Day: August 10, 2022

Nguyen Tien Minh will set the record for the most appearances at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Championship later this month.

The top ranked national player will take part in the event for the 13th time since his debut in 2005, one more than the current record held by Chinese legend Lin Dan.

Malaysian prodigy Lee Chong Wei took part in 11 championships.

Lin, who won five trophies, and Lee, who entered four final matches, retired in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Minh is one of 54 male athletes at the tournament which will be held in Japan from August 22-28.

The world No 72 seed will come back to Tokyo’s Metropolitan Gymnasium one year after he competed at the Summer Olympics, where he failed to advance to the knockout round.

The 39-year-old from Ho Chi Minh City will be the oldest player at the tournament.

Other older athletes include Niluka Karunaratne of Sri Lanka and Pablo Abian of Spain, both 37.

Minh’s highest world ranking was No 5 in 2010 and his best world championship result was a bronze medal in 2013.

Last year, he was ousted in the first round in Spain. The four-time Olympian won a bronze medal at the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi in May.

On August 5, BWF also announced the list of female players.

Olympians Nguyen Thuy Linh and Vu Thi Trang will represent Vietnam.

Linh, world No 53, is Vietnam’s top-ranked female player. She just returned home from a competition tour to Singapore and Chinese Taipei.

Linh, 24, is hunting points to qualify for the 2024 Olympics. She first competed at the world event in 2018 in China. Last year, she was defeated by Chinese Han Yue in the first round.

Trang, No 69, was a long-time No 1 of Vietnam before she was overthrown by Linh a couple of years ago.

The 30-year-old recorded a better result than her compatriot, advancing to the second round in 2015 and qualifying for the last-eight round in 2019.

Linh and Trang were on the Vietnamese team that won bronze at the May SEA Games.

The world championship organisers have not yet held a draw but the competition will be run in a knockout format.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin of the southern province of Bac Lieu handed over 55 gifts to local AO/dioxin victims during its gathering on August 10, on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of AO disaster in Vietnam (August 10).

On the occasion, the provincial People’s Committee presented certificates of merit to individuals who had made remarkable contribution to joint efforts to ease AO pain.

Speaking at the event, Standing Vice Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Le Thi Ai Nam asked the association to work closely with departments and agencies to raise public awareness of the AO/dioxin consequences on human and environment.

She also suggested that associations for AO/Dioxin victims at all levels regularly launch campaigns to help AO victims, especially during major national celebrations and Day for AO Victims.

According to Chairwoman of the provincial association Vo Thi Hong Thoai, Bac Lieu is one of the provinces hardest hit by toxic chemicals with over 10,000 exposed to AO.

The association has so far raised 20.4 billion VND, and spent 19.8 billion VND (860,000 USD) on building 149 and repairing 14 houses for AO victims, presented production tools and capital for 115 households, handed over 685 wheelchairs, 67 bicycles and medicines to over 800 victims, as well as New Year and August 10 gifts to more than 14,186 households, she said.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Minister of Public Security Gen. To Lam provided more information about the new passport version of Vietnam while fielding questions from full-time lawmakers at the 14th session of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on August 10.

He said the granting of the new passport has been carried out in line with the Law on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens, adopted by the NA in 2019, and that all details shown in the passport are in accordance with law.

The new passport version matches international practices, he said, noting that many countries also use this design, which doesn’t include the “place of birth”.

The new passport of Vietnam has been accepted by most countries in the world. Spain, which previously didn’t recognise the new version, has recently accepted. Now, only Germany and the Czech Republic haven’t, according to the minister.

Lam explained that some countries refused to accept the new passport without the “place of birth” since they want to know the origin of foreigners coming.

“This is just a technical issue,” he affirmed, adding his ministry has worked out a solution that is relevant agencies adding the “place of birth” in the appendix of passports if their holders wish.

In the long term, if necessary, the Ministry of Public Security will report to the Government and propose the NA revise the Law on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens in order to add the “place of birth” to passports.

As the ministry is the coordinator, it holds responsibility for this work, the minister said.

In a report sent to legislators prior to the question-and-answer session, he said compared to the old passport, the new version is produced by using modern technology to meet higher security requirements and standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

So far, the MPS has granted 272,000 passports of the new version.

In the report, Lam noted according to the ICAO regulations, compulsory information in a passport consists of the type of passport, full name, passport number, date of birth, sex, and passport expiration date. ICAO also gave detailed regulations on the design and layout of information on the page of personal information to ensure consistency among countries in the world.

The new passport version has closely followed the above-mentioned rules and completely met international standards, the minister affirmed.

Explaining why the new passport doesn’t contain information about the place of birth, he said ICAO did not designate other information like the place of birth as mandatory. According to the Law on Exit and Entry of Vietnamese Citizens, information in passports also doesn’t include the place of birth.

On that basis, the MPS issued the new passport version without the place of birth to facilitate citizens’ entry.

In the long term, the MPS will revise the passport design and add the “place of birth” in the page of personal details, Lam noted, adding that it is collecting opinions about this issue from the parliament’s committees for defence – security and legal affairs, the Government Office, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The question-and-answer session as part of the 14th session of the 15th National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee started on August 10 with questions on issues under the management of the public security ministry.

Opening the session which was broadcast live on national television and radio, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said that basing on proposals of 58 NA deputy delegations, the NA Standing Committee has chosen two groups of issues for the Q&A session – those under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

In the field of public security, the questions will focus on State management over cybersecurity, the safety of national cybersecurity system in the current period, and measures to prevent and strictly handle high-tech crimes.

The implementation of resolutions of the NA and NA Standing Committee of the National Assembly related to crime prevention and control, especially drug-related crimes, credit shark, and usury will also be included in the agenda of the session, along with the implementation of the issuance of citizen identification cards, the issuance and use of the new version of ordinary passports, and the building of a national database on population.

In the field of culture, sports and tourism, questions will focus on the implementation of policies and laws that aim to make tourism a spearhead economic sector, tasks and solutions to boost tourism recovery after COVID-19, as well as policies to support businesses and employees in the tourism industry.

The questions will also cover issues related to policies to encourage the engagement of the society in the development of sector; the management, conservation, renovation and promotion of the value of national historical relics; solutions to prevent the degradation of social and behavioral morality; and the building of cultural lifestyles, said the NA leader.

Concluding the session, the NA Standing Committee will issue a resolution on the session, which will be the foundation for the implementation and supervision over related activities.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A delegation of major Danish companies will accompany Crown Prince Frederik in his upcoming visit to Vietnam to seek business and investment opportunities with Vietnamese agencies and partners, Deputy Director General of the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) Thomas Bustrup has said.

At his meeting with Vietnamese Ambassador to Denmark Luong Thanh Nghi in Copenhagen on August 9, Bustrup affirmed that in the context that the two countries share many common interests and hold increasingly substantive and comprehensive relations, and many Danish businesses intend to expand their operations abroad, Vietnam has emerged as a potential destination.

He expressed his thanks for and appreciated the cooperation and support of the Vietnamese embassy in DI’s activities, and asked the embassy to assist with the organisation of Vietnam visits by Danish enterprises in the coming time.

For his part, Nghi spoke highly of the active role and efforts of the confederation in intensifying the two countries’ economic and investment ties.

The ambassador informed his host on the embassy’s plan to organise a forum on September 5 in Copenhagen, on Vietnam – Denmark cooperation in digital and green transformation – the two priority fields that Vietnam is focusing on implementing, with the cooperation and support of many international partners, including Denmark.

He sought the DI’s help in holding the forum, affirming that his embassy and domestic agencies will coordinate closely with Danish agencies and organisations, including DI, to successfully organise the trip to Vietnam by Danish businesses in company with Crown Prince Frederik in early November.

Discussing specific measures to enhance the effectiveness of cooperation between the two sides, Nghi affirmed that the Vietnamese embassy is ready to act as a bridge connecting DI, Danish businesses with the government and businesses of Vietnam for the benefits, prosperity and sustainable development of the two countries.

DI is representing 19,000 enterprises with over 575,000 employees in various manufacturing and services fields.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Soc Trang province, home to the largest population of ethnic minority people in the Mekong Delta, has been working hard over the past years to reduce poverty in the communities.

The local household poverty rate, measured by using multidimensional criteria, has been brought down to 6.64% from 36.7% in 1992, when Soc Trang was re-established. The rate in ethnic minority communities stands at 2.85% at present, down 3 – 4% annually.

All the communes with many ethnic minorities have secondary schools, healthcare stations, and concrete roads reaching their centres. Besides, 100% of communes, wards, and towns in the province have gained access to the national power grid and met the national healthcare criteria. Up to 99.6% of rural residents are now using hygienic water.

Lam Van Man, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, said building on these achievements, the Party Committee had issued a resolution on the implementation of the national target programme on socio-economic development in ethnic minority areas for 2021 – 2025, and then the provincial People’s Committee worked out an action plan with detailed objectives.

For 2025, Soc Trang looks to raise the average per capita income of ethnic minority people to at least 70 million VND (3,000 USD) while cutting down the household poverty rate in the communities by 3 – 4% each year. It is also working to have over 99% of the ethnic minority households using electricity from the national grid and other appropriate sources, and 100% accessing telecoms services.

He noted provincial authorities will provide more training for and appropriately use personnel who are ethnic minority people. Those with substantial contributions to local socio-economic development will also be commended and honoured in a timely manner.

In addition, Soc Trang will improve vocational training quality and job provision to increase the rate of trained and employed workers in the minority communities. More scientific and technical advances will be transferred while the production of profitable farm produce under value chains will be facilitated to help local residents develop livelihoods, according to the official.

The province has a population of more than 1.19 million, over 35% of whom are ethnic minority people. Khmer people account for over 30% of the total population and Hoa people over 5%, according to 2020 statistics.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, has suggested Nasdaq Inc of the US introduce reputable and experienced US investors to invest in Vietnam in IT, renewable energy, agriculture, health care, education, finance, and real estate in the coming time.

In a meeting on August 9 with Robert McCooey, Senior Vice President of Nasdaq’s Listing Services unit, who leads business development for new listings in Latin America and Asia-Pacific, the Vietnamese diplomat said Vietnam wants to attract big firms from the US to invest in the above-mentioned areas, especially those that can contribute to implementing Vietnam’s commitments at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).

The Delegation of Vietnam to the UN is ready to cooperate with Nasdaq in the organisation of meetings and seminars to this purpose, especially on the occasion of working visits of Vietnam’s high-ranking delegations to New York, he affirmed.

McCooey said that Vietnam’s investment environment has a clear competitive advantage in the region thanks to its flexible response policy to the COVID-19 pandemic, and stable legal system.

He welcomed the suggestion of the delegation, saying Nasdaq is willing to work with the delegation to introduce business opportunities in Vietnam to US investors.

McCooey also expressed satisfaction about his working visit to Vietnam last month, and hoped to have the opportunity to return to Vietnam soon.

Nasdaq – the second largest stock exchange in the US, is an electronic stock exchange founded in 1971 by the US National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). It is now home to more than 3,500 listed companies with a market capitalisation of 19.4 trillion USD, including global leading companies such as Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Tesla, Paypal, and Intel.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam’s coal imports are forecast to rise to meet domestic production demand, according to a draft strategy for developing the coal industry in Vietnam recently introduced by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

Accordingly, Vietnam will import about 50-83 million tonnes of coal per year during the period from 2025 to 2035, with the volume gradually falling to about 32-35 million tonnes by 2045.

The data from the MoIT shows domestic coal consumption increased rapidly from 27.8 million tonnes in 2011 to 38.77 million tonnes in 2015, and about 53.52 million tonnes in 2021.

The volume of coal consumed at present has more than doubled compared to 2011, mainly for electricity production.

The demand for primary energy, including coal, will continue to increase, possibly peaking in the 2030-2035 period, the ministry said.

Vietnam’s coal demand will be around 94-97 million tonnes in 2025, and peak at 125-127 million tonnes in 2030, mainly due to the increase in demand for power generation, and the cement, metallurgy and chemical industries.

The ministry also predicted that the demand for energy after 2040 will decline due to the energy transition process to meet emission reduction targets.

Coal used for non-energy purposes such as producing nitrogenous fertilisers and chemicals will be encouraged to develop to ensure the sustainable development of the domestic coal industry, it noted.

In the draft strategy¸ the ministry said by 2030, about 85-90% or 39-42 million tonnes of commercial coal, will be prioritised for power production to ensure national energy security.

Source: Vietnam News Agency