Month: June 2021

A delegation from the Lao province of Vientiane on June 14 handed over 100 million LAK (10,577 USD) to the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos to assist the fight against COVID-19 in northern Hai Duong province of Vietnam.

At the handover ceremony, the embassy’s Envoy Trinh Thi Tam expressed her gratitude for the Vientiane administration and people’s assistance and pledged to soon deliver the fund to Hai Duong.

Lauding the twin relations between Hai Duong and Vientiane in the past time, Tam hoped that the sides will further fortify their cooperation and exchange information and experience regarding matters of common interest.

The diplomat noted many public agencies and businesses of Laos have come to the embassy to present money and medical supplies in support of the Government and people of Vietnam during the nation’s response to the fourth wave of COVID-19 outbreaks.

Such actions are evidence of great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos, she affirmed.

Vientiane province’s Governor Thongsavan Vongsamphan said although the sum is not big, it reflects the Vientiane administration and people’s wish to share with Hai Duong’s difficulties.

The official hoped the Vietnamese province will soon overcome the challenges caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, stabilise people’s lives, and develop its economy./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The capital city of Hanoi will pilot the rental of electric bicycles to facilitate connections among local bus routes and the bus rapid transit (BRT) system from the third quarter of this year.

The pilot project will be launched by the municipal Department of Transport and the University of Transport Technology, on the route from the AEON Mall Ha Dong to the Van Khe BRT platform, until the end of 2023, followed by a review to expand the model to the entire city.

With funding from the European Commission and Government agencies, the service will be offered free of charge in the pilot period.

People who want to use the service will receive support to install a mobile application, which stores and tracks a user’s movement between the two destinations. The app also indicates the bikes’ battery level and sends an alert if problems arise.

According to the Hanoi Department of Transport, the project aims to improve the efficiency of public transport services as well as reduce personal vehicle use.

Vu Ngoc Khiem, Chairman of the University of Transport Technology’s board, said given the layout of urban areas in the country, travel is heavily reliant on motorbikes, so increasing the use of eco-friendly vehicles and raising public awareness of environmental protection would help reduce congestion and pollution in the capital city.

Buses are currently the only means of public transport in Hanoio, comprising more than 100 routes operated by the State-owned Transerco and several private companies./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietnamese embassy in Japan on June 13 launched a fundraising campaign to collect money for Vietnam’s COVID-19 vaccine fund in response to the call of the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s Central Committee on “National unity to fight COVID-19.”

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Vu Hong Nam urged all staff members of the embassy and Vietnamese representative offices in Japan as well as the Vietnamese community in Japan to join hands with the homeland in order to achieve the dual targets of curbing the spread of COVID-19 while promoting socio-economic development.

Ambassador Nam highly appreciated the prevention measures and mutual support among the Vietnamese community in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that the number of community-transmitted cases among Vietnamese expats in Japan remains particularly low.

At the ceremony, over 500 million VND (more than 21,780 USD) was contributed to the COVID-19 vaccine fund.

Overseas Vietnamese also expressed their strong confidence in the Vietnamese Government’s effective measures to fight the pandemic, and hoped that with the concerted efforts of the Government and people at home and abroad, Vietnam would soon overcome the epidemic.

According to statistics of the Japanese Ministry of Justice, there were 448,053 Vietnamese living in Japan as of the end of 2020, up more than 10 times from a decade ago and accounting for more than 15 percent of the total number of foreigners in Japan./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) on June 12 confirmed three Vietnamese athletes have won berths to the Tokyo Olympic Games, raising the nation’s total across sports to 14 so far.

Weightlifters Thach Kim Tuan, Vuong Thi Huyen, and Hoang Thi Duyen are those who have been named by the IWF in its announcement.

To date, Vietnam has secured Olympic berths in swimming, boxing, gymnastics, badminton, archery, rowing, taekwondo, and weightlifting.

The Tokyo Olympic Games, which was delayed for one year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is scheduled to take place from July 23 to August 8, with a total of 339 sets of medals across 33 sports./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The national COVID-19 vaccine fund received more than 4.84 trillion VND (210.2 million USD) worth of donations from 283,169 organisations and individuals as of 5pm on June 12, according to the fund’s management board.

Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc said that his ministry commits to transparently publicising the fund’s daily and periodical amounts of donations obtained as well as the spending of the Ministry of Health after each round of the domestic vaccination against COVID-19.

The ministry, which is in charge of the vaccine fund, has established a management board for it at the State Treasury and opened a bank account to receive support from individuals and organisations inside and outside the country.

Vietnam needs 150 million doses of vaccines to administer about 75 percent of its population this year, with total cost amounting to 25.2 trillion VND./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency