An international rescue delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security on February 12 presented medical equipment and supplies weighing 2 tonnes to Turkey, recently affected by a devastating earthquake, through this country’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD).

The aid includes emergency medicine, essential drugs, medical supplies, tents, chemicals for disease prevention and control, and medical equipment used in disaster emergency situations.

Later the same day, the Vietnamese delegation coordinated with AFAD to allocate these equipment and other supplies to recipients, including the largest hospital in Adiyaman city.

AFAD deputy director in Adiyaman Isamail Sahin appreciated Vietnam’s aid and expressed his deep thanks for this assistance of the Vietnamese Government and people and the Ministry of Public Security.

Adiyaman is one of the three places most affected by the February 6 earthquake. As of February 13 noon (Vietnam time), the deadly disaster  had killed more than 34,000 people in not only Turkey but also Syria.

This is the first time Vietnam has deployed search and rescue forces in coordination with other countries following a natural disaster.

NA Standing Committee opens 20th session

The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee commenced its 20th session in Hanoi on February 13 morning.

Opening the event, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said the three-day session will look into the draft law on civil defence, the draft law on protection of consumer rights, and the draft revised one on electronic transactions, which were discussed for the first time at the 15th parliament’s fourth session in late 2022.

The Standing Committee will also scrutinise and make decisions about seven groups of issues, including an ordinance on penalties for administrative violations in the field of state auditing and three draft resolutions of the Standing Committee.

A draft decree on protection of personal information, the establishment of district- and communal-level administrative units in some provinces, and the allocation of capital for tasks and projects under the socio-economic recovery and development prorgamme are also on the agenda.

Besides, the legislators will review the second and third extraordinary sessions and consider the Prime Minister’s proposals on the appointment and relief of Vietnamese ambassadors.

Besides, they will review the NA’s settlement of people’s petitions in December 2022 and January 2023, according to Chairman Hue.

Two killed, two injured in Kon Tum traffic accident 
 
Two family members have been killed and two others seriously injured after a truck tipped over onto their car in the Central Highlands Province of Kon Tum on Sunday evening.

According to local police, the tragic accident occurred at 6 pm on February 12 at Lo Xo Hill in Dak Glei District when the truck was running on a curved section of the mountainous road and tilted, falling on to a car carrying four people which was running in the opposite direction.

The accident left the car driver Nguyen Van Tanh, 36, and his 18-year-old son Nguyen Minh Tuyen dead on the spot. Tanh's wife Nguyen Thi Thanh Kieu, 35, and their two-year-old son Nguyen Hoang Minh Phuc were badly injured.

Police are investigating the cause of the accident.

The same evening, another accident in the neighbouring province of Dak Lak left two people dead. The two men, Y Khuon Nie, 23, and Y Mia Nie, 21, crashed their motorbike into a car while speeding on the Ho Chi Minh Road. They died of serious injuries on the spot.

Cold spell to blanket northern Vietnam this week

A cold wave is forecast to hit the northern and north-central regions on February 13 night and the following day, with temperatures ranging from 14-17 degrees Celsius.

Nguyen Van Huong, head of the weather forecast division under the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, said temperatures in northern mountainous localities will drop to 10-13 degrees, even 8 degrees in some places.

The regions will see light rains from February 18-22. Nighttime temperatures will drop further on February 19.

Over the past days, unseasonal rains hit southern localities, affecting production as well as travelling of local residents, and they are forecast to continue in the coming days.  

The centre said the cold fronts in February and March will cause waves as high as 3-5m in the sea from the north to the south.

Two Vietnamese cities among ASEAN's best tourist destinations

Two Vietnamese cities, Ho Chi Minh City and Hoi An, have been listed among the Top 6 ASEAN destinations winning TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Best of The Best 2023 Awards.

According to the official website of ASEAN, asean.org, voters valued the locations of countries for natural beauty, cultural and historical landmarks, adventure activities, and phenomenal cuisines.

The website noted that UNESCO-recognised World Heritage Site of Hoi An is a historic city that was once a popular trading port from the 15th to 19th centuries in central Vietnam.

Located in central Quang Nam province, Hoi An is a bustling city with a population of approximately 120,000 and is a popular tourist destination for backpackers and adventurers seeking to explore the city and the nearby array of attractions.

The city is notable for its many man-made marvels. On every 14th day of the month the city turns off its electric lights and illuminates the night with lit paper lanterns.

Located in southeast Vietnam along the Saigon River, Ho Chi Minh City is well known for its historic French colonial architecture. The southern metropolis is also famous for its many attractions, including the Jade Emperor Pagoda, the Notre Dame Cathedral, Binh Tay Market, and the Mariamman Hindu Temple.

Voted by actual travelers, the awards were bestowed on 25 worldwide destinations, with three ASEAN destinations in the top five and six overall in the list of 25.

Other destinations to make the list were Siem Reap of Cambodia, Chiang Mai of Thailand, Panay Island of the Philippines, and Lombok of Indonesia.

Earlier, Hoi An and HCM City had been also ranked among the world's 25 trending destinations by the TripAdvisor Traveler’s Choice.

Vietnam, Cambodia strengthen collaboration in border protection, management

Leaders of the Border Guard High Command under the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence and the Cambodian Ministry of Interior's General Department of Immigration held talks in Ho Chi Minh City on February 12, discussing measures to enhance coordination in border protection and management.

Lieut. Gen. Le Duc Thai, Commander of the Command, thanked the Cambodian General Department for coordinating in and rescuing Vietnamese victims who were lured to enter Cambodia illegally and forced to work in illegal business facilities there.

Thai proposed the two sides maintain effective cooperation in preventing illegal immigration and emigration, promptly exchanging information, and dismantling human trafficking rings and forced labour establishments, so as to put an end to these problems.

Gen. Kirth Chantharith, head of the Cambodian General Department, expressed his belief that the two sides will work together to further boost their cooperation.

They agreed to strengthen coordination, promote the efficiency of the international border gate system, and speed up the reform of administrative procedures to create favourable conditions for import and export as well as entry and exit activities. The two sides will actively exchange information on activities of various types of crimes, especially those related to drug, smuggling, human trafficking, and illegal entry and exit.

The two sides also agreed to continue creating favourable conditions for the travel of people; actively advise local authorities to promote people-to-people exchanges; and step up dissemination on the strict observance of each country's Agreement on Border Management Regulations and laws.

Over the past time, the cooperation results between the Vietnam Border Guard High Command and the General Department of Immigration of Cambodia have contributed to ensuring security and order; facilitating border traffic through border gates; boosting socio-economic development; and strengthening solidarity, friendship and understanding between the two countries.

Quang Ninh like miniature Vietnam with strategic position: PM

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on February 12 described Quang Ninh as a miniature Vietnam that holds a strategic position in terms of politics, economy, defence, security, and diplomacy.

He was addressing a meeting with officials of the northeastern province after a conference launching the Government’s action plan for implementing the Politburo’s Resolution No 30-NQ/TW on socio-economic development in the Red River Delta.

The provincial Party Committee reported that Quang Ninh has continually recorded double-digit growth rates during 2016 - 2022, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, while the economic structure has been shifting in a sustainable manner. The local economy has been expanding fast and reached some 269 trillion VND (11.4 billion USD) at the end of 2022; per capita GDRP topped 8,200 USD – the highest in the northern region; and labour productivity increased over 13%.

It attracted 2.15 billion USD in foreign direct investment between 2020 and 2022; posted over 7.68 billion USD in exports, up more than 9% annually; and ranked first nationwide in the Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) rankings during 2017 - 2021.

Local officials also highlighted attainments in environmental protection, natural disaster and climate change response, social security ensuring, defence, security and national sovereignty safeguarding, diplomacy, and the Party and political system building.

In his remarks, PM Chinh highly valued Quang Ninh’s efforts and achievements, noting that it boasts many favourable conditions for socio-economic development and is also the only in Vietnam to share both land and sea borders with China.

He asked the province to fully capitalise on transport corridors; promote connectivity among its localities and with other provinces and cities; develop a green and clean environment, civilised society, and developed culture; and boost both the speed and quality of growth in tandem with innovation, digital transformation, green transition, circular economy, and climate change fight.

Ha Long Bay an idyllic seaside places to watch sunrise,sunset: Travel+Leisure

US magazine Travel Leisure has named Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay among the four idyllic seaside places across Asia to watch sunrise and sunset.

According to the magazine, UNESCO World Heritage site Ha Long Bay, with more than 2,000 limestone islands, is a tourism mecca in Asia.

It recommends that the best way to avoid the bustle is to dodge the day trips and do a two-night cruise. This will allow visitors to take in clusters of islands too far for day-trippers or overnighters to get to, and allow them to surrender to the rhythms of the sea and the sun. 

“Once afloat you can watch both sunrise and sunset from the deck—its ascent over the Gulf of Tonkin and denouement behind the slew of islands, bays and iconic limestone outcrops. Then wait a while longer… because it’s the blue hour, that twilight time between dusk and darkness, when the locals believe Ha Long Bay is at its most beautiful,” the magazine said. 

Other three places Travel Leisure recommends for sunset and sunrise watching in Asia are Romblon Island in Philippines, Kuakata Beach in Bangladesh, and Kenting National Park in Taiwan (China).

Sport events help connect Vietnamese people in Singapore

“Van Lang Sports Competition 2023”, sponsored by the Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore, was held in the city-state on February 12 with the aim of connecting Vietnamese people in the country.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Mai Phuoc Dung said it was a chance to strengthen the solidarity among the Vietnamese community there.

Head of the Liaison Board of the Vietnamese community in Singapore Ta Thuy Lien said the tournament was expected to create a playground for the sports movement in the community while promoting talented individuals in the field.

The event, the biggest of its kind, attracted about 300 participants to football, tennis and badminton.

Endangered, rare gray-shanked douc langurs found in local garden

Three gray-shanked douc langurs, listed as an endangered, precious and rare animal, have recently been spotted in Cẩm Tú Village, Hòa Kiến Commune.

The Forest Protection Department of Tuy Hòa City in the central province of Phú Yên has coordinated with relevant units to raise public awareness of the importance of protecting the gray-shanked douc langurs that appeared recently in the area.

On the morning of February 10, an individual of this kind of primate appeared in the garden of Lê Văn Thành in Cẩm Tú Village. 

Thành said three individuals that appear to be the gray-shanked douc langur (Pygathrix cinerea) have been observed in residential areas in the village since December last year. They recently showed up in the village again between 9am - 5pm.

Lê Thanh Tùng, head of Cẩm Tú Village, said after receiving information from locals about the presence of the primates in the village, village authorities asked local residents not to hunt them.

On February 9, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Phú Yên Province sent an official dispatch to the Phú Yên Forest Protection Department and Tuy Hòa City People’s Committee, requesting cooperation in protecting these rare animals.

On February 10 morning, the Forest Protection Department of Tuy Hòa City coordinated with local authorities to inspect and observe the activities of those animals in the locality.

The gray-shanked douc langur, that has the scientific name Pygathrix cinerea, is an endangered, precious and rare animal. This particular species belongs to the IB group. The animal is therefore protected under Decree No. 06/2019/NĐ-CP dated January 22, 2019 of the Government on management of endangered, rare and precious forest plants and animals, and implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

According to GreenViet Biodiversity Conservation Center (GreenViet), in Phú Yên, protective forests in Đồng Xuân District are identified as habitats of gray-shanked douc langurs.

Hanoi launches information systems, applications for common use

The Hà Nội People’s Committee has officially launched the city’s information systems and applications for common use, part of local efforts to develop a digital administration.

The newly unveiled comprises a reporting system, a system for document management and concentrated governance, a channel for receiving people and enterprises’ feedback and opinions via the Zalo app, and an application for meeting management at the municipal People’s Committee.

Addressing the launch, Chairman of the People’s Committee Trần Sỹ Thanh said with support from the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT), Hà Nội has built and put into use the four important systems and applications in a short period of time.

They are expected to be useful tools helping ensure timely, consistent, transparent, and effective governance activities of the city's administration system, while guaranteeing the consistency and sharing of data among local agencies and units, as well as with ministries and central agencies.

In particular, the systems will serve as the foundation for modern, professional, dynamic, and efficient administrative activities that centre on the people and enterprises, he noted.

With the systems put into use early, Hà Nội has shown its determination to implement the Government’s national digital transformation programme by 2025 with a vision to 2030, and make breakthroughs in administrative reform to serve the people and enterprises at its best.

Chairman of the VNPT Members’ Council Tô Dũng Thái expressed his belief that the successful implementation of this project will be the key for Hà Nội to boost IT application in all of its management agencies, thereby contributing the building of a digital administration, digital economy, and digital society. 

Vietnam’s Military Engineering Unit Rotation 1 grants humanitarian works to Abyei school

Vietnam’s Military Engineering Unit Rotation 1 at the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) on February 11 handed over some humanitarian works to Abyei High School.

The soldiers helped build a 5m-wide, 150m-long road leading to the school, a clean water well and a 5,000 cu.m tank; and install a pump, a generator, and a pipeline system to provide clean water to teachers and students.

They built two classrooms, one teachers' room, a library a canteen and one security room.

The unit also granted six laptops worth over 60 million VND (2,545 USD) to the school.

UNISFA Acting Head of Mission and Force Commander, Major General Benjamin Olufemi Sawyerr said that these works will help teachers and students overcome difficulties and deficiency in infrastructure and equipment to improve the quality of teaching and learning for a brighter future of Abyei.

Vietnamese embassies in Turkey, Syria well perform citizen protection

The Vietnamese Embassy in Turkey has been urgently performing citizen protection measures, and actively supporting the mission of the Ministry of Public Security which is on search-and-rescue duty in areas bearing the brunt of the devastating February 6 earthquake, according to Ambassador Do Son Hai.

The embassy has sent its staff to accompany the team and tried to meet the mission's requirements.

According to the embassy, on the first day of their rescue operation in Adiyaman city, the rescue mission discovered and coordinated with international forces to rescue a victim trapped in the rubble.

Vietnamese embassies in Turkey, Syria well perform citizen protection hinh anh 2
 The embassy continues to provide support for Vietnam’s rescue and relief teams. (Photo: VNA) 
The Vietnamese embassies in Turkey and Syria said they have been keeping a close contact with local authorities and the Vietnamese communities in the two countries to get information about the possibility of Vietnamese casualties in the earthquake.

The embassies said so far, there was no information on Vietnamese citizens dead or injured in the disaster.

The embassy in Turkey reported that six families with Vietnamese citizens have been affected by the earthquake, and they are facing many difficulties. The embassy has received and provided financial support, and goods to help them overcome the difficult time.

Ambassador Hai affirmed that the embassy will continue to provide support for Vietnam’s rescue and relief teams, and maintain contact with overseas Vietnamese in Turkey, thus promptly rolling out plans to quickly deploy citizen protection measures in case of necessity.

Vietnamese expats in Hong Kong gather for Tet celebrations

The Consulate General of Vietnam in China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on February 13 organised a get-together to welcome the Tet (Lunar New Year) festival 2023 for the overseas Vietnamese community in Hong Kong, the first such event after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the event, Vietnamese Consul General Pham Binh Dam highlighted that the Vietnamese community in Hong Kong have supported each other to go through the pandemic safely.

The diplomat said that the Consulate General has devoted itself to community work, the issue of granting visas for students has been solved and Vietnamese students have been present more and more in Hong Kong, adding that Vietnamese experts can now also get working visas in Hong Kong with the help of the consulate general.

The Liaison Board of Vietnamese in Hong Kong and the Vietnamese Student Association in Hong Kong were officially launched at the event.

On this occasion, the Consulate General also awarded certificates of merit to outstanding overseas Vietnamese representatives who have made many contributions to the homeland.

There are some 7,000 Vietnamese people living and working in Hong Kong.

Festival honouring Lady Trieu recognised as national heritage

The central province of Thanh Hoa is scheduled to hold a festival from March 11-13 to honour Lady Trieu, who led a resistance war against China’s Eastern Wu during the third century.

The festival was recently recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage, along with nine other festivals, cultural practices and performance art from communities across the country.

The festival will take place at a temple dedicated to the national hero, in Trieu Loc Commune of Hau Loc District, which is already listed as a special national site.

The 2023 festival will feature a ceremony to receive the certificate recognising the practice of honouring Lady Trieu as a national intangible cultural heritage and a stage performance re-enacting the rebellion launched by Lady Trieu against the rule of the Eastern Wu in 248.

Legend has it that a temple was built in her honour by Emperor Ly Nam De in the 6th century and the temple continued to be renovated by imperial dynasties throughout history.

In 1979, the temple and mausoleum of Lady Trieu in Trieu Loc were named a national historical and cultural site. The complex was listed as a special national site in 2014.

Lang Son opens Culture, Sports and Tourism Week

The northern province of Lang Son on February 11 launched Culture, Sports and Tourism Week 2023 and the showcase of traditional costumes of Lang Son ethnic groups entitled “Spring colours of Lang Son”.

The opening night saw the participation of more than 100 artists, artisans, and folk clubs, who performed cultural and art performances, lion dances, and dances of local ethnic groups.

The week-long event will include various activities, such as a martial arts performance, lion and dragon dance, the showcase of traditional costumes of Lang Son ethnic groups, a cuisine contest, ‘Sli’ and ‘luon’ singing performances and the ‘lay co’ folk game of Nung and Tay ethnic minority groups, a raft racing on the Ky Cung River, and others.

The Lang Son Culture, Sports and Tourism Week, which was held after three years of suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic, promises to attract a large number of visitors both inside and outside the province, contributing to promoting local tourism and the economy.

The event will last until the end of February 17.

Vietnam Association of Stage Artists honours four outstanding plays in 2022

The Vietnam Association of Stage Artists (VASA) organised a ceremony at Hanoi Opera House on February 9 to honour outstanding plays in 2022.

The VASA presented 4 A prizes and 6 B prizes for excellent plays, 10 awards for excellent actors, and the awards for creative elements (Excellent Painter - Meritorious Artist Nguyen Dat Tang; Excellent Director - Meritorious Artist Trinh Mai Nguyen; Excellent Choreographer - Hoai Anh; Excellent Composer - Meritorious Artist Tuan Hai).

The organisers also awarded an A prize to a book on critical theory of culture in development titled 'Tu Thuc Tien Hoat Dong San Khau' (From the stage practice) by Ngo Thao, 3 B prizes for writers of scripts and books on research and critical thinking, and 7 C prizes,and 2 consolation prizes for script writers.

Regarding the operation plan for 2023, VASA Chairwoman, People’s Artist Trinh Thuy Mui said that the VASA will actively coordinate with relevant authorities and units to organise talent contests for actors in assorted forms of drama, ‘cheo’ (Vietnamese traditional opera), ‘cai luong’ (reformed opera), solos and concerts with ethnic musical instruments on a national scale, and circus acts.

In addition, composition camps and projects on audience development strategies for the stage and the digitisation of typical theatrical works, and a scientific conference on the implementation of Resolution 19/NQ-TW of the Party on planning and socialisation of professional art units will also be organised.

Taking precaution of ChatGPT-related scams

Since its official debut on November 30, 2022, the super artificial intelligence (AI)bot ChatGPT has created quite a stir in the world’s technological industry. Although it has only been released in a few countries, ChatGPT has attracted more than 100 million users after just over two months of operation.

The ChatGPT heat has quickly spread to Vietnam. In both official media and social networks, topics related to ChatGPT have attracted many enthusiastic opinions and discussions.

Notably, Vietnam is not among the countries where ChatGPT develops its products so this service does not yet support phone numbers and IPs in the country. However, by various ways, some netizens in Vietnam have gotten accounts and can make many transactions via this app. Thereby, the trading service of ChatGPT account has flourished on social networks during the past few days.

Grasping users’ psychology, fraudsters have immediately identified this as a "delicious bait" for profit. It is not difficult to come across offers such as “Get registered for ChatGPT mail accounts with an affordable account” appearing on social networks.

Many people have rushed to contact those brokers creating ChatGPT accounts with prices ranging from tens to thousands of Vietnamese dong.

However, the accounts must be created from an overseas server, so the opening of new accounts for customers in Vietnam has been facing many limitations. With a small amount of money, many customers only get back the accounts been created for other users, so they are often overloaded and cannot be used. There are customers who can own their own ChatGPT accounts according to their email addresses, but they are in danger of having their personal information leaked, leading to unpredictable consequences.

The overheated development of ChatGPT has led to application-based scams. Specifically, although it is only supported on the web but not on phones, fake ChatGPT apps has appeared on mobile platforms at major online stores such as App Store and Google Play.

Quicky searching on the App Store, users can see applications with different names including AI Chat for GPT, AI Chatbot-Smart assistant, Potket AI ChatBOT Chat AI Tools, and Open Chat GPT AI Bot.

The application "ChatGPT Chat GPT AI With GPT-3" even introduces this as the official application for ChatGPT bot. However, there is no evidence to prove the connection between this application with OpenAI, the developer of the ChatGPT product. In addition, unlike OpenAI, which is permitting users to use ChatGPT for free, this application this application is asking for a fee of 7.99 USD per week for its chatbot service or 50 USD for a one-year subscription.

Faced with the above situation, online platform providers have made efforts to remove junk applications. Specifically, on January 10, Apple removed the “ChatGPT Chat GPT AI With GPT-3” after this app reached thousands of downloads. Similarly, an app called ChatGPT (All Languages) was removed from Google Play on February 2.

Witnessing the “craze” of ChatGPT, many experts have warned the community that bad actors could take advantage of this situation to attack users by enticing them to download fake apps, tricking them to subscribe and inserting malicious code to steal information.

ChatGPT is in the testing process, so besides advantages in supporting users for different purposes, this app is also revealing shortcomings and inadequacies. Therefore, users also need to be careful and alert in its use to avoid fraud.

Reviewing refusal to grant certification for cars with one reverse light

VR has just announced that it is reviewing the case of certain automobile registration centers refusing to issue a certification for one-reverse-lighted automobiles.

Vietnam Register (VR) informed that cars originally designed with one reverse light are eligible to receive a registration certificate as usual.

Therefore, the feedback of car owners about such car types being refused to grant a registration might come from misunderstanding or personal mistakes.

VR is investigating the case and will soon deliver a formal dispatch to all registration centers nationwide to rectify the situation.

VR always welcomes all reports and feedbacks from citizens and businesses about trouble arisen during the registration process of automobiles at its centers. Concerned people can call the hotline 0243.768.4706 of Vietnam Auto Register (VAR) – VR’s member.

HCM City hopes to strength agricultural partnership with Ontario

Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Vo Van Hoan on February 13 received Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Lisa Thompson of Canada’s Ontario province.

The host official said on the basis of the fruitful Vietnam - Canada cooperation, relations between HCM City and the North American country have enjoyed strong development. Canada has poured about 130 million USD into 119 projects in the city, ranking 22nd among the 117 countries and territories investing here.

HCM City and Ontario set up friendship and cooperative ties in February 2006, but their cooperation results have yet to catch up with their potential, he pointed out, expressing his wish to further promote partnerships with Ontario as well as Canada at large.

Hoan noted that the southern metropolis of Vietnam welcomes Ontario and Canadian businesses operating in agriculture, digital transformation, and technology application to come to explore trade and investment chances.

It is also ready to step up cultural ties, human resources training, and people-to-people exchanges with Canadian localities, including Ontario, to celebrate the 50th founding anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic relations this year, the Vice Chairman added.

For her part, Thompson affirmed Ontario province, including Toronto city, is willing to coordinate with HCM City to promote bilateral cooperation, including activities marking 50 years of diplomatic ties, especially in economy and culture.

Ontario, the biggest province of Canada, plays an economic role similar to HCM City’s importance to Vietnam. It is strong at agricultural production and hopes to develop long-term and effective partnership in this field with the city, according to the visiting official.

PM’s Singapore visit brings about substantive results to both sides: expert

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to Singapore from February 8-10 has contributed to promoting bilateral relations, particularly economic cooperation, Dr. Pham Duc Minh from the Singaporean Government’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research has said, given the complicated developments of the world situation.

Minh assessed that the visit has produced substantive outcomes, including creating an impetus for development in digital economy and green economy - which will be the two spearhead industries of the Vietnamese economy in the coming time.

With the memoranda of understanding on cooperation signed between the two countries, it will be easier for corporations and companies in Vietnam to access investment and financial resources of Singaporean investment funds and those based in the country, he said, adding that the cooperation also helps Vietnam to access Singapore's latest technologies.

According to him, the Vietnamese Government’s approval of investment in the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park Nghe An II will give a boost for the development of industrial parks in Vietnam in the context of difficulties caused by declines in global production demand in some industries.

Vietnam's favourable geographical position and improving transport infrastructure have attracted corporations to increase investment and open production factories in Vietnam. Therefore, the preparation of infrastructure in industrial zones is very important at this time, he stressed.

That Vietnam and Singapore have reached an important agreement on digital economy and green economy will pave the way for further cooperation in trade, investment, science and technology, and Vietnam can work towards cooperation in areas where Singapore is leading the world or the region, thus bringing great economic benefits to both sides.

Minh emphasised that the two countries can first cooperate in environmental solutions and clean energy because Singapore is a global pioneer in this field.

Digital transformation, including e-government, smart country-smart city and smart manufacturing, is also worth receiving more attention for further cooperation, he said.

To speed up economic growth, Vietnam should focus on developing mechanical engineering, electronics, telecommunications and computer science, and semiconductor ecosystem in cooperation with Singapore, the expert added.

Hong Kong exhibition highlights vitality and beauty of Indochinese painting

An exhibition entitled “Scenes of This World: Modern Paintings from Singapore and Vietnam” at LGDR & Wei’s gallery in Hong Kong (China) is featuring over 30 works in oil, ink, and gouache by 11 artists from the two countries, who were recognised as modern masters of their respective nations.

The exhibition offers a chance for viewers to examine the defining styles of a generation of transnational artists that came of age in the 1930s and were collectively shaped by cosmopolitanism.

A publication introducing the exhibition said that there are six Vietnamese among the artists whose paintings are displayed at the exhibition, namely Le Pho, Mai Trung Thu, Vu Cao Dam, Nguyen Phan Chanh, Nguyen Gia Tri and Nguyen Trung.

Almost of them were trained in the Indochina School of Fine Arts, which teaches fine arts programmes along with painting techniques associated with Vietnamese art materials, including silk and lacquer - part of an effort to create a typical art of Vietnam.

The exhibition contributes to proving the vitality and beauty of Indochinese painting and Vietnamese painting in particular.

According to painting curators, many collectors in Asia have paid special attention to and highly valued Vietnamese painting art.

Curator Karin G.Oen, who was mainly responsible for selecting paintings for the exhibition, said that the displayed paintings are mostly borrowed from the Shanghai art investment fund or private collections of Chinese collectors.

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes