☕ Afternoon briefing on March 28

Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

- National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue received Fujimoto Masayoshi and Hyodo Masayuki, chairmen of the Japan - Vietnam Economic Committee at the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), along with leaders of some Keidanren member enterprises in Hanoi on March 28.

The Keidanren delegation is in Vietnam to attend a high-level meeting held on March 27 to launch the first phase of the Vietnam - Japan Joint Initiative in the new era. Read full story

- Vietnamese Ambassador to Brazil Bui Van Nghi attended the second Vermelho Festival in Salvador, northeastern Brazil, from March 21-24 at the invitation of the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB).

Speaking at an international forum on peace and solidarity with the Palestinian people held within the framework of the festival, the Vietnamese diplomat voiced deep concerns about the escalating conflict in the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in many civilian casualties, widespread damage to infrastructure, and a serious humanitarian crisis. Read full story

- Ambassador Mai Phan Dung, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN in Geneva, on March 27 called on parties involved in armed conflicts to strictly abide by international humanitarian law and rules with regard to the protection of the civilian population and infrastructure.

Delivering a speech at the discussion on the supervision and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action held in the framework of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)’s 55th session in Geneva, he stressed that the parties must avoid attacking, destroying, removing, or rendering useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population as well as respect, protect, and create favourable conditions for humanitarian assistance forces and supplies. Read full story

- Total export revenue from agro-forestry-fisheries products in the first three months of this year is estimated at 13.53 billion USD, up 21.8% over the same period last year; and this results in a trade surplus of 3.36 billion USD, a rise of 96.5%, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

In March alone, the figure hit 4.85 billion USD, a year-on-year rise of 6%. Of the total, the contribution from major agricultural products was 2.75 billion USD, major forestry products 1.22 billion USD, aquatic products 653 million USD, and livestock 43.6 million USD. Read full story

- With positive signals right from the beginning of the year, including over 1 billion USD in export value in the first quarter of this year, experts have shown optimism about the growth in overseas shipments of Vietnamese fruits and vegetables in the coming time.

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Vietnam earned 325.8 million USD from exporting fruits and vegetables in February, down 33.6% from January, but up 1.4% compared to the same period of 2023. Read full story

- Singapore was the largest foreign investor in Vietnam in the year to March 20 with over 2.55 billion USD, making up 41.3% of the total foreign direct investment (FDI) registered in the country, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Foreign Investment Agency (FIA).

It was followed by Hong Kong (China) with 1.05 billion USD, accounting for 17.1% of the total and increasing 2.3 times compared to the same period last year. Read full story

- Vietnam remains in the watch list for a possible reclassification from frontier to secondary emerging market status, according to FTSE Russel’s Country Classification review in March.

The UK stock analytics provider said Vietnam was added to the watch list in September 2018 for possible reclassification to secondary emerging market status. However, the country has yet to meet the “Settlement Cycle (DvP)” criterion, which is currently rated as “restricted” due to the market practice of conducting a pre-trading check to ensure the availability of funds prior to trade execution. Read full story

- Japanese doctor Tadashi Hattori, who is CEO at Asia - Pacific Prevention of Blindness Association (APBA), was awarded the "Honorary citizen of Thua Thien - Hue province" title in recognition of his outstanding achievements and contributions to the central locality’s development for peace and social progress.

Addressing the awarding ceremony on March 28, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Phuong praised Hattori's contributions to the locality’s health sector over the past 20 years, stressing the expert has devoted his heart to bringing light to poor patients with eye diseases, with tens of thousands of free surgeries in Vietnam. Read full story

- To serve the increasing travel demand during the holidays of Liberation Day (April 30) and May Day (May 1), Vietnam Airlines Group, including Vietnam Airlines, Pacific Airlines and VASCO, will increase the frequency of its flights.

The national flag carrier will add nearly 560,000 seats or more than 2,800 flights to all of its domestic and international routes during the holidays. Read full story

- Winners of the 18th Cong hien (Devotion) Awards were honoured at a ceremony organised by the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s The Thao & Van Hoa (Sports & Culture) newspaper at the Hanoi Opera House on March 27 evening.

This was the second time the annual awards have featured categories relating to sports, in additional to music. Read full story./.