☕ Afternoon briefing on March 20

The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.
☕ Afternoon briefing on March 20 ảnh 1
Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

- The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) must join hands with competent agencies to fully and effectively implement timely measures to stabilise the gold market under a recent dispatch by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

The Government has repeatedly requested the central bank to keep a close watch on the global and domestic gold prices so as to control the market as its recent complicated developments have had a negative impact on the monetary market and market sentiment. Read full story

- The International Francophone Day (March 20) offers an opportunity for the Francophone community to honour its common values and the desire shared by French-speaking people to live and cooperate in cultural diversity.

Over the past years, Vietnam has made continuous efforts to contribute to promoting the image and presence of the French-speaking community in the Asia-Pacific and the world at large. Read full story

- Dang Ha Viet, Director of the General Department of Sports and Physical Training (GDSPT) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, on March 19 held a working session with Alain Goudsmet, Chairman of Mentally Fit Global of Belgium to discuss cooperation in the field of physical training and sports.

Earlier, Belgium expressed the wish to work with the GDSPT in implementing a project on building a mental training network in Vietnamese sports, aiming to further promote collaboration between the two countries in this field on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic ties (March 22, 1973 - March 22, 2023). Read full story

- Vietnamese and Dutch experts shared experience in policy building, nature-based and technical solutions and mobilisation of financial resources for sustainable development, at a workshop held in Hanoi on March 19.

At the event, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Cong Thanh and Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Mark Harbers held that both nations have similar natural environments and been hard hit by climate change, with Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region experiencing land erosion, saline intrusion and sand depletion, and 25% of the Netherlands’ areas below the sea level. Read full story

- Infobae, a renowned newspaper in Argentina, has recently published an article by economist Damián Di Pace about the contributions of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to Vietnam’s economic growth after he visited the Southeast Asian country.

According to the article, the Doi Moi (Renewal) process launched by the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1986 has turned Vietnam into a nation with the highest economic growth rate in the world in over 30 years.Read full story

- Some members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have become important trade partners of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), and Vietnam is a typical example, an Argentinian expert has said.

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency, Ezequiel Ramoneda, Coordinator of the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies (CESEA) at the Institute of International Relations of the National University of La Plata of Argentina, said trade relations between Mercosur and ASEAN have enjoyed the great progress over the last 15 years. Read full story

- Vietnam was the third largest cryptocurrency gainer in the world in 2023, only after the U.S. and UK, with nearly 1.2 billion USD, according to U.S. blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis.

It was one of five Asian markets in the top 10 countries for cryptocurrency gains last year, besides China, Indonesia, India, and the Republic of Korea. Read full story

- VinFast Auto has signed a cooperation agreement with Guam AutoSpot on the distribution of its electric vehicles (EV) in Micronesia, announced the Vietnamese automaker in its recent press release.

As per the pact, Guam AutoSpot will be VinFast’s first official distributor in the region, with the former expected to begin its import of the latter’s EVs and components in May. Read full story

- The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), in collaboration with the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists and relevant agencies, launched the “Happy Vietnam” photo and video contest for this year on March 20, in response to the International Day of Happiness.

Addressing the launching ceremony, which drew the online participation of representatives from the 63 localities across the country, MIC Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Lam said that the UN-designated day highlights the role of happiness and satisfaction during sustainable development promotion and poverty reduction, and the importance of happiness and human rights in the policy-making process of each country. Read full story
☕ Afternoon briefing on March 20 ảnh 2The boat racing festival in Dien Bien province. (Photo: nhandan.vn)
- Home to 19 ethnic groups with various cultural festivals, the northwestern province of Dien Bien is tapping its strengths in this regard to lure more tourists.

Ethnic minority groups accounting for up to 83% of the local population have maintained their traditional festivals like boat racing of the Thai Trang (White Thai), crop praying of the Kho Mu, and fire dance of the Dao, featuring multiple folk dances and songs./. Read full story
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