Day: October 9, 2022

Vietnam has gained a position and reputation in the international arena thanks to its contributions to the international community, a researcher has said, mentioning the country’s engagement in United Nations peacekeeping operations.

 

Dr. Nguyen Hong Hai, a researcher at the Centre for Policy Futures under the University of Queensland in Australia, told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s correspondent that Vietnam’s participation in the UN peacekeeping operations has come from its sense of responsibility.

 

Therefore, the country has won the trust of the UN, partners and host countries, Hai noted.

 

According to the researcher, Vietnam is a pioneer in joining international conventions on human rights, adding that Vietnam is the first country in Asia and the second in Asia-Pacific to sign and ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

 

Vietnam has also joined and ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

 

It has integrated provisions of the conventions into domestic laws, making the national legal framework for the disadvantaged groups more perfect and suitable with international standards.

 

During two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese State and Government worked hard to ensure people’s rights by providing free-of-charge medical services and vaccination, and launching packages in support of affected businesses and people, the researcher said.

 

Hai also cited statistics by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as saying that Vietnam lifted 40 million people out of poverty between 1993 and 2014, saying Vietnam’s outstanding economic development has been acknowledged by many international experts./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang recorded economic growth of 8.6% in the first nine months compared to the same period last year, the largest growth rate in five years, according to a report released by the provincial People’s Committee.

 

During the period, the province’s economic revival has shown signs of broadening.

 

The province’s index of industrial production (IIP) in the first nine months surged 25.5% over the same period last year, driven by strong growth of the processing and manufacturing industries.

 

Manufacturing and processing saw 26% year-on-year growth during the period.

 

In the first nine months of the year, export turnover of goods reached more than 621 million USD, up 19.2% year-on-year, and fulfilled 79.6% of the target for the whole year.

 

During the period, the border trade value at the border gates of Ha Tien and Giang Thanh in the province reached more than 146 million USD, up 74.2% year-on-year.

 

Nguyen Van Hoang, Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade, said policy measures for supporting businesses hit by COVID-19 and the provincial Socio-economy Recovery and Development Programme helped businesses restore production and export activities.

 

New orders in seafood processing, and textiles and footwear surged during the period, Hoang said.

 

The province planned to step up trade promotion activities as well as stimulate consumption and expand export markets, he said.

 

The retail sales of goods and services and export turnover were targeted to reach 26.9 trillion VND (1.12 billion USD) and 159 million USD, respectively, in the fourth quarter of this year, he added.

 

Le Huu Toan, Deputy director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the area cultivating high-quality rice accounted for more than 95% of the nearly 700,000ha under rice production in the province.

 

High-quality rice output reached 3.92 million tonnes or 90% of the target for the whole year, Toan said.

 

Seafood farming volume totalled 230,000 tonnes during the period, up 10% year-on-year.

 

The tourism sector exceeded nearly 10% of the target set for this year by welcoming more than 6.1 million visitor arrivals in the first nine months of the year, including 126,000 international visitor arrivals.

 

Tourism turnover was estimated at 7.73 trillion VND, up 219% year-on-year.

 

The province hoped to receive more than 7.4 million domestic and international visitor arrivals this year.

 

Lam Minh Thanh, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said local authorities would accelerate the Socio-economy Recovery and Development Programme for the rest of the year.

 

The authorities would focus on implementing policies to support businesses to restore and expand production and step up attraction of investment as well as speed up the implementation of projects at industrial parks in the province./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has commended contributions made by the book publishing, printing and distribution sector in his congratulatory letter sent to the sector on the 70th anniversary of its traditional day (October 10, 1952 – 2022).

 

The Party chief said despite difficulties, the sector had made worthy contribution to the cause of national liberation, construction and defence, which was accredited by the Party and State through many noble awards.

 

In the letter, the Party General Secretary hoped the sector would further uphold its achievements, ensure a harmony between its political and production-business tasks, and promote the reading culture.

 

It is also necessary to develop a workforce that can meet requirements of the era of industrialisation, modernisation, and deep international integration, he recommended.

 

The Party leader wished the sector’s staff good health and happiness and hoped that they will make greater efforts to complete all their assigned tasks./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The tourism sector of Ho Chi Minh City needs to focus on developing river-based tourism, cuisine tourism, MICE tourism as well as organise festivals and nighttime activities, a municipal leader has said.

 

Speaking at a conference held this week, Chairwoman of the municipal People’s Council Nguyen Thi Le asked the city’s Department of Tourism to diversify tourism products and step up the adoption of information technology and digital transformation for marketing and promotion activities as part of measures to boost tourism development.

 

Marketing and promotion activities needed to focus on major traditional markets as well as potential markets, Le said.

 

She ordered the People’s Committee and related departments to build more boat docks and upgrade infrastructure to support businesses to develop river-based tourism products.

 

Tourism linkages with localities in the Mekong Delta and the southeast region needed to be strengthened to create more inter-provincial tours, she said.

 

“Lack of quality human resources in tourism and travel is one of the issues that the tourism sector needs to promptly address,” she added.

 

Dang Thi Thi Thanh, Deputy General Director of BenThanh Tourist, said tourism businesses found it very difficult to access subsidised loans as travel firms had no assets to mortgage for the loan.

 

She proposed that the city authorities offer flexible policies to make it easier for businesses to get low-interest loans.

 

Support packages for tourism businesses such as reductions of value-added taxes and corporate income taxes should be extended until year end, she said.

 

Huynh Ngoc Van, Director of Ao Dai Museum, said cultural heritage played an important role in tourism and coordinated efforts between cultural and tourism agencies were needed to introduce cultural activities to tourists.

 

It was difficult for museums to continue to keep employees on their payroll due to a drop in income, Van said.

 

Museums in the city needed support from the Government to retain employees, she said.

 

Huynh Phan Phuong Hoang, Deputy General Director of Vietravel, said the city’s authorities should support businesses to diversify tourism offerings, promote linkages with neighbouring provinces for inter-provincial tour packages and develop the night economy.

 

These measures would help tourists stay longer and spend more on their trips, Hoang said.

 

Duong Anh Duc, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, said tourism was a driving force for economic development, contributing significantly to the city’s GDP.

 

It was vital to improve the quality of products and services and push for digital marketing to develop tourism sustainably, Duc said.

 

In the first nine months of this year, the city welcomed more than 2.1 million international visitor arrivals and 21.6 million domestic visitor arrivals. Tourism revenue totalled 92.4 trillion VND (3.88 billion USD)./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

An art programme was held on October 8 night at Thai Hoa Palace (the Palace of Supreme Harmony), part of the UNESCO-recognised Hue Imperial Citadel in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue.

 

The programme, which wrapped up the Autumn Festival which was part of the Hue Festival 2022, featured autumn songs by well-known musicians like Trinh Cong Son, Van Cao, Ngo Thuy Mien and Pham Trong Cau, among others.

 

For the first time, the Hue Festival 2022 has been organised throughout the year with a series of attractive activities and events spread over four seasons.

 

The spring festival, from January to March, included the re-enactment of New Year rituals and a culinary event.

 

The summer festival took place from April to June with art performances, Ao Dai (Vietnamese traditional dress) shows, and a street carnival.

 

The autumn festival, from July to September, featured ancient villages, a boat racing in the Huong (Perfume) River, a lantern festival, and a kylin dancing festival, among other activities.

 

The winter festival, from October to December, will include a music festival and a countdown event on New Year’s Eve.

 

Debuted in 2000, the Hue Festival is held every two years, spotlighting the finest cultural values of the former imperial city of Hue./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam will send four athletes to compete in the fourth Asian Youth Athletics Championships 2022 in Kuwait from October 13 to 16.

 

They are Hoang Thi Anh Thuc (girls 400m and 800m), Nguyen Khanh Linh (girls 800m), Bui Thi Kim Anh (girls high jump) and Ha Thi Thuy Hang (girls long jump).

 

They have qualified for the tournament after meeting the Qualifying Standards at the recent National Youth and Age Groups Championships.

 

Among them, Thuc finished first in the girls 400m event in an August youth tournament with a time of 54.64 seconds, much better than the standard of 57.05 seconds.

 

Around 400 athletes from 33 nations will participate in this competition. Earlier in the year, the Asian Athletics Association announced that the championships, which were supposed to take place in Kuwait on March 1, had been postponed due to a new wave of the Omicron virus.

 

Throughout Vietnam’s participation in the tournament since 2015, the best result has been a gold medal by Cao Vo Ngoc Long in the boys high jump in 2017./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A brand new Airbus A321NEO ACF landed at Noi Bai international airport in Hanoi on October 8, becoming the 30th plane of Bamboo Airways’ fleet.

 

It is the latest in Airbus’ narrow-body A320 family, featuring the longest fuselage in its class and providing comfort for all passengers on board. Bamboo Airways has changed the design of its passenger compartment by reducing the number of seats from 240 to 223.

 

With its new member, the carrier officially operates the maximum fleet approved by the government, with three wide-body airplanes of Boeing, 22 narrow-body aircraft of Airbus and five regional jets of Embraer.

 

Bamboo Airways Chairman Nguyen Ngoc Trong said the fleet expansion is a priority of the airline to expand its flight networks to countries in Europe, Australia, Northeast Asia, and the US.

 

Currently, Bamboo Airways operates a wide domestic flight network connecting with 21 out of 22 airports in Vietnam, and an international network with connection to key airports in Asia, Europe and Australia.

 

Since the beginning of 2022, during peak periods, its average occupancy rate has remained above 90% for both networks./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency