on gender imbalance at birth, defining the main criteria of gender sensitiveness and gender equality in socio-economic development.    

It was also a good opportunity to provide training course for the press circle to provide information about the law, reflect issues related to gender equality, gender-based violence, domestic violence, increase awareness for members of the gender reporting network in gender mainstreaming and strengthen cooperation among press agencies.

Pham Ngoc Tien, Director of Gender Equality Department under the MOLISA, said Vietnam is the leading country in the region in improving the environment of gender equality. It is necessary for press agencies to coordinate efforts in promoting gender equality.

VRG builds school in Cambodia
 
The Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG) held a groundbreaking ceremony on November 9 to build a primary school and a medical clinic in Kadia commune, Khoun Touk district of Cambodia’s Kompong Thom province.

Covering five hectares of land, the school and the clinic are being built at a cost of US$96,000 and are funded by the VRG’s Tan Bien, Ba Ria, Phuoc Hoa and Chu Xe companies. Of the funding, US$26,000 will be used to build a 4km road section connecting the school with another province and construction is expected to be completed in five months.

Addressing the ceremony, VRG General Director Tran Ngoc Thuan said the project is a symbol of friendship and solidarity between the Vietnamese and Cambodian people, he said.

VRG will build more schools with the assistance of Vietnamese rubber businesses in Kompong Thom province, he added.

Mayor of Kompong Thom province Chhon Chuol thanked the VRG for its valuable practical gift for Kadia commune and Khoun Touk district. He also highlighted the work of VRG affiliates which have generated more jobs for locals and contributed to local social activities.