Day: July 15, 2022

Two former major generals of the Coast Guard High Command on July 15 were sentenced jail terms of 27 years in total for “receiving bribes” in a case of smuggling 200 million litres of RON 95 petrol worth around 2.8 trillion VND (130 million USD) into Vietnam.

At the trial held by the Military Court of Military Zone 7, Le Van Minh, former Major General of the Coast Guard Zone 4 Command, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, while Le Xuan Thanh, former Major General of the Coast Guard Zone 3 Command got 12 years behind bar.

The duo are among 14 defendants in the case, of whom former Colonel Phung Danh Thoai, head of the Petroleum Office’s Logistics Department under the Coast Guard High Command, received a jail sentence of seven years for “smuggling.”

Another former Colonel, Nguyen The Anh, Commander of Kien Giang province’s Border Guard, was sentenced to life imprisonment for “receiving bribes” and two years for “helping others flee abroad illegally.” His total sentence was life imprisonment.

Cao Phuoc Hoai, from Tam Quan Bac ward, Hoai Nhon town, Binh Dinh province, was handed down a jail term of six months and 21 days for not reporting the crime. However, the man was freed right after the trial as he spent the same detention period.

The others who shared the charge of “receiving bribes” got jail terms ranging from two and a half years to up to 16 years.

According to the indictment, Dao Ngoc Vien, Director of Hai Phong Ocean, and Phan Thanh Huu, Director of Phan Le Hoang Anh, asked Thoai to use his influence on the Coast Guard to help smuggle of about 200 million litres of gasoline, worth about 130 million USD, into Vietnam.

Thoai contributed 5 billion VND (213,730 USD) and in return made profits of more than 22 billion VND (940,410 USD) between September 2019 and February 2021.

Nguyen The Anh took advantage of his position and power to help cover the gasoline smuggling activities and took bribes of 6.2 billion VND (265,020 USD) and 560,000 USD.

Anh asked his cousin, Nguyen Van An, residing in HCM City, to receive money between October 2019 and January 2021. From February 2021, Anh also asked Cao Phuoc Hoai and Nguyen Van Quan to help receive money.

Between December 2019 and January 2021, Le Van Minh received 6.9 billion VND (294,940 USD) to help cover the smuggling activities, while Le Xuan Thanh asked his wife, Phan Thi Xuan, to receive 1.8 billion VND (76,940 USD) from gasoline smuggler Phan Thanh Huu.

Several suspects, including Phan Thanh Huu and Dao Ngoc Vien, have been put on trial in Dong Nai province./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

VinFast Commercial and Service Trading Co. Ltd. announced on July 15 that it will halt production of petrol-powered vehicles after the last batch of Lux and Fadil models were ordered by customers.

According to VinFast, the decision will be implemented earlier than planned at the end of December due to the surge in the number of customers ordering Lux and Fadil models.

After producing enough cars for signed orders, VinFast will focus solely on manufacturing electric vehicles.

The company affirmed that ceasing production does not affect its commitment in terms of the service quality that it provides to customers.

Specifically, VinFast has increased the warranty period for all car models to 10 years, deployed more convenient services such as a mobile service as well as an expanded network of service workshops nationwide. The company has also prepared a large number of components to ensure services until the end of vehicles’ life cycles.

Customers can switch to electronic cars and receive additional support of 30 million VND (1,280 USD) through VinFast Customer Care.

VinFast announced on January 6 it would halt production of petrol-powered cars and switch to all-electric vehicle production from the end of 2022 at the Consumer Electronics Show CES 2022 in Las Vegas, the US.

Along with the commitment, the company launched five electric vehicles including models VF 8 and VF 9 in the D and E segments, which were previously introduced at the 2021 LA Auto Show.

VinFast has so far received over 73,000 orders for electric models./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son held phone talks with his Czech counterpart Jan Lipavsky on July 15, during which he underlined that Vietnam always seeks to promote its relations with traditional friends, including the Czech Republic – one of the country’s priority partners in the Central Eastern Europe.

FM Son thanked the Czech Republic for providing 250,800 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Vietnam, helping the country fight the pandemic.

The two ministers highly valued positive progress in the relations between the two countries over the years through the regular exchange of delegations at all levels, especially high level.

They shared delight at the close and effective coordination between the two ministries at multilateral forums, and agreed to continue to strengthen cooperation and mutual support at international and regional organisations.

Lipavsky said that the Czech Republic considers Vietnam one of the prioritised economic, trade and investment partners in the Asia-Pacific region.

The two FMs showed pleasure at the outcomes of bilateral economic partnership, and agreed on the need to bolster the substantial and effective collaboration in areas of both sides’ strength and demand, while encouraging and creating favourable conditions for joint projects of their businesses on the foundation of optimising the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). Both sides should effectively implement the results of the seventh meeting of the Vietnam-Czech Republic Inter-Governmental Committee on Economic Cooperation that was held in Prague in June, they said.

Lipavsky affirmed that the Czech Government always backs the promotion of ties between Vietnam and the EU. As the rotating chair of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2022, the Czech Republic will hasten EU agencies to consider Vietnam’s proposal on removal of a “yellow card” on Vietnamese fisheries sector and EU member countries to soon ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

On the occasion, FM Son thanked the Government and Foreign Ministry of the Czech Republic for creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to settle down in the European country, contributing to strengthening the traditional friendship between the two countries.

The Czech FM hailed the role of the Vietnamese community in his country, especially their contributions to COVID-19 prevention and control in recent years.

Son took the occasion to invite Lipavsky to visit Vietnam at an appropriate time./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on July 15 chaired the second meeting of the steering committee for building a project reviewing the resolution of the 11th-tenure Party Central Committee’s 8th session on the Fatherland safeguarding strategy.

The resolution, issued on October 25, 2013, is of great significance, providing new guidelines and ways of thinking, and is a breakthrough in the Party’s leadership for the task of protecting the Fatherland in the new situation.

To summarise 10 years of implementing the resolution in 2023, the steering committee, headed by President Phuc, has directed the implementation of multiple tasks such as issuing guidance on the summarisation of the resolution for ministries, sectors and localities, and organising a national conference on the conclusion of the 10-year implementation. In the coming time, the steering committee is scheduled to hold several big symposiums to collect ideas for the development of the project.

Speaking at the event, President Phuc stressed the need to pay attention to assessing the implementation of major tasks mentioned in the resolution, including Party building and protection, the building of a socialist rule-of-law state, economic development associated with ensuring national defence and security, solutions to social problems, and the building of a progressive Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity.

It is also necessary to focus on consolidating and promoting the strength of the great national unity bloc, consolidating the all-people national defence and people’s security, and building strong people’s armed forces with high combat readiness.

The State leader also required the specification of shortcomings and limitations including subjective and objective causes for them, threats to and the objectives of Fatherland defence in the next 10 years so as to propose specific guidelines and solutions./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Uch Leang, Deputy Director of the Department of Asian, African, and Middle-East Studies under the International Relations Institute of Cambodia (IRIC) has lauded the resolve and efforts by the Vietnamese Party, State and people in the fight against corruption over the past nearly 10 years.

He gave the comment in an article on the fight against corruption and investment opportunities in Vietnam, which was published on the website of the Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC).

In the article, Uch Leang wrote that such strong determination reflects transparency, respect for the law, abundant workforce, and good governance and business environment in Vietnam.

Highlighting the firm and strong progress Vietnam has made in the combat, the author cited statistics from the Vietnamese press showing that over the past decade, Party Committees and Inspection Commissions at all levels disciplined more than 2,700 Party organisations and nearly 168,000 Party members, of whom 7,390 were punished for corruption.

The Party Central Committee and its Politburo, Secretariat and Inspection Commission have also imposed disciplinary measures on more than 170 high-ranking officials, of whom 33 are members and former members of the Party Central Committee, and more than 50 general-rank officers of the armed forces.

Notably, since the beginning of the 13th tenure of the Party Central Committee, 50 officials under the management of the Party Central Committee have been disciplined, including eight members and former members of the Party Central Committee and 20 general-rank officers.

Uch Leang held that the corruption prevention and control efforts are Vietnam’s preparations for welcoming foreign investors as there will no harassments in the domestic business environment./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have pledged to undertake the follow-up activities of building a model in response to violence against women and girls in Vietnam.

Country Director of KOICA Vietnam Cho Han Deog and UNFPA Representative for Vietnam Naomi Kitahara signed a grant arrangement in Hanoi on July 15, under which KOICA will provide financial support of 250,000 USD to UNFPA.

The grant aims to ensure the sustainability of the innovative One Stop Service Centre model, which is commonly known as “Anh Duong House” in Vietnam. The House was first established in April 2020 through the KOICA-funded project “Building a model to respond to violence against women and girls in Vietnam,” for the period of 2017 – 2021 with a total budget of 2.5 million USD.

The grant arrangement covers a bridge phase through 2023, when a new and larger project is expected to be launched. It looks to continue supporting Anh Duong House and its hotline for victims of violence, and to organise outreach communication activities and advocacy efforts to sustain and replicate the model in other locations.

UNFPA will work in partnership with the Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs and Quang Ninh province to implement the activities to ensure the continuous provision of integrated essential services for survivors of gender-based violence.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Cho Han Deog said during his recent visit to Anh Duong House in Quang Ninh, he observed how the House has effectively provided support and helped vulnerable women and girls.

He said: “KOICA has decided to continue supporting Anh Duong House in Quang Ninh as it has made significant contributions to the efforts made by the Vietnamese Government and by the local authorities of Quang Ninh to address gender-based violence and domestic violence. We want this model to be replicated in other locations. At KOICA, we embrace a zero-tolerance culture that says NO to any forms of gender-based violence.”

Anh Duong House became fully operational in April 2020, providing a wide range of services such as health care, psychological support, counselling, social welfare services, emergency shelters, police protection, legal and justice services, and referrals for many gender-based violence survivors, not only in Quang Ninh but also in 20 cities and provinces throughout the country.

Anh Duong House’s hotline service, which is available 24/7, has so far received more than 15,300 calls in two years. Most survivors of violence who have called the hotline are female (accounting for 93.6%), and most gender-based violence survivors are aged 16–59. Minors under the age of 16 account for 10% of calls. About 20% of calls came from Quang Ninh province and 80% from other provinces.

In addition, nearly 500 service providers from police, justice, health, and social work from both provincial and grassroots levels in Quang Ninh, received training for the provision of essential services for gender-based violence survivors. With technical support from UNFPA, Anh Duong House has been duplicated in Thanh Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.

In her remarks at the signing event, Naomi Kitahara said UNFPA will make sure that the funds from KOICA will be used effectively. UNFPA will continue to work closely with Vietnamese partners to implement the bridge-phase activities of the project at the national level and in Quang Ninh province.

She added that zero-based violence and harmful practices is one of the three main pillars in the new UNFPA Strategic Plan for 2022-2025, and a clear priority for the UNFPA Vietnam’s new country programme 2022-2026.

“UNFPA will scale up efforts to end gender-based violence and harmful practices in Vietnam,” she said.

Gender-based violence is a manifestation of gender inequality which is deeply rooted in Vietnam. According to the 2019 national study on violence against women, nearly two in three women aged 15 – 64 experienced at least one form of physical, sexual, psychological and/or economic violence in their life time. Gender-based violence is very much hidden in society, when more than 90 percent did not seek any help from public services, and half of the women who experienced violence told no one about it. It is costing Vietnam 1.81 percent of GDP, which is significant./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat paid a visit to France from July 7-14 to foster the ministry’s cooperation with French partners.

During his stay, Minister Dat held talks with the French Minister of Higher Education and Research (MESR), and visited a number of agencies and organisations in the innovation system of France, including the National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) Grenoble Center, innovation valley (Inovallée), and Airbus Defence and Space.

In the meetings, Vietnam and France agreed on many important issues, including seeking cooperation mechanisms suitable to the new context through the upgrading of the agreement on science-technology cooperation signed between the two Governments in 2007, a number of collaboration deals in training, scientific researching, innovation, technology transfer, and high technology investment, as well as a number of specific measures to make Vietnam-France partnership on science and technology more substantial in the future in some new areas such as aerospace, green technology and new energy.

On July 8, the minister attended the opening of the International Year of Basic Science for Sustainable Development organised by UNESCO, and chaired a high-level seminar on the role of science in policymaking.

The Vietnamese official shared lessons that Vietnam drew from changes in the relations between science and policymaking due to COVID-19, and underlined the need to strongly change mindset in science-technology management, encourage experiments, promote open science and open innovation spirit.

He proposed the formation of platforms for sharing patent information, data, scientific publications and research means to help less developed countries access and keep up with the development trend of the world science and technology sector.

The minister also underlined the need of of choosing priorities and balancing economic growth with ensuring safety and security for the people, in which, it is necessary to put people and people at the centre of all development policies.

Working with Daren Tang, General Director of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and delivered a speech at the 63rd Series of Meetings of the Assemblies of the Member States of WIPO, Dat said that Vietnam is ready to join hands in implementing common initiatives of WIPO in supporting post-pandemic recovery, creating favourable conditions for all parties in the intellectual property and innovation ecosystem, especially small and innovative start-ups, and encouraging the participation of women and youngsters. Vietnam is committed to continuing to be an active, proactive and responsible member of WIPO, for the development of an inclusive, balanced, dynamic and forward-looking global intellectual property ecosystem, contributing to enriching the knowledge and cultural treasures of mankind, promoting economic growth and sustainable development, he stated.

He thanked WIPO for supporting Vietnam in effectively implementing cooperation projects and programmes to improve the capacity of the intellectual property system. The minister suggested that in the coming time, WIPO continue to assist Vietnam in realising the National Intellectual Property Strategy and the revised Law on Intellectual Property; forming and promoting a culture of intellectual property in society; strengthening cooperation activities in training in the field of intellectual property through the project of the Institute of Intellectual Property Training in Vietnam, and implementing projects to support enterprises in innovation, technology transfer, development and protection of intellectual property in order to improve resilience, adaptability, competitiveness and growth of enterprises.

He revealed that his ministry is developing a set of indicators to measure local innovation capacity called Potential Innovation Index (PII). He suggested WIPO continue to provide technical support for Vietnam, especially on the methodology for testing the index framework, data analysis and processing, to enable it to publish the first report on local-level innovation activities by the end of 2022.

On the occasion, the minister witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the National Office of Intellectual Property and WIPO on implementing the National Intellectual Property Strategy, and the extension of a cooperation agreement between the office and the UK Intellectual Property Office./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Korea Customs Service (KCS) on July 15 announced it will jointly run an Electronic Origin Data Exchange System (EODES), which allows certificates of origin to be processed through electronic platforms, with Vietnam and India from next year.

The news was announced during a meeting between the KCS and its customs chapters nationwide the same day which aimed to collect feedback from concerning authorities for the optimization of free trade agreements the Republic of Korea have signed.

The RoK has already been operating a similar system with China and Indonesia, according to Kim Jong-ho, director of the KCS’s International Affairs Bureau.

The KCS has also decided to expand the use of a self-certification system enabling exporters, producers and importers to voluntarily provide proofs of origin of goods. This will allow parties to quickly correct minor mistakes on certificates of origin and speed up customs procedures./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency