President of the VYPA Central Committee Ha Anh Duc said that health is one of the eight priorities of the national digital transformation programme approved by the Government, and in 2023, his association will carry out a wide range of activities to support young doctors during the digital transformation process of the sector.

Clinic4.0 aims to assist doctors and physicians who wish to open private clinics and start up business in the healthcare sector, thus helping them optimise the operation process, master technology and promote the value of modern technology in health care.

It is expected to not only benefit VYPA members nationwide, but also support a large number of people in primary health care, contributing to reducing the risk of fatality, and the burden of diseases.

“Outline on Vietnamese Culture” a torch of nation’s cultural development: Official

The “Outline on Vietnamese Culture” 1945, drafted by Party General Secretary Truong Chinh has created a consensus in awareness and ideology of culture among people, especially intellectuals and artists, and encouraged people’s patriotism and devotion for the revolution, thus becoming a torch lighting the way for the development of a new culture, President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (HCMA) and Chairman of the Central Theory Council Nguyen Xuan Thang. 

In his opening remarks at a national scientific conference themed “80-year Outline on Vietnamese Culture (1943-2023): Origin and Motivation for Development” in Hanoi on February 27, Thang underlined that over the past 80 years, the document, the first platform on culture of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), has become a lodestar for the nation through two prolonged struggles as well as during the national construction and the building of a country of independence, freedom and happiness following the national reunification.

He suggested that participants focus their discussion on five major issues, including the scientific importance, historical significance and long-lasting values of the document; the renovation of mindset and improvement of awareness of the role of culture in development; the completion of institutions, law and policies to create favourable conditions for cultural activities and the mobilisation of resources for the development of culture and people; the building of a contingent of competent officials engaging in cultural tasks; and the development of the cultural industry and cultural market.

Addressing the conference, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung highlighted the great practical meaning of the document in cultural development and the building of Vietnamese people over the past eight decades.

Right from the introduction of the document, the idea of placing of people in the centre and considering the people as the subject of creativity has shown that people development and cultural development are intertwined and inseparable goals.

Thanks to the application of the principles of the document, positive progress has been seen in the inheritance and promotion of traditional cultural values of Vietnam, with the harmonious combination between cultural heritage conservation and development with economic development, contributing to strengthening Vietnam’s soft power, he said.

The minister pointed to a number of shortcomings during the cultural and human development of Vietnam, including the poor coordination among sectors and agencies, and between the State-owned and private sectors in the work.

He proposed a number of orientations and solutions to further promote the values of the platform, including the continuous researching and improvement of public awareness of culture following the spirit of the document as well as the 13th National Party Congress’ Resolution and relevant documents.

The official underlined the need to continue renewing the mindset in State management over culture, the adjustment and supplementation of legal regulations to ensure the coherence of laws related to culture, and the creation of breakthroughs in building the cultural environment at grassroots level.

At the same time, it is necessary to continue studying the Vietnamese human value system to build and develop Vietnamese people with qualities meeting the requirements of the new era, he said.

HCMC Book Street reaches highest revenue ever

Ho Chi Minh City Book Street yesterday held its yearly summary meeting, along with plans for 2023. The revenue last year saw a rise of 113.7 percent compared to 2021.

Accordingly, the proceeds of HCMC Book Street in 2022 were nearly VND52 billion (US$2.18 million). This is the highest figure ever for the sale of around 660,000 books, including more than 3,200 new titles.

Notably, last year witnessed a remarkable growth of the children’s book segment with a revenue of over VND10 billion ($420,000), an increase of 236 percent as opposed to 2021. This is quite a positive sign for the promotion of the reading habit in the community, especially the efforts to encourage children to read books.

In 2022, the number of visitors to HCMC Book Street was nearly 3 million (a rise of 87.5 percent compared to 2021), 30 percent of whom was international tourists. The quantity of reading-related events came to 435, equal to 190 percent of 2021.

Director of HCMC Book Street Le Hoang stated that it is necessary to form a closer link between conventional and hi-tech book enterprises, together with more agreements on copyright obtaining so that good titles and humanistic topics can be introduced to readers.

Over 1,600 dead in traffic accidents in two months

There were 832 traffic accidents nationwide from January 15 to February 14, killing 539 people and injuring 565 others, reported the Office of the National Traffic Safety Committee.

Compared to the same period last year, the number of accidents, fatalities and the injured was down 17.79%, 14.17% and 14%, respectively.

From December 15, 2022 to February 14, 2023, as many as 1,629 accidents nationwide left 1,047 dead and 1,070 wounded, representing annual respective decreases of 17.77%, 12.6% and 14.13%.

There were 1,036 dead and 1,067 injured in 1,610 road accidents, down 17.86%, 12.5% and 14.02% year-on-year, respectively.
 
Meanwhile, 13 railway accidents killed seven people and injured three.

Two accidents were recorded on sea routes, leaving no one dead or injured.

Art experiment themed human-being to thrill Hanoi audience

Over three weeks, six artists working in different fields of art in Hanoi, including visual arts, performance art, sound, and moving images, will collaborate in a series of “symbiotic experiments” entitled “More Than Human #1: The Understories”.

The "open studio" features an art installation alongside various events, including film screenings, discussions, and artist talks will open at two different spaces of Manzi Art Space and Exhibition at No.14 Phan Huy Ich Street and No.2 Hang Bun Street in Ba Dinh District.

The authors are Nguyen Huy An, Dieu Ha, Nguyen Tran Nam, Nguyen Van Phuc, Nguyen Trinh Thi and Nguyen Van Thuy.

Provoked by an infinite conundrum about the "More-Than-Human World," 'The Understories' simulates a site-specific staging in which many elements/characters would be involved; they can appear suddenly or quietly withdraw, with unexpected movements and mise en scène: there is light and darkness; sound and silence; natural beings and man-made objects; remembrance of things past; the promise of things that begin.

These complex and multivalent "entities" are inextricably interwoven in the same "habitat." This mise-en-scène constructs a loose representation of an ecosystem.

In three-week time, 'The Understories' will transform through four phases, each lasting four or five days. Over time, the performance of each artist, and their body of works would be gradually formed - adjusted/ sustained- dissipated as if regulated by a general principle comparable to the' interspecies collaboration/competition' practice in the natural ecosystem.

According to the organizers, the audience to this open studio may see, hear, and feel them - the "beings" of The Understories' breathing, growing, staying alert to their surroundings, and responding to stimuli.

They do not only interact with each other (like with their neighboring species) but also react with internal factors of the exhibition space (their living conditions), as well as with the audience - external stimuli (or invaders of their environment); not to mention that they also respond to the flow of time.

The artists pose challenging questions to the audience following their fun experiences in the open studio: Is there such a thing as "Everything has a spirit" (in animalism theory) or "Everything is transient" (in Buddhism and Taoism)?

What's to come next? A state of rest in the perfect & eternal equilibrium? Or a point of extinction signaling an upcoming phase of post-apocalyptic rebirth?

The art event is organized by Hanoi Doclab and Manzi with the support of the Prince Claus Foundation and will be open to the public from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday to Sunday, until March 19, 2023.

Efforts to counter illegal fishing stepped up

Vietnam is working on specific measures to develop a sustainable fishery sector in the long run, said Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phùng Đức Tiến.

Representatives of many localities attending a conference held on Monday in Hà Nội pointed out difficulties in handling violated fishing vessels. They proposed specific measures to help stop illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing violators.

Nguyễn Tuấn Thanh, Vice Chairman of Bình Định People’s Committee, noted that difficulties the locality faces include the unstable vessel inspection systems and equipment and the lax fines of violators.

Lê Quốc Anh, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Kiên Giang Province, which led the country in IUU fishing violations, called for fishermen not to work in foreign waters illegally, comply with regulations when fishing in allowed waters and ensure the inspection equipment open all the time. He also proposed that lists of violators be made public.

Huỳnh Thái Sơn, director of Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the province would focus on checking all fishing ports to inspect 100 per cent of hauls while inspecting fishing vessels arriving or departing its ports.

It will also report IUU fishing violators and vessels that have their inspection equipment disconnected for more than ten days.

Noting that removing the yellow card imposed by the EC is an important task, Minister Tiến requested relevant agencies to deploy all resources to meet the target.

He ordered the authorities to implement documents and action plans soon closely.

Since the European Commission issued a yellow card warning to Việt Nam for not doing enough to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in 2017, the government organised meetings with ministries, agencies and localities to discuss the issue.

On February 13 this year, PM Chính issued a 180-day action plan against IUU fishing.

The Kiên Giang provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee have issued a letter appealing to locals to strongly support the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The letter particularly targets fishing vessel owners, executives of fishing, seafood purchasing and processing companies, captains, and fishermen in the Mekong Delta province.

The targeted groups are urged to promptly carry out the Government’s 180-day action plan against IUU fishing, implement the European Commission (EC)’s recommendations, and not take fishing vessels to foreign waters for fishing.

They are also urged to carry out all necessary administrative procedures before vessels leave for fishing trips, keep their vessel monitoring systems constantly operating during fishing trips, and adhere to vessel arrival regulations.

An inspection team of the EC is scheduled to return to Việt Nam in April to examine the country’s anti-IUU fishing moves. The country strives to have the EC’s “yellow card” warning against this issue removed in 2023, which heavily depends on fishermen’s cooperation.

Just one fishing vessel infringing in foreign waters can ruin all efforts to persuade the EC to lift the “yellow card”, the letter emphasised.

IFAD promotes sustainable agriculture in Mekong Delta

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Vietnam have just signed an agreement on the Climate-smart Agricultural Value Chain Development (CSAT) project to promote inclusive and sustainable agricultural growth in the Mekong Delta.

The project will generate sustainable income opportunities and improve rural livelihoods for 60,000 families engaged in small-scale farming.

Though Vietnam has made impressive progress in reducing poverty over the last 30 years, most of the country’s poor (86%) live in remote and mountainous areas. The average income per capita in rural Vietnam is less than half that in urban areas. While agriculture, which employs 37% of the population, has contributed greatly to economic growth, it has also been characterized by the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources.

In the Mekong Delta, overuse of surface and groundwater is leading to water scarcity. Climate change effects such as rising sea levels, droughts, and increasing temperatures have taken their toll on agriculture as well.

Rural households in the Mekong Delta have limited access to water infrastructure, insurance, and climate-sensitive agro-advisory services to mitigate risks – a critical gap in a low-lying river delta identified as one of the most vulnerable to climate change, notably in terms of sea level rise, droughts, extreme heat, and severe storms.

CSAT will invest in the climate-resilient infrastructure needed to develop inclusive and sustainable value chains. It will support better access to financial and extension services and encourage small-scale farmers to adopt environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient technologies, including efficient water usage. CSAT will also work to integrate climate resilience more strongly in provincial and regional planning.

IFAD is providing a US $43 million loan towards the total project cost ($136.4 million) over 5 years. In addition, the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development is providing $40.01 million, and the national government is providing $17.87 million, with $4.6 million contributed in kind by project participants. Additional private sector financing will be available for producer groups and investments in small and medium enterprises and value chain development.

In Vietnam, IFAD has supported 17 projects directly benefitting 738,470 households, at a cost of US$788.10 million with an IFAD loan of $463.49 million. It focuses on activities that have the greatest impact on residual poverty in rural areas, developing market-led innovations that aid poor people.  

IFAD is an international financial institution and a United Nations-specialized agency. Based in Rome – the United Nations food and agriculture hub – IFAD invests in rural people, empowering them to reduce poverty, increase food security, improve nutrition, and strengthen resilience.

Joint Vietnam-France website of archive photos launched

A joint website featuring archive photos from the French School of Asian Studies (or EFEO in French acronym) and the Institute of Social Sciences Information (ISSI) at the Việt Nam Academy of Social Sciences has been officially launched.

The website, https://collection.efeo.fr/ws/issi/app/report/index.html, is available in Vietnamese, French and English. It features nearly 70,000 photos, with more than 57,000 from the ISSI and 10,000 others from the EFEO.

The archive photos were taken in Việt Nam and many other Asian countries between the early 20th century and the 1980s. They were contributed by researchers, tourists and government agencies.

The archives also contain scientific documents on monuments, archaeological excavations, religious ceremonies, museum artefacts, and aerial photographs.

The website's launch celebrates the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and Việt Nam (1973-2023).

According to French Ambassador to Việt Nam Nicolas Warnery, several activities will be held in both countries this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and ten years of strategic partnership. Most of those events are related to culture, education, science, and health care.

The launch of the joint photo website aims to honour the EFEO’s activities in Việt Nam and cooperation with local partners, including research institutes and universities.

Together with a joint library named Hoa Phượng opened by the national libraries of the two countries in April 2021, the newly launched website will help researchers and the public in Việt Nam and France access precious archives about science, life, and culture, the diplomat noted.

Assoc. Prof Dr Vũ Hùng Cường, director of the Institute of Social Sciences Information, said the institute’s library of social sciences is keeping a rich diversity of scientific archives, including those from the EFEO. Among them are about 57,000 photos, forming a particularly valuable and unique archive.

To facilitate the public and researchers' access to these photos, a project started in 2019 to build the joint website, he went on.

An exhibition of scientific archive photos from the two sides was also opened on this occasion.

Quang Tri conducts peak crackdown on IUU fishing

The central province of Quang Tri is conducting a peak crackdown on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing from now to May, in Vietnam’s common efforts to get the “yellow card” warning issued by the European Commission (EC) removed.

To implement the Prime Minister’s Directive 45/CT-TTg on some urgent tasks and solutions in this regard, Quang Tri will continue disseminating the 2017 Law on Fisheries and regulations related to IUU fishing among fishermen, providing training to improve the capacity of the cadres working at fishing ports and those specialised in this issue, instructing owners of fishing boasts that are 6 - 12m long to apply for fishing licences, and guiding owners of the vessels at least 15m long in the installation of vessel monitoring systems, according to the provincial steering committee for IUU fishing combat.

Authorities will keep a watch on the operations of vessel monitoring systems around the clock to early detect and prevent fishing vessels from infringing foreign waters, give guidance on how to handle incidents at sea to fishermen, and strictly deal with owners of violating vessels.

The province will also increase patrols and examination of vessels’ adherence to regulations against IUU fishing.

Over the recent past, thanks to the strong implementation of anti-IUU fishing rules, Quang Tri has no longer recorded local fishing vessels or fishermen’ infringement of foreign waters, the steering committee said.

PM urges weaknesses to be identified to accelerate transport projects

In his role as head of the State steering committee for nationally important transport projects, Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính raised the issue that many projects are behind schedule.

The hybrid event was connected with the 39 provinces and centrally-run cities with major transport projects.

Across the country, preparations are being made for the implementation of 32 road projects and sub-projects while 24 others are being carried out. The key projects under review include the urban railways in Hà Nội and HCM City, the construction of Long Thành International Airport in Đồng Nai Province, and the building of Terminal T3 of Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City.

PM Chính said 21 key transport projects with over 70 sub-projects are being carried out nationwide. In the future, the Government will add some expressway projects linking different regions to guarantee smooth transport connectivity across the country.

This is a heavy workload requiring the strong engagement and determination of all ministries, sectors, localities, units, and contractors, he emphasised.

Highly valuing their efforts to tackle difficulties and obstacles to projects, he also pointed out that many projects are still sluggish, the quality of investment preparations remains modest, site clearance in certain localities is slow, the capacity of some project management boards is limited, while some projects have been divided into too many small bidding packages.

The Government leader demanded a review to identify weaknesses and causes to devise timely and effective solutions.

He asked ministries and sectors to coordinate with one another to deal with difficulties related to construction materials; consulting, supervision, and design weaknesses; along with some contractors’ poor capacity and lack of a sense of responsibility.

In addition, they have to work harder to guarantee the quality and progress of projects; labour safety; projects’ satisfaction of technical, aesthetic, and environmental standards; and the rights and legitimate interests of people and enterprises. They also need to prevent the unreasonable hike of investment capital, the division of projects into many small bidding packages, and negative phenomena and wastefulness in the implementation process.

PM Chính also requested increasing supervision and examination to early discover and solve problems to speed up those projects.

Regarding the master plan for the development of the airport and airport system nationwide in the period of 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, the Ministry of Transport said it received the proposals of 10 localities to have more airport(s) or upgrade existing airport(s) in their planning.

They include Hà Giang, Yên Bái, Tuyên Quang, Hà Tĩnh, Kon Tum, Quảng Ngãi, Khánh Hòa, Đắk Nông and Tây Ninh. A majority of the localities proposed to build additional airports

Among ten locations proposed by the localities, there are two in Hà Giang and Tuyên Quang where it is not feasible to build runway and design air navigation method due to the difficult terrain, however, these localities can further study other locations that are more feasible.

In the rest of eight proposed locations, it is feasible to build runways and design air navigation method. However, most of them have conflicts and overlaps in the airspace, with some locations needing further data.

Basically, the proposed locations need further research and thorough assessment in terms of topographical conditions and airspace organisation, said the ministry.

The transport ministry directed the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to work with relevant agencies and localities and have the preliminary assessment of the possibility of building airports in the localities.

Noting that the proposals of these localities are legitimate given their great potential in air transport, the Ministry suggested they have consultations with another party in order to have sufficient data and assessment. 

Exhibition highlights values of Outline of Vietnamese culture to open in Hanoi

An exhibition marking the 80th anniversary of the “Outline of Vietnamese Culture” will be held in Hanoi from February 27-28.

Launch by the Department of Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the event will showcase 80 photos coming in two parts, with the first being documentary photos on the “Outline of Vietnamese Culture” and the second art photos on outstanding achievements in preserving and promoting Vietnamese cultural identities and activities in the past recent years.

The “Outline of Vietnamese Culture”, also known as the 1943 Outline on Culture, manifests the Party’s recognition of the significance of culture to the overall development of the nation.

The three principles of “nationalization”, “popularization”, and “scientification” stated in the document have kept their value over time, guiding the development of the national culture.

Cat Bi Airport pilots facial recognition tech

The Cat Bi International Airport in Haiphong City has arranged a single line equipped with biometric authentication technology for travelers having chip-based citizen identity (ID) cards.

Passengers are required to go through a facial recognition system at the security checkpoint, where a set of cameras will be used to cross-check the information on their ID cards and boarding passes.

The screening system is managed via VeriPAX, a software program developed by the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV).

On average, each passenger check takes one minute.

The initiative is expected to improve the airport’s operational efficiency and better identify aviation breaches, such as fake ID cards, cross-border criminals and individuals banned from flying.

The system has tracked 758 travelers at the Cat Bi International Airport since early February.

The test is set to run through March and only applies to domestic flights.

Special circus programme honours female artists

A special circus programme will take place next month to celebrate International Women's Day (March 8), according to Việt Nam Circus Federation (VCF).

Director of VCF, Tống Toàn Thắng, said the programme, Những Cánh Hồng Bay 2 (Flying Roses 2) will offer performances by artists who have won national and international awards.

With the theme Công Chúa Xiếc (Circus Princess), the event aims to honour outstanding achievements and contributions of female artists to the development of Vietnamese circus art, the VCF director said at an annual conference held this week in Hà Nội.

At the conference, the VCF announced a one-year plan with high-quality professional art products including nearly 20 performance programmes scheduled to take place in 2023.

The plan promises to offer a series of shows with diverse topics to serve many different audiences such as the above-mentioned Những Cánh Hồng Bay 2 – Công Chúa Xiếc from March 4 to March 8; a programme to mark the founding of the Hồ Chí Minh Communist Youth Union on March 25-March 26; the 5th Gala Xiếc ba miền (Tri-regional Circus Gala) between April 29 and May 2; and a special programme for children between May 26 and June 4.

Speaking at the conference, Thắng said all activities of the VCF in the past two years had been seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The VCF's annual conference in 2022 was cancelled so this year it planned to organise many shows earlier than usual, according to the official.

After the success of the first Flying Roses 1 in 2019, the VCF wishes to continue the programme every year because it said "this is a very meaningful playground for female circus artists to meet, exchange and shine on the stage," proving to the audience their talents and beauty through performances.

Flying Roses 2 is a general entertainment art event consisting of singers, dance troupes, and circus actresses who have been very successful on the circus stage in all genres, according to the VCF.

Table tennis team targets one SEA Games gold medal

Vietnam's table tennis team is hoping for at least one gold medal at the 32nd SEA Games, the same as what they achieved at the last Games.

According to Phan Anh Tuấn, general secretary of the Việt Nam Table Tennis Federation, the target was humble compared to what the team did in the past with golds in the men's team in the 29th Games in 2017, men's doubles in the 30th Games in 2019 and men's singles in the 31st Games in 2022.

However, it was not an easy task because while rivals in the region usually trained overseas, Vietnamese athletes stayed at home for three years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since early last month, the strongest 19 players have been summoned to train in Hà Nội to ensure their target. Among them are champion Nguyễn Đức Tuân and bronze medallists Nguyễn Anh Tú, Nguyễn Thị Nga and Anh Hoàng.

They will compete in all seven events for men's and women's singles, doubles, team and mixed doubles.

The first training camp will be in Guangzhou, China, from April 10 to May 1.

Former SEA Games champion Nguyễn Anh Tú said: "The China training course will be a good opportunity for me and my teammates prior to the SEA Games. Currently, all of us are in good moods and condition. We feel comfortable and are motivated to head to Phnom Penh.

However, Tuấn said it would be better for his team when they have an international standard facility so that they would be actively implementing their training plans.

Meanwhile, President Nguyễn Xuân Vũ said the federation was working hard in terms of finding sponsors so athletes will receive more support and table tennis will strongly develop.

At the last Games in May in Hà Nội, Việt Nam grabbed one gold and four bronzes. The gold, by Đức Tuân, was the first single's title after 19 years.

This year, the SEA Games will be organised from May 5 to 17 while table tennis is from May 9-16. Most sports are held in Phnom Penh. The rest is in Siem Reap, Preah Sihanouk, Kampot and Kep. 

Becamex Binh Duong ousts Tuấn after four matches in V.League 1

Lư Đình Tuấn is the first coach having lost his job in the V-League 1 2023.

He resigned after Becamex Bình Dương's poor performance with only two points from two draws and two defeats in the national premier league.

Bình Dương managers and Tuấn agreed to end their relationship on February 23.

Tuấn took the position last August and helped the former champions end at  seventh place in the 2022 season.

Bình Dương has not announced its new coach but it is said that former national U17 tactician Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn would temporarily take the position. He is one of 11 Vietnamese coaches owning pro certificates in coaching.

V.League 1 is off for about seven weeks as national teams compete internationally.

The fifth week of matches will be back on April 6. Bình Dương will visit Sông Lam Nghệ An on April 7. 

Vietnam Town project underway in Thailand's Udon Thani province

The formation of a Vietnam Town in Udon Thani province, which is hosting the largest overseas Vietnamese community in Thailand, is an obvious development trend, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh while inspecting the Vietnam Street project in the locality on February 25.

Udon Thani is currently home to more than 60,000 Vietnamese-origin people. President Ho Chi Minh once lived in the locality in the 1920s.

The Vietnam Town is expected to become a cultural centre of Vietnamese people in Thailand's northeastern region, and a place to keep the tradition and culture of the Vietnamese community as well as a tourist attraction.

The project has received strong support of the local administration, which decided to invest 3 million THB (nearly 86,000 USD) in building and upgrading the infrastructure system of the town.

Visiting the construction site in Alley 2, Si Suk street of Udon Thani city, Ambassador Thanh and Udon Thani city Mayor Thanadorn Phuttharaksa discussed measures to speed up the progress of the project.

Ambassador Thanh thanked Mayor Thanadorn and the administration of Udon Thani city for their support to the Vietnamese community as well as the investment in the project. He described the project as a symbol of the friendship and warm sentiments that Thai and Vietnamese people give each other as well as the traditional bilateral ties.

With the project, Thani will be the first city in the world that has a Vietnam Town, he said.

For his part, Mayor Thanadorn highly valued the traditional beauty of Vietnamese people, which has been maintained among the Vietnamese community in Udon Thani.

He affirmed that the municipal administration will complete the upgrade of roads and pavements of the town in two months, and finish the decoration within this year.

He added that the city will also coordinate with the Vietnamese Thai Association in the province to implement the project, including the building of food stalls and souvenir shops, thus attracting visitors.

During his stay in Udon Thani, Ambassador Thanh also discussed with local authorities and leaders of Udon Thani Rajabhat University on the implementation of some projects to preserve and promote Vietnamese culture in the locality, including the building of a Vietnamese Culture Centre in the city and the setting up of a faculty of Vietnamese studies at the university.

Film week opens to celebrate 80 years of Party's first platform on culture

A ceremony was held at the Vietnam Cinema Centre in Hanoi on February 25 to kick off a film week celebrating the 80th anniversary of the “Outline of Vietnamese Culture”, the first platform on culture launched by the Communist Party of Vietnam.

The film week, taking place nationwide until March 3, is jointly organised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Cinema Department, the National Cinema Centre, and the departments of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of centrally-run cities and provinces.  

Ten films to be screened during the week include four feature movies, four documentaries and two animated films which feature President Ho Chi Minh, the country, people and culture of Vietnam.

A national science conference will also be held on February 27 to mark the anniversary of the culture platform. The event will take place in person in Hanoi and online in 63 other locations across the country.

The conference agenda specified two key contents: "Theory and practical significance of the Outline of Vietnamese Culture" and "Vietnamese culture and people - The ideological basis and driving force of the country's growth in the new period".

In 1943, by applying Marxism and the guidelines of the Party and leader Nguyen Ai Quoc, Party General Secretary Truong Chinh wrote the Outline on Vietnamese Culture (also known as the 1943 Outline on Culture), stressing that the content, nature, organisation and development orientation of a cultural revolution can only be associated with the national liberation revolution and a cultural revolution can be realised when the political revolution has succeeded. 
 
The document defined that Vietnamese culture, consisting of ideology, learning, and arts, “will be liberated by the democratic revolution and freed from shackles to catch up with the world's neo-democratic culture”.

Vietnam wishes to boost cooperation with Germany in farming, innovation

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung led a Vietnamese delegation to visit Germany from February 23 to 25, working with German departments on measures to concretize cooperation with Europe's largest economy, especially in agriculture and innovation.

At the working session with Alina Grumpert, Director of the German Agribusiness Alliance (GAA), Dung proposed the union support Vietnamese agricultural enterprises to improve their competitiveness, apply science and technology, promote innovation to improve added value and product quality.

Grumpert said in the context that Vietnamese farming products have to compete fiercely with their competitors, improving the entire value chain is essential.

Talking about measures to assist Vietnamese enterprises, Tobias Fausch, IT director of BayWa – one of the largest German corporations in trade, logistics and services for agriculture and energy, noted one of their biggest advantages is the enforcement of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) from August 2020.

Building an institutional dialogue system, with better tax rates, will help Vietnam's farming products access large markets, he added.

The GAA and German firms said they are committed to supporting Vietnamese businesses in the field. The German side will coordinate to bring them to Germany to learn about the local technological transition and application models in agriculture.

While in Germany, the delegation also toured the Adlershof hi-tech park in Berlin, and the Infineon Semiconductor Group, one of the 10 largest of its kind in Germany.  

On February 25, the delegation met with Chief of the State Chancellery and State Minister of Saxony Oliver Schenk, discussing measures to meet the demand for skilled labour; cooperation in semiconductor industry and high technology; and economic transformation toward sustainability.

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