☀️ Morning digest on April 18

Hanoi, (VNA) - The following is a list of selected news summaries last weekend by Vietnam News Agency.

-Speaker of the Indian Lok Sabha Om Birla will pay an official visit to Vietnam from April 19-21, according to the National Assembly’s Foreign Relations Committee.

The visit will be made at an invitation by NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue. Read full story

-Vietnam always treasures and wishes to enhance its comprehensive strategic partnership with India, both bilaterally and multilaterally, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said on April 15.

The Party chief made the affirmation during his phone talks with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is also head of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) (Indian People's Party). Read full story

-Foreign minister Bui Thanh Son and his Belarusian counterpart Vladimir Makei discussed bilateral relations in the context of the two countries celebrating 30 years of diplomatic ties during their phone talks on April 15.

The two ministers appreciated the cooperation of the two countries in the COVID-19 prevention and combat with specific support activities over the past time and agreed that both nations will jointly carry out practical activities to mark the 30th anniversary of their relations. Read full story

-Defence Minister General Phan Van Giang said he believes that the Vietnam-France defence ties will further develop in the time ahead, during his reception for Alice Guitton, Director General for International Relations and Strategy at the French Ministry of the Armed Forces, in Hanoi on April 15. Read full story

-Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on April 17 pointed out that the south-central province of Ninh Thuan holds great potential to grow further, especially in agriculture, forestry, aquatic products and renewable energy.

At a meeting with local officials as part of his working trip to Ninh Thuan, Chinh held that the province has yet to fully tap such advantages due to limitations in infrastructure, mechanisms and policies, as well as ways to utilise resources. Read full story 

-The International Finance Corporation (IFC) will continue its support to Vietnam, especially in green growth, climate change response and increasing productivity in the private sector, IFC Vice President for Asia and Pacific Alfonso Garcia Mora pledged on April 15.

At a working session with Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai in Ho Chi Minh City, the IFC Vice President said Vietnam is one of the top recipients of the IFC's capital. Read full story

-Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh reiterated the Government’s determination to complete 361km of the North - South Expressway this year at a meeting to review the progress of four component projects on April 16.

The four component projects include those from Mai Son - 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 has approved the sovereign credit rating improvement project by 2030, part of an effort to make Vietnam a developing and upper-middle-income country with modern industry, heightening the country’s international reputation and reducing credit risks.

The country sets to raise its credit rating to Baa3 or better on Moody’s scale and BBB- or better on the Standard & Poor’s and Fitch by 2030, which are considered as “investment-grade”. Read full story

-Vietnam is anticipated to enjoy the highest trade and income gains among members of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), according to a latest World Bank report.

The average trade weighted tariff imposed by Vietnam declines from 0.8 percent to 0.2 percent while the tariffs faced by the country are reduced from 0.6 percent to 0.1 percent between 2000 and 2035, it said. Read full story

-Retail and 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 (57.55 billion USD), according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Retail revenue alone picked up 5.8 percent year on year, with many domestic retailers posting positive signs in their business. Read full story

-The latest draft National Power Development Plan for the 2021 - 2030 period, with a vision to 2045 (PDP VIII) has made drastic reduction of CO2 emissions with no new coal-fired power plants to be built in the planning period, and with the switch from coal and natural gas to biomass, ammonia, and hydrogen, according to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An.
 
In his 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 one also makes remarkable changes to the structure of energy sources and the designation of power development space, which helps reduce social investment capital and save 13 billion USD for development of power transmission lines. Read full story
 
-People who have been in close contact with COVID-19 patients, or F1 cases, are now no longer required to self-quarantine but have to avoid going to places where people gather, according to a new guidance issued by the Health Ministry on April 15.

The new guidance gives new definitions of COVID-19 patients (or F0), and F1 cases, along with medical measures for them, which takes into account the high vaccination coverage and a strong decline in both serious cases and fatalities due to COVID-19. Read full story

-Nearly 1,000 sixth grade students aged 11 years old to 11 years and 10 months old in Hanoi’s districts of Ha Dong, Phu Xuyen and Soc Son were vaccinated against the COVID-19 on April 16. 

They were the first in the capital to receive the inoculation as the city has kicked off the vaccine rollout for children aged 5 to under 12. The campaign began in other districts the following day. Read full story

-Ho Chi Minh City on April 16 started to vaccinate children aged from 5 to under 12 against COVID-19, with 109 vaccination stations set up across the city.

About 30,000 sixth-grade students are the first to get the shots. Read full story

-The Asia Pacific Gateway (APG) undersea cable, which connects eight countries and territories in the region, is facing problems with its S1.7 section, about 910km from Southeast Asia.

The fault was detected at 9pm on April 15, the Internet Service Provider (ISP) said on April 17, noting that there has been no information about the repair work from the operator so far. Read full story

-Spectators watching competitions in person during the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) will not be required to take COVID-19 tests before enter the stadiums, according to guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health on April 16 regarding COVID-19 control measures during the regional sport event.

According to the guidelines, guests to the event at deputy ministerial level and above, as well as heads and deputy heads of sport delegations neither need to show negative COVID-19 testing results when entering Vietnam nor take testing after arrival. They also do not need to take quarantine. Read full story

-A Delegation Registration Meeting (DRM) will take place in Hanoi next month for Vietnam, as the host, to confirm the registration of all athletes to participate in the upcoming SEA Games.

The event will be held among chiefs of delegations and National Olympic Committees of Southeast Asian nations from May 1 - 6 in both in-person and virtual forms. Read full story/.