The 2023 Vietnam Day was held in Gwangju city of the Republic of Korea (RoK) on May 21, aims to popularise the traditional and unique culture of Vietnam to international friends as well as to strengthen cultural exchange between the two countries.

Nguyen Viet Phong, Chairman of the Vietnamese Association in the RoK’s Gwangju-jeonnam region, said the event offers a good opportunity for the Vietnamese community to meet and enhance solidarity and mutual support.

Kang Gi-jung, Mayor of Gwangju city, expressed his hope that through the 2023 Vietnam Day, the people-to-people diplomacy and locality-to-locality exchange between the RoK and Vietnam will be further expanded.

Yu Min-bong, General Secretary of the Governors Association of the Republic of Korea (GAROK), said this is an opportunity for Korean people to experience Vietnamese culture and access products of Vietnamese enterprises.

Addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Nguyen Vu Tung said he will continue to support Gwangju city administration, GAROK and the Vietnamese Association in Gwangju in carrying out meaningful activities, contributing to strengthening local collaboration and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries as well as assisting Nghe An province and Gwangju city in their future cooperation.

Within the framework of the 2023 Vietnam Day, visitors were treated to traditional art performances, ao dai (traditional long dress) shows and special cuisine as well as took part in folk games of Vietnam.

1,389 nominations for Vinfuture Prize’s third season

A total of 1,389 nominations for the 2023 VinFuture Prize were submitted via the nomination portal for the third award season that officially concluded on May 15.

The number of nominating partners has more than quadrupled compared to the first-year Prize; and 20% of this year's nominating partners are among the world's top 2% most-cited researchers.

The 2023 VinFuture Prize's nominations come from respected scientists and organisations from 90 countries and territories across six continents. Leading in the number of nominators are scientists from the Americas with 30.3%, followed by Asia (28.6%), Africa (9.5%), and Oceania (6.8%). Europe has shown impressive growth, with 24.8% of the nominating partners - 1.5 times higher than last year.

This year's nominating partners are from renowned universities and research institutes such as Harvard (the US), Stanford (the US), University of California (the US), Johns Hopkins (the US), Max Planck (Germany), Cambridge (the UK), Oxford (the UK), Nanyang Technological University (Singapore), the University of Tokyo (Japan), Yonsei University (the Republic of Korea), and Monash University (Australia) and etc.

The 2023 VinFuture Prize's nominations continue to encompass a wide range of critical disciplines, including health and wellness, energy, environment, agriculture, climate change, and multidisciplinary artificial intelligence (AI) applications. All the nominated projects show significant development potential and stand to improve the lives of millions of people.

Aligning with the aim of "Science for humanity", the nominations for the 2023 VinFuture Prize fulfil the requirement of demonstrating the positive influence they have brought, or their potential to bring about significant improvements to people's lives. Additionally, there are numerous nominees in cutting-edge disciplines such as quantum computing, models for managing material qualities, inventions to serve people with impairments, neurological disorders like cancer, new forms of energy, high-tech products, more affordable materials, and others.

The 2023 VinFuture pre-screening round takes place from June 1 to September 16 and aims to enable the Committee to meticulously evaluate the most impactful and award-worthy nominations to proceed to the final round. To ensure scientific integrity, fairness, and transparency, the 12-member Pre-Screening Committee will assess the nominations according to a rigorous evaluation process based on the highest international standards and core criteria. These criteria include the degree of scientific or technological advancement, the level of impact on people's lives, as well as the project's scale and sustainability.

Workshop promotes Vietnam’s initiative on displaying ASEAN Flag

A workshop was held in Hanoi on May 22, providing guidelines for displaying the ASEAN Flag next to the National Flag at the compound of ASEAN Member State’s military units participating in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations.

The event, held in a hybrid format, attracted the participation of representatives from ASEAN countries, the ASEAN Secretariat and the Military Attachés of ASEAN countries in Vietnam.

It aimed to promote the realisation of Vietnam's initiative on this issue, which was adopted at the 14th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) in December 2020.

Vietnam's initiative is to promote solidarity within the ASEAN community in general and among defence forces of ASEAN countries in particular; and at the same time affirms the cohesion, development and consensus of ASEAN for the purpose of maintaining peace and stability in the world.

At the workshop, representatives of ASEAN countries expressed their support for Vietnam's initiative; and discuss and contribute many practical ideas to complete  the guiding document.

Vietnam desires to make greater contributions to future of Asia

As a responsible member of Asia, the nation wishes to contribute more to the future of the continent, which is clearly shaping the global political system.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu made the statement during a recent media interview to discuss Vietnam’s message extended to the international community at the 28th Future of Asia Conference.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang is set to attend the 28th Future of Asia Conference whilst paying a working visit to Japan from May 24 to May 26.

The Future Asia Conference is the leading prestigious annual international conference in Asia as organised by Nikkei Group of Japan since 1995.

This represents a prestigious policy exchange forum where senior leaders of participating countries can openly and honestly discuss emerging issues in Asia, opportunities and challenges for development, security, peace, and stability, thereby shaping future policies. This is along with proposing co-operation ideas and solutions to enhance understanding, in addition to promoting cohesion in order to raise Asia's position in the world for the sake of development and prosperity.

According to details given by the Vietnamese Ambassador, the theme of this year's conference is to focus on enhancing Asia's power in terms of addressing global challenges.

The theme is an urgent topic for leaders of governments, businesses, and scholars as they come together to discuss the urgent opportunities and challenges that the continent and the world are facing. This includes new development trends as well as commitments on efforts to contribute to peace and common prosperity of countries in the region, from which assessments, comments, initiatives, and suggestions will be made to actively contribute to the process of solving regional and international challenges and issues.

Referring to the message that Deputy PM Quang will send to the international community at the conference, Ambassador Hieu said that the nation sending a delegation led by Deputy PM Quang to attend the conference not only shows its deep concern over the conference, but also demonstrates the importance of the Asia Future Forum in general in the nation’s foreign policy.

Deputy PM Quang’s direct discussions at the conference will send a strong message that the Vietnamese side is a reliable partner and an active and responsible member of the international community that is willing to join hands with other countries in order to discuss and find a way to solve urgent and global challenges today. This is along with contributing to peace, stability, and development in the region and the world as a whole.

This is also a manifestation of the Party's foreign policy of continuing to promote and improve the efficiency of foreign affairs and international integration, whilst also seeking to raise the level of multilateral diplomacy.

Touching upon the contents of the 28th Asia Future Conference agenda and Vietnamese contributions to the agenda, Ambassador Hieu said that the Future of Asia Agenda always captures the attention and attendance of senior leaders, politicians, scholars, and businesses from Asian countries, as well as representatives of major economic groups throughout the world.

This is a forum specifically for delegates to openly discuss regional issues, Asia's role, and the continent’s potential in the global picture and solutions to enhance the region's position.

There will be six speeches given by high-ranking leaders of countries and six thematic discussion sessions at this year’s conference.

Deputy PM Quang is expected to deliver a speech on the first day of the event, sharing the country’s views on major Asian issues, its experience and solutions to the common challenges of Asia, and efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic whilst boosting economic recovery.

Talking about the nation’s active and responsible contributions to the Asia Future Conference in particular and peace, stability, and prosperity in Asia in general over recent years, the Vietnamese diplomat said the country began attending the 15th Future of Asia Conference back in 2009 and has continuously sent high-level delegations to attend the conference since then.

The participation of the Vietnamese delegation at the Future of Asia Conferences over recent years was highly appreciated by the Organizing Committee, the participants, as well as the Japanese side.

Overcoming numerous difficulties and challenges has seen the country record positive post-COVID recovery, with important economic achievements in 2022. Most notably, gross domestic product (GDP) growth reached 8.02%, whilst the GDP scale exceeded US$400 billion, ranking fourth in ASEAN. With a trade turnover of more than US$730 billion, Vietnam was listed in the group of 30 countries and territories with the largest export value of goods globally.

By attending the conference, Vietnam will not only participate in assessing and commenting on the global and regional situation, analysing urgent opportunities and challenges, but will also work with other countries to find solutions to difficulties, and common challenges, while consolidating trust in a bid to create a solid foundation for the future.

“As a developing country deeply integrated into the global economy, Vietnam especially values international cooperation and multilateralism. With the spirit of solidarity and cooperation, I believe that Asia can jointly create strength towards the future,” Ambassador Hieu added.

WHO assists Vietnam in rare drug supply for botulinum poisoning treatment

The World Health Organization (WHO) is urgently contacting to find a source of rare drugs to support Vietnam in treating botulinum poisoning cases, according to details given by the Drug Administration of Vietnam under the Ministry of Health.      

The Drug Administration of Vietnam revealed that botulism is a rare but life-threatening condition that is primarily caused by toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. The poisoning is a very rare occurrence both in Vietnam and around the world.

The main cause is patients being infected with bacterial toxins in poor-quality food or eating poorly preserved foods. Since 2020, there have only been a few cases each year with three cases recently being recorded in Ho Chi Minh City.

Following the cases of botulinum poisoning in the southern city, the Drug Administration of Vietnam has urgently worked alongside the WHO to seek assistance for supply of botulism antitoxin.

Furthermore, the Drug Administration of Vietnam has also asked Cho Ray Hospital to contact import companies and suppliers in order to get more drug supplies.

Most notably, the Ministry of Health has proposed establishing storage centres for rare drugs in socio-economic regions and setting up a mechanism for the expired rare drugs.

The Ministry of Health has also advised people to be cautious by not preserving and using food that has been processed for a long time, to avoid the risk of poisoning in general, and botulinum toxin poisoning in particular. 

Miss Asia Vietnam Entrepreneur 2023 launched

The annual Miss Asia Vietnam Entrepreneur 2023 beauty contest has now opened for Vietnamese businesswomen aged between 25 and 55 who are living and working anywhere throughout the country.      

The pageant’s preliminary round is being launched in May, with the ultimate aim of seeking entrants from across the nation.

The grand final of the event is set to get underway on July 26 in Tam Ky city in the central province of Quang Nam.

The purpose of the function is to create a platform specifically for talented and beautiful businesswomen nationwide, thereby providing further opportunities for them to participate in the current period of economic integration whilst joining in activities for the community, according to the organisers.

Photo exhibition marks monk’s self-immolation

The Ho Chi Minh City Photographic Association and the Vietnam Institute of Buddhist Studies on May 22 opened a photo exhibition to mark the monk’s self-immolation.

The Ho Chi Minh City Photographic Association and the Vietnam Institute of Buddhist Studies on May 22 opened a photo exhibition on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Bodhisattva Thich Quang Duc’s self-immolation to protest the persecution of Buddhists by the US-backed South Vietnamese government of Ngo Dinh Diem. (June 11, 1963 - June 11, 2023).

With the theme "Buddhism with peace", the weeklong exhibition displays 138 photos selected from the "Buddhism with Peace" contest which was launched from March 31 to May 15 with more than 1,200 entries from photographers across the country.

Speaking at the event, President of the association Doan Hoai Trung said the exhibition contributes to promoting meaningful and sacred images of Buddhism as well as expressing gratitude for the great values and contributions of Bodhisattva Thich Quang Duc to Vietnamese Buddhism.

The works also focus on reflecting and promoting the role of values and aspiration for peace in the spirit of Buddhism, denouncing crimes and consequences of wars, and promoting the spirit of companionship and solidarity.

Water Week to introduce latest scientific knowledge and experiences in water mangement

Science and Technology Week 2023 (Water Week 2023) in HCM City is introducing the latest scientific knowledge and experiences in water supply and management from around Việt Nam and the world.

The event is being held by Saigon Water Supply Corporation (Sawaco) from May 22 to 25 as part of its celebration of the 18th anniversary of its establishment (May 24, 2005 - May 24, 2023).

The event aims to accelerate progress in the city’s processes related to water supply and management, and raise public awareness of the role played by research and development in the field.

An exhibition is being held during the event to display products and innovative solutions for water-related crisis in the 2021-2023 period.

Several workshops will be held to share new ideas, learn from each other and collaborate on innovative solutions in making water a powerful tool for change.

A talk show called Sawaco Talk will be broadcast live (livestream) on the Sawaco Youtube channel where a range of water-related issues will be discussed.

In addition, a workshop will discuss how ChatGPT can improve customer service in the water supply sector.

The event is expected to attract a diverse mix of professional backgrounds, including decision-makers, business leaders, city planners, activists, and researchers from all over Việt Nam.

Participants can also participate in the event online (via YouTube Sawaco, Sawaco Website, and Sawaco Creative Hub).

Bùi Thanh Giang, deputy general director and chairman of Sawaco Science and Technology Council, said: “Tackling the most challenging problems of our time often involves water. This is an inclusive venue for all stakeholders to expand collaboration, inspire innovation, and accelerate water action to tackle the water-related crisis and make water a powerful tool for change,” he said. 

Vietnam highly values WHO’s close technical partnership: official

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong affirmed Vietnam’s appreciation of the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s close technical partnership with its Government, while attending the 76th World Health Assembly (WHA76) in Geneva on May 23.

In her remarks, Huong said the WHA76 takes place in coincidence with many important milestones of the World Health Organisation (WHO), including its 75th founding anniversary.

Vietnam has gained a number of major healthcare achievements, including the average life expectancy raised to over 75. It has also been pressing on with reforming the health sector to meet medical demand in the future, especially amid fast socio-economic development and lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, she noted.

Mentioning WHO’s recent declaration of the end to the COVID-19 pandemic as global health emergency of international concern, the Deputy Minister said Vietnam quickly carried out a large-scale vaccination campaign in 2021 and 2022 and has ensured vaccine access nationwide.

She cited statistics as showing that the country has reached an average of 273.7 administered doses of COVID-19 vaccines every 100 people, 1.6 times the global average of 170.1 and also higher than most developed nations. The rate of people fully vaccinated with primary doses is 1.4 times while the rate of those given booster doses doubles the world’s respective averages.

Thanks to these efforts, since the beginning of 2022, Vietnam has shifted to a period of sustainably managing the pandemic, which means balancing socio-economic development and public health measures to protect vulnerable groups and the healthcare system, Huong went on.

Highlighting WHO’s close technical partnership with the Vietnamese Government, the official added the country is proud of all the health achievements obtained with support from WHO during the pandemic and over the past years, and hopes to continue this partnership.

Ministry proposes plan on pension, allowance increases

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) has submitted to the Government a plan in which it proposes a 20.8% increase of pensions and social insurance benefits and monthly allowances for those with no salary increase from January 1, 2022.

Compared with the previous draft, in the new draft decree, the ministry adds the groups of people who are enjoying monthly benefits for accidents at work and occupational diseases to be entitled to this increase.

The draft decree also proposes raising wages by 12.5% for people who are receiving pensions, social insurance benefits and monthly allowances from July 1, 2023.

Under the new draft decree, recipients of pensions, social insurance benefits, and monthly allowances before January 1, 1995 with a salary of less than 3 million VND (127.6 USD) per month will be further adjusted. Specifically, people whose pension after the increase is less than 2.7 million VND a month, will have it increased by 300,000 VND a month; while those with a monthly salary from 2.7 million VND to less than 3 million VND will have its wage increased to get 3 million VND a month.

According to Article 57 of the Law on Social Insurance, pensions are adjusted on the basis of the increase of consumer price index and economic growth, in accordance with the capacity of the budget and the social insurance fund.

From July 1, 2023, the base salary for civil servants, public employees, and members of the armed forces will be raised from 1.49 million VND to 1.8 million VND per month, or 20.8%.

Vietnam’s largest garbage collection campaign to come back

Themed "Pick Up Rubbish – Reach Out Global", the campaign ‘Clean Up Vietnam’ will return for the fifth time with a larger scale and an increased number of participants.

The campaign, the largest of its kind in Vietnam, will take place on June 4 both home and abroad with about 30,000 volunteers registering to take part in.

This year's event welcomes the participation of several sponsors, media and environmental ambassadors, and famous figures such as singers Tien Manh and Phuong Thanh, MC Manh Cuong, Hanna Giang Anh and Trung Thao Mai.

In the fourth edition held in December 2022 at 102 domestic places and 12 international places, including Japan, the Republic of Korea, the US, and Thailand, the campaign attracted over 16,000 volunteers and collected 186.5 tonnes of garbage in total.

RoK's Ulsan city to publish crime prevention manual in Vietnamese

The Republic of Korea’s Ulsan city will publish a crime prevention manual for foreigners in three languages, namely Vietnamese, English and Chinese.

Based on the Korean version published by the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency in 2022, the handbook covers four topics, including domestic violence, sexual violence, school violence and child abuse.

An e-book of the new publication will also be available on the agency’s website (ulsan.go.kr/uapc) for easier access at anytime and anywhere.

In January, the Ulsan Foreign Resident Support Centre also opened a foreign-language version of the online newspaper Ulsan City News in 11 languages, including Vietnamese.

According to the municipal statistics, as of 2020, Ulsan’s population was 324,527, including 4,463 foreigners, accounting for 7.27% of the total.

Vietnam, Laos foster collaboration in home affairs

Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra held a working session in Hanoi on May 23 with her Lao counterpart Thongchanh Manixay, during which both sides expressed delight at the close cooperation between the two ministries and the fruitful outcomes of joint activities.

The two ministries have enjoyed effective partnership in high-level delegation exchange, personnel training for the Lao side, experience sharing in administrative reform and religious affairs, and the building of a national archive centre of Laos, said Tra. 

She said that the Ministry of Home Affairs of Vietnam is focusing on reshuffling, speeding up administrative reform, decentralization and power delegation, and renovating the local administration operations. It is working on two draft laws and many resolutions as well as other legal documents.

The ministry has streamlined the administrative apparatus by reducing 8 districts and 563 communes, along with 10% administrative units and 13.5% non-business units. The number of civil servants has decreased 10.01%, while that of public employees has reduced 11.67%, she said.

For his part, Thongchanh Manixay said that the Lao Ministry of Home Affairs was established in 2011, thus the Lao side hopes to learn from professional experience of Vietnam, especially in State management over religious affairs, local administration management, and the building of communal-level administrative units.

The minister briefed his host on a number of achievements that his ministry has gained so far, including simplifying its organization.

The two sides agreed that despite the positive cooperation results, the partnership between the two sides has yet to meet expectations due to the impact of COVID-19.

To deepen bilateral cooperation in the 2023-2026 period, they will increase the exchange of high-level delegations and cooperation in personnel training as well as experience sharing, while working together on a project on the digitization of the Lao Ministry of Home Affairs to submit to the Laos-Vietnam, Vietnam-Laos Cooperation Committees and the two Governments. 

Following the working session, the two ministries signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the 2023-2026 period.

Under the deal, the Ministry of Home Affairs of Vietnam will send lecturers and experts to Laos to help with the building of legal policies and organize short-term training courses for Lao officials in different fields following requests from the Lao side./.

Each year, Vietnam will also receive delegations of Lao officials with about 20 officials each to join 1-3-month courses on fields under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

HCM City seeks stronger cooperation with RoK's Incheon

Ho Chi Minh City wants to further strengthen cooperation with the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Incheon Metropolitan Council, especially in sports, culture and people-to-people exchange, said Nguyen Van Dung, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Council on May 23.

At a reception for visiting Chairman of the Incheon Metropolitan Council Heo Shick, he said HCM City has established friendly and cooperative relations with seven RoK cities, adding that the municipal People's Council signed cooperation agreements with the RoK’s Incheon and Busan Metropolitan Councils.

He went on to say that the relationship between the city and its Korean partners has developed very well, achieving many positive results.

HCM City is home to about  80,000 people and some 2,000 firms from the RoK, which make positive contributions to the local development and serve as a bridge to enhance the friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

The official said that HCM is ready to create the most favourable conditions for the Korean businesses and community here.

For his part, Heo Shick said the strong developments in RoK-Vietnam relations, especially in the fields of trade, investment, tourism, sports, and people-to-people exchange, show that the two countries are working together to foster RoK-Vietnam friendship and cooperation, contributing to building the common prosperity of Asia.

He suggested that the Incheon Metropolitan Council and the People's Council of HCM City continue to promote delegation exchange, share experience in organising activities of people-elected agencies, and bolster cooperation between the two localities.

President hails athletes for performances at SEA Games 32

President Vo Van Thuong met in Hanoi on May 23 more than 100 outstanding athletes and coaches, who freshly brought about an unprecedented success for Vietnam at SEA Games 32.

The 32nd edition in Cambodia marked the first time in history that the Vietnamese contingent, despite not being at the host position, had topped the tally with 136 gold, 105 silver and 118 bronze medals, broken 12 records, and set four new records.

At the meeting, President Thuong and other leaders presented the second-class Labour Order to runner Nguyen Thi Oanh, who seized four gold medals at the game; and 37 third-class Labour Orders to other athletes for their excellent performances. The order is a noble distinction of the Party and State.

 President Thuong presents the second-class Labour Order to runner Nguyen Thi Oanh, who seized four gold medals at the game. (Photo: VNA)
Congratulating participating athletes and hailing their efforts and achievements, Thuong affirmed that the Party, State and people always pay attention to the sport sector, including high-achievement sports. He pledged the best possible conditions for athletes to practice and compete in order to continuously improve their performances.

The President requested agencies involved, especially the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, well implement the nation’s long-term strategy of sports development with a further vision.

He said it is necessary to give priority to sports of Vietnam's strength, particularly in training, fostering, and discovering the next generation of coaches and athletes to sustain and promote the top performance.

Thuong hoped the coaches and athletes will keep the inspiration and motivation of the SEA Games 32 success, and work harder to conquer new heights in their career.

Man accused of abusing three-month-old girl

A man has been arrested on suspicion of brutally beating a baby girl aged just three months old.

Trần Hoài Thương from Đà Lạt City is alleged to have hit the girl so hard she ended up in hospital in a coma.

He is also accused of taping up her mouth as she sucked on a pacifier to prevent the child from crying.

At 5pm on Saturday, the child refused to drink milk. Thương is alleged to have struck her head and face and shook her head violently, causing the baby to vomit and have breathing difficulties.

When her condition didn’t improve, Thương took her to the Lâm Đồng General Hospital where police say she was admitted with multiple injuries and in a coma.

The child’s mother is accused of not intervening when her daughter was attacked. She will also be questioned by police.

In 2016, Thương was sentenced to two years in prison by the Bảo Lộc City People's Court for possession of illegal drugs.

In 2018, after serving his sentence, he moved to Đà Lạt City but continued to struggle with illegal narcotics.

In 2019, the Đà Lạt City People's Court issued a decision to send him to compulsory detoxification to treat his addiction to methamphetamine, but he failed to kick the habit.

The child remains in a serious condition in hospital. 

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