☕ Afternoon briefing on August 26

Hanoi, (VNA) – The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency on August 26.

– Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has issued a dispatch ordering intensifying COVID-19 prevention and control measures. In the dispatch, the PM underlined the complicated development of the pandemic in the world and the rising number of infections inside the country, adding that the pace of COVID-19 vaccination among particular groups has been slow, especially second shot for children from 5 to under 12 and booster shots for over-18 people. Read full story

– Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam hailed outgoing United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative Caitlin Wiesen for her initiatives and contributions to supporting Vietnam in promoting socio-economic development and international integration, during a reception for her in Hanoi on August 26.

Dam expressed his joy at the fruitful cooperation between Vietnam and the UN over the last decades, affirming that the Vietnamese Government highly values the role played by the UNDP in supporting development worldwide.  Read full story

– A workshop was held in Ha Long city, northern Quang Ninh province, on August 26 with the aim of promoting public awareness of marine plastic waste and actions against single-use plastic products in Ha Long Bay, a world natural heritage site.

An estimate in 2020 by the Ending Plastic Pollution Innovation Challenge (EPPIC) project showed that among over the 28,280 tonnes of plastic waste released in the Ha Long Bay area each year, about 5,272 could be discharged to the sea, and 34 tonnes of waste came from tourism activities every day.Read full story

– Plan International Vietnam, in collaboration with Care International Vietnam and the Research Centre for Initiatives in Community Development, held a workshop on August 26 to launch the “Reaching the Furthest Behind in Quang Tri and Hoa Binh Provinces” programme. Funded by the Irish Embassy in Vietnam with a total capital of over 11 billion VND (470,000 USD), it is being implemented from June 2022 to August 2023.Read full story

– An international conference and an exhibition are underway in the central city of Da Nang with a focus on waste treatment and environmental technology and solutions towards sustainable urban development in Vietnam. The events on August 25 and 26 are held by the Da Nang Department of Natural Resources and Environment in coordination with the Vietnam Urban and Industrial Zone Environment Association, the Vietnam Environmental Industry Association, and the Vietnam Waste Recycling Association. Read full story

– Vietnam raked in nearly 16.8 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) as of August 20, down 12.3% year-on-year, according to the Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment. In the period, a remarkable decrease was seen in the value of newly-registered capital, down 43.9% to 6.35 billion USD. Meanwhile, additional capital injected into existing projects rose by 50.7% to 7.5 billion USD; and capital contributions and share purchases was up 3.6% to 2.9 billion USD. Read full story

– Overseas shipments within the first seven months of 2022 earned more than 14 billion USD for the leather and footwear sector, an annual increase of 13%. During the period, the export revenue of the products from North America and the EU grew by 24% and 17.5%, respectively. Read full story

– The Vietnam – Laos Trade Fair 2022 (VIETLAO EXPO 2022) officially kicked off in Vientiane, Laos on August 25. This is the biggest trade promotion event held annually by the two countries' Ministries of Industry and Trade in the Lao capital city, with the aim of promoting exports and expanding the sale network for Vietnam's goods to Laos and the northeast region of Thailand. Read full story/.