19 year old vaccines

COVID-19: Four new imported cases bring national count to 2,816

April 22, 2021 by vov.vn

All the latest cases are Vietnamese citizens who entered the nation from Japan, Singapore, and Russia.

In the morning the same day, two Indian experts and four Vietnamese nationals were also confirmed positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Among the country’s active patients, a total of 40 cases have since tested negative for the virus, with the majority of them recording several negative results.

As many as 39,191 individuals are currently in isolation undergoing medical monitoring across the nation.

At present, the country has seen 2,490 recoveries from the COVID-19 disease, while the death toll remaining unchanged at 35.

The Ministry reported that a total of 108,897 frontline workers nationwide have received the COVID-19 vaccine as of 4 p.m. on April 21.

Furthermore, to prepare for future COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, the Department of Health of the central highlands province Dak Lak have organised a training course aimed at ensuring safety during the vaccination process for 90 healthcare workers based in the locality.

Nguyen Trung Thanh, deputy director of the provincial Department of Health, said that Dak Lak has so far received 15,700 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, with the province set to launch its inoculation scheme from April 27 to May 7. This will involve three priority groups, including people working at healthcare facilities and those involved in pandemic prevention and control across the province.

Meanwhile Can Tho International Airport welcomed two flights on April 21 which brought back Vietnamese citizens from Taiwan (China), with the group quarantined in line with regulations set out the Ministry of Health.

French Ambassador: Walking to see Hanoi during New Year days is ‘fantastic’

February 16, 2021 by vietnamnet.vn

This year I will have Tet in Hanoi. On the morning of the 1st day of the lunar New Year I will get up early to walk.

The scene will be great when the street is quiet and I can see what was left after the New Year’s Eve, French Ambassador to Vietnam Nicolas Warnery told VietnamNet.

Đại sứ Pháp: Ngày Tết đi bộ ngắm Hà Nội rất tuyệt

French Ambassador to Vietnam Nicolas Warnery. Photo: Pham Hai

It seems that you have natural bonds with Vietnam when you served as the French Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City (2004-2007) and last September you were appointed as Ambassador to Vietnam?

Fifteen years ago, I had a term in Ho Chi Minh City that lasted more than three years. At that time my children were still in school, so my whole family lived in the city. Now, I am very pleased to return to Vietnam as an Ambassador. While working as the French Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, I had many occasions to go to Hanoi when there were high-level visits to Vietnam or meetings organized by the French Embassy.

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have different features. Ho Chi Minh City used to be a port city, a commercial center and now is the economic hub with very active activities. Historically, Hanoi is a political, cultural, and academic center, so it has a different pace.

Regardless of position, I have not only worked in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City but always taken advantage of opportunities to visit other localities in Vietnam. During this term, as the French Ambassador to Vietnam, I have returned to Da Nang, Hue, Da Lat, Dien Bien and I plan to visit Can Tho, Nha Trang, Hai Phong in the coming time because each Vietnamese cities and locality, whether big or small, has their own characteristics.

Vietnam in 2020 assumes dual responsibility: ASEAN Chairman and Non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. What is your assessment of Vietnam’s current position in the region and the world?

2020 was a very important year for Vietnam as it took on the roles of ASEAN Chairman and Non-permanent member of the UN Security Council at the same time. Vietnam has been very successful in assuming these two roles. Right from the beginning of the year when Vietnam became the Chairman of ASEAN, the Covid-19 pandemic occurred, and since March, all ASEAN activities were organized online. Despite these difficulties and challenges, Vietnam achieved the goals set out during its term.

Within the framework of the UN Security Council and the UN, Vietnam performed an outstanding role, despite the Covid-19 pandemic. Specifically, in early January 2020, as Chairman of the UN Security Council of the month, Vietnam held a seminar related to the UN Charter and then during the year, in Hanoi, Vietnam successfully held a related event on women’s roles with peace and security.

At the end of 2020, did you experience the traditional New Year of Vietnam?

I’ve had Tet many times in Vietnam.

French Ambassador to Vietnam Nicolas Warnery. Photo: Pham Hai

Do you see any similarity between the Vietnamese traditional New Year and the holidays of the French people?

The year-end holidays in France and Tet in Vietnam have similarities, when it comes to family reunion. For France, we focus most on Christmas Eve and the next day when we meet relatives and family members.

In Vietnam, I see Tet as a reunion occasion, but this holiday is longer and has different rituals from other holidays. Not only New Year’s Eve, on the 1st day of New Year, the Vietnamese have the custom of visiting the parents… It is also an opportunity to tighten family and social relations.

During my term in Vietnam, I was once lucky to witness the reunion of a Vietnamese family. I saw a bond between the old, the young, all family members, creating a very similar atmosphere in France during Christmas.

More specifically, the first day of the Vietnamese New Year is very similar to the New Year’s Day in France, when there are almost no people on the street. Going out on the street that day will be a very special feeling.

Could you share with us your plan to experience your Vietnamese New Year this year?

This year I will have Tet in Hanoi. On the morning of the 1st day of the lunar New Year I will get up early to walk. The scene will be great when the street is quiet and I can see what was left after the New Year’s Eve.

I plan to go to Ngoc Son temple in Hoan Kiem lake. On the morning of the 1st day of New Year, many people come here to burn incense.

What is your expectation of the cooperation relationship between France and Vietnam in the new year?

2021 is a very special because after the National Party Congress, Vietnam will have new leaders. It may be the year to put an end to Covid-19 pandemic and the two countries will make more efforts to strengthen bilateral relations. We hope that 2021, after the pandemic is under control, the two sides will work together to promote stronger relations in all fields such as economy, culture, and health.

Healthcare is one of the key areas of cooperation between the two countries, with a long tradition of cooperation.

In the future, we will continue this partnership, also in response to Covid, vaccines and other issues.

During your term, what fields will you focus on with the efforts to strengthen relations between the two countries?

During my term, I hope to further promote the strategic partnership between Vietnam and France, tighten the political relationship between the two sides, and promote projects in economic, culture, higher education and projects related to climate change, environmental protection…

In general, France and Vietnam will promote bilateral relations, and exert joint efforts to promote multilateral relations.

I would like to add that there is a highly iconic project in Hanoi. The metro project No. 3 (Nhon – Hanoi urban railway line) is being implemented well. The first train has arrived in Vietnam. I hope the project will be completed soon to serve the people.

Thai An-Hien Anh

Long-term plan for post-pandemic economic recovery needed: Insiders

April 22, 2021 by en.vietnamplus.vn

Director of the Central Institute for Economic Management Tran Thi Hong Minh speaks at the workshop on April 22 (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – As the COVID-19 pandemic may continue to develop in an unpredictable fashion despite vaccination campaigns being carried out in many countries around the world, experts have said that Vietnam needs to identify and adopt a long-term plan for post-pandemic economic recovery.

They were speaking at a workshop held by the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) on April 22 to release a report on making economic recovery and institutional reforms intertwined post-pandemic.

COVID-19 has damaged the global economy, they said, forcing both developed and developing countries to speed up institutional reforms in combination with accessing the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the digital economy.

Having largely brought the pandemic under control this year, Vietnam has seen remarkable socio-economic recovery.

The resumption of international flights and the launch of vaccine passports have been discussed, with a view to opening up the economy in a safe manner.

According to CIEM Director Tran Thi Hong Minh, the report highlights several considerations for economic recovery and institutional reform in the time to come, including macro-economic stabilisation, economic institutional innovation and international integration, the State role, and economic space for the private sector.

The time to carry out economic reforms should be studied carefully during post-pandemic economic recovery , she added.

Regarding the reform process for Vietnam recommended in the report, Nguyen Anh Duong from CIEM said that it should continue its COVID-19 prevention work and its efforts to remove bottlenecks facing the business community and workers and promote economic institutional reform this year.

In 2022, it is necessary for the country to carry out economic recovery measures in tandem with economic institutional reform. Meanwhile, solutions to support economic recovery should be withdrawn, and focus should be sharpened on economic institutional reform, Duong added.

Vietnam can achieve better economic growth if it loosens monetary and fiscal policies, but it could suffer from higher inflationary pressure, he pointed out.

Loose monetary and fiscal policies could result in higher economic growth and improvements in productivity if combined with institutional reform, he added, describing this as an effective way to develop the economy in a rapid and sustainable manner in the face of global economic risks and uncertainties./.

VNA

Vietnam-China border exchange plays important role in promoting bilateral relations

April 22, 2021 by en.qdnd.vn

In an interview given to the People’s Army Newspaper’s reporters, General Thai stressed that the two countries’ efforts and close cooperation have helped maintain the system of border markers and security and order along the shared borderline.

The Vietnamese border chief also highlighted the results of the border defense friendship exchanges and related activities engaged in by the Party committees, authorities and people of seven border provinces in Northern Vietnam and the Chinese provinces of Guangxi and Yunnan. He noted that the two sides’ economic-trade cooperation via border and border gates has been constantly growing with trade turnover accounting for nearly 85 per cent of the total turnover of goods via border between Vietnam and neighboring countries. Moreover, the development of many busy cities and border areas along the shared borderline together with the opening and upgrading of border gates have met the increasing trade demand between the two nations.

According to General Thai, the two sides have worked closely to effectively implement three legal documents on border, the agreement on protection and exploitation of tourism resources in Ban Gioc waterfall, and the agreement on free navigation at Beilun estuary. Attentively, the friendship and solidarity between the Vietnamese border guard force and Chinese border protection force and between the people living on both sides of the shared borderline have developed. In addition, achievements have been seen in exchange activities, such as the twinning model connecting residential areas on both sides of the shared borderline, between border guard stations, cultural exchanges, and economic development assistance.

“We can confirm that the Vietnam-China land border not only plays a role in defining the territorial boundaries of each country, but also is a space for cooperation, development, and a bridge of solidarity, and friendship between the two countries, especially among border people,” said Chief of the Vietnam Border Guard Command.

Recalling the success of the first Vietnam-China border defense friendship exchange in March 2014 in the Vietnamese province of Quang Ninh and the Chinese province of Guangxi, General Thai stressed that this important event opened a new page and laid a good foundation for the bilateral border defense cooperation. Thai added that after each exchange, the cooperative mechanism between the two countries’ border protection forces has been very effective. He also highly valued the good outcomes in border management and protection, cross-border immigration control and cross-border crime prevention and control. Thanks to the good coordination in monitoring borders, the two border protection forces have effectively carried out COVID-19 prevention and control and prevented illegal immigration across borders.

General Thai also emphasized the outcomes of the five previous exchanges, including the signing of numerous important cooperation agreements on border and border gate management, settlement of newly arising border issues, handling of non-traditional security challenges, and the successful organization of anti-terrorism exercises, to name but a few. According to General Thai, these have made important contribution to enhancing friendship, mutual trust and understanding between the two countries militaries and people.

Regarding this year’s Vietnam-China border defense friendship exchange, the sixth of its kind, slated for April 24, General Thai spoke highly of the thorough preparations for the event of relevant bodies of the two defense ministries and the support from the Party committees, authorities, and people of Quang Ninh (Vietnam) and Guangxi (China) provinces. He informed that apart from the exchange, the seventh Vietnam-China Defense Strategic Dialogue and the Chinese Minister of National Defense’s official visit to Vietnam will take place.

General Thai also mentioned the participation of the high-ranking Vietnamese and Chinese military delegations in various activities within the framework of the exchange and emphasized that these demonstrated the thoughtfulness of the two Parties, States, and militaries concerning the border areas, and socio-economic and cultural life of the people living along both sides of the shared borderline.

About the future cooperation between the border protection forces of the two countries, General Thai said that they will continue to realize agreements reached by the two defense ministers during the exchange. They will boost coordination to ensure law enforcement and the protection of the shared borderline and border markers and consolidate trust and promote cooperation for mutual benefits in a substantive, friendly, harmonious, and sustainable manner.

Additionally, they will invest in upgrading border gates and apply IT to immigration control. Especially, once the COVID-19 pandemic is controlled, the two sides will organize more talks, joint patrols, anti-terrorism and disease prevention and control exercises, cultural exchanges, and military sports festivals.

Translated by Mai Huong

Over 100 Lao Cai firms support tourism stimulus campaign

April 22, 2021 by dtinews.vn

More than 100 businesses in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai have jointly participated in a tourism stimulation programme, aimed at attracting more visitors to the locality.

Under the recently-launched people’s committee-supported Beauty of Lao Cai programme, discounts of 10-70% will be offered for different tourism services in the province, including entrance tickets to tourism destinations, food and drink as well as accommodation services.

Tourists in Sapa, Lao Cai

All companies which join the campaign have pledged to apply the discount and ensure their product and service quality. The programme will also include various activities for visitors such as a flower and brocade festival in Sapa, a Sapa cultural and tourism fair to be held in Hanoi, a carnival for tourism connection among Ninh Binh, Hue, Danang and Hoi An and spiritual tours to Thuong and Bao Ha temples. According to Ha Van Thang, director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the province has tried to ensure safety for visitors amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic while providing good services. “The recent survey from the Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board indicated that Lao Cai now stands fourth among the 15 most attractive spots in Vietnam,” Thang said. Last year, Lao Cai held two tourism stimulation campaigns in May and October, which helped to lure more travellers. This was among activities to help recover the local tourism sector after being hit by Covid-19. The room occupancy rate at local hotels for the coming Reunification Day and May Day holidays has reached almost 100%.

Central bank to keep proactive, flexible monetary policy

April 22, 2021 by en.vietnamplus.vn

A transaction office of BaoVietBank (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – For the time ahead, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) will keep a proactive and flexible monetary policy basing on market developments and forecasts for the macro-economy, SBV Deputy Governor Dao Minh Tu told a meeting on April 22.

This monetary policy is meant to control this year’s inflation within the targeted ceiling of about 4 percent, support macroeconomic stabilisation, assist economic recovery, ensure liquidity, maintain the stability in the monetary and forex market s, and create conditions to reduce capital expenses for people, businesses, and the economy as a whole, the official said.

The SBV will maintain a close watch on domestic and foreign macro-economic and monetary changes, foreign exchange rate developments, as well as foreign currency demand and supply to set appropriate exchange rates , he noted, adding that it will uniformly carry out measures and policy tools to stabilise exchange rates and the forex market to help ensure macro-economic stability.

Besides, credit provision will be boosted, especially for priority fields to match economic restructuring and help fuel growth and stabilise the macro-economy.

Tu also stressed the need to tighten control over credit for high-risk areas like real estate, transport projects in build-operate-transfer (BOT) and build-transfer (BT) formats, and securities while at the same time taking synchronous solutions to tackle difficulties facing those hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters.

The central bank will order credit institutions to facilitate people and enterprises’ access to credit to help minimise loan-sharking, he said.

Pham Thanh Ha, Director of the SBV’s Monetary Policy Department, reported a credit growth rate of 3.34 percent as of April 16, compared to the end of 2020, pointing out that the credit growth has begun stagnating as credit has increased by just 0.41 percent in half a month though the rise was 0.76 percent in January, eased slightly to 0.66 percent in February due to the COVID-19 resurgence, and surged by 2.93 percent in March.

The SBV affirmed that since the year’s beginning, it has flexibly and synchronously used monetary policy tools to ensure liquidity for the banking system, stabilise the monetary market, and help reduce input cost for credit organisations, thereby easing the pressure on deposit and lending interest rates./.

VNA