Day: August 10, 2022

A programme was held in the central city of Da Nang on August 9 to offer support and raise funds for victims of Agent Orange (AO) on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the AO disaster in Vietnam (August 10, 1961).

Programme organisers, including the Da Nang Association of AO Victims and other organisations, presented gifts to 30 AO victims and disadvantaged war veterans.

They also set up a hotline at the city’s public service switchboard 1022 via which people can make text donations.

From June 14 to July 28, 221 units, organisations, and individuals made donations worth over 1.6 billion VND (68,400 USD) both in cash and in kind to the programme.

Addressing the event, Chairman of the Da Nang Association of AO Victims To Nam said the city is home to more than 5,000 AO victims, including 1,400 children, noting that the association has raised funds worth 162 billion VND in total for caring for AO victims and their families so far.

Da Nang city works to assist victims of Agent Orange hinh anh 2

AO victims and disadvantaged war veterans receive gifts at the programme. (Photo: VNA)

Despite difficulties amid the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years, it has still managed to mobilise resources for building and upgrading 11 houses for AO victims, providing regular assistance for 350 victims, assisting 60 families to develop livelihoods, and granting 70 scholarships. Besides, free medical examination and treatment have been given to nearly 90 victims while nearly 15,000 gift packages handed over to victims, and 110 child victims benefited from frequent care.

He expressed his hope that local AO victims will receive more assistance from the community in the time ahead to have a better life.

According to the Vietnam Association of Victims of AO/Dioxin, the US army sprayed 80 million litres of toxic chemicals on the south of Vietnam between 1961 and 1971, with 61% being AO containing 366kg of dioxin, on over nearly 3.06 million hectares (equivalent to nearly one quarter of the south’s total area).

Preliminary statistics showed that 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to AO/dioxin, and about 3 million people became victims. Tens of thousands of people have died while millions of others have suffered from cancer and other incurable diseases as a result. Many of their offspring also suffer from birth deformities.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

An art performance programme jointly held by the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Committee of Ho Chi Minh City and Ho Chi Minh City Television (HTV) on August 9 raised over 44 billion VND (over 1.88 million USD) from 171 organisations and individuals for the “For the national sea and islands – For the Fatherland frontline” fund.

Addressing the programme, Chairwoman of the VFF Committee of HCM City Tran Kim Yen affirmed that protecting the country’s independence and sovereignty over the sea and islands is the responsibility of the entire Party, people, army, political system, and each Vietnamese citizen.

She called for contributions and donations from individuals, agencies, units, businesses, and schools in HCM City, and Vietnamese expats to the fund, in a bid to further support soldiers and people living, working, studying in border, sea and island areas.

Last year, the city’s fund mobilised over 17 billion VND, which have been spent on a series of activities, including helping officers, soldiers and people in border and island areas, especially building a cultural house on Thuyen Chai B island.

In the first eight months of 2022, with support from the fund, many events were held, including visits to present gifts to officers, soldiers and people in Truong Sa island district and DK1 platform.

In the remaining months of this years, the fund planned to carry out specific tasks and activities such as communications to raise public awareness of the national sea and island sovereignty, and support for soldiers and officers who are on their duty, and people living in border and island areas.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam beat Thailand 1-0 in its third match of the 2022 International U19 Tournament in the southern province of Binh Duong on August 9.

Though already winning a ticket to the final round, the Vietnamese team still played with high determination. Dinh Bac earned the first score in the 14th minute, which enabled the team to control the match.

In final minutes, Thailand created several dangerous situations but was unable to score, then accepted the 0-1 failure. The result ousted Thailand from the tournament.

With three consecutive wins, Vietnam will play Malaysia next in the final round at 6:30 pm on August 11 night.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Strict visa policies and a shortage of human resources and infrastructure in the tourism sector have stymied recovery of the travel industry, and the target of five million international arrivals this year could be out of reach, industry players have warned.

Domestic travel has seen a strong rebound whereas international tourism, with a target of five million arrivals this year, remains in a slump, said Vu The Binh, Chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association.

Domestic visitor numbers topped 71.1 million in just the first seven months of this year against a full-year target of 60 million, he said.

In the same period there were only 733,000 international visitors, or 8% of pre-pandemic numbers, he told a two-day programme titled ‘Lien Ket Suc Manh Du Lich Vietnam Nam 2022’ (Power of Vietnam Tourism Linkages) that ended in Ho Chi Minh City on August 9.

Though international tourism resumed in mid-March, the burdensome visa application process has slowed down international travel, said Cao Thi Tuyet Lan, sales manager of Viettours Incentives & Events Company.

If concerns related to visa policies are not swiftly addressed, international visitor arrivals to Vietnam are unlikely to be any higher during the busy international year-end travel season, she warned.

Tourism services have developed strongly at popular destinations such as Phu Quoc, Da Nang, Nha Trang, and Ha Long but other localities have not invested adequately in tourism services and promotions, she said.

The shortage of human resources is another factor hindering the recovery, she said.

Vo Anh Tai, Deputy General Director of Saigontourist Group, said inbound tourism plays a vital role in the growth of the tourism sector, and so it is hard to say the tourism sector is on the recovery track since the number of international arrivals remains modest.

Phung Quang Thang, Director of Hanoitourist, said the spending by the 18 million international arrivals in 2019 surpassed that of the 85 million domestic tourists, highlighting the vital role of inbound travel.

Cao Tri Dung, Chairman of the Da Nang City Tourism Association, said to boost international travel, the tourism sector needs to engage with digital and social media platforms considering the vast number of people accessing them.

Phan Thi Thang, Vice Chairwoman of the HCM City People’s Committee, said the tourism industry is a driving force for economic development, generates lots of new jobs and is an integral part of socio-economic growth.

She said the city’s domestic travel has seen a robust rebound but not foreign arrivals.

To recover and achieve growth, the tourism sector needs to have more offerings, promotion and marketing programmes to attract international tourists, Thang said.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung said tourists from some of Vietnam’s major markets such as Russia, Japan and the Republic of Korea have not returned.

His ministry has proposed to the Government a range of policies for recovery, he said.

The Government has worked with related ministries to address visa policy-related concerns and they would soon be mitigated, he assured.

It has also stepped up international marketing and promotion activities to speed up recovery and growth of the tourism sector, he added.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A delegation of foreign military attachés visited Brigade 147 of Naval Region 1, based in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh, on August 9, the Quan doi Nhan dan (People’s Army) daily reported.

At a reception for the delegation, Brigadier Col. Duong Huy Thong presented a brief introduction of Brigade 147, which is one of the important forces of the Vietnam People’s Navy.

Brigade 147 is tasked with training and fighting to safeguard the maritime sovereignty in the northeastern region, and also assisting local residents in natural disaster response, search, and rescue.

Thong expressed his hope that the military attachés will further help to strengthen the friendship and substantive cooperation between the Vietnam People’s Army, including the navy, with their counterparts of other nations.

On behalf of the delegation, Air Force Attaché of Thailand Col. Prapard Iamolee said the visit helped enhance the friendship and mutual understanding between the armed forces of Vietnam and other countries.

The attachés also said they hope to have more chances to visit army units of Vietnam in the time ahead.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Over the past 30 years, industrial parks (IP) and economic zones (EZ) across the country have attracted over 100 billion USD of investment, and created jobs for more than 4 million labourers, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI).

The ministry is drafting a Government resolution on measures to increase IP, EZ efficiency.

It said IPs and EZs account for 50% of the country’s total export value.

However, the ministry pointed to a number of problems related to the IPs and EZs, including their unsustainable development in different aspects. Living conditions of local communities where the zones are located have not seen remarkable improvements.

In the draft resolution, the MPI suggested the building of a Law on IPs and EZs in 2022, and the issuance of a Prime Minister’s decision on the coordination mechanism among ministries, sectors and localities in managing IPs and EZs.

The draft also looked to stipulate the maximum acreage of an IP and an EZ, as well as define orientations in investment attraction to match the advantages of each region and locality, and the creation of a cooperation mechanism between the State and the private sector in developing new IPs and EZs for particular sectors and industries.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A bomb weighing nearly 230kg was successfully removed to a safe place in the northern province of Quang Ninh on August 9.

With a diameter of nearly 0.35m and a length of about 1.5m, the bomb was found at around 7:30 am in Yen Thanh ward, Uong Bi city on the same day when a bomb and mine clearance team of Lung Lo Construction Corporation was working on the construction site of a riverside road stretching from Ha Long – Hai Phong expressway to Dong Trieu township.

Upon hearing the news, the provincial Military Command sent its engineering team to coordinate with other units to remove the bomb.

Source: Vietnam News Agency