Category: Study

Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong has emphasised the necessity to strengthen supervision and take more samples for COVID-19 testing at border gates besides maintaining the current pandemic prevention and control measures as usual.

 

Addressing a meeting on disease surveillance and response of the Public Health Emergency Operations Centres (PHEOC) under the Ministry of Health on January 2, the official said Vietnam needs to make careful preparations to effectively control the pandemic, in the context of some countries changing their COVID-19 control policy.

 

Localities with border gates need to pay attention to taking samples in the community, and reviewing the capacity of treatment and accommodation facilities in order to serve visitors, Huong stated.

 

After China decided to open the border and lift COVID-19 quarantine measures from January 8, health experts said the border opening can lead to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, but Vietnam is unlikely to be at risk of an outbreak because of its community immunity.

 

According to Dr. Phan Trong Lan, Director of the General Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health, local departments of health must continue strictly implementing medical quarantine activities specified in Decree 89/ND-CP by the Government, which details a number of articles of the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases on border health quarantine.

 

Sharing Lan’s viewpoint, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Nhu Duong, Deputy Director of the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, suggested that attention should also be paid to communication activities so that passengers can proactively declare their health situation and implement infection prevention measures.

 

Previously, heads of units under the Ministry of Health, and directors of the departments of health of localities nationwide have been required to shore up vigilance against the pandemic.

 

The Ministry of Health has asked localities, especially those with border gates, to speed up the vaccination scheme, trying to complete their goals in the first two weeks of January.

 

The same day, the Ministry of Public Security held an online conference to popularise Decree 93/2022/ND-CP dated November 7, 022 on ensuring security and order at air border gates.

 

The decree is an important document, creating the legal foundation for public security forces to roll out measures to ensure security and order at air border gates, contributing to safeguarding aviation security in any circumstances./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

China has officially announced the easing of COVID-19 prevention measures which have been imposed for three year, and experts have said this is expected to kickstart the country’s economic recovery, opening opportunities for some Vietnamese sectors in the medium term.

 

In a recent report, Agribank Securities Company (Agriseco) said Vietnamese businesses will benefit when China opens its doors and resumes flights between the two countries.

 

According to Agriseco Research, business groups that can benefit include mechanical engineering, textiles, footwear, electronics, pangasius processing, and automobiles. On the other hand, the prices of some input materials may increase again when demand recovers, such as iron and steel, cement, and base metals.

 

In addition to the groups that benefit, Agriseco’s report also shows disadvantaged groups. For example, experts recommend that investors follow China’s output recovery in the fertiliser and chemical industry.

 

Agriseco analysts point out that when China opens up its economy, it can restore production and remove export restrictions, causing fertiliser prices to continue to fall in 2023. China is the world’s leading fertiliser exporter.

 

However, the country’s production cuts created opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to increase their exports strongly in the past two years. Businesses like PetroVietnam Fertiliser & Chemicals Corporation (DPM) and PetroVietnam Ca Mau Fertiliser JSC (DCM) have record growth in business results in 2022. These advantages may be lost if China restores production.

 

With the above assessment, Agriseco forecasts that the business results of fertiliser enterprises may go backwards in 2023 as fertiliser prices continue to cool down, and there may be a decline in export activities.

 

Agriseco Research believes that the business results of chemical enterprises will likely go backwards in 2023 due to the cooling of chemical prices and the restoration of production in China, making export activities more competitive.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The national COVID-19 caseload rose to 11,525,013 with 234 new cases recorded on December 29, according to the Ministry of Health.

 

With 55 patients given the all-clear during the day, the number of recoveries rose to 10,611,114.

 

Meanwhile, there are 35 patients needing breathing support.

 

No death from COVID-19 was recorded in the past 24 hours. The total fatalities stand at 43,184.

 

With 11,148 doses administered on December 28, the total number of doses of COVID-19 vaccines injected rose to 265,444,085./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Diplomatic Academy under the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a book on the 60 years of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Laos at a ceremony on December 28 in Vientiane.

 

In his speech at the event, Lao Deputy Foreign Minister Thongphane Savanhphet said the book featured the establishment and development history of the Vietnam-Laos relationship, including cooperation between their diplomatic sectors, bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the region and the international arena, and bilateral cooperation before and after 1975, as well as during the current national defence, construction and development period.

 

Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung thanked and highly valued the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs, especially its Diplomatic Academy, for compiling and releasing the book right in the Laos-Vietnam Solidarity and Friendship Year.

 

He said the book will help Lao diplomats, especially the young, understand more about the relationship between the two countries.

 

The diplomat expressed the belief that when it is translated into Vietnamese, the book will also be a valuable document for Vietnamese diplomats to gain an insight into the Laos-Vietnam special relationship./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

More than 2,000 students and teaching staff at five schools in Dien Ban town, Duy Xuyen Dong Giang and Nam Giang districts in Quang Nam province have benefited from clean water systems donated by Lifestart Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation based in Hoi An.

 

The five clean water systems worth 227 million VND (9,800 USD) were set up at Pham Phu Thu High school, Luong The Vinh Secondary school, Le Van Tam Secondary school, Ta B’hing Kindergarten and Zuoich Primary school as part of donation programme supporting remote schools across the central province.

 

Karen Leonard OAM, founder of Lifestart Foundation, said: “In an effort to provide clean and safe drinking water for the children, Lifestart Foundation is delighted to have donated water filtration systems to remote schools in disadvantaged areas in central Vietnam, especially areas that are not privileged to have easy access to such basic resources.

 

“Prior to this round of donations, Lifestart Foundation also provided clean water systems for more than 4,000 children at 13 remote schools in the province. The previous donations totalled 590 million VND. These water systems will contribute to ensuring the safety of drinking water for the children.”

 

Up to now, the Lifestart Foundation has committed 817million VND worth of Clean Water Systems to help more than 6,000 students in need at 18 schools across Quang Nam province.

 

Founded in 2000 by an Australian named Karen Leonard OAM and supported by a team of dedicated volunteers, Lifestart Foundation is a grassroots, not-for-profit charity that helps disadvantaged Vietnamese families to become self-sufficient.

 

This is achieved through their two largest projects, Education Scholarships for disadvantaged students and their Housing Improvement project.

 

To date, Lifestart Foundation’s investment in the disadvantaged youth of central Vietnam  is in excess of 26 billion./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also known as the Montego Bay Convention that made its way in the world on December 10, 1982, was a great step towards maintaining the freedom of navigation and has served as a basis for the development of marine activities and ocean conservation, said former Vice Admiral of the French Navy Patrick Hebrard.

 

Talking with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s resident reporter in Paris, Hebrard, who is also an associate research fellow at the Foundation for Strategic Research, said one of the biggest advantages of the 1982 UNCLOS is the establishment of a balance between sovereignty claims of the coastal states and ensuring the freedom of navigation at sea.

 

According to the 1982 UNCLOS, the international seabed is considered a heritage of humanity. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is developing a Mining Code to regulate exploration, search and extraction of ores in the international seabed. The 1982 UNCLOS also mentions the conservation of seas, including international waters or those within the jurisdiction of states. Its Article 192 stipulates that “States have the obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment”. Through the principle of binding responsibility, the Convention establishes a continuum between national heritage and human heritage, he said.

 

Hebrard added that there should be supplements to the 1982 UNCLOS, at least in three areas, including maritime safety and combating threats and smuggling in international waters; sustainable development concepts in environmental protection; and regulations on territorial waters which have different interpretations leading to disputes among countries.

 

Though the 1982 UNCLOS needs to be perfected, it is still the basis for the development of marine activities and ocean conservation and should be respected by all member states, he said.

 

Vietnam is one of the 12 founding countries of the UNCLOS Group of Friends that was set up in June 2021 and now has over 100 members.

 

Hebrard said the group’s establishment aims to share correct views and behaviours among its member states, making the Convention more widely known. Regular meetings among countries could create mutual understanding and build common knowledge about the consequences of global warming and peaceful settlement of disputes. The Group also offers new proposals to improve or further develop the 1982 UNCLOS./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

 

The national COVID-19 caseload rose to 11,524,273 with 71 new cases recorded on December 25, the lowest for many months, according to the Ministry of Health.

 

With 41 patients given the all-clear during the day, the number of recoveries rose to 10,610,804.

 

Meanwhile, there are 37 patients needing breathing support.

 

No death from COVID-19 was recorded in the past 24 hours. The total fatalities stand at 43,184.

 

With 3,949 doses administered on December 24, the total number of doses of COVID-19 vaccines injected rose to 265,359,396./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

The national COVID-19 caseload rose to 11,524,093 with 312 new cases recorded on December 23, according to the Ministry of Health.

 

With 119 patients given the all-clear during the day, the number of recoveries rose to 10,610,692.

 

Meanwhile, there are 52 patients needing breathing support.

 

Two deaths from COVID-19 were recorded in the past 24 hours. The total fatalities rose to 43,184.

 

With 17,264 doses administered on December 22, the total number of doses of COVID-19 vaccines injected rose to 265,336,568./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency