Day: November 17, 2022

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on November 17 ordered raising public awareness of child abuse acts and punishments against violation of children’s rights, thereby building a safe and child-friendly living environment.

 

Dam, who is also Chairman of the National Committee for Children, also asked ministries and agencies to continue developing child database and share them with the project on developing the application of data on population, personal identification and electronic authentication for digital transformation for the 2021-2025 period with a vision to 2030, and develop a contingent of social workers at the grassroots level.

 

In the near future, they need to review the Politburo’s Directive on strengthening the Party leadership on child care, education and protection in the new situation.

 

The Deputy PM called for attention to solutions to prevent, support and intervene in child abuse and drowning cases; care for children in their early life stage, their mental health and orphans following the COVID-19 pandemic; and pre-school education policies with priority given to areas with industrial and processing zones.

 

Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha admitted that child abuse remains complicated with difficulties in the organisation of court hearing for cases of this kind of crime. Mortality and malnutrition rates among children aged below five are still high while the implementation of models and measures for children’s rights remains slow.

Delegates agreed that next year, the committee will focus on key tasks such as enhancing inter-sectoral coordination in the formulation and enforcement of laws and policies related to children work and children’s rights, developing resources to exercise children’s rights, making multi-sectoral interventions and continuing to renew communication activities, strengthening interdisciplinary inspection and upgrading child database system, as well as global integration and international cooperation in children’s rights./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Strong purchasing power and demand have created a fast and strong locomotive for economic growth, and Vietnam is forecast to record a GDP growth rate of over 8% this year, said Executive Chairman of Dragon Capital Dominic Scriven.

 

This is a rare high amid the context that 2022 is a year full of difficulties for not only Vietnam but also the whole world, he told the Vietnam News Agency.

 

He held that this growth is driven by a purchasing power rebound after the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the strength of the Vietnamese economy, especially political and social stability, the stability of economic and investment policies, and its openness and integration into the global economy.

 

Scriven noted the economy’s internal driving forces are relatively balanced and strong, from people’s demand, enterprises’ strength, and foreign investment attraction to Vietnam’s competitiveness thanks to free trade agreements, which have helped open up new markets.

 

Vietnam is assessed as a new and strong economy with an internationally recognised stature. It is a rare example of stability among Southeast Asian nations, the Dragon Capital leader went on, adding that while global uncertainties this year are mainly caused by food and energy crises, it seems to haven’t suffered from too big impacts.

Echoing the view, Dr. Ho Quoc Tuan, senior lecturer in finance and accounting at the UK-based University of Bristol, said since the year’s beginning, Vietnam has succeeded in sustaining high economic growth and low inflation, about 3% – lower than other Asian countries like Japan, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, and many European countries, which have neared an inflation rate of over 10%.

 

However, he noted, it is hard for Vietnam to maintain a high growth rate amid prolonged difficulties predicted for the global economy for many months to come. In particular, its exports will be affected by a slowdown in global export growth.

 

It will also be difficult for enterprises to maintain growth and capital accessibility since the country is facing increasing production costs while interest rates are surging, causing pressure on foreign exchange rates and general interest rates in the economy.

 

Tuan recommended that to keep economic growth, Vietnam should use fiscal tools, including boosting public spending, especially on infrastructure development, power generation, and climate change fight, to support the economy and enterprises. It is also important to step up market reforms and create opportunities for businesses to develop further.

 

Scriven said Vietnam should not lower vigilance but continue reforming the labour market, the real estate market, trade and visa regulations, and accounting standards.

 

The British expert also pointed out chances for Vietnam as global supply chains are being restructured, and many foreign firms are paying attention to the country, which is currently viewed as a manufacturing hub for the Asian market./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern left Ho Chi Minh on November 17, concluding her four-day official visit to Vietnam.

 

During her stay, Ardern paid a courtesy visit to Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, met President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, and held talks with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

 

Party leader Trong said he expects the visit to open up a new development stage on the ground of past achievements, including cooperation in human resources development, education and training, agriculture and rural development; while PM Ardern expressed her hoped that the visit will further reinforce the bilateral strategic partnership.

Meeting President Phuc and Chairman Hue, Ardern emphasised that as a peace-loving country, New Zealand highly values the settlement of disputes in the East Sea via dialogue and peaceful measures with respect for international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

 

The Vietnamese leaders suggested that the New Zealand PM pay attention to promoting cooperation between the two countries in the new situation, suitable to their needs, especially the exchange of delegations as well as strengthening education-training cooperation and people-to-people exchanges. They proposed that seasonal direct flights should be resumed soon.

 

In her talks with PM Chinh, the two exchanged ideas on the socio-economic development situation of each country, bilateral cooperation relations and regional and international issues of mutual concern. They expressed their satisfaction at the effective and substantive development of bilateral relations over the past time.

 

The two sides pledged to facilitate all-level visits and promote people-to-people and locality-to-locality exchanges. They agreed to make thorough preparations for the upcoming New Zealand visit by National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

 

The two PMs committed to expanding collaboration to other fields, including transnational crimes, terrorism, natural disasters and epidemics, along with defence and security cooperation, and suggested the relevant ministries and agencies to step up trade promotion activities and facilitate market access for agricultural products to reach the goal of bringing two-way trade turnover to 2 billion USD by 2024.

 

After the talks, the two PMs witnessed the signing ceremony of cooperation agreements between the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training and the New Zealand’s Ministry of Education, and between Vietnam’s Ministry of Transport and New Zealand’s Ministry of Transport on civil aviation cooperation.

Within the framework of the visit, the New Zealand PM laid a wreath at late President Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, and attended the Vietnam-New Zealand Business Dialogue and an agriculture connection event (AgriConnectioNZ).

 

She also visited Ho Chi Minh City and joined the Women’s Summit 2022 – with the theme “Women change the world”, and met the business community and business women of New Zealand and Vietnam in the city./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Coach Park Hang-seo has called 31 players to prepare for the AFF Cup later this year.

 

The list includes four goalkeepers, 12 defenders, nine midfielders and six strikers.

 

The head coach put his belief in veteran and experienced players such as goalkeeper Dang Van Lam, defenders Que Ngoc Hai, Do Duy Manh and Doan Van Hau, midfielders Do Hung Dung, Nguyen Hoang Duc and Nguyen Tuan Anh, strikers Nguyen Van Toan and Nguyen Tien Linh.

 

The list has surprised many fans as his key players in previous competitions, such as defender Tran Dinh Trong, midfielder Luong Xuan Truong and striker Nguyen Cong Phuong, are absent.

 

Nguyen Van Quyet secured a slot, and multi-purpose midfielder Nguyen Trong Hoang is back on the team after 14 months fighting a herniated disc.

 

Talented Nguyen Quang Hai who is playing for Pau FC in France, will fly back on December 15 to practise and compete at the regional Cup.

 

Park also gave berths to several young athletes such as Nguyen Thanh Nhan, Luong Duy Cuong, Khuat Van Khang and Pham Dinh Duy who are expected to breath new life into the team.

 

The team will train in Hanoi from November 23. Some players might join them later because they are still busy with their clubs at the National Cup next week.

 

Vietnam will play a friendly match against German giant Borussia Dortmund at My Dinh Stadium on November 30.

 

They then move to Ba Ria-Vung Tau for training from December 2 to 10.

 

They will have another friendly versus the Philippines on December 14 in Hanoi, which is considered the last test ahead of the AFF Cup.

 

Park will announce his final shortlist on that day and the team will travel to Vientiane for their first match against the hosts on December 21.

 

The tournament is from December 20 to January 16, 2023.

 

Vietnam and Laos are in Group B with Malaysia, Singapore and Myanmar./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The 28th session of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF-28) is taking place in Hanoi under the theme “Bridging Space Innovations Opportunities for Sustainable and Prosperous Future”.

 

The four-day session features meetings of working groups on November 15 -16 and plenary sittings on November 17 – 18. It attracts over 350 delegates from 34 countries and territories.

 

In his remarks on November 17, President of the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) Chau Van Minh said the strong development of science and technology over the past decade and the engagement of not only governments but also private enterprises and startups have helped space technology, the most advanced science at present, be present more intensively and extensively in social life around the world.

 

He cited a 2020 report by the UN Economic and Social Council as saying that space science, technology, and data made certain direct or indirect contributions to the realisation of the Sutainable Development Goals in countries around the world.

 

Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific, which creates about 60% of the world’s GDP and two-thirds of global growth and is also home to more than half of the global population, gathers many big economies with advanced technology. Many countries in the region have effectively applied space technology to promoting sustainable development and obtain strong growth in the recent past, he noted.

 

Minh expressed his hope that with experiences in space technology research and application shared at the event, cooperation will be further enhanced to build a strong and united space community in the region to cope with regional and global issues in the coming decades, and work towards sustainable and prosperous development in each nation.

 

APRSAF-28 focuses on sharing and updating information about space activities and future plans of each country and region in Asia-Pacific, and discussing and seeking chances for cooperation among APRSAF members.

 

Founded in 1993, the APRSAF aims to boost the development of space programmes in each country and share visions towards future space cooperation in Asia-Pacific.

 

This year, the 28th session is held by the VAST’s Vietnam National Space Centre, the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

The Vietnam Digital Finance Conference and Expo 2022 took place in Hanoi on November 17, under the theme of “Embracing IT modernisation to accelerate digital transformation in the financial sector”.

 

The events were jointly organised by the Department of Financial Informatics and Statistics, the National Institute for Finance, the World Bank, and the International Events & Consulting Group (IEC).

 

Director of the department Nguyen Dai Tri said that as the financial sector is the “blood vessel” of the economy, digital transformation in this field is one of the core factors for digital transformation in general and that of other sectors in particular.

 

Over the past years, the financial sector has actively implemented tasks, actively participated in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and sped up digital transformation in all fields, thus achieving many positive results; bringing benefits to the whole society; and contributing to shortening the time for tax and customs procedures, and reducing paperwork, time and costs for businesses and people.

 

At the conference, experts discussed and assessed the main results of digital transformation of the sector, clarified shortcomings and weaknesses, and make recommendations on policies and professional knowledge.

 

They also proposed measures to effectively implement the Ministry of Finance’s Digital Transformation Plan towards the formation of a digital transformation in the coming time./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

The ASEAN Law Forum took place in Hanoi on November 17, focusing on sharing experience in the implementation of mutual legal assistance in civil and commercial matters within the framework of The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH).

 

Opening the forum, Deputy Minister of Justice Nguyen Khanh Ngoc said that the forum is part of a plan to implement the initiative to strengthen mutual legal assistance in civil and commercial matters within the ASEAN, which was proposed by Vietnam and approved by the ASEAN justice ministries in 2005.

 

He highlighted the rise in legal issues and efforts of ASEAN countries in promoting international judicial cooperation as well as adjusting their domestic laws regarding international justice to meet their own development requirements.

 

Ngoc held that in implementing the Vietnam’s initiative, ASEAN members have recognised the necessity to study and consult other international frameworks, especially the HCCH and its conventions on international justice. One obvious result is that more and more ASEAN member states are participating in the HCCH and relevant international conventions.

 

He noted that Vietnam joined the HCCH in 2013, The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption in 2012, the Convention on Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters in 2016, and the Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters in 2020.

 

The country has also signed 18 agreements on bilateral mutual legal assistance in civil and trade with other countries, of which the latest one is with Thailand, which was signed on November 16, he said, adding that Vietnam has continued to consider the possibility of joining other international treaties on international law.

 

Ramla Khalidi, UNDP Resident Representative Vietnam, said that as an active member of the HCCH and two of The Hague Conventions, Vietnam has seen the benefits of a common international framework on mutual legal assistance. Instead of signing bilateral agreements, joining  The Hague Conventions helps establish common guidelines applicable to all mutual legal assistance activities among member states, she said.

 

The official expressed her hope that Vietnam and other countries will share their experience with fellow ASEAN ,embers as part of this Law Forum, providing their unique and valuable insights in this area.

 

Khalidi said she expects discussions on how a common mutual legal assistance framework can increase the accuracy and efficiency in foreign-related civil and commercial cases, within ASEAN and beyond./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

An additional 509 COVID-19 cases were reported in Vietnam on November 17, according to the Ministry of Health.

 

The new cases brought the country’s total number of infections to 11,510,484.

 

The same day, 161 patients were declared to free from the disease, lifting the total number of recoveries to 10,606,460.

 

The death toll was kept at 43,167, accounting for 0.4% of the total infections, as no fatality was logged on the day.

 

So far, more than 262.92 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency