Day: January 22, 2022

Winners of the Bua Liem Vang (Golden Hammer and Sickle) Award 2021, the sixth National Press Award on Party Building, were announced at a ceremony at the Hanoi Opera House on January 21 night.

The organisation board presented six A, 12 B and 16 C prizes as well 30 consolation prizes to outstanding works choosen from over 2,000 entries, along with 10 thematic awards.

The A prizes were presented to six works by journalists from the Nhan dan Newspaper, Ca Mau Newspaper, Lao Cai Radio-Television Broadcaster, Bao Dau Tu (Investment Review), Xay dung Dang (Party Building) Magazine, and the Vietnam Television.

Winners of Party building press awards 2021 announced hinh anh 2Vietnam News Agency wins the prize for excellent collectives

(Photo: VNA)

This year, for the first time, three media agencies – Nhan dan (People) Newspaper, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) and the Dang Cong San Vietnam (Communist Party of Vietnam) online newspaper- were honoured for their creative communication products on Party building. The State-run Vietnam News Agency’s website on the 13th National Party Congress was one of the three awarded creative media products.

According to the organising board, this year, the entries are diverse in forms and topics and have high quality. They have timely reflected “hot” events and issues of public interests , with many highlighting the protection of the Party ideology, rejecting wrongful arguments of hostile forces, and reflecting new ideas on Party-related theory and reality.

Addressing the ceremony, Politburo member and standing member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Vo Van Thuong underlined that media works on Party building have helped the public inside and outside the country gain a better understanding of the Party and the country’s achievements under the Party’s leadership, contributing to fostering people’s trust in the Party, State and regime.

Winners of Party building press awards 2021 announced hinh anh 3Le Quoc Minh, member of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Vietnam Journalists’ Association and Editor-in-chief of Nhan dan Newspaper presents the consolation prize to a representative of a group of authors from the Photography Department of Vietnam News Agency

(Photo: VNA)

The works also popularised exemplary models in Party building work, he said.

Thuong stressed the role of the press in the field, and asked journalists to continue to produce more high quality works on the topic.

At the ceremony, on the occasion of the 92nd founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 2, 1930-2022), Truong Thi Mai, Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committee’s Organisation Commission, who is also head of the Steering Committee on the Bua Liem Vang Award, launched the seventh edition of the award for 2022./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A series of royal rituals, which used to be held on the occasion of the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival in the past, were re-enacted by the Thang Long-Hanoi Heritage Conservation Centre in collaboration with the Thang Long Cultural Heritage Association at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel in Hanoi on January 22.

These are the rituals performed by kings at the citadel every Tet.

An incense offering ceremony in memory of the ancestors was held first, followed by the “Ong Cong – Ong Tao” (Land Genie and Kitchen Gods) ritual, and then a ceremony to erect ”cay neu” (symbolic bamboo tree), an important ritual of the royal court signaling the beginning of the Tet festival.

In order to preserve and promote the value of Thang Long heritages, the centre has studied and recreated royal ceremonies on the occasion of the Tet festival./

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted a reception for a delegation of more than 50 Vietnamese intellectuals and entrepreneurs who returned from abroad to attend the “Xuan Que huong” (Homeland Spring) programme 2022.

Members of the delegation expressed delight at the achievements of Vietnam, especially in COVID-19 prevention and control in 2021 and the rising position of the country in the world arena. They voiced their belief in the country’s strong development and bright future.

Briefing the Government leader on the situations of oversea Vietnamese (OV) in their respective host countries, the delegates gave a number of proposals to the Party and State as well as ministries and sectors on development orientations in various fields, and expressed hope for more favourable conditions to make more contributions to the homeland.

The Government leader extended New Year wishes to the delegation and the whole Vietnamese community abroad. He said as he himself used to study in a foreign country, he understands how the OVs feel. “The Vietnamese root is always in the heart of all Vietnamese people wherever they are in the world,” he said.

PM meets OVs joining “Xuan Que huong” programme hinh anh 2

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomes the OVs joining the Xuan Que huong programme (Photo: VNA)

He highlighted a number of achievements that Vietnam made in 2021 despite COVID-19 impacts, including the successful organisation of the 13th National Party Congress and the elections of deputies to the 15th National Assembly and all-level People’s Councils, and fruitful outcomes of COVID-19 control activities and socio-economic recovery. Vietnam has so far put the pandemic under control, becoming one of the six countries with highest COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the world, while macroeconomic stability and major balances were ensured, and business and production activities were resumed, he noted.

Last year, Vietnam recorded a GDP growth of 2.58 percent, with total export revenue surging 22.6 percent to 668.5 billion USD and trade surplus of 4 billion USD, he said, adding that foreign direct investment in the country increased 9.2 percent. Social welfare was ensured, while the international integration was strengthened, and the country’s international stature was enhanced, he said. In the past two year, Vietnam operated many flights to repatriate more than 200,000 Vietnamese citizens home.

The PM affirmed that the 5.3 million Vietnamese people abroad have made great contributions to these successes. The community also donated more than 80 billion VND and medical supplies as well as brainpower to the homeland, while directly engaging in the pandemic fight at home.

Holding that 2022 is an important year in the implementation of the targets for the 2021-2025 period, with many forecast difficulties and challenges, the PM stressed the need for synergy and the great national solidarity of Vietnamese people at home and abroad. The Government will work hard to make the way home shorter for all OVs, he stated.

Along with rolling out measures to support the community to enhance their legal status in the host country and settle down, the Government will continue to improve the efficiency of citizen protection work and the management of guest workers and students, and expand the teaching of Vietnamese language among the community, he said. He added that Vietnam will continue to complete policies to create more favourable conditions for OVs to contribute their brainpower to the homeland’s development./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The second one-stop service centre to support victims of gender-based violence in Vietnam called “ Ngoi nha Anh Duong 2” was officially put into operation in the central province of Thanh Hoa on January 21.

This is an effort within the framework of cooperation between the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) and the UN Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam to reduce gender-based violence, especially violence against women and girls, under a project on mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable groups and ensuring the implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Vietnam funded by the Japanese government.

The centre provides integrated, essential and comprehensive services to people suffering from gender-based violence, including health, social, justice and protection services.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, Naomi Kitahara, UNFPA Representative in Vietnam, said that UNFPA is honoured to contribute to the Vietnamese Government’s efforts in preventing gender-based violence against women and girls.

The centre in Thanh Hoa aims to ensure that all women and girls in Vietnam, including the most vulnerable, have the right to live a life without violence and harms to dignity, she stressed.

The first centre of this model was established in the northern province of Quang Ninh under the collaboration among the MoLISA, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and UNFPA Vietnam.

Since its operation in April 2020, the centre in Quang Ninh has become a safe haven for more than 300 women and children who are victims of gender-based violence. The centre’s hotline receives more than 1,000 calls per month.

Two more similar centres, which will be funded by the Japanese government, are expected to be set up in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang in the first quarter of 2022./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam’s seafood industry is projected to enjoy strong growth in the 2021-2030 period thanks to the increasing per capita seafood consumption in the world, according to a report published recently by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

Free trade agreements (FTAs) signed between Vietnam and its partners will also help spur the seafood industry’s development in 2022.

According to the Agricultural Outlook Report 2021-2030, the world’s per capita seafood consumption is expected to reach 21.2kg by 2030, up from an average 20.5kg in 2018-2020.

Per capita consumption of seafood products will increase by 3.6 percent during 2020-2030.

In 2030, aquaculture is expected to provide 57 percent of the fish destined to human consumption, 4 percent higher than that in 2018-2020.

Consumption of seafood is hoped to expand on all continents, driven by rising incomes, urbanisation, production expansion, improved distribution channels and product innovation. Consumption is expected to continue to increase over the next decade.

According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), shrimp continues to be the factor driving the growth of Vietnam’s seafood exports. The shrimp export value is forecast to rise by 10 percent compared to 2021 to 4.3 billion USD in 2022.

The recovery of the food service industry in the US – Vietnam’s largest shrimp and tra fish importer – will foster the growth of the Southeast Asian nation’s seafood industry in 2022. Vietnamese businesses have flexibly adjusted their production activities in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, thus meeting the growing demand in the US market.

In the first 11 months of 2021, the US imported more than 726,000 tonnes of shrimp, up 7 percent year-on-year, mainly from Vietnam, India, Ecuador, Indonesia, and Thailand.

VASEP said Vietnam’s shrimp exports to the US are expected to increase sharply in 2022, adding that Vietnam’s transition to flexible adaptation to COVID-19 will help the country gain market share in the US.

In addition, the US doubled the anti-dumping duty on shrimp exported from India to 7.15 percent from 3 percent in November 2021, thereby enhancing the competitive advantage for India’s rival countries, including Vietnam.

Besides the US market, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will also help Vietnam gain a competitive advantage in the EU in 2022.

Under the EVFTA, for Vietnam’s shrimp products exported to the EU, the tax rate for black tiger shrimp is zero percent, while the rate for frozen white-leg shrimp will gradually reduce to zero percent by 2025.

Aside from shrimp, revenue from tra fish exports is expected to reach about 1.65 billion USD in 2022, equivalent to a year-on-year increase of 7 percent.

According to the Directorate of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam’s seafood export turnover in 2021 was estimated at 8.89 billion USD, up 5.7 percent year-on-year, and 4.6 percent higher than the target set for the year./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The national women’s football team of Vietnam lost 0-3 to the Republic of Korea (RoK) in the first match at the group stage of the 2022 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup in India on January 21.

Goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh showed excellent performance and saved the home net many times but the Korean players still managed to score three times in the 4th, 8th and 81st minutes.

The Vietnamese team faced many difficulties in terms of personnel in this tournament, when out of the 17 members, only three properly maintained practice. The 14 others had just arrived in India and only trained indoor. This meant the team were not in the best physical condition.

Meanwhile, the RoK team ranked 18th in the World Football Federation (FIFA) rankings, 14 places higher than Vietnam, qualified for three FIFA World Cups, and won the bronze medal at the Asian Cup in 2003.

In the other match in group C, Japan thrashed Myanmar 5-0 to temporarily take the top position.

Vietnam will play Japan on January 24./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Spring Fair 2022 kicked off on January 22 in Hanoi, exhibiting and selling products from nearly 20 provinces and cities across the country.

There are 50 booths at the fair, introducing farm produce, local specialities, handicrafts, consumer goods, and gift products from 50 enterprises, production and processing facilities.

All products on sale have clear and reputable origins and geographical indication (GI) certification, with many meeting standards of food safety in accordance with VietGAP and Global GAP standards.

Flowers, ornamental plants and goods serving the demand in the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival are also available at the fair.

Dao Van Ho, Director of the Centre for Agricultural Trade Promotion of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said the fair aims to contribute to promoting trade promotion activities and stimulating consumption in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fair will last until January 29./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Da Nang Tourism Promotion Centre on January 21 signed a cooperation agreement with travel firm Klook Vietnam on strengthening communications and tourism promotion to attract more tourists to the central city.

Under the deal, the two sides will work together to conduct joint campaigns to lure domestic and foreign tourists to Da Nang, including digital communications through Facebook, Instagram as well as Klook’s website and app, and support local travel firms in digital transformation using Klook platform.

According to Nguyen Thi Hoai An, Director of the Da Nang Tourism Promotion Centre, the cooperation with Klook is expected to help the city speed up digital transformation and access more customers, especially those from Asian countries, when international air routes are resumed. An said the partnership is expected to speed up the recovery of the city’s tourism sector.

For her part, Michael Ho, Managing Director of Klook Vietnam said the partnership is part of the firm’s #TravelForGood campaign that aims to support Vietnam’s tourism sector’s post-pandemic growth by fostering collaboration with the government and local tourism promotion agencies.

Founded in 2014, Klook is a world leading platform for entertainment, tour and ticket booking. With 28 representative offices around the world, Klook services are provided in 14 languages, allowing the use of 41 kinds of currency.

To mark the partnership with Da Nang, Klook has offered a discount code DANANG2022 worth 150,000 VND to customers who book its services in Da Nang via its app and website at https://www.klook.com/vi/deals from January 21 to February 15, which can be used until December 31./

Source: Vietnam News Agency