☕ Afternoon briefing on June 8

Hanoi, (VNA) – The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency on June 8. 

- Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong held online talks with President of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Yoon Suk-yeol on June 8, as the two countries are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their bilateral diplomatic ties.

President Yoon expressed his delight at the development of the relations, affirming that his country wishes to remain a trusted partner in Vietnam’s new development stage and considers the Southeast Asian country one of its most important partners in its policy towards the region.

The Vietnamese Party leader welcomed the RoK’s role in and positive contributions to regional cooperation frameworks and international issues for peace, cooperation, friendship and development. Read full story

-Minister of National Defence, General Phan Van Giang and his visiting Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh agreed on future cooperation orientations between the two ministries during their talks in Hanoi on June 8.

On the foundation of the Vietnam-India Joint Vision Statement for Peace, Prosperity and People released in December 2020, the two sides concurred to strengthen collaboration to fully and effectively implement signed agreements, focusing on increasing contacts and exchanges of delegations at all levels, especially high ones. Read full story

-National Assembly deputies raised questions on basic, strategic and urgent issues that are drawing attention of voters and people, especially farmers, to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said following a Q&A session for the minister on June 8.

Although this is the first time Hoan has fielded questions by legislators, the minister showed that he has been keeping a close watch on the situation and matters under his ministry’s management, Hue added. Read full story

- The Ministry of Finance is considering to put forward another proposal for further fuel duty cut, Minister Ho Duc Phoc told the 15th National Assembly during its third sitting in Hanoi on June 8 amid concerns over soaring fuel prices.

Fuel prices in Vietnam are relatively higher than those of neighbouring countries, Phoc said, and it is up to the NA and its Standing Committee to decide whether fuel tariffs should be reduced. The NA agreed to lower the environment tax on fuel earlier this year, he noted. Read full story

- Communication activities play an important role in the management and protection of the national land border, said Le Hai Binh, deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Education and Popularisation.

The Party official made the conclusion at a conference on communication work on land border affairs in 2022, which was held in both in-person and online forms, on June 8 by the Commission for Education and Popularisation in coordination with the Foreign Ministry, Party committees of 25 provinces along the Vietnam-China, Vietnam-Laos and Vietnam-Cambodia border lines, and relevant agencies. Read full story

- Vietnam and Italy convened the 7th meeting of the Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation in Hanoi on June 7, during which the two sides discussed various aspects of the bilateral economic partnership.

Co-organised by Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and Italy’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the meeting was chaired by Minister Dang Hoang An on the Vietnamese side and Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs Manlio di Stefano on the Italian side. Read full story

-The Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (HCMA) and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) will cooperate to implement a project on establishing and building capacity of the Vietnam – Australia Centre under an agreement signed at a ceremony in Hanoi on June 8.  

Addressing the event, Director of HCMA Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang stressed that the establishment of the centre is in implementation of an agreement signed by the Prime Ministers of the two countries in 2019. Read full story

-More than 16.7 million people nationwide joined social insurance and unemployment insurance as of the end of May, equivalent to 33.81 percent of the total workforce, an increase of over 507,000 people over the same period in 2021.

According to the Vietnam Social Security (VSS), over 1.46 million people are expected to participate in compulsory social insurance and nearly 980,000 in voluntary social insurance in the remaining months of the year. Read full story

-A programme named “Millions of green trees for a green Vietnam” was launched in Hanoi on June 8 by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCM CYU)’s Central Committee in coordination with Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverage Co. Ltd.    

The goal for this year is to plant 50,000 trees in watershed forest (around 40ha) in the Central Highlands provinces of Dak Lak and Dak Nong, along with 10,000 scattered trees. Read full story

-The World Bank (WB)-funded Urban Development and Enhanced Climate Resilience Project will be implemented to improve access to infrastructure and connectivity and to reduce flood risk in the urban core of Vinh Long City in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long.

Addressing the project’s launching ceremony on June 7, Hoang Thi Hoa, Senior Urban Specialist at WB Vietnam Office, said Vinh Long City, strategically located along the economic corridor that connects Ho Chi Minh City to the Mekong Delta, has great potential to become a regional hub for agribusiness, trade, and tourism. Read full story/.