Day: November 6, 2022

Cambodia’s media have described the upcoming visit to Cambodia by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, from November 8-9, as a highlight of the friendship between the two countries.

 

Swiftnews and the website of the Royal Academy of Cambodia (RAC) on November 4 and 5 published an in-depth article by Uch Leang, deputy head of the Department of Asian, African and Middle Eastern Studies under the RAC’s Institute of International Relations, featuring the Vietnamese leader’s visit.

 

The scholar said the visit takes place given regional and global uncertainties, especially impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts due to geopolitical competitions between big countries, and the situation in Myanmar.

 

He affirmed that Vietnam and Cambodia have continued consolidating their relations as good neighbours, their traditional friendship and mutual support in order to maintain political-social stability and spur socio-economic development in each country.

 

Uch Leang also reviewed high-level meetings and all-level visits within the framework of activities celebrating the 55th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties (1967-2022) and the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Year 2022, and highlighted cooperation achievements between the two countries in politics, investment, culture, social affairs, national defence and security, and collaboration within ASEAN.

 

Other local media outlets such as the national news agency Agence Kampuchea Presse (AKP), Rasmei Kampuchea, Khmer Times and DAPnews, and websites, also gave space to the visit.

 

According to the articles, PM Chinh will meet and hold talks with the Cambodian King and leaders, and the two countries expect to sign a number of bilateral cooperation agreements.

 

On October 31, the National Television of Cambodia (TVK) also announced the trip by the PM.

 

The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on November 3 that PM Chinh will pay an official visit to Cambodia from November 8-9 and attend the 40th and 41st Summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and related summits from November 10-13.

 

The PM’s visit and attendance of the events will be made at the invitation of Cambodian Prime Minister and Chair of ASEAN 2022 Samdech Techo Hun Sen, the minister said./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A cultural and artistic exchange programme was held in Vientiane on November 6 to celebrate the Vietnam-Laos, Laos-Vietnam Solidarity and Friendship Year 2022.

 

Addressing the event, jointly organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos, the Vietnam Cultural Centre in Laos, the Vietnam Elderly Association’s art troupe, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Ba Hung said this is one of the important political and cultural activities celebrating the 60th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties and 45 years of the signing of Vietnam-Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation.

 

It is also an occasion for the two countries’ people to foster their special friendship and solidarity, he added.

 

At the event, famous artists from both gave art performances and sang songs praising patriotism, President Ho Chi Minh, and in particular the great friendship of the two countries.

 

Activities within the programme will last until November 8./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

 

The traditional Ngo (Khmer boat) race in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh opened on November 6 as part of the Ok Om Bok Festival.

 

The tournament, to last until November 7, brings together eight teams with more than 800 athletes from seven districts and Tra Vinh city, and guest athletes from Rong Giang district in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.

 

According to Duong Hoang Sum, Director of Tra Vinh’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Ok Om Bok Festival was recognised by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as national intangible cultural heritage.

 

The annual boat race attests the strength of solidarity as well as special culture of Khmer people in the southern region and Tra Vinh in particular, he noted.

 

On this occasion, Tra Vinh has launched a cultural and tourism week and a southern cuisine festival from November 2-8 with an array of art and sport activities.

 

The Ok Om Bok (moon worshipping) is one of the three main festivals, along with Sene Dolta and Chol Chnam Thmay, that Khmer people celebrate every year. It often takes place around the full-moon period of the 10th lunar month, after the harvest season.

 

Khmer people believe the moon is a god who controls the weather and crops. The worship aims to thank the moon for granting them good weather and bumper harvests, and to pray for better crops in the following year.

 

Tra Vinh is home to nearly 330,000 Khmer people who account for 31% of its population./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietnam-Cambodia and Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Associations convened the 5th gathering for friendship and cooperation between the two peoples in the southeastern province of Binh Phuoc on November 6.

 

Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh stated the Vietnamese Party, State, and people highly value the sound neighbourliness, traditional friendship, and comprehensive cooperation with Cambodia.

 

He lauded the organisation of the gathering this year in Binh Phuoc and the Central Highland province of Dak Nong, the two landmarks with historical imprints in the countries’ people-to-people friendship.

 

Lauding the importance of people-to-people diplomacy, Minh suggested the friendship organisations further run activities to deepen mutual understanding of the peoples, particularly youth, on the Vietnam-Cambodia relationship serving its growth in contribution to each nation’s prosperity and the region’s peace, stability and development.

 

Cambodian Deputy PM Men Sam An stressed that the bilateral diplomatic relations with a history of 55 years have grown rapidly in all fields, especially in the new period.

 

She requested the two associations work harder in implementing their memorandum of understanding on cooperation for 2022-2027 and thanked the Vietnamese association for its aid toward Cambodia regarding its charity activities and support for Cambodian students in Vietnam.

 

The gathering featured a conference reviewing a decade of fostering the countries’ friendship, and the Vietnamese association’s conferment of insignias upon Vietnamese and Cambodian individuals for their contribution to the nations’ ties./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The national COVID-19 caseload rose to 11,505,849 with 241 new cases recorded on November 6, according to the Ministry of Health.

 

With 72 patients given the all clear during the day, the number of recoveries rose to 10,604,663.

 

Meanwhile, there are 54 patients needing breathing support.

 

One death from COVID-19 was recorded in the past 24 hours. The total fatalities rose to 43,166.

 

As of the end of November 5, the total number of doses of COVID-19 vaccines injected was 262,297,376 with 16,097 doses administered on November 5./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

 

As many as 358 runners from 25 countries on November 6 joined the annual race #Run4WildlifeHN to raise funds and awareness on the problem of traditional medicines made from wildlife.

 

Sporting Republic partnered with Education for Nature – Vietnam (ENV), the country’s first non-governmental organisation focusing on wildlife conservation, to organise the event.

 

This was part of a campaign aiming to raise public awareness on the problem of traditional medicines made from wildlife in Vietnam, with the support of the US Department of State and the Humane Society International of Australia.

 

ENV Deputy Director Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung note that each day, thousands of rare, endangered wild animals are poached and traded to meet the demand for traditional medicines made from wildlife.

 

David Shin, from Sporting Republic, stressed that it is the responsibility of each individual to join efforts in dealing with the problem of traditional medicines made from wildlife.

 

Earlier, ENV released a film highlighting health risks from dining out at restaurants that sell wildlife meat, and calling on the community not to support such restaurants, thus reducing the risk of extinction among rare animals and protecting the ecosystem.

 

The film tells a story about a family that are enjoying their favourite pork dish without knowing that their chef has just slaughtered a civet, and the continuous preparation of dishes that include wildlife without ensuring hygienic procedures may cause pathogens from the civet to spread to the dish that they ordered.

 

In Vietnam, many wild animals have been illegally consumed at restaurants, which has not only negatively impacted the natural population of wildlife species, but also increased the risk of transmitting wildlife-origin pathogens to customers. In fact, about 70% of the dangerous infectious diseases over the past 30 years have originated from animals, mainly wild animals./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency