The Vietnam Coast Guard has exerted great efforts to strengthen international cooperation in the fight against violations and crimes at sea, and actively expanded international cooperation with countries having strong law enforcement forces at sea and partners.

The improvement of international cooperation efficiency has helped the force better perform its tasks, contributing to maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for the building and protection of the Fatherland.

The force signed cooperation agreements with its counterparts in many countries in the region, including Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia (2019), enabling the implementation of many joint activities, including those to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Along with strengthening cooperation with regional countries, the force has expanded its partnership to other countries with strong law enforcement forces at sea, including the US, Japan, India, and the Republic of Korea, mobilising their support in equipment and training activities, thus improving its capacity.

Notably, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan Coast Guard jointly held a training course for Vietnamese coast guards in Phu Quoc from August 15-17, aiming to to improve their maritime law enforcement capacity for the Vietnam Coast Guard and enhance exchanges, cooperation and mutual understanding between the two countries in general, and the Vietnam Coast Guard and the Japan Coast Guard in particular.

Visits and exchanges between the Vietnam Coast Guard with their Indian and Japanese partners have helped enhance the prestige of the force in the region and the world.

Meanwhile, the force has shown positive and responsible engagement in multilateral mechanisms and forums, including the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP), the Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting (HACGAM), the Southeast Asia Maritime Law Enforcement Initiative (SEAMLEI), the Coast Guard Global Summit (CGGS), and activities within the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Japanese film festival to take place in four cities

A Japanese film festival will be held in major cities across the countries between October 21 and November 27, according to the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam.

A total of eight unique films on various topics will be presented during this year’s festival, all of which are realistic depictions of colourful life under Japanese-style camera angles and boundless creativity, expressing the unique worldview of filmmakers in the Far East country.

The movies to be screened include anime “Poupelle of Chimeney Town” directed by Yusuke Hirota, anime “Blue Thermal” by Masaki Tachibana, drama “And So The Baton Is Passed” by Tetsu Maeda, “Blue” by Yoshida Keisuke, anime “INU-OH” by Masaaki Yuasa, live action “Anime Supremacy” by Yoshino Kohei, drama “In the wake” by Takahisa ZEZE, and drama “Intolerance” by Yoshida Keisuke.

The return of the Japanese film festival this year will open up fresh opportunities to allow Vietnamese audiences to access Japanese cinema, especially for movie lovers. Last year the event was held virtually due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The festival according to this year’s programme will take place in Ho Chi Minh City from October 21 to October 30, Hai Phong from November 4 to November 6, Hanoi from November 11 to November 20, and Da Nang from November 25 to November 27.

Vietnamese islands and seas featured in new calendar

Vietnamese islands and seas are featured on a new wall calendar for 2023 launched by the National Political Publishing House recently. 

It includes 365 full-colour easy-to-tear pages that introduce and popularise the image and information of the national islands and sea. 

This is the second among three unique block calendars launched by the house for 2023. 

New tourism model educating students on Hanoi launched

“Thang Long – Hanoi: Past and Present”, a tourism product, has been launched to educate students on Hanoi and help promote the city’s exploration.

The programme provides students with cultural and historical tourism products and services in Hoan Kiem district. It enables students to enjoy exciting and creative experiences while digging into the city’s history, newswire The Hanoi Times reported.

The tourism model is expected to promote the Old Quarter and the French architecture area, improve the quality of comprehensive education, and equip students with knowledge about history, culture, and preservation of the city’s precious traditional values and heritage.

Tours include visiting and learning about Hanoi culture at the Hanoi Old Quarter Cultural Exchange Centre, Heritage House No.87 Ma May, and Kim Ngan Communal House on Hang Bac Street.

This programme, launched on the occasion of the 68th anniversary of the city’s Liberation Day (October 10, 1954 – October 10, 2022), is aimed to promote Hanoi’s typical cultural values among domestic and international visitors, according to Tran Thi Thuy Lan, Deputy Head of the Management Board of Hoan Kiem Lake and Old Quarter.

Additional 21 students graduate from int'l public health programme

Twenty-one students, including three foreigners, have graduated from the International Master of Public Health Programme at the Institute of Preventive Medicine and Public Health under the Hanoi Medical University (HMU).
 
This is the first and only English-taught full-time postgraduate course of medical and pharmaceutical universities in Vietnam. It is also the first of the HMU open to international students.

The Class VI postgraduates, including 18 Vietnamese, two Myanmar and one Brazilian, were awarded with master’s degrees during a graduation ceremony held in Hanoi on October 12.

The Class VI has received international applications from around the globe, including Southeast Asia, the UK, the US, Tanzania, Brazil, Liberia and Ghana, but the COVID-19 pandemic has caused delays in the enrollment of qualified candidates from abroad.

The one-year course, which comprises 12 subjects and 40 credits, are taught both online and offline by lecturers from a number of American and Australian universities and foreign experts in Vietnam.

Launched in 2017, the programme has trained 110 students, including 36 foreigners.

Exhibition celebrates victory in the Viet Bac campaign

An exhibition opened in Lang Son province, on October 14, as a part of activities to mark the 75th anniversary of the victory in the Viet Bac campaign in autumn-winter season of 1947 and 72th anniversary of the liberation of Lang Son province.

At the exhibition, delegates reviewed important historical milestones in the resistance war against the French colonists (1945-1954), victory in the Viet Bac campaign in autumn-winter season of 1947 and the 1950 Autumn Winter Border Campaign.

The historical events were of great strategic importance , affecting the progress of the Vietnamese people's resistance war, and contributing to the final victory in the resistance war against the French colonialists.

The exhibition displays hundreds of documents and photos, divided into 3 parts: the Viet Bac campaign in autumn-winter season of 1947 ; the 1950 Autumn Winter Border Campaign and Lang Son's subsequent innovation, integration and development.

The exhibition will run until October 30.

Vietnam steps up response to cyberinformation security incidents

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has just issued Directive No. 18/CT-TTg on accelerating the implementation of activities to respond to cybersecurity incidents in Vietnam.

The directive clearly states that cybersecurity is an important, cross-cutting pillar to create digital trust and protect the country's prosperous development in the digital era in order to successfully implement national digital transformation; and responding to cybersecurity incidents is a key and urgent activity to help agencies and organisations minimize any damage caused.

However, currently, the response to cybersecurity incidents in agencies, organisations and enterprises in Vietnam has not met the requirements of an early proactive response, and the timely and effective handling of incidents.

Meanwhile cyberattacks have risen to an increasingly large and complex scale, which can have unpredictable consequences for socio-economic development and stability.

The PM urged ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, Governmental agencies, Chairpersons of the People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities, Presidents and General Directors of corporations, state corporations and other organisations, enterprises that are members (or have affiliated units as members) of the National Cyberinformation Security Incident Response Network thoroughly grasp the contents of the Directive and devise measures to address and timely handle cybersecurity incidents.

Nguyen Thanh Phong leaves HCMC People’s Council

Nguyen Thanh Phong, former chairman of HCMC and currently deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, is no longer a member of the HCMC People’s Council.

The 10th People’s Council of HCMC at its sixth session this morning, October 11, voted in favor of relieving Phong from the council.

Phong was elected to the 10th HCMC People’s Council in the 2021-2026 tenure in May last year while serving as chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee.

On August 24 last year, Phong left the post of HCMC chairman to take up the post of deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission.

Therefore, Phong submitted a formal request to leave the council as he is mainly based in Hanoi City, reported Nguoi Lao Dong online newspaper.

The 60-year-old native of the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre was removed from the 13th Party Central Committee last Monday (October 3) during the 6th plenum of the committee, after the Politburo issued a disciplinary warning to him in July this year.

Phong had held various positions such as secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee, secretary of the Ben Tre Provincial Party Committee and chairman of the provincial People’s Council. After that, he was assigned to serve as deputy secretary of the HCMC Party Committee and chairman of the HCMC government.

The People’s Council of HCMC also voted to remove Le Minh Tan, former director of the HCMC Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, from the HCMC People’s Committee.

Tan, born in 1963 in HCMC, served as director of the HCMC Department of Labors, Invalid and Social Affairs from March 2016 to May 1 this year, after which he was approved to retire earlier than required due to health reasons.

Hanoi to study Noi Bai Airport planning for 2021-2030

The Hanoi Authority for Urban Planning & Architecture will study the planning of Noi Bai International Airport for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision for 2050 in line with the city’s construction master plan for the same period.

According to the current planning (Prime Minister's Decision No. 590),  the Hanoi-based International Airport will have an annual capacity of 20 to 25 million passengers by 2020 and 50 million passengers after 2020. However, in 2019, the airport handled more than 29 million passengers.

It is the gateway to the capital city, which sees a surge in the number of international visitors by air every year. Thanh added that it is necessary to expand the airport to deal with the inevitable overload in the future to deserve the country's ascending position.

According to the proposed plan, Noi Bai International Airport, by 2050, will handle a throughput of about 100 million passengers and five million tons of cargo per year.

Thanh asked the ACV to expeditiously conduct investment preparation and report to competent authorities for consideration and approval of investment policies following regulations.

Ministries, industries and localities should ensure that the runway and passenger terminal construction starts in the 2024-25 period, he concluded.

North-South expressway project’s eastern section asked to be started in December

Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh on October 13 chaired a meeting on the progress of the eastern section of the North-South expressway project in the 2021-2025 period.

The localities that the North-South expressway runs through affirmed that they would hand over 70 percent of land for the project in November to help the work be kicked off in December.

The Ministry of Transport said that it handed over the capital plan of more than VND7,170 billion (US$295 million) to provinces. Therefore, site clearance has to definitely be completed, avoiding any delay due to lack of money.

Dialogue on war legacies and peace in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia held in US

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) hosted a dialogue on war legacies and peace in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia on October 12 -13 in Washington DC.

At symposiums on October 12, experts mentioned issues related to mine action, supporting community and Agent Orange/dioxin victims, searching for missing American soldiers, and a new agreement on cooperation between the two countries in searching for missing Vietnamese soldiers.

Meanwhile, discussion sessions on October 13 focused on placing the Vietnam-US relations in a new context, considering the development of bilateral relations and overcoming  war consequences an important content in the new cooperation between the two countries.

100 outstanding Vietnamese farmers in 2022 honoured

100 outstanding Vietnamese farmers in 2022 were  honoured at a ceremony at Hanoi Opera House on October 14 on the occasion of the 92nd founding  anniversary of the Vietnam Farmers' Union (VFU). 

Among the 100 honoured, there are 15 ethnic minority people. All the honourees are farmers with outstanding achievements in production and business, promoting linkages, developing cooperatives, and building new-style rural areas. They have had many inventions and initiatives in startup and digital transformation, and also been important factors in promoting emulation movements in production and business.

Fund raising programme for the poor to take place on October 17

A live television and radio programme will be held in Hanoi on October 17 in response to the emulation movement "For the poor - Leave no one behind" launched by the Prime Minister.

Entitled "Journey of Hope", the programme promotes the tradition of solidarity, mutual love, care, and helping the community out of poverty sustainably.

Truong Thi Ngoc Anh, Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, the event organizer, told a press conference in Hanoi on October 14, said 50 businesses have registered to join the programme.

Enterprises will overcome difficulties and share the nation’s spirit of mutual affection and corporate responsibility. The poor will be given opportunities to escape poverty and become masters of their lives, so that no one will be left behind, said Ngoc Anh.

Over the past three years, the Vietnam Fatherland Front has raised nearly 800 million USD for the Fund For the Poor, helping to build and repair charity houses for disadvantaged people, cover medical examination and treatment, and build civil works.    

Thuy Linh enters Yonex Bendigo International semifinals

Leading Vietnamese female badminton player Thuy Linh has advanced to the semifinals of the YONEX Bendigo International 2022 after defeating Karupathevan Letshanaa of Malaysia in quarterfinals held on October 15 in West Bendigo, Australia.

The Vietnamese No. 1 is also a top title favourite at the tournament. She met no difficulty in defeating the Malaysian player in the first set with the score of 21-15. However, Karupathevan Letshanaa was able to turn the tables on Linh to bring the second set to a 21-13 win.

The final set saw various counterattacks from both players. In the last minutes, the Vietnamese player ultimately proved successful in defeating Karupathevan Letshanaa with a score of 21-18.

Olympian Linh will next face Manami Suizu of Japan in the semifinals.

The Bendigo International is part of the Badminton World Federation's International Series and the Badminton Oceania circuit.

The tournament is scheduled to last until October 16 and has a total cash prize of US$15,000 on offer. The ultimate winner of the tournament will accumulate 4,000 points, while the runner-up will gain 3,400 points.

More automatic toll lanes proposed for busy expressways

Vietnam Expressway Company (VEC) has proposed to set up more electronic toll collection (ETC) at high-traffic toll booths on HCM City - Long Thành - Dầu Giây, Cầu Giẽ - Ninh Bình and Hà Nội - Lào Cai expressways. 

VEC said that the increase is necessary to improve traffic capacity and reduce congestion during weekends and holidays. 

According to the company, since the ETC system was introduced on the expressways of Cầu Giẽ - Ninh Bình, Nội Bài - Lào Cai, Đà Nẵng - Quảng Ngãi, HCM City - Long Thành - Dầu Giây on August 1, the number of vehicles using the services and traffic on these routes has risen beyond expectations. 

As of September this year, there are approximately 3.7 million vehicles with ETC tags, equivalent to four to five-fold the figure in the same period last year. 

The number of newly-registered cars also increased from 3.5 million to 4.5 million. 

During operations, VEC has also registered a number of problems that halt traffic on ETC lanes, such as insufficient account balance, faulty or incorrectly installed tags, and motorists having two different types of tags at the same time. 

Vietnamese nationals offered opportunities to work in South Korea, Taiwan

South Korea and Taiwan are set to take in more Vietnamese workers to keep up with the rising domestic demand following two years of pandemic restrictions.

The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs has announced to enroll some 2,800 employees to work in South Korea, with the recruitment demand being mainly in the manufacturing sector.

Taiwan also welcomes back foreign migrant workers, including Vietnamese nationals, for domestic industries for the coming Lunar New Year holiday.

The increased demand for labor in international markets has encouraged local training centers and educational institutions to supply more highly qualified and skilled workers.

Lac Hong University in the southern province of Dong Nai reported that it sends between 80 and 100 people to Taiwan for guest work each year, mostly in information technology, automotive, electronics, tourism and communication.

Local students and trainees have been provided with favorable conditions for internships in Taiwan due to the support of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vietnam, the Council of Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam and relevant agencies.

In the January-September period, some 103,026 Vietnamese workers were working on a contract abroad, reaching 114.5% of the year-end plan and rising by 240.6% compared to the same period last year.

Of the Vietnamese workers in foreign countries and territories, there were 44,585 people in Taiwan, compared to 1,668 in South Korea.

Quang Ngai proposes US$22.6 mln in emergency assistance after natural disasters

In a report to the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, the People’s Committee of Quang Ngai Province yesterday suggested the steering committee propose the Prime Minister to provide a total amount of VND545 billion (US$22.6 million) in prompt financial aid to help local people recover from damage due to recent natural disasters. 

Accordingly, recent storm Noru, rain and flood on October 10 and October 11 along with natural disasters from the beginning of the year up to now have hugely damaged the Central province of Quang Ngai, causing damage to 1,297 houses, 33 schools, three medical facilities, thousands of hectares of crop along with thousands of livestock and poultry.

Besides, 40 dams, an 8,863-meter channel system, four provincial transport routes and 21 district transport routes have been eroded; 14 bridges and drains have been damaged along with fallen trees.

In addition, rain and flood have caused a high risk of landslides in the riverside, streamside affecting the safety in residential areas and infrastructure works in the area of Tra Bong riverside, section through Binh Duong Commune, Binh Son District; Tra Khuc riverside in Nghia Lam Commune, Tu Nghia District; Ngoc Tri streamside in Binh Chuong Commune, Binh Son District; Tra Cau riverside, section through wards of Pho Van, Pho Minh with a total landslide length of over 7,450 meters.

The total damage is estimated to reach around VND491 billion (US$20.3 million).

Rain and flooding during the passing years, notably in 2020, 2021 have degraded and damaged infrastructure works, worsen landslide along rivers and streams.

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