☕ Afternoon briefing on April 5

Hanoi (VNA) -The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency on April 5.

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has expressed his belief that Vietnam will record stronger, more effective, and more sustainable socio-economic development in the second quarter of 2022.

Addressing a national teleconference between the Government and localities on April 5, he highlighted some encouraging results in the Q1 socio-economic situation. Read full text

- The World Bank (WB) has predicted Vietnam’s GDP growth this year at 5.3 percent, down from the previous forecast of 6.5 percent issued last October.

The projection was made in the WB’s East Asia and Pacific Economic Update, April 2022 titled “Braving the Storms” that was launched virtually on April 5. Read full text

- Iran is a market with high demand for agricultural products and tropical fruits – which are Vietnam’s advantages, heard a recent export consultation session held by the Trade Promotion Agency.

Nguyen Thu Thuy, deputy head of the agency’s Export Promotion Centre, said that with a population of nearly 86 million, the market holds a large consumption volume compared to other countries in the Middle East. Read full text

- Vietnam shared experience and achievements in clearing landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) left over from the war with the international community at a symposium themed “Safe ground, safe steps, safe home” held in the framework of the Mine Action Week hosted by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) on April 4.

Participants at the symposium (Photo: VNA)

Addressing the event, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Head of Vietnam's Permanent Mission to the United Nations (UN), said the Government and relevant agencies of Vietnam have outlined and implemented specific programmes and measures to remove and address the heavy  consequences of post-war UXO, and support victims. Read full text

- A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in vocational education between Vietnam and the UK was signed at a ceremony in Hanoi on April 5.

The signatories were Vietnamese Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung, and British Ambassador to Vietnam Gareth Ward. Read full text

- The Vietnamese Embassy in Israel has received information on a male Vietnamese citizen who has been missing in the Middle Eastern country since 2016, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The citizen, born in 1993, was a student of the Nong Lam University - Ho Chi Minh City (NLU). He participated in a study and work programme in Israel organised by the Arava International Center for Agriculture Training (AICAT) from August 2, 2016. Contact with him  was lost on September 17, 2016. Read full text

- All the three COVID-19 vaccine candidates Vietnam is developing, namely Nano Covax, Covivac, and ARCT-154, are currently in the stage of clinical trials, and if they are qualified as assessed by the ethics and advisory councils, the Ministry of Health (MoH) will grant licences, Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen has said. Read full text ./.