Day: August 25, 2021

A flight by national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines landed at Noi Bai International Airport on Wednesday after departing San Francisco, with 277 Vietnamese citizens and 6.2 tonnes of medical equipment onboard.

The cargo, worth a total of 1 million USD, represents a meaningful gift that Vietnamese citizens based in the US have presented to help the country in its ongoing fight against COVID-19.

The donation includes 250 respirators, five ventilators, 9,000 COVID-19 rapid test kits, 600 sets of medical protective suits, 2,500 face shields, and 60,000 medical masks.

This marks the second direct flight between the nation and the US launched by Vietnam Airlines this year. This comes after the carrier received permission from US authorities to conduct 12 repatriation flights this year.

Source: VOV5

A new report by The Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU) says delays in inoculating the world against the coronavirus will come with a high price tag.

A model built by The EIU shows that those countries that will not have vaccinated 60% of their population by mid-2022 will register GDP losses totalling 2.3trn USD in 2022-25.

Emerging countries will shoulder around two-thirds of these losses, further delaying their economic convergence towards advanced economies and fuelling poverty.

Delayed vaccination timelines will also fuel resentment, increasing the risk of social unrest in developing economies.

The Asia-Pacific region will be the worst hit in absolute terms, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the losses. But as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), sub-Saharan Africa will suffer the worst losses.

Around 60 percent of the population of higher-income countries received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine as of late August, compared to just one percent in poorer nations, according to the study.

Source: VOV5

The Thai Embassy in Vietnam and the Voice of Vietnam are jointly organizing a video creation contest “Thai-Vietnamese Friendship in the New Normal” to mark the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Eligible contestants will be Vietnamese and Thai citizens aged 18-30 and will participate in teams of two: one Thai national and one Vietnamese national. Each team will make a video of 2-5 minutes featuring cultural exchange between Thailand and Vietnam (eg cooking, singing…). The language used in the video can be Thai, Vietnamese or English. During the video making process, contestants must comply with the COVID-19 regulations of Thailand and Vietnam.

Good quality videos will be uploaded by the Thai Embassy on YouTube channel Royal Thai Embassy in Hanoi. Scoring criteria are based on creativity, image quality and the number of likes of the entry on the Embassy’s YouTube channel.

For more information, participants send email to rte.hanoi2021@gmail.com or Thai The Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ThaiThebyRTEHanoi).

The deadline for receiving entries is September 12.

Source: VOV5

During the 42nd ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Assembly meeting on Wednesday, the Organizational Committee discussed many key draft resolutions.

Delegates agreed on establishing a dialogue between AIPA and the European Parliament. Proposals for the establishment of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA)’s dialogue with ASEAN and European Parliament (EP) will be put forward to the AIPA’s 42nd General Assembly (AIPA-42) in the second plenary session.

The Vietnamese delegation, led by permanent member of the National Assembly’s Committee for External Relations Le Thu Ha, agreed with the major opinions at the meeting, saying it’s a chance to increase information exchange, share experiences, and deepen relations between AIPA and observers’ parliaments.

Approving the draft resolutions, Vietnam voiced support for expanding partnership between AIPA and other parliaments and organizations worldwide, contributing to regional peace.

The Organizational Committee later set the draft resolution for AIPA-43 to take place in Cambodia in September 2022.

Source: VOV5

Vietnam is closely following the situation in Afghanistan and hopes the country will soon stabilize for the benefit of the Afghan people, as well as regional peace and stability, said Vietnam’s representative at a special session of the UN Human Rights Council to deal with ‘serious human rights issues in Afghanistan.

The special session was convened Tuesday at the joint request of Pakistan, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and Afghanistan.

Vietnam urged parties in Afghanistan not to use force; to ensure security and order; to protect civilians, infrastructure, and essential services; and to ensure security and safety for UN staff, diplomats, international organizations, and foreigners in Afghanistan.

Vietnam’s representative called on the UN and the international community to strengthen humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people, and urged the Human Rights Council to push dialogues and cooperation on human rights in compliance with the UN Charter and international law.

At the end of the session, the Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on strengthening the protection of human rights in Afghanistan.

Source: VOV5

Vietnam has received 300,000 doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine donated by the Romanian Government.

Speaking at the hand-over ceremony in Hanoi on Wednesday, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung expressed sincere thanks to the Romanian Government and people for their valuable and timely support to Vietnam.

He appreciated Romania as one of the first European Union members to donate vaccine to Vietnam, adding that it would make a practical contribution to the fight against COVID-19 in the country.

The Deputy Minister proposed the Romania Government consider the possibility of transferring its surplus vaccines to Vietnam.

Romanian Ambassador to Vietnam Cristina Romila said that Vietnam was the first Asian country to receive the vaccines donated by Romania. The ambassador affirmed that Romania would continue standing side by side with Vietnam and firmly believed that the country would soon put the pandemic under control.

Source: VOV5

The Vietnam General Confederation of Labor has appealed to people and organizations nationwide to make urgent donations to help workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

VGCL is fund-raising from now until October 15th to encourage state employees, whose incomes have not been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, to donate money or essential goods depending on their situation. The donation will be sent to disadvantaged workers in the southern region as soon as possible.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been spreading and severely affecting all people and social aspects. Initial statistics show that Vietnam has 36,000 workers infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The prolonged pandemic has forced millions of people to temporarily stop working or lose their jobs.

Source: VOV5