☕ Afternoon briefing on March 22

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

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked the youth of Vietnam to play a pioneering role while chairing a hybrid dialogue with young people nationwide on March 22.
The dialogue focused on three topics: education and training for the building of high-quality young human resources meeting requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, improving physical health and the cultural and spiritual life of the youth, and creating an environment for the young to make self-improvement, start careers, and innovate.Read full text

- Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai paid a courtesy visit to Speaker of the National Assembly Kim Jin-pyo and met Prime Minister Han Duck-soo of the Republic of Korea (RoK) on March 21-22 as part of his trip to the country.
At the meeting on March 21, the RoK NA speaker noted that the relations between Vietnam and the RoK have been developing strongly, highlighting the elevation of bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in December 2022.Read full text

- Over the past 50 years, Vietnam and Belgium have enjoyed fruitful partnership across all fields from politics, diplomacy to economy, culture and people-to-people exchange, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg Nguyen Van Thao.
The ambassador noted that although Belgium is a small country with a population of only more than 10 million, the European country is a partner with great cooperation potential for Vietnam. As the centre of Europe, Belgium has acted as a gateway for Vietnam to the European Union (EU).Read full text

-Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Karl Van den Bossche has called Vietnam a responsible, reliable and stable partner in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties (March 22, 1973-2023).
He recalled that 50 years ago, Belgium and its neighbouring European nations, including Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Italy, quickly recognised the young Democratic Republic of Vietnam, stressing that they supported the return of peace and stability to a country heavily damaged by decade-long wars.Read full text

-Vietnam is willing to share its experience as well as work closely with other ASEAN member countries to continue promoting the ASEAN-EU strategic partnership, a Vietnamese diplomat has said.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium Nguyen Van Thao, who is also head of Vietnam's Delegation to the EU, made the statement at a workshop to review the relations between ASEAN and EU over the last four decades in Brussels on March 21.Read full text

- Over the last 50 years, relations between Vietnam and Belgium have developed from pure humanitarian cooperation into an increasingly effective economic partnership, said President of the Belgium - Vietnam Friendship Association (ABV) Pierre Gréga.
Bilateral cooperation has been developing diversely, with economic and trade ties covering a large proportion aside from political, cultural, scientific, and training connections, he told the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the countries’ diplomatic relationship (March 22).Read full text

-Vietnam was the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s fourth largest supplier of rubber in the first two months of 2023, according to the Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
The department cited data from the General Administration of Vietnam Customs showing that in the January-February period, Vietnam exported 5,080 tonnes of rubber to the RoK for 8.02 million USD. The figures represented a drop of 16.5% in volume and 29.6% in value over the same period last year.Read full text

- Policy advocacy will be promoted, along with efforts to call for financial and human resources for the prevention and control of malaria, parasitic and insect-transmitted diseases to successfully eliminate malaria in Vietnam by 2030, heard a conference held by the Ministry of Health and PATH, a global non-profit organisation on public health, in Hanoi on March 22.
The conference aims to contribute to, through the strengthened communications and policy advocacy, ensuring sustainable finance for malaria elimination, prevention and control, preventing malaria's return, and updating new and effective treatment methods.Read full text/.