Vietnam Register (VR) under the Ministry of Transport (MoT) has recommended car owners to check the certifications of the validate time of their vehicles’ registration certificates and stamps via the website https://giahanxcg.vr.org.vn and only do so when their cars near registration expiry.

The move was made in response to repeated overload on the VR website on recent days.

On June 3, the first day of enforcement of the MoT’s Circular 08/2023/TT-BGTVT that amends and supplements some articles of Circular 16/2021/TT-BGTVT on technical safety and environmental protection examination in streamlined procedures, the VR uploaded to its system 6,435 certificates of the validate time of registration certificates and stamps of the cars with registration expiring on June 3 and 4 and expiry dates automatically extended.

The VR website recorded up to 3.6 million visits to check the validate time certifications as of 4:30pm on June 3, or 2.57 times higher than the 1.4 million cars entitled to automatic registration expiry extension.

The administration said there are nearly 2.96 million passenger cars with nine seats and below not providing transport services nationwide, including nearly 1.4 million vehicles entitled to automatic extension of the validate time shown on their registration certificates and stamps between June 3, 2023 and June 30, 2024. Meanwhile, more than 1.56 million others are not entitled to this extension.

It is necessary to issue the certificates of the validate time of registration certificates and stamps to differentiate the two groups of vehicles, the VR said, noting that the certificates are granted automatically by its online software.

The issuance is expected to ensure convenience for people and enterprises when applying for registration certificates and stamps and moving on roads, and also prevent congestion at registration centres.

However, the validate time certificates cannot be used to replace the registration certificates and stamps, the VR added.

PMs join in exchange with female footballers of Vietnam, Australia

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese visited and engaged in an exchange with the women’s football teams of the two countries in Hanoi on June 4.

The activity, part of Albanese’s official visit to Vietnam on June 3 - 4, followed the two PMs’ talks and joint press conference earlier the same day.

Both teams will compete at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, scheduled to take place in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20.

During their stay in Vietnam, the women’s U20 team of Australia participated in training with their Vietnamese peers before taking part in the 2024 AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers. The training was also joined by female footballers from the Hanoi University, the U17 team of Hanoi, and some others.

The women’s team of Australia currently rank 10th in the FIFA rankings. They have joined the FIFA Women’s World Cup for eight times and entered this tournament’s quarterfinals thrice. Meanwhile, the national women’s team of Vietnam set a record of winning the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) for four times and is now one of the Asian representatives in the Women’s World Cup 2023.

Offering encouragement to the female players, PMs Chinh and Albanese emphasised the important role of sports in empowering women and girls.

They expressed their delight that both the teams of Vietnam and Australia will compete at the Women’s World Cup 2023. Congratulating the players on this achievement, they wished the two teams the best performance at the coming tourney.

Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski said sports form an important part of the two countries’ cultures, adding that promoting sports among women and girls is critical to changing their life and promoting gender equality.

Workshop spotlights teaching of Vietnamese language, culture to OV children in Japan

A workshop held in Japan’s Fukuoka prefecture on June 3 highlighted the importance of teaching the Vietnamese language and culture to Vietnamese children in Kyushu, the third largest island of the Northeast Asian country.

Addressing over 120 participants in the hybrid event, Vu Chi Mai, Consul General of Vietnam in Fukuoka, said the workshop was part of activities the Consulate General has carried out under the Prime Minister-approved plan on the Day for honouring the Vietnamese language in overseas Vietnamese (OV) communities in the 2023 - 2030 period. Promoting the language is also part of the Consulate General’s efforts to help develop OV communities and maintain and popularise the Vietnamese culture.

She said teaching the Vietnamese language and culture to OV children will bring about many substantial benefits, including enhancing their patriotism, awareness of the homeland, and understanding of society and also strengthening their bonds with families.

Encouraging the use of the Vietnamese language in second- and third-generation Vietnamese families in Japan will also help the community develop strongly and create an important source of manpower for both countries, Mai went on.

Mai Phan Dung, Vice Chairman of the State Committee for OV Affairs, said the Vietnamese community in Japan as well as others around the world have shown their sense of responsibility towards younger generations as seen in the organisation of numerous practical activities to maintain and popularise the homeland’s language, including opening Vietnamese language schools, classes, and centres.

He hailed the opening of a class giving guidance in how to teach the Vietnamese language and culture to Vietnamese children in Kyushu, voicing his hope that similar initiatives will be implemented in not only Northeast Asia but also around the world.

At the workshop, experts presented their opinions on issues related to the maintenance and teaching of the Vietnamese language and culture in foreign countries.

On this occasion, the Vietnamese People Association in Fukuoka officially debuted a board for the Vietnamese language to honour and maintain the language and culture in the local OV community.

Vietnam-UNDP: 45 years of cooperation for sustainable development

The 45th anniversary of the Vietnam-United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) partnership for sustainable development was held on June 2 evening in Hanoi.

The ceremony, co-organised by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and UNDP, marked an important milestone in the two sides’ cooperation.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong said that since UNDP opened a representative office in Hanoi in May 1978, UNDP has always worked side by side with Vietnam.

From a poor country which was devastated by war to a middle-income country, now Vietnam is taking the lead in taking measures towards poverty reduction and economic growth.

“With joint efforts contributing to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, leaving no one behind, the Vietnamese Government always considers UNDP as one of its most important, long-term partners. We cooperate for the common interests of Vietnamese people, for peace and prosperity in the region and in the world," said Phuong.

UNDP Representative in Vietnam Ramla Khalidi said that three factors contribute to the success of the UNDP-Vietnam partnership: trust, shared values and openness.

She said that Vietnam and UNDP have worked together to promote sustainable growth.

Over the years, the trust has expanded the two sides’ partnership into new areas including trade, climate affairs and public governance.

As Vietnam aspires to achieve advanced country status and net zero emissions by 2050, the full support of UNDP is still needed, she said.

Since 1978, cooperation between UNDP and Vietnam has flourished with invaluable support during economic hardship.

UNDP quickly responded to Vietnam's needs, focusing on efforts to rebuild the country while establishing systems, technologies, and fundamental capacities, of which, humans are considered the centre of sustainability.

A typical example of UNDP's effective support for Vietnam is the Law on Enterprises formulation, marking a breakthrough in establishing a fair business environment and healthy competition for enterprises.

Enacted in 2000, the law played a key role in promoting the rapid growth of private enterprises, creating more than one million jobs in only three years.

From the Millennium Development Goals (2000-2015) to the Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030), UNDP has worked closely with Vietnam's other partners to ensure everyone has equal access to the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Friendship parliamentarians' group contributes to Vietnam-Japan multi-faceted cooperation

The Vietnam - Japan Friendship Parliamentarians' Group convened its third meeting in the northern province of Lao Cai on June 3 under the chair of its President Truong Thi Mai.

The participants listened to a report reviewing the group’s activities since the beginning of this year, and approved an action plan for the remaining months. They also learnt about Lao Cai’s socio-economic situation and investment cooperation opportunities between the two countries.

The group will continue coordinating with relevant agencies of Vietnam and Japan in organising activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties in the second half of this year, heard the meeting.

It will also further partner with the Japan - Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance and Japanese parliamentarians in promoting collaboration between the two countries in different areas like development cooperation, trade, investment, health care and education, while enhancing people-to-people exchanges and cooperation between localities.

Speaking at the meeting, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Yamada Takio expressed his hope that the relations between Japan and Vietnam in general and Lao Cai in particular will be elevated to a new height.

In her remarks, Mai, who is a Politburo member, Permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, and head of the committee’s Organisation Commission, affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to the extensive strategic partnership with Japan, and always regards the East Asian nation as a leading important, long-term partner.

The bilateral relationship is at its best since the establishment of the diplomatic ties, with high political trust, she said.

The official also noted her hope for more effective cooperation between the Vietnam - Japan Friendship Parliamentarians' Group and the Japan - Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance, as well as between the legislatures of the two countries.

Cambodian newspaper highlights Vietnam’s priority investment in Khmer-inhabited areas

Rasmei Kampuchea, a newspaper with the largest readership in Cambodia, ran an article on June 2 highlighting Vietnam’s investment priority policy for ethnic groups in the country in general and the Mekong Delta in particular, including the Khmer ethnic people.

The article cited presentations at the seminar "Solutions for sustainable socio-economic development for ethnic groups in the Mekong Delta" that took place in Can Tho city in mid-May, saying that the Mekong Delta has a population of 17.3 million people. Of which, there are more than 1.3 million ethnic minority people, accounting for nearly 7.6% of the region’s population, with the Khmer people make up the largest number with over 1.1 million.

According to the article, ethnic minority groups in Vietnam in general and the Khmer people in particular have their own cultural identity, traditional religion, customs and script and language, contributing to the creation of unity in diversity of Vietnamese culture.

Along with investing in building infrastructure systems in ethnic-inhabited areas through many priority programmes and projects over the years, the Party and Government of Vietnam have paid attention to creating favourable conditions for the Khmer people to maintain their religious practice and traditional festivals. The region boasts 446 Khmer Theravada Buddhist temples, the article wrote.

In addition to pouring capital into economic development and improving the lives of the Khmer ethnic people, due attention has also been paid to policies on education, training, and fostering human resources for the Khmer ethnic community, it said.

The Mekong Delta region currently has 34 boarding schools for ethnic minorities with more than 11,600 students, mainly children of Khmer people.

Regarding sustainable livelihoods for ethnic minorities in the Mekong Delta in general, and the Khmer community in Vietnam in particular, the Party and State of Vietnam have identified views, goals and solutions for the development of ethnic minority areas by 2030, with a vision to 2045, which underlining the need to generate sustainable livelihoods on the basis of preserving and promoting the traditional cultural identity of the nation, the article wrote.

Relevant agencies and departments of Vietnam at all levels have been focusing on carrying out three national target programmes, including the national target programme on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the 2021-2030 period, which has been approved by the Government of Vietnam with a total investment of over 137.66 trillion VND (5.86 billion USD), it said.

For localities in the Mekong Delta, the implementation of this programme is considered as fundamental solutions for socio-economic development, creating sustainable livelihoods associated with preserving and promoting cultural traditions in ethnic minority-inhabited areas in general and the Khmer ethnic minority group in particular, according to the article.

First forum of overseas Vietnamese women held in Europe

A forum of overseas Vietnamese women, the first of its kind, took place in Budapest, Hungary, on June 3, gathering nearly 250 delegates from 21 countries.

With its theme revolving around the preservation of Vietnamese values and international integration in the 4th industrial revolution era, the Vietnamese Women’s Forum in Europe was an initiative of the association of Vietnamese women in Hungary. It was held with the coordination of the Vietnamese Embassy in the host country and the patronage of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese under Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During its course, nearly 20 papers were presented spotlighting the role of women in spreading the traditional value, mastering science and technology, connecting generations within their families, doing business and charity works, and protecting the home country’s sea and islands sovereignty, among other areas.

On the occasion, the forum called for participation in an adoption programme initiated by the Vietnam Women’s Union, with participants adopting more than 50 orphans.

In her remarks at the event, which took place at the Hungarian parliament building, Deputy of the Speaker of the Hungarian National Assembly Márta Mátrai lauded the long-time traditional friendship between Vietnam and Hungary and stressed her support for the topics discussed.

Former Vice President of Vietnam Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh praised the efforts made by overseas Vietnamese women serving the traditional value preservation and international integration. She expressed her belief that the forum will lay a foundation to build a network of female Vietnamese expatriates over the world.    

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency correspondent on the sidelines of the event, Phan Bich Thien, head of the association of Vietnamese women in Hungary, said in recent years, movements of Vietnamese women abroad are growing, forming a key factor in the activities of the overseas Vietnamese community.

Women’s team train in Germany, Poland ahead of 2023 World Cup

Coach Mai Duc Chung and the national women’s football team left Hanoi on June 5 for Frankfurt, Germany, for a three-week training camp in Germany and Poland in the lead up to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

During their training in Germany, the Vietnamese women are scheduled to play friendlies with Eintracht Frankfurt FC on June 10 and Short Mainz FC on June 15. They will also take on Germany’s national women’s team in another friendly game on June 24 at Stadion am Bierberer Berg.

Before clashing with the German team, the Vietnamese players will move to Poland on June 17 where they are scheduled to encounter Poland’s U23 women’s team two days later.

Coach Mai Duc Chung has called up 28 players for the training camp in Germany and Poland this time.

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is set to take place in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20.

Vietnam have been drawn in Group E and will face the defending champions United States on July 22, Portugal on July 27, and current runners-up the Netherlands on August 1.

All Group E matches will get underway in Auckland, Hamilton, and Dunedin in New Zealand.

Lộc triumphs in trilogy bout, defends 70kg belt

Trần Quang Lộc of Liên Phong once again got the best of Kamil Michal Nguyễn Văn from Vietnam Top Team, securing a thrilling points victory in the highly anticipated main event at the Lion Championship 6 in Hà Nội on June 3.

This clash of titans marked the culmination of a long-awaited trilogy, with their initial encounter taking place five years ago at the Mekong Fighting Championship. Lộc emerged triumphant in last year's final as well, albeit thanks to a controversial judges’ decision.

Right from the opening bell, both fighters wasted no time engaging each other with a flurry of strikes. Kamil mixed up his striking, throwing his hands and whipping in low kicks, while Lộc displayed his diverse skills as a well-rounded mixed martial artist.

In the second round, Kamil managed to open a cut on the champion's nose, but found himself on his back soon after. However, Lộc, in a momentary lapse, unleashed an illegal elbow to Kamil's face, earning a foul as per this year's championship rules.

As the bout progressed into the third and fourth rounds, Lộc employed his lead side and front kicks to maintain distance and dictate the tempo of the fight, keeping Kamil at a distance. 

However, Kamil relentlessly marched him down, determined to close the gap. Lộc read his movements well though, landing a powerful teep that sent Kamil crashing to the canvas on one occasion and catching Kamil with a spinning elbow when attempting to close the distance on another.

In the final round, Lộc continued to dominate with well-timed strikes and several kicks, while Kamil continued to try and close the distance.

The judges' scorecards, 50-45, 50-45 and 49-46, gave the bout to Lộc unanimously as successfully defended his 70kg championship belt.

The champion’s precise kicks and impeccable timing played a pivotal role in securing the hard-fought win, leaving no doubt about his standing in the division.

With three fiercely contested battles against the reigning champion, Kamil can hold his head high, knowing that he has proven himself among the division's elite. 

Perhaps he will now embrace the role of gatekeeper, challenging aspiring contenders eyeing the 70kg championship throne. 

Managers, experts, sponsors discuss developing sports economy

Sport officials, experts and business people shared their opinions and experiences concerning to sport economic management and development of Việt Nam at the Vietnam Sport Economy Summit 2023 on June 3 in Hà Nội.

The summit entitled Exploiting the Potential of Sport Economy in the New Era was organised by the Việt Nam Sports Administration (VSA), Central Committee’s Economic Commission and Vietcontent.

Many speakers were invited to take part in the summit. They spoke about three main topics of Sport Business and the Key Role of the Tournament; Professional sport tournaments and Related Issues and Amateur and School Sport Tournaments and Related Issues.

Sport in many countries has become a profession in the economic system. And the sport economy is a 'massive machine' that links with many other manufacturing and service industries, creating jobs, profits, incomes, contributing significant taxes to the national budgets and creating positive societal values.

In Việt Nam, sport has been growing strongly after many changes and good new ways to promote sports socialisation. The country has step by step mobilised the participation and contribution of the whole society to develop sports, bringing home medals from the regional, continental competitions and Olympics.

The success of the Việt Nam delegation from the recent two SEA Games was an impressive evidence of the cooperation between local sport industry and social resources.

Generally, Việt Nam was still considered one of underdeveloped countries in the field of sport. The country needed to learn, exchange experiences, urgently change and accelerate so as not to lag far behind. It is necessary to build it as an industry -- a sport economy -- that is not only suitable with national policy and socialised resources but also adapt and keep pace with the development trend of sport economy in general of the region, continent and even the world.

Việt shared his knowledge of the globalisation of the growing sports economy in which there are five important fields: professional sports, recreational sports, sports tourism, event organisation and sports media.

Among speakers were Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng, deputy director of the Central Committee’s Economic Commission's Social Affairs Department; Lim Song, Chairman of VSP Company; Trần Chu Sa, CEO of VBA; Nguyễn Thành Đạt, head of Corporate and Communication Herbalife Vietnam and  Nguyễn Mạnh Hùng, General Secretary of the Việt Nam Athletics Federation.

They shared, analysised and suggested opinions about major issues in the management, planning and building up the national sport economy as well as sport copyright in both the present and the future. It was expected to help Việt Nam speed up the process of professionalisation and socialisation of sports and build a sport economy sustainable, modern and open as as expected.

The summit - a stage for concerning people and to meet, talk and discuss about sport - will be organised annually after the success of the first edition.

HCM City speeds up building pedestrian overpasses at metro stations

Construction of nine pedestrian overpasses at flyover stations of metro line No.1 in HCM City will be completed by the end of the year, according to the city Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR).

Nguyễn Quốc Hiển, deputy head of MAUR, said MAUR has urged the relevant units to speed up the construction of the pedestrian overpasses in order for them to be completed in time with the launch of metro line No.1 at the end of this year.

Metro line No.1 runs from Bến Thành Market in District 1 to Suối Tiên Theme Park in Thủ Đức city.

It is about 19.7km in length with 14 stations, including three underground.

The pedestrian overpasses are expected to provide metro users with easier access to the metro stations, including Tân Cảng, Thảo Điền, An Phú, Rạch Chiếc, Phước Long, Bình Thái, Thủ Đức, Sài Gòn High-tech Park and Việt Nam National University-HCM City.

They will link the passenger transit floors of the metro stations to the residential areas or bus stops along the route.

Each overpass will be 78 metres long and 3.5m wide.

According to the MAUR, work on the metro line No.1 project has cost more than VNĐ43.7 trillion (US$1.9 billion) and is around 95 per cent complete.

All 17 Japanese-made trains have 147 seats, each with three cars and a capacity of 930 passengers.

The first test ran on nine kilometres of elevated track between Suối Tiên Station and Bình Thái Station on December 21 last year.

According to the city’s Department of Transport, there will be bus routes connecting the metro stations.

It will build 67 bus shelters, 196 bus stops, pedestrian walkways and other physical assets to enhance accessibility to the metro stations.

Several parking lots will be built in the vicinity of the flyover metro stations.

The city Management Centre of Public Transport has proposed the ticket rates for metro line No. 1 will range from VNĐ9,000 ($0.38) to VNĐ24,000 ($1) per trip for the whole metro line. 

Online music project for children launched

Well-known composer Nguyễn Văn Chung of HCM City will launch an online music project for children and teenagers this month. 

Chung’s project, called Cùng Con Tập Hát (We Learn Singing), aims to encourage parents and their children aged 3 to 13 to learn to sing. 

Chung and his staff will produce and release a series of 300 videos featuring his 300 songs for kids on YouTube. 

Each clip from the project Cùng Con Tập Hát will feature a song performed by singers who will also teach how to sing the song. 

Chung has worked to bring more songs for children that contain lessons on life and family. 

He issued his first songbook for children, titled 100 Songs for Children, in 2017.

He released his songbook of 300 songs for children after seven years of working on it in 2020. 

The book consists of his popular children’s songs, including Bài Hát Ru Của Mẹ (Mom’s Lullaby) and Bố Ơi Kể Chuyện Con Nghe (Dad, Tell Me a Bedtime Story), about childhood, family, friends, school and country.

It includes beautiful pictures and sheet music to help young readers learn how to sing and play instruments.

The book also comes with a CD featuring the voices of popular child singers such as Bào Ngư and Bảo Ngọc, and students from music clubs at cultural houses for children in the city.

Chung began his career in 2003. His music is pop and R&B, with Vietnamese folk elements. He has written several hundred love ballads, including top hits such as Vầng Trăng Khóc (Tears of the Moon) and Chiếc Khăn Gió Ấm (Beautiful Scarf). 

However, Chung is most famous for his song for children titled Nhật Ký Của Mẹ (Mom’s Diary) about a mother’s love, released in 2011. 

The song quickly became famous in the country and overseas.

In 2014, the song was translated into Japanese by composer Yoshimoto Kayo, and sung by Vietnamese-Japanese singer Hải Triều, and became popular in Japan.

It was ranked 10th on the CD “The Best of Ballroom Music Vol. 36” produced by Casa Musica, a music company in Germany, in 2015. The album features 45 works performed by popular artists and bands from different countries.

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