-Speaker of the Indian Lok Sabha Om Birla will pay an officialvisit to Vietnam from April 19-21, according to the National Assembly’s ForeignRelations Committee.
Thevisit will be made at an invitation by NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue. Read full story
-Vietnam always treasures and wishes to enhanceits comprehensive strategic partnership with India, both bilaterally andmultilaterally, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said on April 15.
The Party chief made the affirmation during hisphone talks with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is also head of theBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) (Indian People's Party). Read full story
-Foreign minister Bui Thanh Son and hisBelarusian counterpart Vladimir Makei discussed bilateral relations in thecontext of the two countries celebrating 30 years of diplomatic ties duringtheir phone talks on April 15.
The two ministers appreciated the cooperation ofthe two countries in the COVID-19 prevention and combat with specific supportactivities over the past time and agreed that both nations will jointly carryout practical activities to mark the 30th anniversary of their relations. Read full story
-Defence Minister General Phan Van Giang said hebelieves that the Vietnam-France defence ties will further develop in the timeahead, during his reception for Alice Guitton, Director General forInternational Relations and Strategy at the French Ministry of the ArmedForces, in Hanoi on April 15. Read full story
-Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on April 17pointed out that the south-central province of Ninh Thuan holds great potentialto grow further, especially in agriculture, forestry, aquatic products andrenewable energy.
At a meeting with local officials as part of hisworking trip to Ninh Thuan, Chinh held that the province has yet to fully tapsuch advantages due to limitations in infrastructure, mechanisms and policies, aswell as ways to utilise resources. Read full story
-The International Finance Corporation (IFC)will continue its support to Vietnam, especially in green growth, climatechange response and increasing productivity in the private sector, IFCVice President for Asia and Pacific Alfonso Garcia Mora pledged on April 15.
At a working session with Deputy Prime Minister LeMinh Khai in Ho Chi Minh City, the IFC Vice President said Vietnam is one ofthe top recipients of the IFC's capital. Read full story
-Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh reiteratedthe Government’s determination to complete 361km of the North - SouthExpressway this year at a meeting to review the progress of four componentprojects on April 16.
The four component projects include those from MaiSon - Expressway 45 (63.37km), Cam Lo - La Son (98.3km), Vinh Hao - Phan Thiet(100.8km), and Phan Thiet - Dau Giay (99km), measuring 361.47km in total. Read full story
-Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai hasapproved the sovereign credit rating improvement project by 2030, part of aneffort to make Vietnam a developing and upper-middle-income country with modernindustry, heightening the country’s international reputation and reducingcredit risks.
The country sets to raise its credit rating toBaa3 or better on Moody’s scale and BBB- or better on the Standard & Poor’sand Fitch by 2030, which are considered as “investment-grade”. Read full story
-Vietnam is anticipated to enjoy the highesttrade and income gains among members of Regional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP), according to a latest World Bank report.
The average trade weighted tariff imposed byVietnam declines from 0.8 percent to 0.2 percent while the tariffs faced by thecountry are reduced from 0.6 percent to 0.1 percent between 2000 and 2035, itsaid. Read full story
-Retailand consumer service revenues enjoyed good growth in the first quarter of 2022,rising 4.4 percent from the same period last year to 1,318 trillion VND (57.55billion USD), according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).
Retailrevenue alone picked up 5.8 percent year on year, with many domestic retailersposting positive signs in their business. Read full story
-The latest draftNational Power Development Plan for the 2021 - 2030 period,with a vision to 2045 (PDP VIII) has made drastic reduction of CO2emissions with no new coal-fired power plants to be built in the planningperiod, and with the switch from coal and natural gas to biomass, ammonia, andhydrogen, according to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang HoangAn.
Inhis report at a virtual conference with localities on April 16 on the PDP VIII,the Deputy Minister said that compared with previous drafts, the latest onealso makes remarkable changes to the structure of energy sources and thedesignation of power development space, which helps reduce social investmentcapital and save 13 billion USD for development of power transmissionlines. Read full story
-People who have been in closecontact with COVID-19 patients, or F1 cases, are now no longerrequired to self-quarantine but have to avoid going to places where peoplegather, according to a new guidance issued by the Health Ministry on April 15.
The new guidance gives new definitions of COVID-19patients (or F0), and F1 cases, along with medical measures for them, whichtakes into account the high vaccination coverage and a strong decline in bothserious cases and fatalities due to COVID-19. Read full story
-Nearly 1,000 sixth grade students aged 11years old to 11 years and 10 months old in Hanoi’s districts of Ha Dong, PhuXuyen and Soc Son were vaccinated against the COVID-19 on April 16.
They were the first in the capital to receive theinoculation as the city has kicked off the vaccine rollout for children aged 5to under 12. The campaign began in other districts the following day. Read full story
-Ho Chi Minh City on April 16 started tovaccinate children aged from 5 to under 12 against COVID-19, with 109vaccination stations set up across the city.
About 30,000 sixth-grade students are the first toget the shots. Read full story
-The Asia Pacific Gateway (APG) undersea cable,which connects eight countries and territories in the region, is facingproblems with its S1.7 section, about 910km from Southeast Asia.
The fault was detected at 9pm on April 15, theInternet Service Provider (ISP) said on April 17, noting that there has been noinformation about the repair work from the operator so far. Read full story
-Spectators watching competitions in personduring the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) will not be required totake COVID-19 tests before enter the stadiums, according to guidelines issuedby the Ministry of Health on April 16 regarding COVID-19 control measuresduring the regional sport event.
According to the guidelines, guests to the eventat deputy ministerial level and above, as well as heads and deputy heads ofsport delegations neither need to show negative COVID-19 testing results whenentering Vietnam nor take testing after arrival. They also do not need to takequarantine. Read full story
-A Delegation Registration Meeting (DRM) will take place inHanoi next month for Vietnam, as the host, to confirm the registration of allathletes to participate in the upcoming SEA Games.
Theevent will be held among chiefs of delegations and National Olympic Committeesof Southeast Asian nations from May 1 - 6 in both in-person and virtual forms. Read full story/.
VNA
