☕ Afternoon briefing on May 23

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

- Almost 53.9 trillion VND (2.29 billion USD) in state capital was saved in 2022 as reported by ministries, sectors, and localities, according to the Government.

Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc, on behalf of the Government, delivered a report on thrift practice and wastefulness prevention last year in front of the 15th National Assembly (NA) at the ongoing fifth session on May 23. He said that thanks to proactive governance, the state budget spending tasks in 2022 basically reached their targets. Read full story

- Vice Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Nguyen Duc Hai and Vice Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Republic Jan Bartosek held talks in Hanoi on May 23, agreeing to maintain mutual visits and experience sharing between the two legislative bodies. Read full story

- Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang’s upcoming trip to Japan for the 28th International Conference on Future of Asia and a working visit not only shows the importance of the event to Vietnam’s foreign policy but also extends the message that Vietnam wishes to contribute more to the future of Asia, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu said in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency. Read full story

- President Vo Van Thuong met in Hanoi on May 23 more than 100 outstanding athletes and coaches, who freshly brought about an unprecedented success for Vietnam at SEA Games 32.

The 32nd edition in Cambodia marked the first time in history that the Vietnamese contingent, despite not being at the host position, had topped the tally with 136 gold, 105 silver and 118 bronze medals, broken 12 records, and set four new records. Read full story

- A workshop was held in Hanoi on May 22, providing guidelines for displaying the ASEAN Flag next to the National Flag at the compound of ASEAN Member State’s military units participating in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations.

The event, held in a hybrid format, attracted the participation of representatives from ASEAN countries, the ASEAN Secretariat and the Military Attachés of ASEAN countries in Vietnam. Read full story

- Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Vu on May 22 chaired a meeting between the Steering Committee for Economic Diplomacy and representative agencies of Vietnam abroad to evaluate impacts, challenges and opportunities from new regulations of markets to wood and forestry sector of Vietnam, and seek ways to support the sector in promoting exports. Read full story

- The conclusion of negotiations towards the signing of the Vietnam - Israel Free Trade Agreement (VIFTA) has opened up new and potential opportunities for Vietnam's exports, and now is time for businesses to understand Israeli people’s needs and tastes to promptly enter this new market, according to insiders.

After seven years with 12 negotiation sessions, recently the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) announced that it had officially concluded VIFTA negotiations with the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry to reach agreements in accordance with both countries’ aspirations and interests. Read full story

- Vietnamese bird's nests see great potential for export to Chinese market as people in China and Chinese communities in other countries across the world spend about 5 billion USD on bird’s nests and products made from them.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the General Administration of Customs of China signed a protocol on requirements for quarantine, inspection and veterinary hygiene for bird’s nests of Vietnam to be exported to China. Read full story

- The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and the Banking Academy on May 23 organised a series of education communication events on finance management called "Future Bankers 2023".

It aimed to help realise the Government's goals in the National Financial Inclusion Strategy, and projects that promote cashless payments. Read full story

- Remittances to Ho Chi Minh City are expected to reach 7 billion USD in 2023, an annual increase of about 6-7%.

At a May 22 workshop on the city’s remittance attraction and promotion, deputy director of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV)’s branch in the southern economic hub Nguyen Duc Lenh further said the remittances have increased continuously in the last five years, with the highest amount recorded in 2021, at more than 7.1 billion USD. The figure exceeded 2.1 billion USD in the first quarter this year, up over 19% year-on-year. Read full story

- Ho Chi Minh City is striving to reactivate several key projects that have been shelved for years with a view to helping ease flooding and traffic congestion.

HCM City has officially entered the rainy season, but a project worth 10 trillion VND (426.4 million USD) on addressing tidal flooding with climate change taken into account hasn’t shown any signs of resumption, the Lao dong (Labour) daily reported. Read full story

- Vietnam is seeing a great opportunity to access the mRNA technology for vaccine production, said Patrick Haverman, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Vietnam, at a workshop held by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Health Strategy and Policy Institute (HSPI) under the Ministry of Health in Hanoi on May 22. Read full story

- The World Health Organisation (WHO) is urgently contacting to find a source of rare drugs to support Vietnam in treating botulinum poisoning cases, according to the Drug Administration of Vietnam (DAV) under the Ministry of Health.

Botulism is a rare but life-threatening condition that is primarily caused by toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. The poisoning is  very rare both in Vietnam and around the world. Read full story

- The 2023 Vietnam Day was held in Gwangju city of the Republic of Korea (RoK) on May 21, aims to popularise the traditional and unique culture of Vietnam to international friends as well as to strengthen cultural exchange between the two countries. Read full story

- The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) on May 23 announced that the national futsal team will play two friendly matches with the Solomon Islands before taking training in South America.

The two teams will meet each other at 5 pm on May 25 and 26 in Ho Chi Minh City. Read full story

- The Ho Chi Minh City Photographic Association and the Vietnam Institute of Buddhist Studies on May 22 opened a photo exhibition on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Bodhisattva Thich Quang Duc’s self-immolation to protest the persecution of Buddhists by the US-backed South Vietnamese government of Ngo Dinh Diem. (June 11, 1963 - June 11, 2023).

With the theme "Buddhism with peace", the weeklong exhibition displays 138 photos selected from the "Buddhism with Peace" contest which was launched from March 31 to May 15 with more than 1,200 entries from photographers across the country. Read full story./.