Day: July 30, 2022

A strategy for developing agricultural mechanisation and agro-forestry-fishery processing has been approved, aiming to turn Vietnam into one of the top 10 agricultural processing centres in the world by 2030.

The strategy, signed off by Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh, looks to develop modern, efficient and sustainable agricultural processing to meet the demands and standards of the global market.

Among its objectives, over 90% of work in the cultivation of key crops is to be mechanised by 2025 and over 70% of work in cultivation in general will be completely mechanised by 2030. The respective targets are more than 80% and 60% for animal husbandry, over 70% and 90% for aquaculture, 85% and over 95% for fishing and cold storage on fishing boats.

The agricultural processing industry is expected to record an annual growth rate of over 8% in its added value by 2025 and 10% by 2030. Post-harvest loss of key crops is to be curtailed by 0.5% – 1% annually. Processed products will make up 60% of the export value of key farm produce.

In this strategy, Vietnam plans to develop modern agricultural processing enterprises whose financial strength and governance are in line with global firms. It is also set to develop industrial clusters for farm produce processing that are linked with concentrated and mechanised material production zones./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Young Vietnamese diving athletes have secured three medals at Russia’s multi-aquatic sport Friendship Games 2022, which is taking place at Kazan city.

In the tournament’s second stage of springboard diving competition from July 25-29, Dang Hoang Tu and Dinh Anh Tuan, both born in 2007, won silver in the men’s double 3m soft platform and bronze in the men’s double 10m hard platform. According to their coach Hoang Thanh Tra, Tu also secured bronze in the men’s singles 10m hard platform.

They were competing with 86 athletes from eight countries and territories worldwide.

Meanwhile, on July 28 evening, the Vietnamese synchronised swimming team, consisting of eight athletes and three coaches, arrived in Kazan to participate in the games’ third stage that runs from July 29 to August 3.

The sport tournament consists of three stages, with the first running from July 19 to 26 and gathering 776 swimmers from 11 countries worldwide. In the first stage of swimming events, nine Vietnamese athletes participated in competitions./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A delegation of the National Assembly (NA)’s Committee for National Defence and Security paid a working visit to the United States and the United Nations from July 26 to 30.

The delegation, led by Chairman of the committee Maj. Gen. Le Tan Toi, held talks with Chairman Adam Smith and Ranking Member Mike Rogers of the US House of Representatives’ Armed Services Committee.

The Vietnamese lawmakers also met with Congressman Joaquin Castro, Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on ASEAN and member of the US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; Senator Tammy Duckworth, member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services; Senator Bill Hagerty, member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and Committee on Appropriations; Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security John Tien; Assistant Secretary of State Jessica Lewis; and Assistant Secretary of Defence Ely Ratner.

The delegation had meetings with the assistants to President Pro Tempore of the Senate and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Jack Reed, and Ranking Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee Jim Inhofe.

Speaking at the events, Toi affirmed that Vietnam consistently views the US as a leading partner and highly values the US’s support for an independent and prosperous Vietnam.

Vietnam always wishes to develop the comprehensive partnership with the US in an increasingly substantive, stable, and long-term manner on the basis of respect for each other’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political regimes.

The US officials said the Southeast Asian nation is an important partner of their country, and that the US parliament strongly supports the two countries’ relations and hopes bilateral ties will record new strides.

They pledged to continue supporting Vietnam’s economic development and enhance defence and security cooperation, with a focus on helping Vietnam address war consequences, including environmental remediation of dioxin contamination and unexploded ordnance clearance, assist the disabled, search for Vietnamese soldiers’ remains, and improve maritime capacity.

The US side also expressed their readiness to assist Vietnam in UN peacekeeping operations and other fields that suit both sides’ conditions and demand.

The Vietnamese and US officials also discussed measures for further reinforcing parliamentary ties, shared information and experience in legislative and supervisory activities and transnational crime fight, and exchanged views on international and regional issues of common concern.

At the meeting with UN Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support Atul Khare, Toi thanked his host and the UN for actively assisting Vietnam to engage in UN peacekeeping operations and improve the country’s stature and capacity in the settlement of international affairs.

He called on the UN and the Under-Secretary-General to continue helping Vietnam contribute more to the UN’s noble goal of resolving conflicts and maintaining peace and stability for all people around the world.

The official asked the UN to create conditions for Vietnam to further take part in peacekeeping operations, help with training for Vietnamese forces, and pay attention to compensation for Vietnam’s contributions and losses when performing peacekeeping duties. He also suggested stronger trilateral cooperation and that the UN consider organising training courses for countries’ peacekeeping forces in Vietnam.

For his part, Khare highly valued Vietnam’s active support, participation and contributions to UN peacekeeping operations, affirming continued assistance for the country in training.

He also voiced his hope that Vietnam will share its experience in training peacekeeping personnel with other countries, especially those in its region./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A total 1,670 COVID-19 cases were logged on July 30, raising the national caseload to 10,778,154, according to the Ministry of Health.

A total 7,974 COVID-19 patients were given the all clear on the day, bringing the number of recoveries so far to 9,905,519. There are 42 patients in serious conditions needing breathing support.

No death from COVID-19 was recorded in the past 24 hours. The total fatalities stood at 43,093.

On July 29, 641,639 doses of vaccines were administered, raising the total number of doses of COVID-19 vaccines injected to 245,398,698./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Ly Son island district, 30km off the coast of central Quang Ngai province, will give prioirity to tourism when allocating resources for socio-economic development, said Dang Tan Thanh, Vice Chairman of the Ly Son People’s Committee in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency.

According to Thanh, the local economic structure is shifting towards sustainability and a larger proportion of the trade – service sector. The tourism sector has been earmarked for breakthrough development, becoming a key economic sector in Ly Son.

The district has targeted to raise the share of the tourism-service sector in the local economy to 60%, while agriculture will account for 30-35%, and industry-handicraft the remaining 5-10%. The authorities plan to focus on completing the district’s development master plan, which will serve as the basis to attract investment over the next five years.

To this end, the locality has built a new central market, and developed diverse and affordable homestay network, dining, and transport services meeting the demand of both locals and tourists to the island.

It is now making efforts to tap its tourism potential by conserving local relics, creating spiritual tourism products, promoting historical and scenic sites as well as protecting the environment with the construction of a waste treatment plant. Ly Son Islands, which were naturally formed over millions of years, are an outpost of the country’s defence and security in the East Sea. They have cemented the country’s sovereignty on the sea and islands including Truong Sa (Spratly) and Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelagos.

The islands still hold the annual “Le khao le the linh Hoang Sa” (Feast and Commemoration Festival for Hoang Sa Soldiers), recognised as an intangible cultural heritage, that has been observed for hundreds of years by local fishing families.

The festival pays tribute to local men who enlisted in the Hoang Sa Flotilla. This group was organised to patrol the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos in order to mine resources and defend the nation’s sovereignty over the territorial waters.

Centuries-old houses are still preserved on the islands, as is Am Linh Pagoda, built to worship the souls of sailors who died during long, regular patrols of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands in the Nguyen Dynasty (in the 17th century)./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam Airlines will deploy online check-in service for passengers departing from Sydney and Melbourne airports in Australia starting August 1.

To ensure compliance with the National Identity Proofing Guidelines of Australia, passengers who successfully check in online with or without checked baggage still need to go to the online check-in counter to verify their boarding pass and identity documents.

The move will bring the number of airports with Vietnam Airlines’ online check-in service to 46, including 30 international ones like the London Heathrow (England); Frankfurt (Germany); Moscow (Russia); and Tokyo Narita, Tokyo Haneda, Osaka Kansai, Nagoya, Fukuoka (Japan).

The national flag carrier aims to provide online check-in services at all domestic airports where it operates flights to/from as part of an effort to promote itself as a digital airline and improve customers’ experiences and convenience.

To save time and avoid long queues at airports, those flying with Vietnam Airlines can check in for their flights using either the carrier’s website (www.vietnamairlines.com) or mobile app 1-24 hours prior to the scheduled departure time./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a dialogue with the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Ambassador Park Noh-wan and representatives of Korean associations and businesses in Vietnam in Hanoi on July 30.

The RoK, the largest FDI partner in Vietnam at present, is investing in 9,383 projects worth over 79.8 billion USD in 19 of the 21 economic sectors and 59 of the 63 localities nationwide.

Highlighting the two countries’ flourishing relations in various spheres, PM Chinh said Vietnam and the RoK have become leading partners of each other, and economic cooperation is always an important pillar of bilateral ties.

A number of Korean enterprises have been operating fruitfully and considerably contributing to socio-economic development in Vietnam, he noted.

He also took this occasion to thank the RoK Government and people for supporting Vietnam’s efforts in socio-economic development, including the COVID-19 combat. Over the past 35 years of reforms, the Party and State of Vietnam have issues many policies and laws to attract foreign investment and create an optimal business climate that has gradually matched international practices. The foreign invested sector has been growing fast and effectively, becoming a crucial part of the economy and greatly helping with local development, according to the Government leader.

In September 2021, the PM held a dialogue with Korean businesses to learn about difficulties and obstacles facing them and also listen to their initiatives and proposals for institutional, policy and administrative procedure reforms in order to facilitate production and business activities.

So far, 25 of the 29 recommendations and proposals raised at that event have been handled, especially those related to COVID-19 prevention and control and business facilitation. Authorities of Vietnam are working to deal with the four remainders.

The PM asked representatives of Korean associations and enterprises to point out problems they have encountered and suggest ideas for further improving their investment, production and business activities in Vietnam, thus contributing to the development of bilateral relations.

PM Chinh also required Vietnamese ministries, sectors, agencies and localities to work out appropriate solutions. Ambassador Park noted the dialogue last September has given more strength to companies which were struggling with the pandemic’s impacts then, and they have received practical assistance.

He cited some economists as predicting that Vietnam can easily attain a growth rate of at least 6% this year, sustain macro-economic and exchange rate stability, and boost export – import growth even amid global economic uncertainties and disrupted global supply chains.

The diplomat attributed those achievements to the country’s stability and the Government’s effective governance, which is highly valued by the RoK Government and businesses.

Together with economic recovery, Vietnam’s trade and investment links with the RoK are also thriving, and if such recovery and growth trend is maintained, bilateral trade can reach 100 billion USD this year, ahead of the target of 2023, he added./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (VAMA) has announced that its members sold 25,159 vehicles in June, down 42% from May ending three consecutive months of gains.

Businesses attributed the decrease to the global semiconductor crisis and the lack of chips, as well as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The figure included 17,826 passenger cars, down 49%; 6,821 commercial vehicles, down 14%, and 512 special-purpose vehicles, plunging 24% month-on-month.

Of the sold units, 11,044 were domestically assembled cars, a drop of 57%, while the other 14,115 were imported, down 23% from the previous month.

During the first half of this year, VAMA members sold 201,840 units, rising 34% year-on-year. Sales of passenger cars surged 50% to 157,935, while those of commercial vehicles were down 5% to 40,498, and special-purpose vehicles up 12% to 3,407.

Among non-VAMA members, TC Motor supplied 36,397 vehicles to the market. Its factory in the northern province of Ninh Binh only managed to meet a fraction of demand, while VinFast sold 14,695 automobiles in the six months, it said.

Toyota Vietnam topped the list of sellers in June with 5,179 units. It was followed by TC Group, Mitsubishi Vietnam, Ford Vietnam, Thaco Mazda and Honda Vietnam.

Between January and June, the country imported over 63,730 CBU cars worth some 1.6 billion USD, down 21.4% in volume and 14.4% in value year-on-year, according to data from the General Department of Vietnam Customs./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency