☕ Afternoon briefing on March 31

Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency on April 1.

- Japan strongly supports compliance with the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal Award on the East Sea arbitration case, Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kashikawa Kazuhiko has twitted. He affirmed that ensuring a rules-based, free and open order in the sea is a legitimate concern of the international community, including Japan, as it has been a vital sea lane and needs to remain free and open. Read full story

– The export of aquatic products recorded strong growth last month although the Russia-Ukraine crisis has disrupted shipments to the two European countries since late February and caused spikes in shipping costs and input expenses, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP). Read full story

– A new circular issued by the Ministry of Planning and Investment takes effect on April 1 guiding the supervision and assessment of foreign investment in Vietnam. Regarding assessment of foreign investment, Circular 02/2022/TT-BKHDT regulates the contents subject to final assessment, including the pace of contribution of charter capital, legal capital and investment capital by foreign-invested economic organizations to foreign-invested projects. Read full story

– The Republic of Korea (RoK) Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) has officially removed Vietnam from the list of countries subjected ot tightened COVID-19 control measures. The agency said in a statement that during its 88th meeting on March 31, after analysing COVID-19 risks from each country and the number of infections among the arrivals in the RoK, the KDCA decided to remove Vietnam, Myanmar and Ukraine out of the list. Read full story

- Nearly 2,000 tonnes of equipment and goods of Vietnam's first military engineering unit participating in the United Nations peacekeeping operations at the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) will be transported from Hai Phong port in the northern city of Hai Phong to the mission from April 4, according to the Ministry of National Defence’s Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations. The equipment includes 147 types of engineering machines, trucks and guard vehicles. Read full story

– Fifteen centre providing intervention services for children with autism in Vietnam have conducted various communication activities to raise public awareness on the syndrome as part of activities to respond to the World Autism Awareness Day (April 2). Nguyen Thi Hien, Vice Director of the Vietnam Children’s Fund which is conducting a project to enhance public awareness of children with autism that covers the 15 centres, said that the best way to respond to the World Autism Awareness Day is to popularise signs of autism and call for stronger engagement of the community in supporting them. Read full story

– Vietnam's tourism sector officially entered the recovery stage after a long hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Acknowledging an increase in demand of search for destinations, US-based online booking travel agency Booking.com announced top 10 most hospitable tourist destinations in Vietnam in 2022. The list was based on more than 232 million verified reviews made on the travel and accommodation booking website. Read full story

- Blockchain technology is booming in Vietnam and a bright future lies ahead for the industry, according to US-based Globe Newswire, one of the world's largest newswire distribution networks, specialising in the delivery of corporate press releases, financial disclosures and multimedia content to media, investors, and consumers worldwide. Read full story/.