Day: July 25, 2021

Ho Chi Minh City is considering stronger movement restrictions given the COVID-19 situation remaining complicated, a local official said on July 25.

Phan Van Mai, Standing Vice Secretary of the municipal Party Committee, told the media that HCM City has imposed social distancing at different levels for 55 days since May 31, and it is applying stronger measures detailed in the Prime Minister’s Directive 16.

However, the local COVID-19 situation has yet to ease, he said, blaming the situation on the insufficient enforcement of social distancing by both anti-pandemic forces and residents, apart from the highly contagious Delta variant.

He warned that the situation will get worse if the distancing is not practiced seriously, calling on authorised forces and people to unanimously and stringently apply anti-pandemic measures, including staying at home and not going outside for non-essential reasons.

Patrol will be increased to strictly impose social distancing, he noted.

Mai said on July 26 at the latest, the municipal People’s Committee will issue a document detailing the groups of people allowed to go outside and the permitted outdoor activities, which may also be restricted to certain time slots.

The city will increase goods supply as well as assistance for people with disadvantages, he added.

The application of Directive 16 is scheduled to last until August 1, but worse scenarios also need to be taken into account to make preparations, which should be done by both relevant agencies and local residents.

HCM City is also making use of every resource to ensure effective treatment and minimise COVID-19 deaths, according to Mai.

The number of domestic cases since April 27, when the fourth outbreak began, stood at 91,165, and HCM City posted the largest number of infections, 57,917.

Facing the surge in COVID-19 infections, the municipal People’s Committee proposed the Prime Minister send 5,000 health workers to assist the city in treatment and another 2,000 to help with sample collection for testing.

As of July 15, 24 delegations with 4,473 health personnel from other localities, hospitals, and medical universities and colleges nationwide were deployed to HCM City to help with the COVID-19 fight.

On July 8, the Ministry of Health decided to mobilise 10,000 health personnel from its subordinate units and localities in the northern and central regions to assist HCM City. It also sent 25 leaders of its agencies to support the pandemic combat in the southern economic hub.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Nearly 14,000 children aged 6 – 15 have been equipped with swimming safety skills, and more than 30,000 with water safety skills over the last two years thanks to classes held by the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) and relevant agencies in Vietnam.

In a recent interview with the Vietnam News Agency, GHAI Country Director Doan Thu Huyen said drowning remains one of the leading causes of death for under-15 children in Vietnam, with about 2,000 children aged under 16 losing their lives to water every year.

Drowning increases in summer, when children have finished their school year and spend most of their time at home and in their community, causing not only losses to the country, the community, and their families but also uncompensable grief and pain to their parents and relatives, she noted.

Since 2018, with support from the Bloomberg Philanthropies, the GHAI at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids of the US has coordinated with the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) and the World Health Organisation to carry out evidence-based interventions that suit the Vietnam context so as to help minimise drowning deaths among under-15 children.

Huyen said the child drowning prevention programme has been piloted in over 100 communes of eight provinces with the highest drowning mortality rates in Vietnam. It provided swimming safety skills for nearly 14,000 children aged 6 – 15 and water safety skills for more than 30,000.

As a result, the rate of children getting swimming lessons has almost doubled, from 14.7 percent to 25.5 percent, in the beneficiary areas, higher than the average national rate.

In the time ahead, she added, the programme will be expanded to 12 provinces, from eight at present, with priority given to disadvantaged districts and communes with high drowning mortality rates in children.

The GHAI will also keep working closely with the MoLISA, relevant sectors, local authorities, and schools to organise swimming classes for children aged 6 – 15. It hopes to equip about 50,000 children with swimming skills by the end of 2022.

Teaching water safety skills is also one of the programme’s priorities, Huyen went on, noting that the skills are necessary for children to grow up safely and healthily.

She said the efforts could prove useful only when they receive support from local authorities, families, and schools, and that the GHAI is happy that the programme has helped make substantive improvements to ensure water safety and prevent drowning for children

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam welcomes the decision of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) on July 23 not to take trade action against Vietnam in connection with the investigation into Vietnam’s currency policy, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang said on July 24.

The USTR Office on July 23 issued a formal determination in the Vietnam Currency Section 301 investigation saying that the agreement reached between the US Department of the Treasury and the State Bank of Vietnam provides a satisfactory resolution of the matter subject to investigation and accordingly that no trade action is warranted at this time. Responding to reporters’ question about the decision of the USTR, the spokesperson said it is a positive step following the agreement reached on July 19 between the SBV and the US Department of Treasury.

She stressed that it is also the outcome of constructive dialogue with good wills of both sides to address outstanding problems in bilateral economic ties, towards building a stable and sustainable relationship benefiting both sides in the spirit of the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and the US.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The 15th National Assembly (NA) is spending the entire day on July 25, on discussing the implementation of the socio-economic development and State budget plans during the first six months, solutions for task performance in the year’s latter half, and the development plan for 2021 – 2025.

The plenary discussion, part of the 15th parliament’s first session, is broadcast live on radio and television.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh reported on the socio-economic and State budget situations in the first half of 2021, noting that the economic growth of 5.64 percent during the period was relatively high compared to other countries, many localities hit by the COVID-19 pandemic still posted growth, the macro-economy stayed stable, inflation was kept low, while the major balances of the economy, the monetary market, credit, exchange rates, and interest rates were also stable.

For the remaining months of 2021, the Government is determined to keep macro-economic stability, guarantee the major balances, closely coordinate fiscal and monetary policies with other policies, facilitate production and business activities, and support economic recovery.

It will also continue working to control inflation, ensure reasonable credit growth, and eliminate unnecessary expenses, he said, stressing that the Government is resolved to realise the “twin targets”, but the current priority is containing COVID-19 so as to promote production and business and achieve the set targets at the highest possible level.

Meanwhile, the proposed socio-economic development plan for 2021 – 2025 features the overall goal of securing fast and sustainable economic growth on the basis of enhancing sustainable macro-economic stability, developing science – technology and innovation, and fully optimising the country’s potential and advantages.

It targets a five-year growth rate higher than the average figure of the 2016- 2020 period, and that by 2025, Vietnam will become a developing country with modernity-oriented industry and escape from the lower-middle income status. It also looks to improve the economy’s productivity, quality, efficiency, and competitiveness, uniformly take solutions to effectively address the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact, and swiftly recovery and develop the economy.

During the discussion, Government members will also give more information about issues mentioned by legislators.

The NA is set to vote on a resolution on the parliament’s supervisory programme for 2022 in the afternoon

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The election of key positions in the State leadership will be the focus of the second and also the last working week, from July 26 to 28, of the 15th National Assembly’s first session.

On July 26, the NA is scheduled to elect the State President, the Prime Minister, the Vice State President, the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court, and the Prosecutor General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy.

Lawmakers will also made decisions about the structure and the number of members of the Government, and vote on the appointment of deputy prime ministers, ministers, and other members of the Government; the vice chairperson and members of the National Defence and Security Council; and justices of the Supreme People’s Court.

Deputies will look into the implementation of the socio-economic development and State budget plans during the first six months and tasks in the latter half of this year to fulfill the yearly plans; the socio-economic development plan for 2021 – 2025, which includes the intensification of the COVID-19 fight; and investment policy for the national target programmes on sustainable poverty reduction and new-style rural area building for 2021 – 2025.

These debates will be broadcast live on radio and television.

Other issues on the working programme in the coming days include the financial plan, the public borrowing and debt repayment plan, and the medium-term public investment plan for 2021 – 2025; the approval of the 2019 State budget balance; and the thrift practice and wastefulness prevention in 2020.

The NA is also set to vote on many important resolutions during the final working days of its first session.

The session’s closing ceremony on July 28 will be broadcast live on radio and television.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Germany has pledged to provide 50 million EUR (58.8 million USD) in official development assistance (ODA) loans and another 63.559 million EUR in non-refundable ODA for 14 technical assistance and investment projects in Vietnam this year.

The commitment was made during a recent governmental-level meeting on the Vietnam – Germany development cooperation in 2021 held via videoconference, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

Among the beneficiary projects, the one on building a centre for epidemic forecasting and management proposed by the Health Ministry as an emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic will receive 15 million EUR in non-refundable ODA.

The MPI said the German Government views Vietnam as a “global partner” in development cooperation under the new BMZ 2030 strategy.

During the meeting, attended by Director of the MPI’s Foreign Economic Relations Department Pham Hoang Mai and Director for Asia at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Gisela Hammerschmidt, the German side expressed their wish to enhance cooperation with Vietnam in handling global issues like climate change, environmental protection, and global economic stabilisation.

The European country also agreed to reinforce ties in health care to help Vietnam cope with COVID-19, the MPI added.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A detachment of Vietnamese naval vessels took part in a parade celebrating the Russian Navy Day in Vladivostok city on July 25.

The detachment consists of Vessel 015-Tran Hung Dao and 016-Quang Trung from Brigade 162 of Vietnam’s Naval Region 4, along with a delegation led by Deputy Commander of Naval Region 4 Col. Trinh Xuan Tung.

Admiral Sergei Avakyants, Commander of the Pacific Fleet of Russia, chaired the parade, which featured seven participating ships.

This is the second time the Vietnamese navy has sent vessels to join a Russian Navy Day parade.

The first time was in 2019, when 016-Quang Trung and a delegation from the Vietnamese navy took part in a parade also in Vladivostok. Admiral Sergei Avakyants then expressed his hope that the Vietnamese navy would send vessels to visit the Pacific Fleet annually.

The active and responsible participation by the naval vessels of Vietnam in the parade helped affirm the Ministry of National Defence and the Vietnam People’s Navy’s support for international events held by their Russian counterparts. It was also meant to acknowledge the Russian navy’s support for the activities organised by the Vietnamese navy in 2020, when Vietnam held the ASEAN Chairmanship.

Other parades marking the Navy Day have also been held in other port cities of Russia on July 25.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Ho Chi Minh City, the biggest economic hub in southern Vietnam, aims to sustain growth momentum in the remaining months of 2021 even when it is battling the worst-ever COVID-19 resurgence which began in late May.

Data from the municipal Statistics Office, the city’s Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) grew 5.46 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year. Total retail sales of goods and services reached about 542 trillion VND (23.5 billion USD), up 7.3 percent year-on-year. Budget revenue exceeded 198.56 trillion VND, up 20.7 percent and representing 55.7 percent of the yearly plan.

Its Industrial Production Index (IIP) picked up 5.9 percent during the period, with growth seen in all four key industries – food and beverage (1.2 percent), pharmaceutical chemistry (2.6 percent), electronics (15.6 percent), and mechanical engineering (10.7 percent).

This year, HCM City sets to achieve a GRDP growth of 6 percent or higher and collect over 364.89 trillion VND for the State budget, accounting for 24.79 percent of the national total.

In a recent meeting with local leaders to check the city’s COVID-19 response, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly spoke of the city’s efforts to realise the “twin goals” of keeping the coronavirus at bay and maintaining positive economic growth from January to June, saying it has upheld its critical role and position as the growth driver of the Southern Key Economic Region and the country.

Amid the growing complexity of the pandemic, HCM City is striving to keep production running while strictly enforcing quarantine rules in order to fulfill its twin goals, said Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong.

He cited a scenario developed by the HCM City Institute for Development Studies (HIDS) as forecasting that the city’s GRDP growth will reach 5.02 percent in the first nine months of 2021 and 4.9 percent for the entire year if the COVID-19 outbreak is stamped out by August.

HIDS Director Assoc. Prof, Dr. Tran Hoang Ngan said to maintain economic growth, HCM City should not only contain the virus as soon as possible but also remove backlogs and challenges in land clearance and delivery of public administration services to speed up progress of public investment disbursement and long-delayed projects, particularly major ones, such as the Ring Roads No.2 and 3 and Thu Thiem 2 Bridge.

Once the pandemic is put under control, restored consumer confidence will stimulate retail sales and travel, reviving the economy, Ngan said./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency