Day: August 3, 2022

 Level-2 Field Hospital No. 4 of Vietnam, which perform duties at the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in Bentiu, has inaugurated an obstetrics clinic, according to the Vietnam Department for Peacekeeping Operations.

On the occasion, an action programme themed “joining hands for women’s health” was also launched.

This is the first clinic of this kind built at a field hospital of Vietnam during the country’s four-term deployment at the UNMISS.

Level-2 Field Hospital No. 4 inaugurates obstetrics clinic hinh anh 2

(Photo: Level-2 Field Hospital No. 4)

In parallel with completing the clinic’s facilities, the hospital’s board of directors actively developed a plan to implement the programme, under which it will conduct obstetric and gynecological screening for about 50 high-risk women at the mission.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Vu Minh Duong, Director of Level-2 Field Hospital No. 4, the programme has contributed to strengthening the role and position of women in the peace process in the region.

This is a spirit that is completely consistent with the UN’s policy and orientation in solving peaceful problems in the host country, he said.

Lieutenant Colonel Pham Tan Phong, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Department for Peacekeeping Operations, who is also Commander of the Vietnamese peacekeeping force in South Sudan, praised tireless efforts of all staff of the hospital during the initial deployment period at UNMISS, expressing the hope Vietnamese doctors and nurses will continue to do well their professional duties at the mission.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 Ho Chi Minh City is exerting efforts to put its first metro line linking Ben Thanh and Suoi Tien into trial run at the beginning of 2024.

The municipal Department of Construction has recently provided the public with detail information about the progress of several key projects in the city as of late July.

Nearly 90% of the work of the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line have been completed, it said, adding contractors are also striving to complete construction at the end of 2023, or the beginning of 2024.

HCM City to test run Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line in early 2024 hinh anh 2

A station of Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line (Photo: VNA)

Metro Line No. 1, nearly 20km long, has a total investment of over 43.7 trillion VND (1.9 billion USD) and consists of three underground stations and 11 over-ground platforms. It was initially scheduled for completion in late 2021 to run commercially in 2022, but then delays hit due to the pandemic and procedure-related problems.

Meanwhile, Metro Line No.2, connecting Ben Thanh with Tham Luong, is still in the site clearance stage, as the official development assistance (ODA) capital for it has yet to be extended.

In July, Ho Chi Minh City established a council of the Belt Road No.3 project, which will help ensure the construction on the project will begin in June 2023.

The belt road has a total investment of 75.3 trillion VND, running through the city, and Binh Duong, Dong Nai and Long An provinces.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 Vietnam bagged 28 golds after three days into the ongoing 11th ASEAN Para Games in Indonesia, almost completing its target of 35-40 gold medals.

On August 2 alone, the swimming team sealed five gold medals, including two by Danh Hoa in the men’s 200m freestyle S4 and 50m butterfly SB3 events. The three others were captured by Do Thanh Hai in the men’s 50m breaststroke SB3; Nguyen Hoang Nha in the men’s 100m backstroke S6; and Vo Huynh Anh Khoa in the men’s 100m backstroke S8.

Vietnamese athletics, meanwhile, called it a day after securing five gold, eight silver, and two bronze medals. Tran Van Nguyen and Tran Thi Tu finished first in the final of the javelin throw F40 and discus throw F54 events, respectively. Vo Van Tung earned two golds for his performances in the events of shot put F34 and discus throw F34. Trinh Cong Luan brought the fifth gold for the squad in the discus F56 event.

Vietnamese chess players also had an excellent day when they won four gold, two silver and three bronze medals in standard chess.

Powerlifters, meanwhile, brought home two more gold medals and one silver medal, with Le Van Cong successfully defending his weightlifting championship in the under 49 kg event.

ASEAN Para Games 2022: Vietnam inching to gold target hinh anh 2

Le Van Cong during his competition at the games. (Photo: VNA)

The blind Judo team pocketed two silver medals by Nguyen Viet Tu in the 60kg J2 event and Tran Viet Hung in the 73kg J1 event.

On the same day, the table tennis squad earned their first silver medal.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 The Ministry of Information and Communications reported that the number of Mobile Money subscribers has quadrupled since the service was launched in January this year, 67% of whom were from rural, mountainous, border, island and remote areas.

Subscribers with at least a Mobile Money transaction by the end of June exceeded 1.72 million, accounting for 97.3% of the total.

Additionally, the number of households with fiber optic connections in the first half of this year increased 9% compared to the same period of 2021, and 17% against that of 2020.

Mobile Money subscribers quadruple in six months hinh anh 2

Illustrative image. (Photo:VNA)

The ministry said the goal of having 75% of households using fiber optic services this year is achievable. Vietnam is aiming to have more than 50% of the population owning digital payment accounts, it said.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 Vietnam always supports the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc told a panel discussion themed “Nonproliferation, Nuclear Energy, and Climate Change” chaired by US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm in New York on August 2.

The discussion was a side event of the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

Ngoc reaffirmed Vietnam’s commitments at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP 26), especially the goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

He appreciated potential and benefits of nuclear power, but said that the development of nuclear power needs to ensure international standards on nuclear security and safety and compliance with regulations on nuclear inspections.

The official also affirmed that Vietnam has seriously and fully fulfilled its national obligations to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and pledged to continue supporting the agency’s central role in the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

On the same day, Ngoc met and worked with UN Assistant Secretary-General for Strategic Coordination Volker Turk, and heads of delegations from the UK, Kyrgyzstan, Norway, Romania, Slovenia and Australia to discuss bilateral issues, as well as international and regional situations, and priorities to be promoted at this Review Conference and cooperation at multilateral forums, especially at the United Nations.

Ngoc affirmed Vietnam’s consistent policy in promoting the balance of the three pillars of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, saying that countries should continue to accelerate the process of complete elimination of nuclear weapons.

He emphasised the right of nations to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, as well as the important role of international law and the UN Charter in Vietnam’s foreign policy.

Vietnam is always ready to cooperate and have open dialogue with other countries at international forums, especially the UN, and hopes that they will support its candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council in the 2023-2025 term, he added.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 Traders at Ha Long 1 and Ha Long 2 markets in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh are now able to go cashless as they can use digital payment services in a 4.0 market model introduced in early July.

Viettel Quang Ninh is the supplier of non-cash payment service in the two markets. Instead of cash, traders use digital payments for shopping activities and service fees.

All small traders in the two markets will make digital payments via Viettel Money – a form of fast payment with conveniences developed by Vietttel.

Payment can be made via the phone number, QR code or bank transfer. Fees for electricity, water and environmental sanitation can also be paid with a Viettel Money account.

Le Viet Ha, deputy director of Viettel Quang Ninh, said to realise the goal of electronic payment rates reaching 50% by 2025, following the Government’s direction, digital payments must become part of the daily life, in both urban and rural areas.

Therefore, payment digitisation in the markets is one of the solutions to achieve this goal sustainably, said Ha.

Viettel Quang Ninh has readied technology and human resources to coordinate with Hạ Long city’s authorities to deploy cashless applications.

In April this year, Ha Long city issued a plan to develop non-cash payment developments for the 2022-2025 period, under which the city strives to have 90% of people aged 15 and over with transaction accounts and have non-cash payments in e-commerce reaching 50%.

The average growth in the volume and value of non-cash payment transactions is expected to expand by 20-25% per year, while 100% of the tuition fees of educational institutions and schools in Ha Long will be paid by a non-cash method.

Ha Long city’s public administration centre has guided and supported citizens in making payment transactions on the National Public Service Portal.

By July 14, over 1,400 citizens had paid taxes and other fees through the system, with a total amount of nearly 17 billion VND (over 727,400 USD), accounting for 84% of total transactions.

Online payments are providing people with more choices about payment methods, contributing to reducing people’s travel time and saving costs for people and society.

Authorities of the northern province of Quang Ninh are striving to promote comprehensive digital transformation, especially in administrative reform, with the aims of luring more investment into the locality.

Since June 1, digitisation and data extraction platforms have been piloted at the provincial public administration service centre, and in the sectors of justice; labour, invalids and society; education and training; health care; and information and communication.

Over 9,300 enterprises in Quang Ninh have registered to use e-invoices.

Quang Ninh has so far provided 1,712 Level-4 online public services out of the 1,832 administrative procedures.

The rate of administrative procedure documents received and processed online via the online public service portal reached 62%.

Up to 1,180 online public services at level 3-4 of the locality have been synchronised on the national public service portal.

Local authorities have also paid attention to removing difficulties facing businesses, developing modern and synchronous infrastructure facilities, and enhancing regional linkages towards promoting economic growth and luring more investment.

Thanks to the acceleration of digital transformation in administrative reform, as of early June 2022, the province’s non-budget investment attraction reached nearly 37.9 trillion VND (over 1.6 billion USD).

Last year, Quang Ninh topped Vietnam’s Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI); and Satisfaction Index of Public Administration Services (SIPAS). It also ranked second in the public administration reform (PAR) index.

Quang Ninh is the province with 5 consecutive years of holding the first position in the PCI in 2017- 2021, and 9 consecutive years during 2013 – 2021 in the group of five provinces and centrally-run cities having the best performance of economic management in the country.

The locality posted an estimated growth rate of 10.66% in Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) in the first six months of this year, which is 2.64 percentage points higher than the rate in the same period of 2021.

Quang Ninh collected over 27.18 trillion VND (1.17 billion USD at current exchange rate) for the State budget, an increase of 18% year-on-year.

Total social investment in the period is estimated at 42.3 trillion VND, up 10.9% from the same period last year.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stressed the need to ensure the stability of the macro-economy, markets of different kinds, politics and people’s material and spiritual life, while chairing a regular government meeting on August 3.

At the hybrid event, he also urged keeping a closer watch on the situation, intensifying preventive and grassroots health care and vaccination, and enhancing disciplines; adding that greater efforts are needed to step up production and business, and public investment disbursement.

Unnecessary spendings must be cut and the administration done concertedly and smoothly, the leader emphasised.

Chinh pointed out uncertainties in the first seven months of this year, including unprecedented ones, such as the conflict in Ukraine, soaring oil and gas prices, inflation in many countries, and epidemics.

Meanwhile, the domestic economy has shown limited resilience to external shocks, he noted.

Apart from achievements, problems still remain such as inflation pressure and risk, price fluctuations and low public investment disbursement, he said, adding that some socio-economic recovery and development targets have yet to meet expectations.

The participants are scheduled to look into the country’s socio-economic development in July and the first seven months of this year, the implementation of the Government’s resolution on socio-economic recovery and development, COVID-19 prevention and control, the disbursement of public investments, and the implementation of the three national target programmes that cover socio-economic development in ethnic-inhabited and mountainous areas, sustainable poverty reduction, and new-style rural area building.

Source: Vietnam News Agency