Day: June 26, 2023

Many residents expressed their excitement at witnessing a pod of dolphins leaping and playing in the waters near the Son Tra Peninsula in the central city of Da Nang.

Vo Nguyen Thai Duy shared a video of the dolphins swimming near the Son Tra Peninsula on social media on June 22. The clip was widely shared and commented on by many people.

Several people said they believe that the presence of dolphins indicated positive signs for the marine environment surrounding the Son Tra Peninsula.

Duy said that he had seen dolphins twice before; however, there were more dolphins and they were closer to the shore this time.

It is considered a good omen when people at sea spot dolphins.

Nguyen Duc Vu, head of the Son Tra Peninsula Management Board and Da Nang’s tourist beaches said: "This is the first time someone has filmed dolphins swimming near the shore of the Son Tra Peninsula, between Mui Sung and Mui Nghe.

“Previously, the Rescue Team of the Management Board had encountered several injured dolphins washed ashore, and they were promptly rescued and guided back to the open sea with the cooperation of relevant agencies."/.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted a reception on June 26 for founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Prof. Klaus Schwab, within the framework of the 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions (AMNC) of the WEF in Tianjin, China.

They discussed the global economic situation, emerging development trends, Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements and its cooperative relations with the WEF.

Sharing Vietnam's economic situation and prospects, PM Chinh stressed that Vietnam will consistently pursue the goal of maintaining macro-economic stability and promoting growth.

He suggested the WEF continue partnering with Vietnam and supporting its connection with WEF member businesses, assisting Vietnam in attracting high-quality investments, particularly in hi-tech, energy transition, digital transformation and strategic infrastructure. Additionally, he urged the WEF to enhance the exchange of views on the global development trends and offer policy advices to help Vietnam improve its competitiveness and business environment in adaptation to new regulations and trends.

Prof. Schwab said Vietnam’s presence at the WEF meeting in Tianjin will bring an optimistic story of economic recovery in the face of global challenges.

Expressing his impression on Vietnam's socio-economic achievements and macro-economic stability, he stressed his strong commitment to boosting cooperation with Vietnam and working closely with relevant agencies to propose and launch practical joint projects which are in line with Vietnam's interests and WEF’s strengths.

While discussing major topics of the upcoming annual WEF meeting in Davos, Switzerland, scheduled for January 2024, the two sides agreed that technology and artificial intelligence (AI), particularly the application of new technologies and AI in manufacturing, services, agricultural development and skill training should be the key focuses of the meeting.

Prof. Schwab expressed his impression on the dynamism of Vietnam's young generation amid technological advancements, considering it one of Vietnam's significant competitive advantages.

He extended an invitation to PM Chinh to attend the WEF meeting in January 2024 in Davos. The Vietnamese PM also invited Prof. Schwab and WEF leaders to visit Vietnam soon to deliver speeches and inspire the Vietnamese youth about the emerging development trends in the world. Both sides agreed to arrange these visits in the near future.

On this occasion, Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and WEF President Borge Brende signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation between Vietnam and the WEF for the 2023-2026 period under the witness of PM Chinh and Prof. Schwab.

The MoU serves as an important foundation to boost cooperation between Vietnam and the WEF in the new period, focusing on six key areas of innovation in food, skill development for innovation and green transformation, zero-emission industrial clusters; plastic actions, including the Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP); finance for renewable energy transition, digital transformation cooperation and the establishment of the fourth industrial revolution centre.

The signing of the MoU will enable Vietnam to access resources, experience and join the WEF’s global programmes, thereby establishing a comprehensive ecosystem to drive new growth engines, attract investment and improve national competitiveness./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Thailand's exports of cassava and cassava products are estimated at 9 million tonnes this year, down from 11 million tonnes last year due to reduced output caused by drought, according to the Foreign Trade Department under the Ministry of Commerce.

Ronnarong Phoolpipat, director-general of the department, said there is high demand for tapioca and tapioca products from Thailand when customers are willing to buy all available quantities, but this year Thai production has been affected by drought conditions, denting output.

He advised farmers not to rush harvesting small cassava roots that are unsuitable for sale during periods of high prices, as it may affect the overall quality.

In the first five months of this year, Thailand exported 4.73 million tonnes of cassava and cassava products valued at 7 billion USD, marking year-on-year decreases of 21% and 19%, respectively.

China remains Thailand's top export market for cassava products, accounting for 65% of the total.

Thailand is expected to import about 2.4 million tonnes of cassava chips from neighbouring countries, such as Laos and Cambodia, to meet the demand./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Thailand and Myanmar on June 26 destroyed respective drugs worth 600 million USD and 446 million USD seized in their nations.

According to Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration, the drugs included 27 tonnes of amphetamine, 5 tonnes of cathinone, 275 kilograms of heroin, 43 kilograms of cocaine and 6 kilograms of opium confiscated in 192 different cases.

The narcotic haul was burnt in accordance with the guidelines of the US Environmental Protection Agency to ensure no harmful substances or byproducts were released into the environment, said the administration.

The burn in Myanmar, coincided with the UN's International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, took place in Yangon, Mandalay, and Taunggyi.

Last year, the authorities destroyed a total of more than 642 million USD worth of seized drugs./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

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The person with the highest pension in Vietnam receives more than 124 million VND (5,200 USD) per month, according to the Vietnam Social Security (VSS).

As of April this year, a total of 471 people receive a monthly pension of more than 20 million VND (850 USD), said VSS. All of them worked in private companies or foreign enterprises in Vietnam and had paid social insurance at a high level.

The man with the highest pension in the country, referred to as T. throughout this article, lives in HCM City.

Before retiring, T. was chairman of the members' council and general director of a company operating in Vietnam.

T. retired in April 2015 with a pension of more than 87.3 million VND (3,700 USD) per month.

After five adjustments of the State pension, by June this year, T.'s pension is more than 124 million VND per month.

T. paid social insurance premiums for 23 years during the period before 2007 when a person's salary was taken as the basis for social insurance payment, T.’s social insurance premium was very high.

There were times when T.’s average social insurance fee was more than 200 million VND (8,500 USD) per month.

When the Law on Social Insurance 2006 came into effect, the maximum monthly fee for compulsory social insurance was equal to 20 months of the general minimum salary. Accordingly, from January 2007 to March 2015, T. always paid social insurance premiums at the highest rate as prescribed, with an average salary of 15.4-23 million VND (650-980 USD) per month.

Statistics last year showed that the average social insurance was 5.73 million VND (240 USD) per month, equal to 76% of workers’ average income.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises have the highest social insurance payment.

However, some enterprises separate or transfer allowances to other benefits so that they do not have to pay social insurance.

Therefore, the social insurance is only slightly higher than the minimum wage. This payment makes the pension very low.

To improve the situation, the amended social insurance law has two options for lump-sum payments.

The first option allows the employee to receive full pay-out for the entire period of participating in social insurance and then would not be entitled to a monthly pension.

As per the second option, the employee would receive a lump-sum payment for at most half of the period of contributions to the retirement and survivorship allowance fund. The remaining period would be reserved for calculating social insurance benefits when the employee reaches retirement age./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency