Day: December 22, 2021

Construction of a building of the small and medium-sized enterprise promotion department in the campus of the Lao Ministry of Industry and Trade, funded by the Vietnamese Association in Vientiane capital, commenced on December 22.

This is a project to implement an agreement on exchanging public land use rights signed between the association and the Lao Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Chairman of the Vietnamese Association in Vientiane Le Van Mui said the five-storey project has a total investment of 1.1 million USD.

Covering an area of 2,500 sq.m, the building is designed to meet the working demand of more than 200 people. The project is expected to be completed after 18 months.

Once operational, the building will contribute to enhancing the professional efficiency of the department in particular and the Lao Ministry of Industry and Trade in general in the future, Mui said.

Lao Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Bountheung Duangsavanh highlighted the significance of the project, affirming that the exchange of public land use rights between the association and the ministry is in line with the real situation, contributing to creating favourable conditions for and bringing benefits to each side, and clearly reflecting the special friendship and solidarity between Laos and Vietnam.

Previously, the Lao Ministry of Industry and Trade handed over the land use rights of the department’s old building in Vientiane in order to construct a memorial area dedicated to Lao and Vietnamese leaders and heroic martyrs of the two countries who died in wartime.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Standing Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh delivered Christmas greetings to Catholic dignitaries, priests and followers in Hue City, Thua Thien-Hue while visiting the central province on December 22 morning.

Minh, accompanied by leaders of central Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Tri provinces, visited the headquarters of the Catholic Archdiocese of Hue to congratulate Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Chi Linh on the occasion.

He wished Archbishop Linh, who is also President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam, and Catholic dignitaries, priests and followers a merry and peaceful Christmas and a new year full of health and happiness.

Leaders of the Party and State have paid pre-Christmas visits to convey greetings to Catholic dioceses and churches across the country, the Deputy PM told the Archbishop, which he said demonstrates the attention that the Party and State are giving to religious affairs, particularly Catholic, as well as the consistent policy in ensuring followers’ welfare and facilitating religious activities nationwide.

He applauded Archbishop Linh for calling on both Catholic and non-Catholic people to join the national fight against COVID-19 and praised him for raising 100 billion VND and 6,000 tonnes of medical equipment for COVID-19 response along with many Catholic monks in the province who had volunteered to become workers in the frontline of the COVID-19 battle.

He hoped that Archbishop Linh, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam, and the followers will continue adhering to legal regulations to build a brighter future and an united and stronger Vietnam.

Archbishop Linh, for his part, expressed his gratitude towards leaders of the Party, State and Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Tri provinces for their gesture. He shared the Government’s concerns in COVID-19 prevention and control and also showed his delight at what the country has achieved today.

Catholic people stay committed to do their best for the common benefits of the country and people, he said.

The Deputy PM later visited Diocese of Phu Cam in Hue City to extend Christmas congratulations.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc had a meeting with staff of the Vietnamese Embassy, and representatives of the community of Vietnamese Cambodians in Cambodia on December 22 on the occasion of his visit to the neighbouring country.

President Phuc praised the staff of the Vietnamese Embassy for their hard work, especially their participation in organizing his on-going visit to Cambodia.

He urged the embassy to promote investment and business promotion activities of Vietnam in Cambodia and vice versa in order to further upgrade the bilateral trade between the two nations in the time to come.

During the visit, many cooperation documents between the two States and businesses were signed, the President said, adding that in meetings, the two sides discussed issues related to Cambodians of Vietnamese origin and how to support them in their working, living, study, and business.

Ambassador Nguyen Huy Tang said although still facing many difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese Cambodian community in Cambodia have made every efforts to promote economic development and improve the quality of life.

The community’s representatives said they hope the Vietnamese Party and State would ask the Cambodian government to create more favorable conditions for the community in issues related to nationality, education, training and employment; and facilitate the operation of their associations.

They also appealed for the Vietnamese Government’s support in organising Vietnamese language classes, granting scholarships for children with difficult circumstances, and building schools and educational institutions to help generations of Vietnamese Cambodians improve their qualification, thus well integrating into the host country’s society.

President Phuc said the Politburo issued Conclusion No.120-KL/TW on overseas Vietnamese affairs in the new situation on August 12, 2021, which focuses on supporting OVs to gain solid legal status, develop stably and integrate into the host society.

He asked staff of the embassy to better perform their duties of taking care of OVs in Cambodia, as well as meet their legitimate aspirations.

He expressed his hope that Vietnamese Cambodians will continue to tighten solidarity and push ahead with efforts to contribute to making the relationship between the two countries and peoples stronger.

On the same day morning, the Vietnamese Government leader had a working breakfast with Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Preparations for the 13th National Women’s Congress (2022-2027 tenure), slated for early March 2022, have been carried out seriously and thoroughly, in terms of content, personnel and communication work, according to Ha Thi Nga, President of the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU).

She told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) that women’s congresses at the grassroots, district and provincial levels have been held in 2021, in preparation for the national congress, which is a great festival for all women in the country.

A total of 50 cities and provinces have organised the congresses so far, Nga said, adding that that all delegates were vaccinated against COVID-19 and observed pandemic prevention and control measures.

Nga expressed a hope that the events would open up a new tenure with pragmatic contents and reforms.

The preparations for the national congress have followed instructions of the VWU’s Central Committee as well as COVID-19 prevention and control regulations, the VWU President affirmed, adding that local party committees and authorities have greatly facilitated the organisation of local women’s congresses.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam needs to improve the scale and quality of investment in Cambodia, promoting a new wave of investment, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc stated while meeting Vietnamese Cambodian enterprises on December 22 during his State visit to Cambodia.

Phuc listed a series of potential fields for such investment, including real estate, construction, agriculture, retail, tourism, and entertainment.

Praising efforts made the Vietnamese business communities in Cambodia to overcome difficulties due to COVID-19, he highlighted the importance of the Cambodian market, particularly regarding agriculture.

The State leader appreciated Vietnam’s new investment trend focusing on sustainable areas such as clean energy and growing fruit trees for export.

On behalf of the business community, President of the Vietnam Business Club in Cambodia (VBCC) Nguyen Thanh Dung thanked the attention paid by the Vietnamese Party, Government, and State for the community in nearly two difficult years under the impact of the pandemic.

At the meeting, many of the participating firms expressed their concern over a gradual decrease in the number of employees knowing the Vietnamese language in most economic sectors, particularly in finance, banking, and telecommunications.

They proposed that the Vietnamese State and Government increase scholarships for Cambodian students to study in Vietnam, therefore creating favorable conditions in terms of human resources for Vietnamese businesses in Cambodia.

They also agreed that it is necessary to have special policies in aid of Vietnamese investors in Cambodia, especially in agriculture, industrial tree cultivation, and aquatic farming.

Over the past decade, many enterprises, such as the Vietnam Rubber Group or the Truong Hai Agriculture Joint Stock Company, have made effective operations and made significant contributions to the Cambodian economy, creating thousands of jobs for local people, as well as effectively supporting the relocation and career change of Cambodian people of Vietnamese origin.

In the afternoon of the same day, President Phuc and his high-level entourage left for Vietnam, concluding the two-day State visit at the invitation of Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Pierre Gréga, President of the Belgium-Vietnam Friendship Association, has expressed his impression of achievements Vietnam has recorded thanks to its foreign policy.

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), Gréga highlighted Vietnam’s multilateral and open foreign policy, which has helped the country establish relations with more than 100 countries worldwide and sign many cooperation deals and free trade agreements, notably the EU-Vietnam FTA, creating a driving force of the Southeast Asian nation’s economy.

Vietnam has maintained balanced relations with powers in the world, as well as friendship with its neighbours, he said, stressing that Vietnam has affirmed its position in the international arena while holding the posts of ASEAN Chair 2020 and non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 tenure.

The achievements have been recognised by the international community, Gréga noted.

He suggested Vietnam step up diplomatic ties and investments in Africa, explaining that the country could gain an important foothold in the region within the South-South cooperation framework because it already has many partners in this framework.

Regarding Vietnam’s Doi Moi (Reform) that has been rolled out since 1986, Gréga said the policy has facilitated the development of the market economy in Vietnam.

This is the initial, important step towards the opening of the domestic agricultural sector and State-owned enterprises, he said, adding that the open economy has helped to attract foreign investments to Vietnam.

The reform has also enabled the country to integrate into the world as well as the global economy, he continued.

It is note of worthy that Vietnam has continued pursuing socialism and managed to maintain the balance between economic development and socialism, with the State playing a crucial role in regulating the market, according to Gréga.

He viewed the socialist-oriented economy with a good structure as an effective tool of Vietnam, given potential risks caused by the world’s economy.

As President of the Belgium-Vietnam Friendship Association, Gréga pledged to support Vietnam in the political field to boost exchanges between the Vietnamese and Belgian legislatures and governments, thus enhancing cooperation between the two countries.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

To promote job recruitment opportunities in Japan for Vietnamese students in central Vietnam, the central city-based Dong A University and Japanese partners have inked a series of agreements in human resources education, practical courses and internship programmes in nursing, tourism, automobiles and business management in 2021-25.

Chairman of the Dong A University Council Luong Minh Sam told Viet Nam News that the university and the ASK International from Japan had inked a cooperation deal in research and publishing curriculum documents related to Japanese and Vietnamese language training for both Japanese and Vietnamese learners in 2021-25.

The two sides agreed to boost educational programmes in tourism, nursing, business management, as well as Vietnamese, Japanese and English language training.

He said the two partners would include English and Japanese software platforms in Vietnam before expanding the programme in Myanmar and the Philippines in the near future.

“The deal will help provide learning documents for Vietnamese and Japanese living in both countries on language training. It also supports the Vietnamese community in Japan and Japanese in Vietnam, with opportunities studying languages on each side serving future co-operation,” Sam said.

“The two sides plan to set up a Japanese language educational centre at the campus of Dong A University in Vietnam, promoting human resources training and recruitment with other Japanese-Vietnamese business partnerships.”

Two Japanese partners – H.I.S travel agency and the We Are ASEAN non-profit association – also inked an agreement on educational programmes transfer in hotel management, tourism and nursing as well as supplying labour for Japan.

Director of We Are ASEAN Oike Koji said Vietnam would face an ageing population in 20 or 30 years, and nursing training co-operation between Dong A University and the company would provide experienced and skilled human resources for Vietnam.

Oike Koji said Vietnamese internship students – who will be working at nursing centres in Japan for three years after graduation – would provide high quality employees for Vietnam.

The Kameda medical group also re-signed with the Da Nang-based University in human resource training and manpower recruitment, while Will Group and Zensho Holdings company were approached for education in automobiles and tourism, respectively.

Following MoUs signed between Dong A University and Japanese partners in 2020, about 600 Vietnamese students in central Vietnam will study and work at nursing and hospitality service centres in Japan in 2022.

Vietnamese students account for 50 percent of the 450,000 Vietnamese living in Japan.

Last year, Japan promoted its Consulate Office in Da Nang City to a General Consulate to boost ties between Japan and Da Nang.

Currently, more than 500 students from the university are working in hospitality, nursing and shopping centres in Japan.

The University has been seeking co-operation in Artificial Intelligence and data science education with the universities of Ensait, Lille of France; Liège of Belgium; and Kent of the UK.

Three local IT companies – LogiGear, technological solutions Paracel and CodeComplete – have agreed human resources training deals with Dong A.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Do Van Chien sent a letter of congratulations to all Christians in the country on the occasion of the upcoming Christmas season.

In the letter, he wished them a warm and blissful Christmas season.

Chien spoke highly of Catholic and Protestant communities’ active contributions to the country in the great national unity bloc, saying that they voluntarily joined in the fight against the pandemic in quarantine establishments and COVID-19 treatment hospitals, made donations to the national vaccine fund and granted tens of thousands of tonnes of necessities and medical supplies, contributing to effectively fighting the pandemic together with Party committees, authorities, VFF and mass organisations.

He expressed his belief that the Vietnamese Catholic and Protestant communities will always uphold the tradition of patriotism, cultural and moral values, stand side by side with the nation and continue joining in the fight against the pandemic in the spirit of safely and flexibly adapting to and effectively controlling COVID-19, contributing to socio-economic development and improving material and spiritual lives of the people.

In the end of the letter, he wished them a warm Christmas and a New Year of happiness, health and success.

Source: Vietnam News Agency