☕ Afternoon briefing on July 1

Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency on June 30.

- Local media of Hungary have highlighted the visit by National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, which was made from June 26-28 at the invitation of Speaker of the Hungarian NA László Kövér. Read full story

- Vietnamese representatives reaffirmed their country’s commitments to develop blue and sustainable oceans when attending the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) held in Lisbon from June 27 to July 1.

Addressing the UN Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14): Conserve, sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development, Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Hieu emphasised the need to fully and effectively implement the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) - a comprehensive legal framework for all activities at sea and a prerequisite for ensuring peace, security and prosperity, as well as the effective implementation of SDG14. Read full story

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on July 1 stressed the need for the Central Highlands region to improve the quality of human resources, especially those belonging to ethnic minority groups, and consider the task one of the breakthroughs for rapid and sustainable development.

Chairing a conference reviewing the implementation of the Politburo’s Resolution 10 dated January 18, 2002 and Conclusion 12 dated October 24, 2011 on socio-economic development and assurance of national defence and security in the Central Highlands, he hailed positive achievements the region has gained after the implementation of the two documents. Read full story

- State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has highlighted significant contributions of blind poet Nguyen Dinh Chieu to Vietnam’s literature, education and culture, in his remarks delivered at the celebration of Chieu’s 200th birth anniversary (July 1, 1822 – 2022).

Chieu (1822 – 1888) is among the World Cultural Celebrities whose birth and death anniversaries will be commemorated by UNESCO between 2022 and 2023. The decision was made during the ongoing 41st General Conference of UNESCO in Paris on November 23 last year. Read full story

- Vietnam has developed the world's first commercial safe and effective vaccine against African swine fever (ASF), German newspaper Agrarheute (Agriculture Today) reported on July 1. In its article, Agrarheute noted that the ASF epidemic is causing great concern to pig farmers globally. Read full story

- Vietnam’s economic growth accelerated faster than expected in the second quarter of this year, as a recovery in exports and manufacturing helped offset risks from coronavirus outbreaks and rising oil prices, Bloomberg reported.

The US-based news agency cited data from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO) saying the Vietnamese economy expanded 7.72% year-on-year in the April-June period, compared to 5.05% of the previous quarter. Read full story

- Tan Long Group JSC, in collaboration with Kiraboshi Bank, held a ceremony in Tokyo on June 30 to introduce ST25 rice, which was named the world’s best rice in 2019, to the Japanese market.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Vu Hong Nam appreciated the two sides’ efforts to bring the grain to such a high-standard market like Japan. Read full story

- Loc Troi Group JSC exported nearly 500 tonnes of rice labelled with its own brand name “Com Vietnam Rice” to the EU markets in June.

Since the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) took effect, the group has exported around 30,000 tonnes of rice to the EU. Read full story

- Though Vietnam is said to have certain advantages, to maintain sustained success, the country should be a diligent student of not only the upsides, but also the lessons learnt of other countries, said Moritz Kraemer, former Global Chief Ratings Officer of Sovereign Ratings Group at S&P Global and currently the Chief Economist, Head of Research of Landesbank Baden Wuerttemberg (LBBW). Read full story./.