Day: April 8, 2022

The People’s Committee of Phu Tho on April 8 met a delegation of 30 outstanding overseas Vietnamese paying tribute to Hung Kings – the legendary founders of the nation, at Hung Kings Temple in the northern province.

The delegation was led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the State Committee on Overseas Vietnamese Affairs Pham Quang Hieu.

Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in Phu Tho Nguyen Hai briefed the delegation on the province’s socio-economic development in recent times and future orientations, notably outcomes of the conservation and development of two cultural heritages of the worship of Hung Kings and Xoan singing of the locality.

He appreciated contributions by overseas Vietnamese to achievements of Vietnam and Phu Tho in particular, hoping that they will further engage in the activities facilitating the development of economy, science, and education

Overseas Vietnamese expressed their hope that the province will devise more incentives to attract foreign investment, and presented 20,000 face masks to support the COVID-19 prevention and control work in Phu Tho.

Hung King is the title given to the ancient Vietnamese rulers of the Hong Bang period (2879–258 BC). They were the kings of Van Lang. The worshiping rituals of the Hung Kings was recognised as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2012.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietnam Automation Association (VAA) and the Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City jointly held the sixth Vietnam International Conference and Exhibition on Control and Automation (VCCA) on April 8 under the theme of “Automation in the Vietnam National Digital Transformation Programme: Intelligent and Innovative”.

Addressing the conference, Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat suggested that the VAA strengthen connectivity with world leading technology suppliers for more technology transfer, thus strengthening the application of advanced technologies from the Fourth Industrial Revolution into the automation sector.

It is necessary to focus on developing smart production towards stronger connections in designing-operating and maintaining stages and the integration of management technology into business activities, as well as implementing the three major solutions of automation-energy efficiency-software on the digital foundation, with a combination of big data analysis using artificial intelligence, said the minister.

Dat expressed his hope that the association will help improve the level of automation in Vietnam’s industrial products to enhance their competitiveness in the world, while supporting domestic firms in researching, applying and innovating technologies and digital transformation in the green, clean, circular, and energy efficient directions through national-level science and technology promotion programmes.

He revealed that his ministry is building a strategy for science-technology development in the 2021-2030 period, which defines automation as one of the priority technology. Specifically, 20 out of the 99 high technologies prioritised for development are in the field of automation, while 30 out of the 107 hi-tech products subjected to development encouragement also belong to automation sector, he said.

Meanwhile, VAA President Nguyen Quan said that the automation sector has made great contributions to socio-economic development, especially amid COVID-19. New technology equipment and services have helped the healthcare, education and production sectors maintain their operations, while contributing to promoting post-pandemic economic recovery.

The biennial VCCA is a prestigious scientific forum in the field of control and automation, which gives a chance for scientists to introduce their research outcomes and exchange experience, and helps connect scientists with businesses.

This year’s two-day event has received 160 scientific reports by domestic and foreign scientists in 50 different topics.

The conference of the VCCA will focus on smart cities, digital transformation in protection, smart agriculture, renewable energy, startup and innovation. Meanwhile, the exhibition will showcase technology services and solutions by domestic and foreign firms as well as research centres.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Dang Minh Khoi and Russian Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sergey Levin discussed measures to beef up agricultural cooperation between the two countries during a meeting in Moscow on April 7.

They shared the view that trade of farm produce between the two countries had yet to meet their expectations as well as capacity of their businesses.

According to Ambassador Khoi, as of late 2021, Russia had allowed 50 Vietnamese firms to ship aquatic products to Russia. Meanwhile, 55 Russian enterprises were permitted to export meat and 77 others aquatic products to the Southeast Asian nation.

This is an important premise for the two countries to consolidate and expand their collaboration in agricultural trade and production, he stressed.

For his part, Levin held that Vietnam and Russia hold substantial potential to boost their partnership in agricultural trade, noting that many of their products could be exported to the respective markets.

Reviewing a range of events and measures taken last year to boost the collaboration, the official emphasised that such measures have significantly contributed to bilateral agricultural trade.

Vietnam’s agricultural exports to Russia reached 612.7 million USD last year, up 25 percent from 2020. Meanwhile, Russia shipped 523.1 million USD worth of farm produce to Vietnam, a year-on-year rise of 21 percent.

Vietnam is Russia’s leading supplier of coffee, aquatic products, cashew nuts, pepper and tea, among others.

Russia is a major meat supplier for Vietnam, with revenue of 137 million USD in 2021, accounting for 43 percent of Russia’s total pork export value. Russia’s fertilizer exports to Vietnam also surged 162 percent last year to reach 153.3 million USD.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The northern province of Hai Duong is giving the finishing touches to facilities serving the upcoming 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31).

According to Nguyen Truong Thang, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, up to 95 percent of the upgrade work to the Hai Duong Gymnasium – the venue of the table tennis event of the Games from May 13 to 20 – has been completed.

Some 70 volunteers have been recruited, tasked and trained for the job.

The province has developed a plan and directed relevant agencies to ensure security and order during the 31st SEA Games

It has allocated nearly 30 billion VND (1.3 million USD) for the repair and upgrade of urban works to promote its image to international friends, Thang said, adding that the preparation will be completed before the end of this month.

SEA Games 31, themed “For a Stronger South East Asia”, will be held in the capital city of Hanoi and 11 neighbouring provinces and cities from May 12 to 23. Featuring 40 sports with 526 events, it is expected to attract around 10,000 participants. The biennial event was initially slated for late 2021 but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The second Vietnam Card Day is set to take place at Hanoi’s Bach Khoa Stadium between April 16 and 17 with the theme of Tu tin mo loi (Leading the way).

The event is jointly held by Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper and the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS) under the instruction of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), aiming to promote non-cash payments and digital transformation in the country.

Over 20 banks and financial institutions will participate in the event as sponsors and more than 100 firms join in to showcase their products.

Editor-in-chief of Tien Phong Le Xuan Son described the card day as a bridge that connects young people with innovative technologies and novel methods of payment.

“Banks and financial intermediaries can introduce their modern banking services to more clients during the event,” he said.

Nguyen Quang Hung, chairman of NAPAS, revealed that his corporation co-organises the event to promote cashless payments in line with the Governmental Project on Non-cash Payments from 2021 to 2025.

He said youngsters who try new payments at the event, such as VietQR and contactless credit cards, will receive small gifts from the organisers.

The organisers will also put aside 200 million VND (8,750 USD) and raise funds at the event to build schools for children in disadvantaged areas.

The first Vietnam Card Day took place between November 7 and 8, 2020 with the theme Khoi day noi luc tu khung hoang COVID-19 thuc day phat trien thanh toan khong dung tien mat (Building up strength after the COVID-19 pandemic to promote non-cash payments).

Seventeen banks and financial institutions were involved in the event and more than 100 booths exhibited firms’ products during the occasion.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Ambassador Kairat Sarybay, Executive Director of the Secretariat of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measure in Asia (CICA), on April 8 expressed his hope that with its increasing prestige and position, Vietnam will make more contributions to CICA for peace, security and prosperity in the region.

Sarybay noted his wish at a meeting with President Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Hanoi on April 8, which also saw the attendance of representatives from the Embassy of Kazakhstan.

Sarybay, a Kazakh diplomat, said leaders and people of Kazakhstan have admired late President Ho Chi Minh as well as Vietnam’s struggle for national liberation in the past and its socio-economic reforms.

On this occasion, Sarybay handed over a letter of Kazakh President Kassym Jomart Tokayev to President Phuc, inviting the Vietnamese leader to attend the sixth CICA Summit, slated for October 2022 in Kazakhstan.

At the meeting, President Phuc stressed that peace, security and development in the region and the world are of significance, and all countries need to make every effort to contribute to enhancing cooperation in economy, trade, investment and the fight against global challenges, especially climate change, diseases, terrorism and cross-border crime.

He also called on CICA to carry forward its operational principles, including those on respecting sovereignty, territorial integrity and equality, respecting each other; not using or threatening to use force; peacefully settling disputes; not intervening into internal affairs; promoting multilateral cooperation; and observing international law and the United Nations Charter.

Since its inception 30 years ago, CICA has developed strongly, becoming a major forum on enhancing dialogue, consolidating strategic trust, and strengthening collaboration between member countries for peace, cooperation and prosperity in Asia, the President emphasised.

He suggested CICA support the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)’s and Vietnam’s stance to ensure peace, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea and address disputes through peaceful measures in accordance with international law, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the UN Charter.

Vietnam consistently pursues a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, being a responsible member of the international community, actively joining CICA activities and working to promote cooperation in economy, trade, agriculture, tourism and environmental protection between member countries, he affirmed.

President Phuc noted his belief that the sixth CICA Summit will be a success, pledging that the Vietnamese delegation will attend the summit with the most active and practical contributions.

The President asked Sarybay to convey his greetings and sentiments to leaders and people of Kazakhstan, and lauded the good friendship and cooperation between the two countries, with two-way trade last year doubling the figure in 2020.

He also commended Kazakhstan, which is one of the founding members of CICA, for its significant contributions to the forum’s development over the past time.

Source: Vietnam News Agency