Day: January 9, 2023

The construction of the first station under Hanoi’s public bike service programme was started on January 9.

By January 20, about 10 bikes will be available at the station. People in the city will be offered a 10-day trial to experience the service before its official operation.

Last year, the Hanoi People’s Committee approved a proposal by the city’s Department of Transport that allows Tri Nam Joint Stock Company to provide public bike service for a 12-month trial.

Under the proposal, the firm will provide 1,000 bikes, 50% of them electric, at 94 locations in the city.

The pilot project is set to cost over 30.3 billion VND (1.22 million USD).

The company will charge 10,000 VND for a 30-minute trip on electric bikes and 5,000 VND for the same duration on normal bicycles.

Full-day rent for the electric bike will be 120,000 VND and half of that for pedal bicycles.

Six downtown districts will be prioritised for the pilot project, namely Ba Dinh, Dong Da, Tay Ho, Hoan Kiem. Thanh Xuan, and Hai Ba Trung./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam beat Indonesia 2-0 with Nguyen Tien Linh’s double in the second leg of the semifinal and advanced to the final of the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022.

Right in the third minute of the first half, a long pass from the defence found striker Nguyen Tien Linh, who timed it right to volley in and scored the early goal for Vietnam.

In the 10th minute, another long pass found Tien Linh, but this time he was offside.

Two minutes later, defender Doan Van Hau got a header from Nguyen Hoang Duc’s free kick, but it went over the bar.

After conceding early, Indonesia couldn’t play heavy on defense anymore. They had to push forward and that gave Vietnam more space for counter-attacks.

In the 24th minute, Indonesia got their most relevant chance so far when Dendy faced goalkeeper Dang Van Lam inside the box. However, defender Que Ngoc Hai intercepted in time and Dendy fell down. He asked for a penalty, but the referee said no. Players on both teams started to argue. Defender Bui Tien Dung received a yellow card.

In the 29th minute, Van Hau almost scored from a free kick as he bent it to the top corner and only lacked a bit of accuracy.

Just one minute later, Pham Tuan Hai had a chance to finish, but didn’t have enough power to cause difficulty for the Indonesian keeper.

The players got into a heated situation again after two Vietnamese players were fouled consecutively. Coach Park Hang-seo went into the field in frustration as he couldn’t keep his cool. Indonesia have had many hard tackles on Vietnam players since the start of the game. Asnawi Bahar got a yellow.

In the 38th minute, Van Hau got a yellow for fouling Asnawi, a payback for the previous tackle.

Just two minutes into the second half, Van Hau made a long pass that found Tuan Hai, who tried to get a shot but it was blocked by Jordi Amat. Vietnam gained a corner. And from that corner, captain Do Hung Dung’s pass found Tien Linh again as he had an unstoppable header to double the lead for Vietnam.

After conceding the second goal, Indonesia got nothing to lose. The visitors are putting more pressure to find a goal back. They also made two substitutions to increase firepower.

In the 58th minute, Van Hau’s long pass found Tuan Hai again. This time his shot was blocked by goalkeeper Nadeo.

Three minutes later, a corner was delivered directly to Nguyen Quang Hai, who got a great volley from outside the box and it almost turned into a stunning goal.

In the 64th minute, Indonesia’s Marcelino tried to pass the ball inside the box but keeper Van Lam easily caught it.

Three minutes later, it was Van Lam again with an accurate catch. He had always got the situation under control in this game.

In the 89th minute, Quang Hai dribbled past two players before finishing toward the right corner with his left foot, but Nadeo got his fingertips on the ball.

That finish was also Hai’s last shot as he was subbed out for Nguyen Van Toan right after that. The game had five additional minutes but Indonesia had no chance to score a goal.

In the first leg of the semifinal in Jakarta, Vietnam was held a 0-0 draw by hosts Indonesia.

With the 2-0 win at their home playground, Vietnam advanced to the final of the AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup 2022, where they will play against the winners of another semifinal between Thailand and Malaysia./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The 15th National Assembly adopted a resolution on the extension of some COVID-19 prevention and control policies and the continued use of registration certificates for medicines and medicinal ingredients that expired from January 1, 2023, during the legislature’s second extraordinary meeting in Hanoi on January 9.

Before voting, Chairwoman of the NA Committee for Social Affairs Nguyen Thuy Anh delivered a report on revisions made to the draft resolution based on opinions during earlier discussions at the extraordinary session.

A majority of legislators agreed with the need to issue the resolution and basically consented with major contents of the draft resolution.

Accordingly, the COVID-19 prevention and control policies listed in the resolution will continue to be implemented from January 1 through December 31, 2023, including those related to payment of pandemic prevention and control costs.

The registration certificates for medicines and medicinal ingredients, which expired on January 1, 2023, will be used till December 31, 2024, except for a number of drugs and ingredients specified in the resolution.

The resolution will take effect from the date of its approval by the legislature./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc hosted a reception in Hanoi on January 9 for former Prime Minister of Japan Suga Yoshihide, during which the Vietnamese leader noted his belief that bilateral relations will grow more comprehensively in the time ahead.

President Phuc praised Suga for his leadership during his tenure, referring to the successful organisation of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and the implementation of policies on digital transformation, green growth, smart society and sustainable development.

He also thanked Suga for his sentiments to Vietnam and his contributions to promoting the bilateral ties in his capacity as Japanese PM in the past and as an advisor to the Japan-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance at present.

The President highly appreciated Suga’s selection of Vietnam for his first trip abroad after he took office in October 2020, and his ongoing visit.

He also thanked Suga for his decision to donate COVID-19 vaccines to Vietnam as relief aid, helping the Southeast Asian nation to overcome the hardest time of the pandemic fight.

For his part, Suga expressed his hope that Vietnam and Japan will step up people-to-people exchanges to create a foundation for stronger cooperation in other fields, saying more Japanese localities want to cooperate with their Vietnamese counterparts in specific spheres.

The two countries have joined hands in developing infrastructure projects in Vietnam, including those using official development assistance (ODA), he said, stressing that Japanese firms have lauded Vietnam’s efforts in improving its investment environment.

Hailing Vietnam’s commitment to net zero emissions, Suga said Japan wishes to enhance partnerships with Vietnam in clean energy and renewable energy projects.

President Phuc affirmed that Japan is Vietnam’s extensive strategic partner for peace, and Vietnam always attaches importance to the relations across sectors.

Japan remains Vietnam’s leading economic partner, biggest ODA supplier, third largest investor and tourism partner, and fourth biggest trade partner, the President continued.

The host leader said he hoped that Japan will continue promoting exchanges between people of the two countries, especially young generations, and deepening cooperation between localities.

Collaboration in labour, education, tourism and people-to-people exchanges should be further facilitated, he suggested.

President Phuc called on Suga to continue his support for the bilateral ties, and work to promote high-level meetings between the two Parties, Governments and legislatures.

He suggested Japan help Vietnam in green economy transition and accessing the aid package worth 10 billion USD committed by Suga at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in the UK.

Japan should simplify visa procedures for Vietnamese citizens to contribute to fostering people-to-people exchanges, he said. /.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has signed a dispatch directing ministers, heads of ministerial-level and State agencies, and chairmen of People’s Committees of centrally-run cities and provinces to strengthen measures to prevent the spreading of COVID-19 during the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) Festival and the festive season of 2023.

In the document, the PM underlined that the pandemic is still developing unpredictably with the continuously appearance of new variants and sub-variants of SARS-CoV-2, and the decreasing effectiveness of vaccines.

Meanwhile, the change in seasons and the easing of pandemic prevention and control policies in some countries are likely to increase the risk of a surge of COVID-19 cases in the time to come, during the Tet Festival and Spring of 2023.

In order to strengthen the pandemic prevention and control measures during trade and tourism activities in the festive festival in the first months of 2023 and continue to promote the socio-economic development at the same time, the PM requested ministries, sectors and localities to strictly implement the Politburo’s directive on the organisation of Tet Festival and the PM’s directive on the strengthening of pandemic control measures during the festival, as well as the Government’s resolution on pandemic prevention and fight.

PM directs intensifying efforts to prevent COVID-19 during Tet Festival hinh anh 2

The first months of 2023 is the peak festive season (Photo: VNA)

The Ministry of Health was asked to keep a close eye on the domestic and international pandemic situation, thus giving timely guidelines and coordination with ministries, sectors and localities in the pandemic fight, while working with localities to direct the implementation of measures to prevent COVID-19 and seasonal diseases, promptly stamping out outbreaks, and promoting COVID-19 vaccination activities.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism was requested to work with the Ministry of Health and the People’s Committees of localities to direct tourism businesses to ensure safety for tourists and locals.

The PM also instructed localities to strengthening the monitoring of people arriving from areas with pandemic outbreaks and localities where new COVID-19 variants are found, while keeping a close eye on the community and medical facilities to early detect the appearance of new SARS-CoV-2 variants. They were also requested to continue speeding up COVID-19 vaccination among all eligible groups./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue expressed his hope that Vietnam and Australia will expand cooperation in energy transition during his reception for Treasurer of Australia’s Victoria state, Tim Pallas, in Hanoi on January 9.

Briefing the guest on Vietnam’s economic growth in 2022, which exceeded 8%, the top legislator stressed that the country is working to consolidate traditional markets, while seeking new ones.

He used this occasion to thank Australia for its support to Vietnam in ensuring energy security, and affirmed that Vietnam persistently maintains its macro-economic stability.

Hue suggested Victoria enhance its cooperation with Ho Chi Minh City in finance and digital transformation, explaining that typical policies are expected to be adopted to turn the Vietnamese southern metropolis into an international financial centre.

He also called on the Australian state to help HCM City in devising the policies and implementing them once they sail through the legislature.

The two sides should exchange delegations more regularly, especially in 2023 that marks the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Australia diplomatic ties, the host leader continued.

For his part, Pallas, who is also Victoria’s Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Trade and Investment, noted his admiration for Vietnam’s economic size which has increased 10 folds since 2000 despite a range of difficulties.

The minister said he hoped that his visit will help to boost cooperation between Victoria and Vietnam and HCM City in particular in the fields of energy and agriculture, suggesting the two sides expand their collaboration in education-training, and digital transformation.

Pallas told Hue that the proposal on the resumption of the agriculture visa programme that targets Vietnamese farmers, made during the Vietnamese leader’s official visit to Australia in late 2022, is being implemented.

Victoria authorities always support the federal government to restore the programme, he affirmed./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam sent more than 142,000 labourers abroad in 2022, mostly to Japan, according to the Department of Overseas Labour under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

The figure surpassed the target set for last year, which stood at 90,000.

Among the workers sent abroad last year, 49,000 were female, accounting for 34.2%. Japan was the top destination with more than 67,000, followed by Taiwan (China) with nearly 58,600 and the Republic of Korea with approximately 10,000.

The figure in 2022 was still lower than in 2019 (the pre-pandemic period) which hit 147,000 workers.

Nguyen Gia Liem, head of the department, said the demand for workers in industrial zones, factories and construction sites was huge post-pandemic.

The demand for workers in agriculture sector in Japan, the RoK and Taiwan also surged mainly due to aging and decreasing population, he added.

“Vietnamese workers are hard-working and learn quickly. Besides markets in northeastern Asia, northern Europe and the Middle East, we will also send more workers to other countries like Germany and Australia,” he said.

In 2023, the country set a target to send 110,000 workers abroad./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, head of the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform, chaired the committee’s third meeting in Hanoi on January 9 to review the 2022 performance and set focal tasks for 2023.

Highly valuing the committee and its members’ active performance and important results recorded in 2022, President Phuc stressed that on November 9, 2022, the Party Central Committee issued Resolution No 27-NQ/TW on the continuation of building and perfecting the law-governed socialist State of Vietnam in the new period, which identified the viewpoint, targets, focuses, tasks, and measures related to justice and judicial reform.

The resolution must be carried out in a methodological and effective manner, and justice-related sectors and the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Internal Affairs have an important role to play in this regard, he noted.

He said key tasks of judicial reform in 2023 include tackling difficulties and barriers to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of judicial agencies’ activities, and controlling power well to prevent wrongdoings in the investigation, prosecution, and hearing of cases.

Judicial reform must support the implementation of the Party’s policy against corruption and negative phenomena, the State leader emphasised.

President Phuc asked the Commission for Internal Affairs to continue brainstorming and giving advice to the Party Central Committee, the Politburo, and the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform so as to ensure comprehensive and effective judicial reform in 2023 and beyond./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency