Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on January 3 demanded enhancing inter-regional, national, and international connectivity in culture, sports, and tourism.

He made the request at a hybrid conference held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) to review the performance last year and launch tasks for 2024.

Highlighting the growing role and position of the culture, sports, and tourism sector in recent years, he said the Party and State attach great importance to culture, which is an internal strength of a nation. While sports help improve physical and mental health as well as will of each people, tourism is a key sector in national economic development.

PM Chinh applauded efforts and achievements by those working in the fields of culture, sports and tourism, but also pointed out certain problems, shortcomings, difficulties, and challenges they need to surmount.

He asked the sector, including the MCST, to make breakthroughs in institutionalising the Party and State’s viewpoints, guidelines, policies, and laws on cultural, sports, and tourism development; pay more attention to reforming administrative procedures, improving the investment and business climate, and stepping up digital transformation; press on with preserving, upgrading, and bringing into play national heritage and cultural values, along with tangible and intangible cultural values of regions; harmonise the relationship between preservation and development; and diversify forms of communications and education about heritage.

The sector needs to coordinate with other sectors and localities to build, upgrade, and promote the effectiveness of cultural facilities; properly organise cultural activities in celebration of major anniversaries and events of the country; and strongly bring into play the role of families in nurturing people’s morality and dignity, he continued.

The Government leader told the sector to improve the effectiveness of and reform state agencies’ management over sports, facilitate private parties’ engagement in sports development, devise mechanisms and policies for promoting sports economy, and reform the mass sports movement.

In addition, the PM ordered strongly reforming tourism promotion methodology, developing a smart tourism ecosystem in tandem with conducting digital transformation, enriching experiences for tourists, and stepping up green technology application so as to reach the targets of 18 million international tourist arrivals, 110 million domestic visitors, and 850 trillion VND (34.8 billion USD) in tourism revenue this year.

He asked the sector to strengthen connectivity within each region, among different regions, and with other countries in cultural, sports, and tourism affairs.

It is also necessary to ensure equal access to culture, sports, and tourism, particularly for residents in rural, remote, border, and marine areas and for vulnerable groups, PM Chinh emphasised.

Looking back on the sector’s performance last year, participants said major national and inter-regional cultural, sports, and tourism events were held and received warm response from people and tourists.

In particular, thanks to creative methods adopted and policies issued to tackle bottlenecks, tourism recovered quickly with about 12.5 million international visitors attracted to Vietnam – exceeding the initial target of 8 million and rising 3.5-fold from 2022, and 108 million domestic visitors – 5.8% higher than the target.

Cultural industries were fostered while sports activities received more investment. At the 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games), the Vietnamese delegation for the first time topped the medal standings of a SEA Games held in another country, the conference heard.

More employment opportunities available for rural workers

Young people in Yên Bái Province listen to occupational instruction at a job fair. — VNA/VNS Photo Việt Dũng

After five months of studying Japanese, Giàng A Chua completed all procedures to fly to Kanakawa Province in Japan to work as a construction assistant.

Chua, a Mông ethnic man from Chế Tạo Commune, Mù Cang Chải District in Yên Bái northern mountainous province, will work under a three-year contract with salary of VNĐ28-30 million (US$1,100-1,200) per month.

Chua said that since he started looking to work abroad, he had received support from competent organisations to complete necessary procedures.

“My family is quite poor, so I decided to work abroad to help my family. Now I feel very happy, my wish of changing my life is coming true," said Chua.

Currently, many young people in Yên Bái Province choose to search for jobs in Việt Nam or register for work abroad after graduating from high school, instead of taking university entrance exams like before.

With the choice, they will have income and also test themselves in a new working environment.

Job creation in Yên Bái Province has received the attention of the entire local political system.

Many workers in mountainous and remote areas have gained stable jobs and increased their income.

Vi Hữu Kiên, who lives in Yên Thế Town, Lục Yên District, just graduated from high school and registered to work in Japan.

Thanks to support from concerned organisations for immigration procedures, Kiên can feel secure in learning Japanese.

"I chose the path of working abroad to develop myself, earn money to help my family and experience life," Kiên said.

From 2020 up to now, Văn Yên District has had more than 280 workers working under contract abroad. It has the largest number of workers working abroad in Yên Bái Province.

Cao Văn Chỉ, Head of the district’s Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said that the workers’ income was stable.

After deducting living expenses, they earn about VNĐ12-16 million ($490-650) per month in Taiwan (China), or VNĐ25-40 million ($1,027-1,600) per month in Japan and South Korea.

“Văn Yên District established a steering committee on sending workers to work abroad headed by chairman of the district People's Committee. We closely coordinate with reputable businesses, thereby creating trust and peace of mind for workers," said Chỉ.

Besides supporting rural workers to work abroad, Yên Bái Province also introduces jobs to workers at domestic enterprises through job fairs.

Lê Văn Lương, Deputy Director of the Yên Bái Province Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said that each year, the province created jobs for 20,000-22,000 workers, with 38 per cent of them working in domestic industrial zones.

“We regularly give instruction to workers to determine what profession to study and what job to do for stable poverty reduction,” said Lương.

In the province’s annual action programme, creating jobs for workers is an important task, contributing to economic development and ensuring social security.

Last year, Yên Bái helped about 7,000 agricultural workers change to non-agricultural jobs, contributing to socio-economic development and improved labour productivity. 

Vietnamese Ambassador presents credentials to Philippine President

Vietnamese Ambassador to the Philippines concurrently Palau,Lai Thai Binh presented his credentials to President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. on January 2.

Receiving the ambassador after the credentials presentation ceremony, President Marcos welcomed Binh to the Philippines in his role as Ambassador of Vietnam, affirming that the Philippines attaches great importance to the Strategic Partnership with Vietnam. He said he was looking forwards to visiting Vietnam in the near future.

Marcos emphasized that in the context of the constantly changing world situation, the Asia-Pacific region, especially Southeast Asia, still maintains impressive economic growth and is a region with full potential to play a pioneering role in economic development and global digital transformation.

To this end, he suggested that Vietnam and the Philippines should bring into full play their cooperation potential, especially cooperation in the fields of food security and maritime security, for peace and prosperity for the two peoples, as well as the region and the whole world.

The President expected that the Ambassador would well fulfil his responsibilities, making practical contributions to promoting friendly relations and multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnam and the Philippines.

Ambassador Binh for his part conveyed greetings from senior Vietnamese leaders to President Marcos, and affirmed that Vietnam and the Philippines are not only strategic partners but also two maritime neighbours, two responsible members of ASEAN that share many similarities in terms of geography, history, culture, population and development levels, creating great potential for bilateral cooperation in many fields.

He vowed to work hard during his term to promote Vietnam – Philippines cooperation in all fields, including trade and investment, striving to soon raise two-way trade turnover to US$10 billion in the coming time.

Binh Duong pig farm found discharging untreated wastewater into river

Phu Giao 02FF Pig Farm in Binh Duong has been found to have discharged untreated wastewater into the Be River.

Binh Duong Police announced on January 2 that Phu Giao 02FF Pig Farm in Phu Giao District which is raising over 15,500 pigs was found to have violated environmental regulations.

"We conducted a check on January 1 at the 25,000-square-metre farm and saw that they were discharging 51 cubic metre per day of untreated wastewater directly into the Be River," police reported. "The farm failed to show legal documents relating to environment protection, or contracts with environmental firms on transporting and treating hazardous waste such as broken fluorescent light bulbs, animal medicine packages and needles."

At the check, police also found that the farm had yet to complete their wastewater treatment facilities.

Police find that the farm had yet to complete their wastewater treatment facilities.

Police are further investigating the case.

Cải lương actress holds show to celebrate 40-year-long career

Vietnamese-American theatre actress Ngọc Huyền, a veteran of cải lương (reformed opera), will perform in a mini show in HCM City celebrating her 40-year career.

The show, Hát Với Tình Thân (Singing by My Heart), will feature famous vọng cổ (nostalgia tunes) songs, which are often used in cải lương.

She will sing Mẹ Vẫn Đợi Con Về (Mother is Waiting for You) and Tình Yêu Nghệ Thuật (Love for Vietnamese Music), which are vọng cổ songs by late artists Bạch Mai and Viễn Châu, two of the South’s leading theatre directors and scriptwriters.

The highlight of the concert will be excerpts from cải lương plays that made Huyền famous for more than two decades.

Huyền will perform with cải lương stars Kim Tử Long, Vũ Luân and Bình Tinh, who have played a role in the 100-year-old development of the art form.

"I’ll sing original traditional tunes for cải lương lovers," said 55-year-old Huyền, who returned to live in HCM City in 2017 after 15 years away from home.

Born in HCM City, Huyền began her career at a very early age. During her stage debut for the Thanh Nga Troupe in 1985, she wowed the audience with her voice, looks and performance.

She later joined Huỳnh Long Troupe, one of the region’s leading tuồng (classical drama) troupes, becoming one of its brightest stars.

In 1992, she performed pop songs in cải lương plays and left a very strong impression on young audiences.

She has won dozens of top prizes at national traditional theatre festivals and contests, including the Trần Hữu Trang Award and Mai Vàng (Golden Apricot) Award presented by HCM City Theatre Association and Người Lao Động (Labourer) newspaper.

Her strong and melodic voice as well as commanding stage presence have helped Huyền leave an indelible mark on the art.

Huyền’s show, Hát Với Tình Thân, will begin at 8pm at the Đồng Giao,164 Pasteur Street, District 1, on January 7.

Hanoi belt road sluggish site clearance completed

The project to build a 2.06-kilometre section of the Belt Road 2.5 project, running from the Dam Hong area in Hoang Mai District to National Highway 1 has cost VND1.30 trillion (USD53.71 million). 

Around 67,125 square metres of land in the districts of Hoang Mai and Thanh Xuan were compulsorily purchased for the project implementation.

To date, roughly 1.3 kilometres of the total 2.05-kilometre belt road section project has been completed, equal to 87 percent of the work.

Work on a project bridge has been stagnant for seven years.

Tran Thi Trang, who lives near the project, said that residents had to suffer from severe air pollution due to the prolonged construction.

According to a representative from the Hoang Mai District People’s Committee, households disagreed with the compensation policies, slowing down the site clearance. However, the problem has been solved.

Once the project is fully operational, it will help to ease traffic congestion at the intersection of Kim Dong and Giai Phong.

Higher speed limit proposed for nine expressways

The Department for Roads of Vietnam has written to the Ministry of Transport proposing revising up the speed limit on nine expressways to 90 kilometers per hour from the current 80, but for certain types of vehicle.

The nine expressways are Lao Cai-Kim Thanh, Cao Bo-Mai Son, Mai Son-National Highway 45, National Highway 45-Nghi Son, Nghi Son-Dien Chau, Nha Trang-Cam Lam, Cam Lam-Vinh Hao, Vinh Hao-Phan Thiet, and My Thuan-Can Tho.

The higher speed limit would apply to vehicles with seven seats or fewer, passenger cars with up to 30 seats (excluding commuter buses), and trucks weighing up to 3.5 tons.

Other types of vehicle would still be bound by the speed limit of 80 kilometers per hour.

If the proposal is approved, project owners and road management units would have to complete the installation of new speed limit signs within this month.

Currently, there are over 1,890 kilometers of operational expressways in the country. The Ministry of Transport has recently approved an increase in the maximum speed limit to 90 kilometers per hour on some four-lane expressways, such as Tuyen Quang-Phu Tho and Trung Luong-My Thuan.

HCMC issues plan for administrative reform in 2024

The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City has just issued a plan to implement administrative reform in the city for the year 2024.

Accordingly, the Municipal People’s Committee set a target of Public Administration Reform (PAR) Index being on the top 15 leading localities in the country with the proportion of on-time handling of administrative procedures reaching 98 percent at least.

Especially, as for the fields of application processing, complaint and denunciation hanlding, it is expected to exceed 95 percent.

Besides, all of branches of land registration offices will handle administrative documents and procedures on time with a proportion of 98 percent.

Ho Chi Minh takes the results, efficiency and creativity in administrative reform as the foundation to evaluate the task completion levels of heads of Government agencies, organizations and units.

HCMC inaugurates memorials to martyrs in Cu Chi

The HCMC High Command, the Department of Public Security of the city, and Cu Chi District’s authorities inaugurated Memorials to heroic martyrs in the district on January 2. 

Attending the inauguration ceremony was Chairwoman of the HCMC People's Council Nguyen Thi Le and Vice Secretary of the Party Committee of the city Nguyen Ho Hai.

The upgrade project of the memorial in An Nhon Tay Commune that was built in 2006 was started in September 2023 to commemorate 801 fallen heroes.

The martyr’s monument in An Phu Commune which was built in 2004 also got an upgrade in September 2023.

The two works were completed on December 22, 2023, aiming at marking the 80th founding anniversary of the Vietnam People's Army (December 22, 1944- 2024), 80 years of the traditional day of HCMC’s armed forces (September 4, 1945 – 2025), the 50th anniversary of southern liberation and national reunification (April 30, 1975-2025).

Speaking at the event, Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Nam, Commander of the HCMC High Command said that the upgrade project of the two memorials aims to pay tribute to war heroes and martyrs for their great contribution and sacrifice towards the cause of national liberation and reconstruction.

On this occasion, the HCMC High Command offered 200 gifts to residents of An Nhon Tay and An Phu Communes.

Hanoi welcomes the New Year 2024 with huge tourist influx

Hanoi recorded a sharp increase in the number of tourists during the   New Year 2024 holiday, including both domestic and international tourists.

According to the Hanoi Tourism Department, the number of travelers to the city during the last three-day holiday hit 402,000, an increase of 65% compared to the same period last year.

Among them, about 72,000 are foreign tourists, doubling the number of last year's holiday; the number of domestic travelers reached 330,000, an increase of nearly 60% compared to the same period in 2023. The tourism revenue reached VND1,500 billion or US$61.6 million during the three days, an increase of 73% year on year.

The hotel occupancy rate reached about 60%, an increase of 7.8% compared to the same period in 2023.

Some 4-5-star luxury hotels in the Old Town with high occupancy were Capela Hotel (90%); Lacasa Hotel (90%); Grand Vista Hanoi Hotel (76.4%); Lasieta Hotel 85%, among others.

Visitors prefer to visit commercial, shopping, dining and entertainment complexes in the city center. Estimated revenue from these services increased slightly, about 16% over the same period in 2023.

In particular, during the three-day holiday, Hanoi launched many new tourism offers as well as organized a series of attractive activities and events, including the countdown program to welcome the  New Year   2024 at Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square and August Revolution Square; The opening ceremony of "The Doai Land - Son Tay Tourism Year 2024"; the photo exhibition on Hoan Kiem Lake at Ngoc Son Temple; the festival "Hanoi - the Land of Flowers" at Thong Nhat Park; the program "New Year Fair" at Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism, and others.

According to some tourist sites, monuments, museums, parks and eco-resorts in Hanoi, the number of visitors to these places increased slightly over the past three days.

Specifically, the iconic Hoan Kiem Lake and relics sites in the Old Quarter area welcomed about 150,000 visitors, while 24,653 visited Hanoi Zoo; another 6,090 toured the Hoa Lo Prison Relic, the Temple of Literature welcomed 15,500 travelers, and the Thang Long Imperial Citadel hosted 9,098 visitors.

Ba Vi National Park also saw 4,800 visitors; Tuan Chau-Hanoi Tourism Site received 1,500 travelers; Hong Van Ornamental Creature Village welcomed 2,635 visitors; King's Pond Tourist Area welcomed 1,800 visitors; the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology served nearly 4,500 visitors.

According to Dang Huong Giang, director of the city's Department of Tourism, 2023 can be considered a successful year for Hanoi's tourism industry since the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the coming period, Hanoi will continue to promote various types of tourism based on the strengths of each locality, including wellness and trekking tourism in Soc Son district, community tourism related to healthcare in Ba Vi and Soc Son districts, adventure tourism with hot air balloons in Tay Ho, Long Bien and Son Tay districts, and others.

By 2024, the city aims to welcome about 26.5 million tourists, including five million foreign arrivals.

Da Nang, Phu Quoc, Dong Thap receive nearly 20,000 tourists on New Year holidays

The central coastal city of Da Nang received more than 2,000 visitors and 781 crew members sailing on the Westerdam, one of Holland America Line's Vista class cruise ships, that docked at the central coastal city on January 2.

Tourists came from the Netherlands, the UK, France, Italy, Denmark, Hungary, Canada, the US, South Korea, Australia and others.

According to Deputy Director of the Tourism Department of Da Nang City Tan Van Vuong, the city is expected to receive 45 cruise ships bringing more than 40,000 visitors this year.

High-spending cruise ship tourists are an important source market of visitors in the city. Therefore, Da Nang will strengthen promotional programs and renewal of tourist products to improve travelers’ experience, he added.

Director of the Tourism Department of the Mekong Delta Province of Kien Giang said that the province welcomed a total number of more than 120,000 visitors during the New Year holidays and earned a revenue of VND369 billion (US$15.1 million) from tourism. Of those, around 88,209 travelers visited Phu Quoc City, including 15,029 international tourists. Tourist attractions and entertainment areas received 52,774 visitors. Around 35,435 holidaymakers stayed overnight at tourist accommodation establishments.

The first edition of the ornamental flower festival in Sa Dec City of the Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap that took place from December 30, 2023, to January 1, 2024, saw a total number of about 140,000 tourists, Vice Chairwoman of the People’s Committee of the province Vo Thi Binh said.

The revenue from tourism reached VND65 billion (US$2.65 million). Accommodation facilities, food and drinks services operated at full capacity.

HCDC warns of spike in respiratory illnesses at year end

Respiratory transmitted diseases including Covid-19 are likely to increase in the end of the year, according to the Center for Disease Control of Ho Chi Minh City (HCDC).

The Center for Disease Control today said that the upsurge of respiratory transmitted diseases including Covid-19 are likely to increase because of weather changes. In addition, an imminent spike in travel and trade demand at the end of the year also creates favorable conditions for pathogens to spread.

According to HCDC, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded an increase in the number of cases of acute respiratory infections in the world as well as a slight increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in December. In parallel with the increase in the number of cases, the world has also recorded a new variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, JN.1, which is gradually spreading in many countries with higher transmissibility. Despite the report of a new variant, the WHO has said currently there is no evidence that JN. 1 presents an increased risk to public health relative to other currently circulating variants.

The Covid-19 vaccines, detection tests and Covid-19 drugs are reportedly still effective against the new variant JN.1. This shows that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is still constantly mutating and can change its transmission characteristics, severity of the disease, effects of vaccines, treatment drugs as well as diagnostic tests for the virus, announced HCDC.

People tend to consume more poultry at the end of the year so poultry trading increases compared to normal, which can increase the risk of influenza A(H5N1) in humans. At the end of November 2023, 2 more cases of influenza A(H5N1) were recorded in Cambodia, bringing the total number of cases from the beginning of the year to now to six, including four deaths.

Following the risk of increased epidemics at the end of the year, Ho Chi Minh City's health sector recommends that people proactively take preventative measures against diseases.

Specifically, people necessarily wear masks at medical facilities, on public transport means and in crowded places, regularly wash their hands with clean water, soap or hand sanitizer, avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth and cover their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing to prevent respiratory diseases. Moreover, people need to keep good environmental hygiene, and personal hygiene, practice exercise and sports, and improve physical condition while avoiding contact with people with symptoms of respiratory illness such as cough, fever, and difficulty in breathing to prevent diseases.

People with suspected symptoms of the disease should limit close contact with others, especially people in high-risk groups including elderly people, children, pregnant women, and people with underlying diseases. Furthermore, people should get vaccinated for diseases such as flu and Covid-19 and immediately go to the nearest medical facility for timely consultation, examination and treatment if they feel uneasy.

To prevent the spread of avian flu infection, people should not use sick or dead poultry or poultry products of unknown origin. Plus, people should not slaughter, transport, buy or sell poultry and poultry products of unknown origin. Last but not least, people must immediately notify the local authorities and veterinary units when discovering sick or dead poultry.

Drivers to pay 5-12 percent more toll on four national highways

Tolls on four national highways including Cau Gie - Ninh Binh, Noi Bai - Lao Cai, Da Nang - Quang Ngai, Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay are going up by 5 percent - 12 percent.

The Ministry of Transport has just agreed to increase tolls on four expressways at the request of the management unit - the Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC) C). Under VEC’s proposal, the toll fee on highways Cau Gie - Ninh Binh, Noi Bai - Lao Cai, Da Nang - Quang Ngai, Ho Chi Minh City - Long Thanh - Dau Giay will surge.

According to VEC, in the decision of the Minister of Transport issued in 2016 on approving the financial plan to combine the cash flow of five VEC-invested expressway projects, the roadmap for toll increase is periodically every 3 years each time increasing by 12 percent.

However, VEC's highway projects have not had their fees increased since they were put into operation. On the contrary, there are times when fees are reduced to support businesses under the Government’s direction.

From 2024, VEC's loan repayment costs will increase continuously while the highways are due for repair and maintenance. Therefore, If the fee remains the same, it will affect the financial plan of the projects.

As per VEC’s proposals for fee increase on four expressways, the Ministry of Transport assigned VEC to review and decide on the time to adjust the toll level of four expressway projects according to its authority after it has completed procedures for adjusting ticket prices in accordance with legal regulations. The news of the fee spike will be published in the media.

Previously, the Ministry of Transport approved fee increases at 41 traffic BOT projects from December 29, 2023. Different vehicle groups will see various increases ranging from 11 percent to 18 percent. In particular, fees of the vehicle group 1 increased from VND35,000 to VND41,000 while drivers of the vehicle group 2 paid from VND50,000 to VND59,000, drivers of the vehicle group 3 and the group 4 paid from VND75,000 to VND87,000 and from VND120,000 to VND140,000 respectively. Their peers of the vehicle group 5 paid from VND180,000 up to VND200,000.

With the highway project that collects tolls per kilometer, the Phap Van - Cau Gie Expressway in Hanoi has an average toll increase of 18 percent while the Hanoi - Hai Phong Expressway fees increased by nearly 5 percent to nearly 20 percent according to vehicle groups.

Argentinean journal highlights values of Vietnam’s bamboo diplomacy

Argentina’s Equilibrium Global news website has run a story highlighting the unique values of Vietnam’s “Bamboo diplomacy” and the rising role of the Southeast Asian country in the world arena.

The article noted that throughout the Vietnamese history, foreign affairs have played an extremely important role, not only contributing to protecting the country's independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, but also helping to promote its national construction and development.

It said that at the National Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Hanoi on December 14, 2021, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong emphasised the determination to build and develop a modern Vietnamese diplomacy imbued with strong national identity – the “Vietnamese bamboo diplomacy”.

Vietnam’s external policy aims to ensure a peaceful and stable environment, taking advantage of favourable international factors for the national reform, protecting and enhancing the country’s position.

The journal commented that the “Bamboo diplomacy” of Vietnam shows the strategic balance in relations with world powers and the world based on the core principle of ensuring the national interest, independence and self-reliance in external relations, which have been deeply ingrained in President Ho Chi Minh's diplomatic ideology.

The article underlined that Vietnam has been elected to many international organisations and performed the role of Vice President of the UN General Assembly’s 77th session, a member of the UN Human Rights Council in the 2023-2025 tenure and the International Law Commission in the 2023-2027 tenure.

Vietnam’s engagement in meetings of many UN agencies have fully demonstrated the country's increasingly active position, role and contributions in bilateral and multilateral diplomacy and promoting international cooperation on the global scale. This is a vivid demonstration of achievements of the “Bamboo diplomacy,” it said.

The article added that the “Bamboo diplomacy” has elevated Vietnam's role in the international arena, helping the country maintain relations with world powers while ensuring national interests.

It affirmed that by applying the “Bamboo diplomacy,” Vietnam has affirmed that it is a trustworthy partner and an active and responsible member in the international and regional integration process.

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