Vietnamplus

Below are the top 10 world events of 2019 voted for by the Vietnam News Agency.

At a recent symposium on measures to boost the development of Vietnam’s mechanic sectors, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stressed that the Government will establish a market for mechanic firms to develop, including facilitating the sector to seek for domestic and overseas markets for the country’s oil and gas engineering sector’s products.

Many countries are stepping up measures to prevent the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that have infected over 400 people, mostly in China.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on January 21 held a periodic open debate on the Middle East situation, including Palestine, under the chair of Vietnam.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has said Vietnam pays special attention to its relations with Middle East and African countries, which have progressed in various areas over the past years.

The ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat was held in Nha Trang city in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa on January 16-17 under the chair of Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh.

Thailand has found the second infection of the new coronavirus first found in Wuhan, China, according to local authorities.

Indonesia and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have carried out preventive measures against the acute pneumonia caused by a novel coronavirus (nCoV).

The health sector is prompting actions to prevent the acute pneumonia caused by a novel coronavirus (nCoV) from entering Vietnam and gear up to deal with it if infections are reported.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has granted an interview to press agencies on foreign affairs, on the occasion of the traditional lunar New Year.

About 650,000 Vietnamese are working in more than 40 countries and territories worldwide, according to statistics of the Department of Overseas Labour under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA).

Leaders of the United Nations and officials of some countries highly valued Vietnam’s international stature while meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in New York on January 9 – 10.

Given the recent tensions in the Middle East, Vietnam’s representative agencies in the region and domestic relevant parties are ready to take citizen protection measures when necessary, said Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) on January 8 ordered agencies and localities to halt sending workers to the Middle East in the face of current tensions in the region.

Thailand expects a windfall from the Indian tourist market if travellers stay away from the Middle East and turn eastward instead. Executive Director of the ASEAN, South Asia, and South Pacific Markets under the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) said the ongoing Iran-US conflict could affect Indian travellers' confidence, resulting in their shunning of Dubai for Thailand to avoid the Middle East.

Vietnam has been tapped by Japanese firms as the most promising place in Asia to invest in 2020, with India and Southeast Asian countries dominating other top spots, Kyodo News cited a survey as showing on January 8.

Gold prices declined on January 7 after touching a four-month high, but the uptrend is unlikely to stop.

National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines said since January 8, it has diverted its flights from/to Europe away from areas which could be influenced by the rising tension in the Middle East.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has had discussions with Iranian Ambassador to Indonesia Mohammad Azad and US Ambassador to Indonesia Joseph R. Donovan Jr. amid the flare-up in tensions between the two nations, Antara News reported.

Vietnam’s assumption of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)’s non-permanent membership for the 2020-2021 tenure and the UNSC’s presidency in January 2020 is a valuable opportunity for the country to contribute constructively and responsibly to the international community’s common affairs.