Day: December 22, 2021

Vietnam offers many opportunities for Italy and can also serve as a bridge for Italy to access the Southeast Asian market, Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Antonio Alessandro has affirmed.

The National Associated Press Agency of Italy (ANSA) on December 21 quoted the ambassador as saying that Vietnam, with an average growth rate of 6-7 percent in the last 30 years, is a destination for Italy’s exports and a production base for the European nation’s investments.

He said Vietnam’s socio-economic development model offers businesses good stability and this is highly valued by Italian companies.

Although Italian investments in Vietnam stand at an average level in term of financial volume, they are of high quality and welcomed by the host nation, the diplomat added.

Bilateral trade has hit 4.5 billion EUR (5.08 billion USD) and there is ample room for expansion, he said.

The ambassador stated that Vietnam is among target countries of Italy’s national branding communication campaign launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (Farnesina).

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A signing ceremony for the bidding contract No.3 in the form of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) for Phuoc Thai 2 and Phuoc Thai 3 solar power plants took place in Hanoi on December 22.

Signatories were the Power Project Management Board No.2 and joint venture between Hong Kong’s Risen Energy Co.Ltd and Vietnam’s Tasco JSC.

Located in the south central province of Ninh Thuan, the plants are invested by the Vietnam Electricity and managed by the Power Project Management Board No.2, connecting with the national grid via a 220kV line.

As scheduled, they will generate electricity by the third quarter next year.

Once completed, they are expected to add over 247 million kWh to the national grid.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A national strategy on clean water supply and sanitation in rural areas by 2030 with a vision to 2045 was announced on December 22 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Vietnam.

The main objective of the strategy is that by 2030, 65 percent of the population will have access to clean water that meets the standards set by the Ministry of Health; and 100 percent of households, schools and health stations have basic toilets.

By 2045, 100 percent of people will gain access to clean water and safe and sustainable sanitation; and 50 percent of rural residential areas will have domestic wastewater collection systems.

After 10 years of implementing the national strategy on clean water supply and sanitation in rural areas by 2020, at present, 88.5 percent of residents in rural areas use hygienic clean water, of whom 51 percent gain access to clean water that meets the standards set by the Ministry of Health; and 75 percent of rural households have basic toilets.

The effective implementation of this strategy has helped improve rural residents’ living conditions and boost socio-economic development, and helped many localities achieve the goal of new-style rural area building.

Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam, said that clean water and rural sanitation are the core issues for developing smart human resources, thereby promoting labour productivity and economic growth. Access to clean water and good sanitation means that people are protected well against the risk of diseases.

Vietnam has made great strides in improving rural water and sanitation, she said.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A national-level ceremony was held in Dong Hoi city, the central province of Quang Binh, on December 22 to mark the 110th birth anniversary of General Vo Nguyen Giap (August 25, 1911 – 2021), the “Eldest Brother” of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA).

The celebration coincided with the 77th founding anniversary of the VPA (December 22, 1944 – 2021) and 32 years of the All People’s Defence Festival (December 22, 1989 – 2021).

Looking back on the general’s revolutionary career, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said Giap was the first Commander-in-chief of the VPA and assumed this position at the age of 37. Thanks to extraordinary will and efforts, he excellently fulfilled his duties, deserving the trust of the Party, President Ho Chi Minh, and the Vietnamese people.

Serving as the Commander-in-chief and Secretary of the Central Military Commission for 30 years, the “Eldest Brother” of the VPA was an outstanding military strategist and a prestigious leader of the Party, State, and people.

At the historic turning points of Vietnam’s revolution after the 1945 August Revolution and in the military campaigns during the resistance wars against France and the US, Giap contributed to the great victories, becoming a legendary general and winning the admiration and respect from many heads of states, politicians, scholars, journalists, writers, and people around the world, PM Chinh noted.

He went on to say that over the last 77 years, under the absolute and direct leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the VPA has been developing unceasingly to become an ever-victorious army that defeated powerful countries and their henchmen and fulfilled noble international duties.

At the ceremony, the Government leader asked officers and soldiers in the entire army to further promote solidarity to join hands with the entire political system, the business community, and Vietnamese people both at home and abroad to overcome difficulties and challenges to successfully carry out the resolution of the 13th National Party Congress and achieve fast and sustainable national development.

Also on December 22, PM Chinh visited officers and soldiers of Military Region 4, the Quang Binh Military Command, and families of revolution contributors in the province – the hometown of General Giap.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has requested making quicker progress in vaccinations in his Conclusion at a recent teleconference with localities on COVID-19 prevention and control.

In the Conclusion announced by the Government Office, the PM said in face of the threat of the Omicron variant that is spreading faster than the Delta variant, he asked ministries, agencies and localities to follow prevention and control regulations more drastically, not hold activities with large gatherings, especially during the New Year and traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) festivals, and seriously punish violators.

He demanded that the injection of second shots to those aged above 18 must be finished no later than December 31, 2021, while that for those aged 12-18 must be done in January 2022, and the third shots for those aged above 18 in the first quarter next year.

Vaccination plan for children aged 5-11 must be outlined after collecting feedback from competent authorities and recommendations from the World Health Organisation.

The Health Ministry must ensure enough vaccines for the inoculation while localities must conduct vaccination as instructed by the Health Ministry.

It was also allowed to create favourable conditions for firms to import COVID-19 medicines and step up the trial and transfer of technology to produce vaccines and medicines at home.

The PM asked the Health Ministry to enhance training for early discovery and treatment of patients at medical stations at the grassroots level, establish mobile medical stations and pool the involvement of private medical system in caring and treating patients.

The Transport Ministry and ministries, agencies concerned must continue with plans to reopen international flights as directed by permanent Deputy PM Pham Binh Minh, ensuring safety and practices of countries.

Localities were assigned to collect more public feedback on effective prevention and control measures, pay more attention to social welfare.

The ministries of finance and health must promptly respond to provinces’ suggestions regarding finance, vaccines and medical supplies. Cases beyond their authority must be reported to the PM for consideration

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on December 22 asked COVID-19 prevention and control groups and other relevant forces to double efforts in vaccinations, support patients and ensure that those under home quarantine and treatment enjoy the Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday.

Speaking at a national conference held virtually, Dam, who is also deputy head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, noted the rapid spread of Omicron that has been found in 89 countries and territories so far, including Southeast Asian nations.

Dam reiterated a notice issued by the Prime Minister on December 19 ordering stronger actions given the resurgence of the new variant.

The Ministry of Health needs to keep a close watch on the situation to give timely guidelines and instructions, Dam cited the notice, saying large-scale health system overload should not happen.

The Deputy PM urged speeding up the vaccine rollout, which, he said, must cover all people in the targeted age groups, especially those above 50 years old and people with underlying diseases.

He emphasised that the Health Ministry and People’s Committees of cities and provinces must ensure that people testing positive for the virus gain access to medical services and undergo health monitoring.

As of December 22 morning, Vietnam reported 1,571,780 infections, ranking 32 out of 223 countries and territories in terms of the caseload. Of the total, 1,571,780 were detected during the fourth wave of infections that began late April.

The country’s death toll reached 30,041 or 1,9 percent of the caseload.

Localities are working hard to complete administering the second dose of COVID-19 vaccines for residents above 18 years old by the end of this month, and for those aged from 12 to 18 within next month.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has signed Directive No. 34/CT-TTg dated December 21, 2021 of the Prime Minister on strengthening the implementation of the scheme on integrating human rights content in the curricula of the national education system.

The directive states that human rights education plays an important role in raising social awareness, and helps prevent and limit violations against human rights.

Following Decision No. 1309/QD-TTg dated September 5, 2017 of the Prime Minister approving the scheme, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (HCMA) has coordinated with relevant ministries and agencies in implementing several related tasks assigned by the Government leader.

The initial results of the implementation of the scheme have contributed to raising social awareness about the importance of human rights education, especially for staff, managers, as well as teachers and students in educational and training institutions of the national education system.

In order to further promote human rights education in the new situation, the Prime Minister requested ministries, sectors and the People’s Committees at all levels to intensify their direction of the implementation of the scheme.

Accordingly, the HCMA will accelerate the compilation and publication of popularisation and reference materials on human rights education; assist education, training and vocational education institutions nationwide in perfecting their educational materials and documents; and provide more training for leaders and managers of the political system, key leaders of public non-business units and state-owned enterprises.

The Prime Minister also requested the People’s Committee of provinces and cities to speed up the implementation of the scheme, including equipping local teachers and educational managers with knowledge on human rights

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A Vietnam-RoK business seminar took place on December 22, on the occasion of Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien’s working visit to the RoK.

The event was held by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, in collaboration with the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA),

Speaking at the seminar, Dien said that since the establishment of their diplomatic ties in 1992, Vietnam and the RoK have enjoyed the best-ever development stage of their relations. The RoK is Vietnam’s third biggest trade partner and largest investor with over 9.000 projects.

He affirmed that Korean groups and businesses have made important contributions to boosting export growth and trade surplus of Vietnam in the past years.

He called on them to pour more capital to fully tap Vietnam’s 100-million-strong market and gradually access the ASEAN market of 600 million as well as other markets which have signed free trade agreements (FTAs) with Vietnam.

Chang Sang Hyun from KOTRA said that Vietnam is one of the important destinations of Korean investors.

An increase of Korean investment in Vietnam amidst the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic has shown their trust in the country’s business and investment environment, he stressed.

At the event, RoK enterprises proposed the Vietnamese Government and Ministry of Industry and Trade help untie difficulties in entry and ground clearance, and create more favourable conditions for them, especially in the fields of energy, chemicals and textile and dyeing.

They expressed their confidence in Vietnam’s potential and development, hoping to expand their investment in the time to come.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese firms showed their hope to strengthen cooperation with Korean partners in clean energy, recycling materials and chemicals, and get engaged in their production chains in the field of support industries.

Concluding the seminar, Minister Dien affirmed that the Vietnamese Government and the Ministry of Industry and Trade have consistently supported and created favourable conditions for domestic and foreign investors, including those from the RoK, to continue expanding their investment and business activities in Vietnam as well as supporting Vietnamese firms to deepen cooperation with Korean partners.

Source: Vietnam News Agency