Actively engaged employees

Young people in HCM City take part in a project to plant trees in Đắk Nông Province. — Photo sggp.org.vn

Tree-planting projects to protect the environment have become increasingly popular among young people from HCM City.

Their projects have not only contributed to increasing forest coverage on barren hills but also brought economic benefits to local people.

The project ‘Garden-Forest’ was launched by JOY (Journey Of Youth) – a volunteer group in collaboration with the group named ‘Planting one million trees per year’ and Bù Gia Mập National Park to plant trees on farmers’ land in Central Highlands provinces.

The volunteers have also worked with agricultural experts to teach organic farming techniques to farmers, helping them have a stable income.

Before planting trees, the young people studied the local climate and soil to choose suitable trees and lived with the farmers to understand the steps for planting.

Trúc Nguyên, a 19-year-old member of the project from Bình Thạnh District, told Sài Gòn Giải Phóng (Liberated Sài Gòn) newspaper: “This is the first time I know how to start a tree nursery and plant trees. It was quite hard work for the first time gardening but we are happy.”

Volunteers chose the rainy season to run the project to reduce the need for irrigation water.

During a field trip, they also visited Gia Ân mangosteen farm, which has been granted a Global Good Agriculture Practices (GlobalGAP) certificate in Đắk Nông Province and listened to an agricultural expert who has worked at the farm for 20 years.

“I know many green and afforestation projects but I still have not participated. These projects have just been rolled out once and don’t have a long-term plan or seedlings management,” said Đặng Khải An, a 21-year-old volunteer from Phú Nhuận District.

“I decided to join this project because I not only want to contribute to planting more trees, but I also want to learn how to garden. Planting trees is very interesting.”

Hồ Thắng, the founder of the group ‘Planting one million trees a year’, said the group was established last year and has planted 15,000 trees in Đắk Nông Province.

“The trees are more than 2m high and grow well. The number of dead trees accounts for about 1 per cent only,” said Thắng.

“In 2021, the group will plant vetiver grass in bare hills. This plant helps to stabilise the soil and protect it against erosion and also provides moisture to other plants.”

With support from Gia Ân farm and Bù Gia Mập National Park, the volunteers have chosen a number of suitable plants that can be planted in local families’ gardens.

No one understands the forests better than the local farmers.

Afforestation brings economic efficiency and it will help farmers maintain and replicate this model, according to Thắng.

In addition to the support of friends and online communities, the main source of funding for the group is helping young people start a business from agriculture and using some of the profits to buy seedlings.

“I just want to contribute a part of my efforts to planting trees for the land in the Central Highlands, returning the green that was lost due to deforestation for cultivation,” said Thắng.

Ministry helps the poor and policy beneficiaries enjoy Tet

Various activities to support the poor and policy beneficiaries have been instigated by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs during Tet.

Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said they had done their best to ensure that no one would be left behind despite the on-going pandemic. The ministry issued an official document in January asking localities authorities to have plans to visit and provide support to needy people.

Decision 7 issued by the state president on January 11 stated that over 1.6 million people who had contributed during the wars will be given VND300,000 (USD13) to VND600,000 each. According to the ministry, besides this financial support, localities would also use their own budgets to help.

Hanoi spent VND106bn (USD4,600) to help policy beneficiaries. VND383bn in HCM City, VND86bn in Thai Binh, VND60bn in Thanh Hoa and VND90bn in Quang Nam. And Quang Tri VND1.2trn was provided to support disadvantaged children, Long An spent VND2.4bn, An Giang spent VND1.3bn, Ca Mau and Bac Ninh spent a total of VND1.2bn and VND838m respectively.

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs worked with the Central Committee of the Fatherland Front, Vietnam General Confederation of Labour and Vietnam Red Cross to send 12,000 gifts worth VND14.1trn (USD611m) to poor and policy beneficiaries to help them celebrate the Tet Holiday.

HCM City expands testing to find more community cases

The authorities in HCM City have started testing the employees working at bus stations, shopping centres and rental areas after the outbreak at Tan Son Nhat Airport was controlled.

The tests were immediately carried out on February 11. Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Truong Son said that the outbreak in HCM City was different from the outbreaks in other provinces and cities.

“We have F1 patients whose tests are negative but F2 patients whose tests were positive. It’s possible that the F2 patients weren’t infected from F1 patients but from other undetected cases in the community,” he said.

After meeting with the Department of Health and the Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention, Son agreed to carry out tests in vulnerable areas. They want to make sure that there will be no more major outbreaks like the Tan Son Nhat Airport cases. Any new outbreak needed to be found and controlled in time to prevent further spreading.

Antibody tests have been started to be implemented by HCM City CDC and HCM City Pasteur Institute. 30,000 quick test kits will be provided to HCM City soon.

Nguyen Tan Binh, director of the Department of Health said a suspected case was detected after tests were carried out among the families of the employees at Vietnam Airport Ground Services Company Limited on the last day of the lunar December.

“After the expanded testing we’ll have more data to analyse the potential risks in the community. Antibody and gene sequencing analysis will reveal which virus variant is spreading in HCM City,” he said.

The Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention said they had basically controlled the outbreaks. Expanded testing will help make a better picture and lead to the most suitable solution.

Vietnam to raise rate of trained workers to 40% by 2030

Vietnam targets raising the proportion of trained workers to 35-40 % by 2030 under a support programme for labour market development newly issued by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Overall, the programme aims to provide a strong premise for comprehensively developing the labour market; effectively mobilising, distributing, and utilising resources to boost socio-economic growth; shift to a modernised labour structure; and promote links between the domestic labour market and those of the region and the world.

Its objectives are to increase the number of workers with labour market-relevant skills and raise the number of trained workers to 30 % by 2025 and 30-45 % by 2030.

Under the programme, Vietnam expects to be among the top 60 countries in the Knowledge Workers sub-pillar of the Global Innovation Index (GII) by 2025 and among the top 55 by 2030. The country also sets having 80 % of its workforce possess IT skills by 2025 and 90 % by 2030, while reducing the rate of young adults unemployed or untrained to below 8 %.

To this end, the country plans to improve the relevant legal framework to bolster the development of the labour market; support the development of labour supply and demand, a labour market database, social welfare and insurance, and a specialised labour market; and promote links between the domestic and foreign labour markets.

It will also develop a set of indicators measuring the development of the labour market compared with the regional and global markets, and evaluate the labour gap between regions.

PM pays Tet visit to Da Nang armed forces

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and leaders of the armed forces in Da Nang pose for a picture

At the Da Nang Border Guard High Command, the Government leader extended Lunar New Year (Tet) wishes to the force, the municipal military high command, the police, and Military Zone 5. He also offered incense to President Ho Chi Minh at his statue in the city.

After listening to a report on the performance of the armed forces of the city in 2020, PM Phuc lauded the efforts that the forces made amid difficulties from complicated development of COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters.

Highlighting the engagement of soldiers and public security officers in search and rescue activities during the devastating natural disasters last year, he stressed that thanks to the strong endeavours of the forces, the local living conditions have been ensured with no one left behind.

As Da Nang is an area of national strategic significance, local armed forces should remain vigilant and prepare specific plans to respond any circumstance, he said, asking the forces to modernise themselves in the time to come.

Last year, the armed forces in Da Nang showed strong performance in protecting national security and defence, social safety and order, safeguarding the borderline and combating trans-border criminal as well as trade fraud, while supporting locals in overcoming consequences of natural disasters. Local public security officers successfully protected security during the 13th National Party Congress and before the upcoming general election.

Also on February 12, PM Phuc visited and presented Tet gifts to officials at the People’s Committee of Hai Chau district and the People’s Committee of Thuan Phuoc ward./.

Daffodil dazzles Hanoians in Tet holiday

Flower arrangement has long been popular among Vietnamese people on the occasion of Lunar New Year (or Tet) holiday.

Besides the renowned peach blossoms, daffodils are also popular among Hanoians for home decoration during Tet holiday.

Not as radiant as other flowers, daffodils, have an elegant look with a lovely scent.

It is widely believed that if they bloom during New Year’s Eve, daffodils will bring owners good luck. Some people spends hours enjoying the flowers on the last night of the year.

Enjoying daffodils has been Hanoians’ custom for a long time. For many living in the capital, daffodil pruning is like a ticket to the past, letting them enjoy the atmosphere of Tet holiday from years ago.

For ancient Hanoians, daffodil symbolises luck and longevity. On Tet holiday, the flower’s flavour mingled with the scent of aloes wood incenses creates a cozy atmosphere.

Daffodils’ swaths of yellow, white and orange trumpets brighten every corner of flower markets and dazzle both shop keepers and customers./.

Lao top legislator pays Tet visit to Vietnam’s officers, soldiers working at Laos’ NA House

Chairwoman of the Lao National Assembly (NA) Pany Yathotou paid a visit on February 11 to officers and soldiers of Army Corps 11 of the Vietnam People’s Army who are working on the construction of the Lao NA House, on the occasion of the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

On behalf of the Lao NA Standing Committee and the Steering Committee for the new NA House project, Lao NA Vice Chairman Somphanh Phengkhammy extended New Year wishes to all officers, soldiers and staff of Army Corps 11 involving in the building of the NA House.

He appreciated their efforts to overcome difficulties, particularly impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, to fulfill the political task assigned by the two Parties, States and peoples, thus contributing to consolidating the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two nations.

He also congratulated the success of the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, which, he said, set out new guidelines and plans for Vietnam to continue implementing its goal of becoming an industrialised and modernized country.

Pany Yathotou presented a basket of flowers to Deputy Commander of Army Corps Col. Nguyen Chien to welcome the Year of the Buffalo.

On behalf of officers and soldiers of Army Corps 11, from Hanoi, Commander Maj. Gen. Nguyen Quoc Dung expressed his thanks for the consideration of leaders of the Lao NA.

He affirmed that the army corps will ensure the quality of the Lao NA House to make it deserve to be a symbol of the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Laos./.

Standing member of Party Central Committee‘s Secretariat pays Tet visit to soldiers

Politburo member and standing member of the Party Central Committee‘s Secretariat Vo Van Thuong made a visit to Division 9 of IV Corps on February 11, just one day before the Lunar New Year (Tet), to extend Tet wishes to the officers and soldiers.

The Party official commended Division 9 for completing well not only their regular tasks but also extra missions in the past year, including organizing Party congresses at its units thus contributing to the success of the military’s Party Congress and the 13th National Congress.

He especially noted that the division has effectively kept the COVID-19 pandemic at bay despite its complicated developments in the country.

Thuong stressed the important role of the military when the country enters the year 2021 which is full of opportunities as well as difficulties and challenges. He required the military to uphold combat readiness and build a strong and pure army, ready to stamp out any schemes of enemies and hostile forces.

He asked Division 9 to pay special attention to Party building work, adding that all officers and commanders must be exemplary models for their soldiers. The division should also coordinate with Ho Chi Minh City in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Political Commissar of the division Colonel Vo Phuoc Vy pledged that officers and soldiers of the division will uphold the glorious tradition of the division, which has twice been conferred with the title of Hero of the Armed Forces./.

Deputy Health Minister inspects COVID-19 treatment in HCM City

Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Truong Son led a special task force for COVID-19 prevention and control to inspect the treatment of COVID-19 patients at the Cu Chi hospital in Ho Chi Minh City on February 11.

The hospital is treating 43 COVID-19 patients, including 32 cases related to the cluster at the luggage handling company in Tan Son Nhat airport.

Director of the hospital Nguyen Thanh Dung reported that since the pandemic first broke out in Vietnam one year ago, the hospital has treated 177 COVID-19 patients and quarantined more than 800 F1 cases. Staff members are mobilized from other hospitals in HCM City, and work in shifts, with 40 people for each shift lasting five weeks.

Deputy Director of the municipal Health Department Tang Chi Thuong praised the hospital for excellently fulfilling its tasks, helping reduce the workload for other hospitals in coping with COVID-19.

Deputy Minister Son hailed the great contribution of medical workers of the hospital, who are working hard to care for patients during the Lunar New Year festival. He wished them a happy new year, and asked them to stay prepared for any circumstances even though the number of new COVID-19 cases in the city has begun to drop recently.

Vietnamese Ambassador delivers online Tet greetings to detained fishermen in Indonesia

Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Pham Vinh Quang on February 10 held a consular visit in the form of teleconference and delivered Lunar New Year (Tet) greetings to Vietnamese fishermen who are being kept in a detention centre in Tanjungpinang.

Earlier, the Vietnamese Embassy also made virtual pre-Tet meetings to Vietnamese fishermen detained in Ranai and Pontianak centres.

Ambassador Quang informed the fishermen that he had worked with Indonesian authorities and asked the detention centres to allow them to buy necessary things and celebrate the Vietnamese traditional festival ensuring pandemic prevention regulations.

The fishermen thanked the Vietnamese Embassy and wished that the Government will coordinate with the Indonesian authorities to organise repatriation flights for them to return to the home country.

Last December, Quang had a virtual working session with leaders of Tanjung Pinang detention centre on December 16 to discuss the situation of Vietnamese fishermen detained there.

Quang thanked officers at the detention centre for their cooperation with the Embassy of Vietnam in Indonesia in recent years and asked them to help improve living conditions for the fishermen.

He proposed the centre to provide the fishermen with more healthy and hygienic meals and space for exercising activities along with timely health care and face masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19./.

COVID-19 remains biggest challenge for Southeast Asia in 2021: survey

The COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts remain the largest challenges for the Southeast Asian region in 2021, according to the State of Southeast Asia 2021 survey report announced by the ASEAN Studies Centre at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute on February 10.

A total 1,032 respondents from ten ASEAN member states participated in the online survey which drew from five categories of affiliation: academia/research, business/finance, government, civil-society/non-governmental/media and regional/international organisations.

In terms of COVID-19 fight leadership, respondents vote almost equally for Singapore (32.7 percent) and Vietnam (31.1 percent) for providing best leadership to ASEAN.

ASEAN continues to express concerns over the East Sea issue, and regional people said the issue should be settle based on respect of international law.

Vietnamese expats in Laos preserve traditional Lunar New Year

Vietnamese expatriates in Laos have rushed off their feet those days to prepare for the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday since they could not return to their homeland due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

They gathered to make chung (square glutinous rice) cake – the soul of Tet that reflects the quintessence of heaven and earth through the skilled hands of humans.

Busy with washing ‘dong’ leaves, marinating the meat, wrapping and boiling the cakes, the Vietnamese expats recalled the old memories in the homeland, and felt the warm Tet atmosphere is around the corner.

Do Van Nam and Vu Thi Tam, who have lived in Laos for more than ten years, said they always come back home to enjoy Tet holiday with their families, and although they have to stay here due to COVID-19, they enjoyed a truly traditional Tet with the chung cake making activity.

The expats hoped that the pandemic is put under control soon so that they can return to their homeland, meet their relatives and friends, and visit famous tourist destinations in the country./.

Hà Nội boosts ‘One Commune, One Product’ programme

Hà Nội authorities plan to accelerate trade promotion to drive ‘One Commune, One Product’ (OCOP) product consumption domestically and for export, said Chu Phú Mỹ, Director of Hà Nội Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

He said doing so would be vital to improving the lives of rural people.

Đỗ Thị Kinh Thông, director of Kim Thông Trade, service, tourism, import and export Cooperative, said in the past, few people knew about the co-operative’s products.

However, after being certified for OCOP and supported by authorities in terms of communication work, they have won the trust of many consumers who are willing to use the products.

“When our new products are brought to the market, authorities support the co-operative to introduce them at conferences and fairs. Thereby, many retail stores and those selling safe food as well as supermarkets want to sign contracts on product consumption.”

“We expect to soon approach and bring products into major supermarket channels in Việt Nam,” Thông said.

The co-operative is aiming to have their peanuts labelled with five stars – the highest quality certification of the OCOP programme – and export them.

To achieve this, along with the preparation of high-quality raw material areas, the co-operative is aiming to satisfy the standards of import markets, especially choosy ones.

“Currently, the material area of ​​the co-operative is planted in Chanh Thôn Village, Phú Xuyên District’s Nam Tiến Commune. We plan to set up a material area spanning ​​several hundred hectares to build safe peanut growing areas in Việt Nam, especially in Phú Xuyên District, where our workshop is located,” Thông said.

Nguyễn Văn Thiêng, head of Đông Anh District’s Economic Office, said in 2019-2020, the district certified more than 100 products as OCOP and elevated the rank for another six.

The OCOP programme is effective, he said.

The programme has helped motivate OCOP participants to focus on building high-quality products, ensuring safety, and continuing to affirm the brand of OCOP products.

With nearly 1,000 products certified as meeting OCOP standards, equivalent to 35.52 per cent of total OCOP products in the country, Hà Nội is one of the leading localities in implementing the programme.

To bring OCOP products to consumers, it is necessary to hold small-scale trade promotion fairs specialised in the OCOP products of a district or locality, according to Thông.

“The smaller the trade fair is, the faster products will reach the market,” she said.

To enhance the effectiveness of OCOP products after receiving certification, Thiêng said it was a must to enhance the quality of the products.

More favourable policies should be issued to support participants in building brands and to meet the standards of not only Việt Nam but also the region and world.

Nguyễn Văn Chí, Deputy Chief of the Hà Nội Office of New Rural Development Programme Coordination, said the development of OCOP products still faced many difficulties.

Products tend to be made on a small scale and most of the labourers have not been professionally trained, he said.

Chí also said the market for many of the products is not stable while many products are mainly in a rudimentary form.

To remove obstacles for OCOP products, the department wants municipal authorities to create favourable conditions for producers who participate in the programme, particularly on branding and certification, according to Mỹ.

Over the next five years, Hà Nội hopes to have at least 400 products certified as meeting the OCOP standards each year.

Heading to COVID-19 hot spots, doctors welcome new year far from home

When the new community cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai last month, Võ Ngọc Anh Thơ, a doctor of HCM City’s Chợ Rẫy Hospital, dropped everything and headed to the area on a mission.

With Tết (Lunar New Year) just a few weeks away, Thơ didn’t know when she would return to welcome the new year with her family.

This year might be the second Tết she would welcome the new year far from home.

Last year she stayed at the hospital throughout the holiday to treat a Chinese father and his son, the first two COVID-19 patients in Việt Nam.

This year Thơ is a member of the medical quick-response team of Chợ Rẫy Hospital which is responsible for assisting other localities.

The team was mobilised to support Gia Lai after the province saw a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases linked to the cluster in northern Hải Dương Province.

Lacking experienced healthcare experts and medical equipment with poor treatment capacity, the Central Highlands province was in urgent need of assistance from national hospitals.

The medical quick-response team of Chợ Rẫy Hospital has three doctors – Dr Phùng Mạnh Thắng, head of Infection Control Unit; Dr Nguyễn Lý Minh Duy from the Intensive Care Unit and Dr Thơ, deputy head of the Tropical Disease Unit, the only woman in the team.

Before boarding a flight to Gia Lai, Dr Thơ said two hours after receiving the mobilisation call, doctors in the team prepared for their mission.

“I am expecting to welcome the new year far from home one more time,” she told plo.vn.

Dr Thơ’s duty in Gia Lai is to follow up patients’ disease development.

“The new coronavirus variant is strong and has a high speed of infection,” she said.

With one-year experience fighting against the virus, Thơ felt calm this time but not negligent.

Dr Phùng Mạnh Thắng, who is in charge of infection control, said the team didn’t know when they would be able to return.

“The team will support quarantine work at the Gia Lai General Hospital. Depending on the outbreak development, we might support doctors there to treat COVID-19 patients,” he said.

30,000 rapid diagnostic tests to quickly identify sources of COVID-19 transmission in HCM City

The Ministry of Health will provide HCM City with 30,000 rapid diagnostic tests to help the city quickly trace contacts and identify transmission sources of COVID-19.

The ministry agreed to provide the tests following a request by the head of the HCM City Department of Health at a meeting on Wednesday between Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam and the HCM City People’s Committee.

Deputy Minister of Health Trần Văn Thuấn said the ministry would provide additional assistance to the city in the upcoming time.

The standing team for COVID-19 prevention and control in HCM City is headed by Deputy Minister of Health Nguyễn Trường Sơn.

Nguyễn Tấn Bỉnh, head of the city’s Department of Health, said the health sector is giving rapid diagnostic tests to more than 1,600 staff of VIAGS Company which provides cargo service at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport, where an outbreak has occurred.

Eight employees of the company tested positive for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

Because some people, designated F2, who had contact with COVID-19 patients, designated F1, tested positive, all of VIAG (Vietnam Airport Ground Services) company staff and others working at Tân Sơn Nhất airport were being tested, he added.

Nguyễn Trí Dũng, head of the city Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention, said the rapid tests will be used to supplement PCR tests, which are considered the most accurate tests and give results only six hours later.

Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam, head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, said that HCM City should also screen and take testing samples from people at bus stations and coffee stores in areas near factories and near the city gateways.

Đam said that the city should not miss any transmission source and should monitor and provide tests at bus and train stations. The city should also try to identify all locations of outbreaks in the community, he added.

He noted that sources of transmission could also come from people illegally entering the country.

HCM City is the first in the country to set up criteria on “giving scores” for COVID-19 prevention and control activities at health facilities, schools, factories and bus stations, he said.

The city and other provinces have given instructions to these public places about preventive measures and have also provided updates to the “Map of Safely Living with COVID-19” which can be found on the website www.antoancovid.vn.

The city has quickly traced F1 and F2 contacts, and has zoned and locked down 33 sites that contain locally transmitted cases.

On February 10, the standing team for COVID-19 prevention and control in the city checked the lockdown area in Gò Vấp District and Military Hospital 175.

The team also checked the field hospital and quarantine area at Military Hospital 175.

Nguyễn Hồng Sơn, director of the Military Hospital 175, said that after the new COVID-19 patients came to the hospital, all of the hospital staff were tested.

The quarantine area at the field hospital was set up to admit medical officials who have had close contact with COVID-19 patients.

Deputy Minister of Health Sơn instructed the Military Hospital 175 to prepare to admit COVID-19 patients if other designated hospitals become overloaded.

Elsewhere, the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai on February 10 recorded four more people testing positive for COVID-19, increasing the total number of COVID-19 patients in the locality to 26.

The four new patients, who were F1 contacts, have been isolated in quarantine areas.

Cao Bang people engaged more in forestation

Forestation has been seen as an effective way for people in the northern province of Cao Bằng to increase income as well as helping to protect local forests.

Hoàng Thị Nga, a grower in Bản Mới Hamlet, Khâm Thanh Commune in the province’s Trùng Khánh District said that her family grew pine trees on an area of nearly 3ha.

“I have just sold pine timber grown on about 2 hectares for more than VNĐ 80million” Nga said, adding that forestation now helps her generate quite stable income.

She said that her family started planting trees in 1998 when the Government allocated nearly 2ha of forest land for them to take care of.

Nông Văn Quỳnh, another farmer in a border commune of Ngọc Khê said 20 years ago, his family started growing more than 5,000sq.m of pine trees. His family has also harvested pine timber.

Quỳnh said he planned to grow about one hectare of acacia as the tree’s growth time was shorter and would generate wood quicker.

Hoàng Thị Hằng, vice chairwoman of Ngọc Khê Commune People’s Committee said the commune had about 1,000ha of forest land including nearly 700ha of natural forest.

For the last few years, local authorities called on households to take part in forestation projects.

“When the forest is grown along border area under the care of the local households, the forest is better cared for and border security is better ensured,” she said.

About 400ha of forest were grown during the years, notably in hamlets of Ta Nay, Pác Peo, Pác Thay, Đoỏng Dọa and An Hỷ, Hằng said.

There are more than 35,000ha of forest land in Trùng Khánh District, of which, natural forest areas cover over 33,000ha, accounting for 50.9 per cent of total the district’s area.

According to the district’s Forest Protection Division, sloped mountains and a dense network of creeks make it difficult to plant, take care of and protect the forests.

Authorities and forest rangers found that the participation of local people in forestation would help expand forest areas and improve forest protection in the district, particularly in areas which border China.

Since 2016, 230ha of production forest, 115ha of protected forest and 60ha of replacement forest were grown. Around 550ha of protection forest was allocated to local households who are responsible for maintaining.

Until now, local people exploited nearly 5,600cu.m of timber in the production forest, which helped increase the forest value and income for residents.

La Đức Toàn, head of Quây Sơn River Protection Forest Management Board said when local households received forest to take care of, they would be instructed in forest fire prevention and control and forestry technique.

Forest carers also signed commitments not to violate Forestry Law, particularly those related to timber exploitation, Toàn said.

Kiên Giang aims for 24% growth in marine aquaculture

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Kiên Giang targets an average annual growth rate of 24 per cent for marine aquaculture from now to 2030.

With a coastline of more than 200km and many large and small islands, Kiên Giang has the largest number of floating cages for breeding marine aquatic species in the delta.

It aims for an annual output of 113,530 tonnes for marine fish and other aquatic species by 2025 and 207,190 tonnes by 2030.

The province targets having 7,500 floating aquaculture cages on a total of 7,000ha by 2025 and 14,000 floating cages on a total of 16,000ha of sea surface by 2030.

Both traditional and high-tech breeding methods will be used.

The province also plans to breed pearl oysters on 200ha and bivalve mollusks on a total area of 25,000ha by 2030.

To meet the targets, the province needs VNĐ12.7 trillion (US$550 million) for marine aquaculture in the 2021- 30 period. The investment money will be come from central and local budgets and marine aquaculture breeders.

The province will also provide farmers breeding techniques and help near-shore fishermen switch to breeding marine fish to reduce overfishing in the area.

Marine fish like groupers, cobia, sea bass, lobsters, mantis shrimp, blue swimmer crabs and pearl oysters will be bred on islands in Phú Quốc City, Kiên Hải District, Hà Tiên City’s Tiên Hải Commune and Kiên Lương District’s Sơn Hải and Hòn Nghệ communes.

Coastal areas in Hà Tiên City and the districts of Kiên Lương, Hòn Đất, An Minh and An Biên will breed bivalve mollusks like blood cockles, green mussels and ark clams.

The province plans to develop its marine aquaculture sustainably on an industrial scale to serve domestic consumption and exports, and create linkages among stakeholders to improve production value.

The Trấn Phú Trading and Import- Export Co., Ltd, for example, is breeding marine fish in floating cages with Norwegian techniques in Phú Quốc City. And the Mavin Group is investing in breeding marine fish in 2,000ha of water off the coast of Kiên Hải District for export.

High profits

Kiên Giang has about 4,500 floating cages on the sea for marine aquatic species breeding, mostly near islands, according to the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Breeding marine fish in floating cages offers high profits for households living in coastal areas and islands.

In Kiên Hải Island District, farmers who breed grouper, cobia and other marine fish species in floating cages in An Sơn, Nam Du and Lại Sơn communes earn a profit of hundreds of millions of đồng a year.

Marine fish are bred in floating rafts that often have 4 – 6 fish cages each.

Nguyễn Văn Năm, who has eight floating fish cages in Kiên Hải’s Lại Sơn Commune, said farmers can earn a profit of VNĐ50 million ($2,160) for an 18-month fish crop in a floating fish cage.

“If using proper breeding techniques and having quality fish-fry, farmers can earn a profit margin of 100 per cent,” he said.

In Lại Sơn, more than 100 households breed marine fish in about 700 floating cages, with an annual output of more than 1,000 tonnes.

Lại Sơn commune has the highest density of floating cages in Kiên Giang.

Lại Sơn, An Sơn and Nam Du communes have offered breeding training for farmers and regularly provide them with information about weather and diseases.

The commune has encouraged farmers to set up co-operatives to improve production value and income. The Tiến Đạt Co-operative in Lại Sơn, for instance, has 10 members who breed marine fish in floating cages and offer tourism services on their floating cages.

Local authorities and farmer associations have supported farmers with soft loans and breeding techniques.

The Hòn Nghệ Commune Farmers Association in Kiên Lương District, for example, has encouraged households that have financial capacity to invest in breeding marine fish and join with other less financially capable households and share the profits.

The model, begun in 2016, has worked effectively, according to the association. Less financially capable households have earned a profit of VNĐ250-300 million ($10,800 – 13,000) a year.

The association has worked with the province’s Fund for Support Farmers to provide soft loans worth a total of VNĐ1.3 billion ($56,300) to 46 marine-fish breeding households in Hòn Nghệ since 2016.

HCM City to switch from pork production to pig breeding

HCM City plans to move its pig farming industry away from breeding for pork and increase the number of pigs raised for breeding purposes in the next five years.

It will develop nuclear farms for producing high-quality piglets for supply to farmers in the city and elsewhere.

It will seek to expand household pig farms into large–scale farms that breed operate on an industrial scale, use high–tech breeding techniques to ensure safety and achieve Vietnamese good agricultural practices (VietGAP) standards.

It has 2,280 pig farming establishments with more than 200,000 head.

It plans to sustain this size until 2025.

Most of the farms are in the five outlying districts of Củ Chi, Hóc Môn, Bình Chánh, Cần Giờ, and Nhà Bè.

The number of farms that do not comply with safety standards, especially those that feed their animals food residues, will be reduced this year.

The city targets 60 – 70 per cent of households farming pigs to VietGAP standards this year and 90 – 95 per cent by 2025 and 90 – 100 per cent of them meeting environmental protection regulations this year and 100 per cent by 2025.

A digital map for managing pigs and pig diseases will be ready by this year.

The city wants more than 10 per cent of farming households to be members of co-operative groups or co-operatives this year and 20 per cent in 2025.

To meet the five-year targets it will encourage farming households to invest in farms with closed processes, adopt advanced breeding techniques and raise pigs either for meat or producing piglets and not both.

It will implement bio-safety measures for disease prevention to develop farms that are safe from outbreaks and ensure the use of pig feed with clear origins.

The pig farming districts in co-operation with relevant departments and agencies will support the development of pig co-operative groups and co-operatives and linkages among stakeholders to increase the incomes of farming households.

The Department of Industry and Trade will establish a pork trading floor.

An average of 10,000 pigs are traded daily in the city.

There are 24 pig slaughterhouses.

Nguyễn Ngọc Hòa, chairman of the HCM City Finance and Investment State Owned Company and a member of the steering committee for setting up the trading floor, said it would help pig farmers directly access consumers and provide clear information to all stakeholders.

The floor would also meet the demand for modernising pig farming and hygienic and safe meat, stabilise pork prices and develop exports via official channels, he added.

Source: VNA/VNN/VNS/SGGP/VOV/NDO/Dtinews/SGT/VIR

Top leader chairs national cadres conference

Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong chaired the national cadres conference in Hanoi on April 23 to discuss the COVID-19 fight, measures for socio-economic stabilisation and developments, and others. About the 13th National Party Congress, the leader said focus must be on the document and personnel work, adding that the personnel work plays a crucial role in Party building and a core part of all Party activities, deciding the success or failure of the revolution.

Participants at the event proposed macro-measures to restore and promote socio-economic development following the pandemic. They also agreed with proposals to tackle business difficulties, improve business environment and boost exports, step up external activities and consolidate national defence-security, considering it a major political task of the country, departments and agencies in the near future.

NA Standing Committee convenes 44th session

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan speaking at the session (Photo: quochoi.vn)

The 44th session of the National Assembly Standing Committee (NASC) opened in Hanoi on April 20 under the chair of NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. From April 20-28, excluding April 23, the committee also offered opinions on the draft revised Youth Law, the draft (amended) Law on Sending Vietnamese Workers Abroad Under Contracts, the draft law on amendments and supplements to a number of articles of the Law on Environmental Protection and the draft Law on International Treaties.

The participants will also deliberate the legislature’s law and ordinance building programme for 2021; the submission to the NA for its approval of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA); the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA); and the accession to Convention No.105 concerning the Abolition of Forced Labour by the International Labour Organisation.

PM orders continuation of measures against COVID-19 in new context

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc has recently issued Directive 19/CT-TTg on continuing the implementation of measures against the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has recently issued Directive 19/CT-TTg on continuing the implementation of measures against the COVID-19 pandemic in the new context. The directive states that although a number of initial achievements have been recorded, the pandemic is continuing to develop in a complicated way, and the risk remains high.

The PM asked ministries, ministry-level offices, People’s Committees of provinces and central-level cities to maintain the viewpoint of “fighting the pandemic as if fighting the enemy”. They must mobilise the engagement of the whole political system and the people while, at the same time, continuing to develop production and businesses. Party officials and members, as well as state employees, must be exemplary in their work, he said.

Rice export continues despite pandemic and natural disasters

Online customs declaration services was made available for exports of additional 38,000 tonnes of rice at 0:00 am on April 26. (Photo: VNA)

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung on April 20 ordered the advancing of the export quota of 100,000 tonnes of rice from that which was set for May in order to ease difficulties for firms that have rice stuck at ports but are unable to submit customs declarations.

Chairing a meeting on rice export amidst the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, along with drought and saltwater intrusion, Deputy PM Dung said glutinous rice can be exported as normal. He assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade to coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to review and assess the domestic supply and demand of rice to manage the export.

Vietnam contributes to WHO’s COVID-19 response fund

At the hand-over ceremony (Photo: VNA)

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung on April 24 symbolically handed over US$50,000 as a contribution of the Vietnamese Government and people to the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s COVID-19 response fund. The handover ceremony was attended by representatives from the Government Office, the Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs, the UN, and WHO Representative in Vietnam Kidong Park, among others.

Deputy Minister Trung reiterated the Vietnamese Government’s twin targets of containing the pandemic and ensuring socio-economic stability and social welfare. He used the occasion to thank the WHO and relevant UN agencies in general and the WHO Office and UN Resident Coordinator Office in Vietnam in particular for their support to the country during the fight against the pandemic, helping to deepen the partnership between Vietnam and the UN.

Vietnam’s internet speeds meet user demand during Covid-19

Vietnam’s internet quality meets the exceptionally high demand during the social distancing period.

Broadband internet download speeds in Vietnam average out at 61.69 Mbps, according to results from 30,000 users as announced by the Vietnam Internet Network Information Centre (VNNIC). The agency said that this speed is 45% higher than that reported by foreign companies.

For mobile networks, the average download speed is 39.44 Mbps, meaning Vietnam’s internet quality meets the appropriate standards, especially while demand is exceptionally high during the social distancing designed to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Two more Vietnamese footballers join AFC’s #BreakTheChain campaign

Forward Huynh Nhu, captain of the women’s national team, and striker Ha Duc Chinh of SHB Da Nang FC are the latest Vietnamese footballers to participate in the Asian Football Federation (AFC)’s #BreakTheChain campaign to raise public awareness of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a short clip produced for the AFC and released today (April 21), Huynh Nhu, who scored for Vietnam in their Olympic play-off against Australia in March, urged fans to do their part in this battle. Earlier, Ha Duc Chinh made an appearance in another clip released by the AFC on April 19, encouraging people to “keep healthy and united to push back the disease.”

The Ministry of Finance has submitted a proposal to the Government seeking approval to create a decree expanding the timeframe for tax and land lease payments.

The move is expected to ease difficulties faced by enterprises amid the COVID-19 pandemic, especially those in tourism and transportation.

Under the proposal, payments of value added tax are to be extended by five months, during which revenue to the State budget will fall by nearly 68.8 trillion VND (2.99 billion USD).

Regarding corporate income tax, around 40.5 trillion VND in payments during the first and second quarters will be delayed by three months.

Meanwhile, the payment of some 1.3 trillion VND in value added tax and personal income tax from business households and individuals will also enjoy a delay.

The ministry suggested extending the deadline for land lease payments in the first installment, valued at about 4.4 trillion VND.

The total value of delayed taxes and land lease will amount to 115 trillion VND.

Tax agencies allowed delays in tax and land lease payments worth some 87.3 trillion VND last year, for 184,900 taxpayers./.

Vietnam to overcome difficulties in 2021 through solidarity: MoIT leader

Challenges remain ahead in 2021, but Vietnam will overcome all with solidarity between the political system, businesses, and the people, Politburo member, head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, and Minister of Industry and Trade (MoIT) Tran Tuan Anh has said.

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency, Anh said that this year, amid the complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the major target defined by the Party, State, and Government continues to be effectively containing the pandemic to protect people’s lives and public health.

The country will coordinate with the international community to fight COVID-19 while continuing to recover its economy and return to true normal, ensuring people’s living conditions and building a foundation for the country’s sustainable development over the next five and 10 years, he said.

All economic recovery and normalisation activities will be conducted on the basis of ensuring the prevention of COVID-19, he added.

He underlined that the new integration frameworks Vietnam is engaging in, especially free trade agreements (FTA) and new-generation FTAs, bring unprecedented opportunities for the country in all fields, helping to fuel economic growth.

Anh stressed the need for the Ministry of Industry and Trade to further speed up the restructuring of economic sectors towards reforming the growth model, and improving added value.

At a ceremony to ship the first coffee batch to Europe (Photo: VNA)

He highlighted the necessity for Vietnam to further expand markets, especially within the FTAs, while engaging more deeply in supply chains to promote supporting industries as well as the manufacturing and processing sector and agriculture. This is a vital factor for the successful international integration by agriculture and farmers under the country’s general strategy.

In particular, it is crucial to immediately implement Politburo Resolution No 55 on sustainable energy development and Resolution No 23 on national industrial policies, he said, describing those documents as the cornerstones for the building and development of essential infrastructure of vital significance for the economy, serving sustainable development in the future.

He noted that Vietnam signed three FTAs in 2020: with the EU and the UK as well as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Thanks to its integration process, Vietnam has made fundamental changes in its macro-economy, thus securing economic and socio-political stability and paving the way for continuous sustainable development in the years ahead, he said./.

Investment booms as Soc Trang improves business climate

Soc Trang province’s efforts to improve its business climate is paying off with more and more investors, both domestic and foreign, coming since 2016.

The Mekong Delta province has worked with hundreds of potential investors seeking to invest in areas where the province has strengths like hi-tech agriculture, tourism and wind and solar power.

It approved 116 projects with a total investment of 27.3 trillion VND (1.18 billion USD) in 2016-20, 5.5 times the amount in the previous five years.

Nine of them are FDI projects.

Soc Trang authorities have been making efforts to improve the investment climate and provincial competitiveness by focusing on infrastructure and providing lands for projects.

They are keen on projects that are sustainable and environment-friendly.

Nguyen Thi Thuy Nhi, deputy director of the province’s Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, said her department had been reforming administrative procedures, boosting the province’s competitiveness in terms of attracting investment and business climate.

One key infrastructure project is the upgrade of Tran De deep-water port, which will reduce logistics costs for exports from the Mekong Delta.

The recently approved Chau Doc – Can Tho – Soc Trang highway will connect to the port, aiding goods transportation and improving links with the rest of the country.

The province is also creating a start-up eco-system with development assistance, incubation programmes and sponsorship for creative small and medium-sized businesses.

In the last five years 1,900 new businesses were set up, a 47.2 percent increase from 2011 – 15. Many companies have invested in manufacturing in the An Nghiep Industrial Park, creating tens of thousands of jobs.

In 2021 – 25 Soc Trang seeks to further improve its business climate and competitiveness, focusing on business assistance services, labour training and helping investors start projects smoothly.

There are 3,300 registered businesses in the province with a total charter capital of 33 trillion VND.

Soc Trang’s economy grew by 6.75 percent in 2020./.

Ministry takes action on market stability in new circumstances

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has called for concerted solutions to maintain market stability, remove difficulties facing domestic firms, and increase the total retail sales of goods and services.

Such solutions rolled out in line with the Government’s Resolution No 01/NQ-CP dated January 1, 2021, are expected to contribute to the country’s socio-economic stability.

The ministry will continue to improve the socialist-oriented market economy mechanism to facilitate economic recovery, and spur growth in the industry and trade sector in a rapid and sustainable manner.

It has also focused on improving the sector’s adaptability and resilience against external shocks to stabilise production and consolidate the domestic and foreign market so as to flexibly and effectively realise the dual goals of containing COVID-19 and recovering and developing the sector in the “new normal”.

Notably, the sector has stepped up restructuring in tandem with growth model reform, and paid more attention to the processing and manufacturing industry in combination with smart technologies and digital transformation to raise productivity, quality, efficiency, and competitiveness.

More attention will be paid to developing the domestic market, promoting the consumption of Vietnamese goods, enhancing trade promotions, and boosting e-commerce.

Given the impact of COVID-19, the ministry has asked businesses to increase the supply of goods, especially necessities, and requested local Departments of Industry and Trade to take measures to ensure market stability.

To remove difficulties in the consumption of agricultural products, the ministry has adopted solutions to boost consumption links domestically and negotiated with major buyers to facilitate exports./.

HCM City: Work begins to supply power for Metro Line No 1

The Management Authority for Urban Railways of Ho Chi Minh City (MAUR) and contractors kicked off work on power supply for the southern economic hub’s first metro line project on February 19, which has now seen 82 percent of works completed.

Consultation and construction are now underway to link power sources from the 110kV Binh Thai and Tan Cang electricity stations to supply all power stations along the metro line.

According to the MAUR, if COVID-19 can be controlled, the work of cable pulling will be completed in the second quarter of this year, which would allow for trial runs and commercial operations taking place earlier.

MAUR deputy head Huynh Hong Thanh vowed to work with contractors on speeding up construction progress, with quality put first and pandemic control and prevention measures implemented effectively.

The 2.05 billion USD metro line, which runs between Ben Thanh Market in District 1 and Suoi Tien Theme Park in District 9, is the first of at least six to be built in the city and aims to ease traffic congestion in its north-eastern gateway.

It is designed to have 14 stations, three of them underground. There will be 17 three-carriage trains plying the route, running at a maximum speed of 110 km/h above ground and 80 km/h below ground./.

Fight with e-commerce fraud to be increasingly fierce

The General Department for Market Surveillance has shown determination in the war against counterfeit goods and trade fraud products in e-commerce channels.

Last year saw e-commerce flourish and it is forecast that this will continue in the coming years. Therefore, the fight will be increasingly fierce this year, especially as “the border gate is at the door of each citizen”, according to one official.

Tran Huu Linh, director-general of the General Department for Market Surveillance, said that in the past, large warehouses were often located in big cities such as Ha Noi and HCM City, but now, the largest warehouse is located in the northern mountainous province, just a few kilometres from the border.

Along with that, modern logistics, delivery and payment services help bring the “border gate” to the front of houses, he added.

By just packing the goods and delivering them to shipping companies, the goods could be taken anywhere domestically without any difficulty, said Linh.

This created more challenges for authorities as transactions through e-commerce become more and more popular with all people, he noted.

“We have determined that there must be a more professional and methodical plan in this fight. In the immediate future, it is necessary to propose units in the Ministry of Industry and Trade to soon submit to the Government a decree replacing Decree 52/2013 on e-commerce,” Linh told online newspaper phapluatplus.vn.

One reason the decree is needed is the speed of e-commerce development, meaning it’s time to consider and treat goods in the e-commerce environment as in the traditional environment, he noted.

Linh said that the decree was issued to promote the development of e-commerce, so it has not strictly regulated goods traded via e-commerce.

Besides, the decree has not specified the responsibilities of e-commerce trading floor managers. This loophole has caused the floors not to strictly control the origin of the goods displayed for sale.

Therefore, it was necessary to hold e-commerce floor owners responsible so that when having trade fraud problems, they are also subject to inspection and post-inspection sanctions. Important services including payment and transportation would also be included in the new decree, he said.

In addition, the General Department for Market Surveillance will focus on e-commerce for two to three years because as it was forecasted that the ratio of trade fraud in e-commerce would be about 50-60 per cent in that period compared to overall types of fraud in general, said Linh.

That is why the General Department for Market Surveillance has built a relatively comprehensive plan to mobilise strength for this tough war.

It is proposed to set up an official division of the market surveillance force specialised in preventing fraud in e-commerce, at the same time, improving the post-inspection capacity of the market surveillance force and regularly reviewing and inspecting e-commerce trading floor owners and social networking platforms.

Public investment disbursement must be sped up: minister

Speeding up the disbursement of public investment from the start of this year was an important solution to accelerate economic recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung has said.

The global economy was expected to embark on the recovery process after a deep downturn in 2020 due to the pandemic. However, the recovery would be different from country to country, depending on the developments of the pandemic and efforts to contain the virus.

“It is necessary to drastically implement measures to accelerate the disbursement of public investment in 2021, right from the first months of the year to create the impetus for economic growth to meet and even exceed targets,” Dung said.

Accountability must be enhanced, he stressed.

To make public investment a pillar for economic growth, the finance ministry is developing a programme with a focus on removing legal bottlenecks to disbursement of public investment.

Inspections would also be enhanced to ensure the allocation and use of public investment to follow National Assembly and Government plans while close watch would be kept on the process to tackle problems.

Regarding the disbursement of public investment from foreign loans, Dung said the progress remained stagnant, partly due to the pandemic.

There were also subjective reasons for the stagnation, including slow site clearance, a lack of accountability and poor preparation which required adjustments and slowed disbursement, he said.

Dung said that to fulfil the public investment plan for 2021-25, it was important to enhance the accountability of all parties relevant to the use of public investment in all stages, from preparation to implementation and settlement.

Projects which failed to meet planned progress should have their capital revoked, he stressed.

Statistics of the Ministry of Planning and Investment showed the disbursement of public investment was estimated at VND398 trillion (US$17.3 billion) as of the end of December, meeting 82.8 per cent of the Government’s plan – the highest rate in the 2016-20, thanks to the Government’s determination to speed up the disbursement of public investment as a major driver for economic growth.

According to the General Statistics Office, every increase by 1 per cent in public investment disbursement would push GDP by 0.06 percentage points.

The Vietnamese economy expanded at 2.91 per cent in 2020, the lowest rate in the past decade but this was considered a big success in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More than 14,000 tonnes of dragon fruit exported to China via Lao Cai border gates

More than 14,000 tonnes of dragon fruit were exported to China from February 10-17 through border gates in the northern province of Lao Cai, according to the provincial Border Gate Customs Sub-Department.

Lao Cai authorities, including customs, border guards, and medical quarantine officials, maintained operations in the opening days of the Lunar New Year to ensure the quick and safe customs clearance of goods.

During the period, total import-export revenue through border gates in Lao Cai topped US$11 million, including $2.4 million worth of imports, mainly fertilisers and farm produce, and $8.8 million worth of exports, mostly agricultural products.

According to the Border Gate Customs Sub-Department under the Lao Cai Department of Customs, in 2020, despite the impact of COVID-19, the sub-department completed its ‘twin targets’ by processing customs clearance declarations for 516 businesses with an import-export value of more than $1 billion and ensuring safety from the pandemic.

In 2021, it will work with other sectors to speed up administrative reform while exhibiting better performance in e-customs clearance activities to save time and costs, ensuring economic development and COVID-19 prevention and control at the same time, the department said.

Bac Ninh eyes $123 million IP

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved investment intention in a project on infrastructure development at the Thuan Thanh I Industrial Park in northern Bac Ninh Province.

The project covers a total area of some 250ha in Ninh Xa, Tram Lo and Nghia Dao communes of Thuan Thanh District, with total investment of VND2.84 trillion (over US$123 million), of which VND859.73 billion comes from its investor – Viglacera Corporation.

The construction is scheduled to last for 36 months from the land hand-over, and the project is set to operate for 50 years from February 17, 2021.

The PM required the provincial People’s Committee to ensure the accuracy of information and data reported, and carry out land reclamation, site clearance, compensation and land lease in line with approved documents.

The construction must comply with the detailed planning scheme that has been approved, he said, stressing that the committee needs to instruct the management board of industrial parks in Bac Ninh and relevant agencies to supervise and assess the implementation of the project.

The PM also highlighted the building of houses, and social, cultural and sport facilities for labourers in the industrial park, as well as employment and vocational training support to local residents who have to relocate to make way for the project.

Hybrid model, the new rising trend in office market

A hybrid working model comprising both remote and office-based work is a trend that many companies will embrace since working methods have changed globally after the pandemic broke out, including in Viet Nam, experts have predicted.

In a note on trends in the property market this year, property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) said a year of lockdowns that forced people to work from home showed many tasks could be done remotely, spurring companies to adopt new, hybrid working models.

The shift was already underway at many businesses, but was accelerated by COVID-19 like many other things, it said.

“In 2020 a work from home experiment took place globally and showed that businesses can continue to operate effectively by leveraging technology” Paul Fisher, country head of JLL Vietnam, said.

“But for many, the lack of face-to-face interaction has put pressure on teams and whilst a number of our clients expect to adopt flexible working practices in the future, for the majority this will include the office remaining the central point for business activities.”

But many aspects of work would not change, the note said. People would still need to collaborate, innovate and liaise with managers on projects and their careers, a reason why people missed the office, and it was why for many offices would retain a central role in corporate life.

The office still existed as the best and most convenient place for team building and connecting with management.

WeWork predicted at an ongoing roundtable on office trends in the region that beyond economic pressures and realities that enterprises face, tapping new workspace strategies is crucial for future-proofing themselves in a volatile climate.

Amidst the changing face of its enterprises, Southeast Asia is seeing a shift towards flexible workspaces bridging enterprises’ challenges and opportunities, it said.

Talking about the future of the workplace after the pandemic, Elizabeth Fuller, the company’s head of growth, SEA, said after a year of pandemic working from home might be an alternative option for many companies.

But this is not sustainable for businesses in the long term, she claimed.

In the workplace, innovation, creativity and organisational health hinges on successful collaboration, and a loss of these would hinder sustained business performance, employee engagement and organisational health in the long run, she said.

The new work order would thus be a hybrid of flexible workplace arrangements, she said.

She cited the example of two Fortune 500 companies that have expanded their presence with WeWork across several buildings by establishing a headquarter presence in one location and supporting functions and business units in the others.

“They have leveraged our CBD presence, with locations in close proximity to each other. This allows them to scale accordingly without having to renegotiate existing real estate commitment, implement distributed workforce as a safety measure and also enjoy engagement.”

Property consultancy CBRE said the pandemic has changed the structure of office demand.

Due to COVID-19, technology and online shopping utilisation have increased significantly, which led to the expansion of e-commerce companies last year, it reported.

The pandemic has also changed the real estate strategies of occupiers. Previously employees were heavily relying on being in office, but are now more willing to work in different spaces.

Pham Ngoc Thien Thanh, associate director, CBRE Vietnam, said: “COVID-19 has reshaped the market’s dynamics, and unaffected sectors will drive market demand in 2021.

“Besides, tenants will start paying more attention to all factors including saving rental costs, ensuring employees’ wellness and maintaining business performance.

“To do that, occupiers tend to adopt a hybrid workplace model, designing offices with lower density and also diversifying the workplace into different sites such as decentralised options and co-working spaces.

“The market will be intensely competitive in the next two years with a wave of new supply. To stay ahead of the competition, landlords should consider applying workplace strategy tools to evaluate current strengths and deficiencies of their buildings to come up with an optimal solution to increase their assets’ values.”

The HCM City office market remained in a deep slump last year due to COVID, which badly affected many enterprises. It witnessed negative net absorption of – 20,544sq.m of leasing area.

Three new office buildings came into the market, Friendship Tower (grade B), UOA Tower (decentralised grade A) and Opal Tower (grade B), with a combined 65,372sq.m of net leasing area, but it represented a fall of 31 per cent in area compared to the previous three years.

Switching to HNX can help reduce overload on HoSE: VNDirect CEO

Market regulators should consider policies to encourage companies listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE) to temporarily switch to the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX), said CEO of VNDirect Securities Co Do Ngoc Quynh.

He said such a move aimed to help mitigate the overload of the transaction system at HoSE while awaiting the completion of a new technology system for the whole market, he said.

Since the end of 2020, Viet Nam’s stock market has witnessed a booming trading period with multi-session liquidity of more than VND15 trillion (US$653.2 million).

The wave of new investors entering the stock market has helped set new liquidity records, which is a positive signal for the market, he said.

As interest rates are still at low levels and people’s understanding of the financial market is improving, this can be considered a very favourable period for attracting investors and developing Viet Nam’s stock market.

However, skyrocketing liquidity has far exceeded market forecasts, leading to frequent congestion in many sessions, causing a lot of trouble for investors and affecting the quality of the market.

“The sudden increase in liquidity recently is unpredictable, causing undesired interruptions in trading,” said Le Hai Tra, Chairman of the Board of Members of HoSE.

“To tackle this issue, the State Securities Commission said it was speeding up the implementation of a new information technology system for the entire stock market, known as KRX.

“However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the implementation of the new system is delayed and if the disease progresses more complexly, it will be difficult to continue the plan,” he said.

In the short term, one of the solutions applied by the State Securities Commission (SSC) is to increase the minimum trading volume for a transaction on HoSE from 10 to 100 shares to help reduce the burden on the transaction system.

Although officially in place at the beginning of 2021, congestion still occurs when investors flock into the market and push the liquidity to new heights, sometimes reaching $1 billion per session.

The SSC has also instructed the HoSE to request securities companies to review, limit errors arising from the companies’ processes, limiting automatic transactions to avoid negative impacts on the system, to check internal control, control risks, limit errors that may occur in the trading system and arrange staff on shift duty at peak transaction times.

In the short term, as the KRX system is not immediately available while trading demand is huge, a temporary solution is to transfer some companies from HoSE to HNX, said Quynh.

This can be considered as an appropriate step because the Prime Minister issued Decision 37/2020/QD-TTg to establish the Vietnam Stock Exchange (Vietnam Exchange), based on the merger between HoSE and HNX.

“This is the quickest and least costly solution at the time being. This will not only help to reduce the overload on the HoSE system but also ensure the smooth transaction of the Vietnamese stock market, meeting the legitimate trading needs of investors, ensuring credit of the stock market in the eyes of domestic and foreign investors, maintain an effective capital mobilisation channel for enterprises in the economy,” he said.

If the SSC approves and facilitates administrative procedures for companies to switch from the HoSE to HNX, VNDirect will volunteer to help them with the transferring procedures, Quynh added.

Wood exports enjoy sharp increase during January

Vietnam’s timber and wood exports in January witnessed a surge of 48.4% to US$1.25 billion in comparison to the same period from last year, according to figures released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

The United States, Japan, and China remain the three largest importers of Vietnamese timber and wooden products last year, making up 78.1% of the country’s total export value.

Most notably, strong export growth has been seen in markets such as the US, Thailand, and Canada with the export value rising by 33.8%, 20.4%, and 14.1%, respectively, while wood exports to the UK endured a downward trajectory of 26.5%.

Furthermore, the import value of wood and wooden products in January recorded an annual rise of 64.8% to US$280 million.

Last year saw the total import value of wood and wood products increase by 0.6% to US$2.56 billion compared to 2019, of which imports from China, the US, and Thailand made up 33.7%, 12.2%, and 5.1%, respectively.

In line with these figures, local imports of timber and wooden products from China and Thailand saw a boost of 31.1% and 14.7%, respectively, while imports from the US suffered a decrease of 8%.

The MARD stated that 2020 proved to be a successful year for the wood industry despite facing an adverse range of impacts caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The resilience of the Vietnamese wood industry in recent times can largely be attributed to the openness of the local legal system, coupled with the enforcement of various free trade agreements (FTAs).

Moreover, the MARD have revealed that there remains plenty of room for wood exports to grow in the near future as the global furniture market has a commercial value of approximately US$450 billion per year, of which wooden furniture makes up roughly US$150 billion annually. Meanwhile, Vietnamese wooden furniture exports account for only 6% of the global market share.

Moving forward, the local forestry sector aims to export US$14.5 billion this year, a rise of 12% compared to 2020, with timber and wooden products set to reach a figure of US$13 billion.

China increases imports of cassava chips and starch from Vietnam

Vietnam exported 400,000 tonnes of cassava and cassava-based products worth US$144 million in January, with the market share of Vietnamese cassava chips and starch as part of China’s total imports last year increasing sharply compared to 2019’s figures.

These statistics show a rise of 88.1% in volume and 97.1% in value compared to the same period from last year, while the average export price recorded an increase of 4.8% to US$360 per tonne, according to data released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

According to figures compiled by China Customs, Chinese import of cassava chips increased by 22% last year to US$782.85 million compared to 2019, with the country joining Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos as the four largest suppliers of cassava chips to China.

Most notably, the nation was the second largest provider of cassava chips to China last year with US$95.91 million, an increase of 90.8% compared to 2019.

Last year saw the neighbour import 2.75 million tonnes of cassava starch worth US$1.13 billion, a rise of 16.1% in volume and 9.7% in value compared to 2019, with the majority being imported from Vietnam Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.

Most notably, the nation  was the second largest provider of starch to China last year with 982,480 tonnes worth US$ 388.76 million, up 30.4% in volume and 24.9 % in value in comparison to a year earlier.

Thai group purchases 70% stake in Vietnamese plastics manufacturer

It is expected that SCGP’s acquisition will be completed in the first half of 2021. Duy Tan manufactures household plastic containers with a capacity of 116,000 tonnes per year.

The company’s increased investment in Vietnam is in line with its strategic plan, which foresees an increase in the diversity of products, including plastic and paper packaging, as well as the development of domestic design teams, according to Wichan Jitpukdee, CEO of SCGP.

“We are prepared to work with all partners to share experience and knowledge in the development of integrated packaging solutions and support the growing demand for diverse types of packaging among customers in ASEAN,” Jitpukdee added.

During the past decade, the Thai company has continuously increased investment in Vietnam, which has yielded a revenue growth of more than 10% annually.

All three projects of the company in Vietnam including Vina Kraft Paper Co., Ltd. in the southern province of Binh Duong, the packaging producer Tin Thanh Packing JSC and Bien Hoa Packaging JSC are expected to contribute to its increased sales of about 8.5 billion baht (US$283.1 million) per year.

The Thai company is also looking into expanding its paper production capacity in the north of Vietnam. “This is to satisfy domestic demands and expansion of export markets, which will be a boon to Vietnam’s economic growth as well,” Jitpukdee said.

Imports and exports of FDI sector enjoy sharp increase in January

The total import and export value of foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises in January saw a surge of 60.1% to US$39.16 billion, equivalent to an increase of US$14.69 billion, according to figures compiled by the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

The country’s import and export value throughout January soared by 48.2% to US$55 billion, equal to an annual rise of US$17.88 billion.

In relation to the figure, total Vietnamese exports increased sharply to US$28.55 billion, while imports also soared by 41.3% to US$26.46 billion against the same period from last year, with the country recording a trade surplus of US$2.09 billion.

Most notably, the total import and export value of the local FDI sector rose by 60.1% to US$39.16 billion, while the domestic sector’s imports and exports increased by 25.2% to US$15.85 billion on-year.

The export value of FDI enterprises also skyrocketed by 70% to US$21.57 billion compared to the previous year, therefore accounting for 75.5% of the country’s total export value. In addition, its import value rose by 49.4% to US$17.59 billion, making up 66.5% of the country’s total import value.

Source: VNA/VNN/VNS/SGGP/VOV/NDO/Dtinews/SGT/VIR

A Japanese expert who died in Hanoi on February 13 has been infected with a new variant strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, said Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long.

Long announced the results of the expert’s genome sequencing at a meeting of permanent Cabinet members in Hanoi on February 24.

He did not reveal specifically but said this was the first time the new strain has been detected in Vietnam.

The strain, he said, has circulated mainly in the Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan (China), and India.

According to the minister, Japan, the deceased expert’s home country, has yet to record this strain.

To scientists, the strain it not highly transmissible, but the extent of its aggravation is not clear, said Long.

Epidemiologists stated that the new strain is not linked to the fresh coronavirus hotspot in Hai Duong province where a variant strain originating from the United States was recorded.

The Japanese expert entered Vietnam on January 17 through Tan Son Nhat International Airport. He was placed in quarantine in Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Binh District from January 17-31 upon his arrival.

He left the quarantine facility and flew to Hanoi on February 1 after testing negative twice, on January 17 and 31.

The man stayed at Somerset West Point Hanoi hotel in Quang An ward, Tay Ho district, and travelled back and forth between the hotel and his company Mitsui Vietnam.

He was found dead in his hotel room on February 13. Subsequent tests showed he had carried the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Sailors infected with COVID-19 aboard Indonesian vessel off southern coast

Five sailors aboard Ocean Amazing, an Indonesian-flagged cargo vessel off the southern coast of Ba Ria – Vung Tau province, have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to a report released by the provincial Centre for Disease Control (CDC).

Healthcare workers have already collected nasal swabs from the sailors in order to conduct a second test on the crew, with the exception of the deceased one, according to the Ba Ria – Vung Tau CDC on February 23.

While waiting for the results of the tests to be processed, the provincial CDC transferred  the sailors’ samples to the Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute for genome sequencing.

A representative of the provincial CDC has stated that in the event that positive tests are confirmed, the vessel will be forced to make a U-turn and return to Indonesia in order to undergo a personnel change and chemical disinfection. Once this is done, the ship may then return to Vietnam to complete its cargo unloading.

The provincial CDC made a report to the Ministry of Health, awaiting further instructions.

Ocean Amazing originally left Indonesia on February 20 and had been scheduled to dock in Vietnam during its voyage in order to unload its goods.

At present, a total of 80 SARS-CoV-2 virus carriers have been recorded in Ba Ria – Vung Tau, all of whom have been discharged from hospital after making a full recovery from the disease.

More 43 COVID-19 patients given all-clear over last 12 hours

Two more new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed over the last 12 hours, from 6:00pm on February 23 to 6:00am on February 24, taking the national count to 2,403.

The new cases are in the northern province of Hai Duong, the country’s current largest hotspot. Both are close contacts (F1) of COVID-19 patients linked to the outbreak in POYUN Electronics Co., Ltd. in Chi Linh city who have been quarantined in centralised centres.

They are being treated at the COVID-19 Hospital No.1 in Chi Linh.

There have been 1,504 community infections so far, of which 811 have been reported in the COVID-19 resurgence since January 27.

Additional 43 COVID-19 patients have been given the all-clear, raising the total recoveries to 1,760. Death toll remains at 35.

Among patients still under treatment, 87 have tested negative for SARS-CoV-2, 39 twice and 60 thrice.

A total of 88,583 people who had close contact with COVID-19 patients or arrived from pandemic-hit areas are being quarantined across the country.

Students in 52 provinces, cities come back to school

Kindergarten children maintain 1m distance with friends (Photo: VNA)

The Ministry of Education and Training has requested local departments of education and training and educational institutions nationwide to strictly implement COVID-19 prevention and control measures, especially when students come back to school.

Schools are urged to stay vigilant against the pandemic, and proactively carry out prevention and control measures to ensure safety for students, with the focus on disinfecting classes, teaching and learning tools and toys.

Schools are also requested to coordinate with parents to keep a close watch on students’ health while they are at home and at school.

The Ministry of Education and Training also asked schools to actively build study plans for students to ensure the quality of their study after a long holiday./.

Vietnam to consider reopening up economy

Permanent Cabinet members are evaluating localities’ proposals to come up with important decisions, including reopening up the national economy, when the latest coronavirus outbreak is showing signs of abating.

The new wave has made a negative impact on business and production plans, as well as people’s daily life.

Thanks to drastic measures in place, including social distancing imposed on coronavirus hit localities, the fresh outbreak has basically been brought under control, though several cases are reported sporadically on a daily basis.

“We have to continue with the dual goal of epidemic prevention and economic recovery at the same time,” Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told permanent Cabinet members at a meeting in Hanoi on February 24.

According to the PM, it is essential to boost business and production alongside keeping the epidemic in check, or the national economy will encounter difficulty.

Vietnam achieved a GDP growth rate of 2.91% last year and it aims to secure a 6.5% rate this year.

Man dies after showing signs of COVID-19

A man who showed symptoms of coronavirus has died at a hospital in the northern province of Thanh Hóa.

Although the cause of death is yet to be determined, health officials say he had earlier tested negative for COVID-19. Results of a second test are pending.

The 38-year-old had returned to his wife’s hometown in Yên Giang Village, Hoạt Giang Commune, Hà Trung District on February 5 to celebrate Tết (Lunar New Year).

He began suffering breathing difficulties and coughing. He bought medicine at a pharmacy and was treated at the Hoạt Giang Commune Health Centre.

Over the following few days, his condition worsened and he was admitted to Bỉm Sơn Town’s General Hospital on February 21 where he was immediately isolated in their infectious disease ward.

The man, who had previously suffered from liver and kidney failure, and also had type 2 diabetes, died two days later.

Following his death, the hospital was locked down and sprayed with disinfectant. Check points were also set up at the commune where he was staying.

No location remains locked down in HCM City as new COVID wave begins to ease

The HCM City Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (HCDC) said with no new COVID-19 cases diagnosed since February 11 all lockdown locations in the city have been taken down.

The last lockdown location is block F at the Carillon apartment building at 1 Trần Văn Danh Street in Tân Bình District was took down on Wednesday.

Eighteen areas were locked down on February 8 alone after 29 people were diagnosed with COVID-19, all related to the infection cluster at Tân Sơn Nhất Airport.

On Monday the HCDC announced that for 11 days since February 11 there had been no local transmission.

But it continues to obtain medical declarations from and conduct test on people coming from provinces with social distancing.

It also encourages people to stay alert not be neglectful, and make honest medical declarations.

Health authorities in Bình Thạnh District have begun randomly testing customers and employees at restaurants and drinking places in Ward A.

On Monday night 32 people were asked to give samples and make medical declarations.

Nguyễn Việt Tường, a customer at a restaurant on Phan Văn Trị Street, told Tuổi Trẻ (Youth) newspaper that being tested like this makes him feel secure since COVID-19 remains a threat.

Nguyễn Bảo Quốc, People’s Committee chairman of Bình Thạnh District’s Ward 3, said this random testing could help authorities detect infections early and promptly take measures to prevent the spread of the disease.

They plan to carry on random testing in 20 wards in Bình Thạnh until the end of March.

HCM City has had 36 cases since January 28, when the Ministry of Health confirmed the start of a new wave of infections after almost two months without local transmission.

HCM City Dept of Health develops emergency plan for COVID-19

The HCM City Department of Health has developed an emergency plan for COVID-19 outbreaks under three scenarios of fewer than 100, 200 and 500 positive cases.

The plan is being made because of pandemic developments including new variants and outbreaks globally.

The department will continue to use available personnel and facilities at designated hospitals for treatment of COVID-19 patients.

These hospitals include Củ Chi Field Hospital with 300 beds, Cần Giờ COVID-19 Treatment Hospital with 600 beds, HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases with 40 beds at its Department for Transmissible Diseases D, and City Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital 2.

These hospitals will be ready to increase the number of beds to admit COVID-19 patients and others suspected of having COVID-19 if an outbreak occurs.

If the hospitals become overloaded, the department will use Phạm Ngọc Thạch Hospital’s 464 beds to admit COVID-19 patients.

The department has instructed hospitals in the city to prepare doctors and nurses to be available for examination and treatment of COVID-19 patients if necessary.

These doctors and nurses will have to receive training in professional knowledge on treatment and control of infections, and ensure safety for medical staff as well as patients.

Last year, Củ Chi Field Hospital and Cần Giờ COVID-19 Treatment Hospital were the two main health facilities isolating and treating COVID-19 patients and suspected cases. This was done to help reduce pressure and risk of transmission at city hospitals.

The hospitals’ doctors and nurses came from other hospitals in the city and worked on a rotation system.

The department has also instructed the 115 Emergency Centre to continue carrying out its task of transporting COVID-19 patients to designated hospitals for treatment.

Hospitals have helped the city Centre for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) to take samples for testing at Tân Sơn Nhất airport, and bus and railway stations.

Besides Pasteur Institute and the CDC, tests are conducted by the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Children’s Hospital 1, City Children’s Hospital, and Phạm Ngọc Thạch, Nguyễn Tri Phương, District 2, Thủ Đức, FV, Gia An 115 and Hoàn Mỹ Sài Gòn hospitals, as well as several hospitals owned by the Ministry of Health and other agencies.

This year, more hospitals in the city will be assessed for their capacity to conduct COVID-19 tests.

The department has instructed hospitals to prepare medicine, chemicals and protective clothes as well as equipment for their medical staff when they are called for emergencies.

It has also required all hospitals and health facilities to review and assess safety criteria in COVID-19 prevention and control. They have been ordered to ask their patients to fill out online health declarations.

Since February 5, when online health declarations began at hospitals and health centres in the city, 127 private and public healthcare facilities have used the department’s health declaration application.

By March 8, all hospital and health centre in the city will have to use the application.

According to the department, hospitals should offer training courses for their doctors and nurses in screening, isolating and taking samples for tests, and treatment guidelines related to COVID-19 issued by the Ministry of Health.

Hospitals have also been instructed to take samples for testing all of their staff by March 10.

Following the Ministry of Health’s requirement, the department is collaborating with Chợ Rẫy Hospital to set up an expert team specialising in COVID-19 treatment to assist other hospitals that admit severely ill COVID-19 patients who need emergency treatment.

HCM City businesses offer to pay for COVID-19 tests for staff

The HCM City Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (HCDC) has asked city authorities to allow businesses to pay for COVID-19 testing of their staff who have returned to HCM City after the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday.

People returning from COVID-19 hotspots are required to take a COVID-19 test and be under surveillance for a certain period of time. People returning from non-affected localities are only required to complete health declarations.

As of February 19, a total of 186 people returning to HCM City from COVID-19 hotspots had been put under mandatory quarantine, according to HCDC Director Nguyễn Trí Dũng.

The HCDC has conducted 1,000 daily tests at gas stations, bus stations and the airport since February 16.

Many companies want to pay for testing costs to ensure safety for their employees and customers, Dũng said at a meeting with city authorities last Friday (Feb 19). “This will help the HCDC expand COVID-19 surveillance and testing in the city.”

Dương Anh Đức, deputy chairman of the city’s People’s Committee, said the city would offer assistance to companies to screen employees for infection.

Health facilities approved by the Ministry of Health to provide testing and test results for COVID-19 should be widely published, Đức said.

City authorities will also offer favourable conditions for investment in the preventive health system, including equipment, human resources and financial support, he said.

Dũng, director of the HCDC, said that it was vital to invest in state-of-the-art laboratory equipment to meet the strong demand for testing.

District-level health centres and health stations in wards and communes as part of the preventive health system must have enough personnel and equipment, he said.

More than 450 staff at the HCDC cancelled their plans for the Tết (Lunar New Year) holiday and stayed at their workplaces to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, he added.

Woman prosecuted for spreading virus

Police of Hải Dương City in the northern province of the same name on Monday started legal proceedings against a woman for “spreading a contagious disease to others”.

According to initial investigations, from February 1-15, a 52-year-old woman, residing at No.15 Trần Sùng Dĩnh, Hải Tân Ward, Hải Dương City, was suspected of contracting COVID-19 but did not follow prevention regulations and make a medical declaration, resulting in three other infections at the same address.

Earlier, the woman visited Hải Dương city’s Blind Association and had close contact with another woman who was later confirmed as a COVID-19 patient.

She showed symptoms of cough, fever and tiredness from February 3 and was announced to be suspected of contracting COVID-19 on February 11. She then tested positive for the coronavirus on February 15.

However, after working with the investigation police agency many times, she did not declare that she had gone to Hải Dương city’s Blind Association and contacted the confirmed COVID-19 patient.

She only admitted she had been there on February 17 when the data on her phone calls was collected.

The woman did not declare enough information related to her epidemiological history, so prompt prevention and control measures could not be taken, thus making three family members infected with the coronavirus.

Her act also made her residential area put under lockdown, causing economic losses for the locality.

NA Standing Committee concludes 53rd session

The 53rd session of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee concluded on February 23 after giving opinions on preparations for the upcoming 11th NA session which is slated to open on March 24.

As scheduled, the 11th session of the 14th NA will last 11 days, with two and a half days spent to discuss reports on the NA performance in the 2016-2021 period.

According to NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, the NA Standing Committee agreed with the NA General Secretary’s report on the preparations for the 11th session of the 14th NA.

The NA Chairwoman also asked the National Election Council to deliver a report at the NA on its operation over the past one year.

During the 11th plenary session, NA deputies will listen to reports of the NA, Government, the State President and judicial agencies on their performance during the tenure, and the session will be broadcast live on national television and radio.

At the session, deputies will spend much time to work on a number of positions in the State apparatus.

No voter meetings will be organised following the 11th NA session. However, NA deputies will report the outcomes of the session to voters in other flexible forms.

The NA leader asked leaders of NA committees and agencies to make thorough preparations for smooth handover of work to the 15th NA.

NA leader praises government’s performance over last tenure

It has been a very successful tenure of the government, said National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan during the ongoing 53rd session of the NA Standing Committee on February 23.

Briefing participants on an overview report of the government’s performance in the 2016 – 2020 tenure, Minister and Chairman of the Government’s Office Mai Tien Dung said the government has stuck to its commitment of building a public-serving and constructive government of integrity and action since the beginning of its term.

The government has without delay issued programmes and plans to translate the resolutions of the Party and NA into reality and implemented the 2011 – 2020 socio-economic development strategy, Dung said.

In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, the government has demonstrated consistency in fulfilling the dual goals of containing the novel coronavirus, with a motto “fighting the pandemic is like fighting an enemy,” and recovering and developing the economy, he stated.

This year, the government will continue focusing on fulfilling the twin goals, he noted, adding that it will keep guard up against the disease, seize all opportunity to recover and develop the economy in the “new normal,” and create solid foundation for the successful achievement of the next-five-year socio-economic goals.

Nguyen Van Giau, Chairman of the NA Committee for External Relations said the government has accomplished Vietnam’s international mission over the last five years, reflected by the successful hosting of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week 2017, the 2019 US – Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Summit and the ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2020. The country is also undertaking the role as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and has signed a number of new-generation free trade agreements, expected to set the scene for its sustainable development, Giau said.

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan also praised the government’s effort to firmly guide the country to success despite multiple challenges. The government has showed its dynamism, proactiveness, and innovation in its governance and listened to opinions of every NA deputy, she said.

She also highly spoke of the government’s performance in diplomacy over the last five years./.

More congratulations flow in for Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong

Leaders of countries, parties and international friends over recent days continued to send in congratulations to Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong over his re-election as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee in the 13th tenure.

Messages of congratulations came from French President Emmanuel Macron; Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha; Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi; Vice President of the Cambodian People’s Party and President of the Cambodian Senate Samdech Say Chchum; Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea Park Byeong-Seug; and chairman of the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) and President of Mozambique Filipe Nyusi.

There were also greetings from Chairman of the Nur Otan party of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev; Executive Committee Chairman of the Japanese Communist Party Shii Kazuo; chairman of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan Edano Yukio; chairman of the Party of National Change and Transformation (Partido Cambio y Tranformacion Nacional) of the Dominican Republic Domingo Amparo; First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Mexico Paven Blanco Cabrena; First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) Pauline Easton; a number of foreign ambassadors to Vietnam; friendship parliamentarians’ organisations and individuals in many countries in the world./.

Ministry vows to provide safest COVID-19 vaccine: Expert

The Preventive Medicine Department at the Ministry of Health (MoH) is cooperating with other ministry agencies to license COVID-19 vaccines and build plans for distribution, together with monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the vaccine, a health expert has said.

Addressing an online meeting of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control with representatives from the Hai Duong Provincial People’s Committee on February 23, Tran Dac Phu, vice chairman of the advisory council for the granting of drug and medicinal ingredient circulation certificates at the MoH, affirmed that COVID-19 vaccinations will not be conducted on a mass basis prior to full inspections, to ensure that people are provided the safest vaccine possible.

Experts said the Astra Zeneca vaccine is being delivered to Vietnam and has been prequalified by the World Health Organisation (WHO). It can be used as soon as it is shipped to Vietnam.

The MoH also said that it only buys safe, highly-protective vaccines pre-assessed by WHO, approved by a stringent regulatory authority (SRA), and with a good price.

Phu also said that despite the COVID-19 vaccine, people still need to strictly follow disease prevention and control measures, in particular wearing masks when outdoors.

The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is spread by droplets, so wearing a mask is always the most effective measure to prevent its spread, he explained.

The vaccination will not immediately create immunity, he said, adding that it is also necessary to prevent a new strain of the virus from appearing.

Members of the Steering Committee affirmed that the Government is directing the acceleration of the production of a domestic COVID-19 vaccine, while ensuring safety and effectiveness.

Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen said the ministry is developing a master plan for vaccinations.

With a plan to vaccinate millions of people in a short time, Tuyen said responding to and handling any complications that may occur after vaccination is entirely within the capability of the health sector.

A list of those enjoying free vaccines will follow the principle of giving priority to frontline forces and pandemic-hit localities.

Regarding this issue, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, who is also head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, affirmed that Vietnam is making every effort to quickly have a COVID-19 vaccine.

Vaccines, both sourced from abroad and produced domestically, will be provided free, like the Quinvaxem vaccine in the national expanded immunisation programme, in the time to come, he noted./.

Hai Duong asked to speed up COVID-19 testing, trace for possible contacts

The northern province of Hai Duong – Vietnam’s biggest COVID-19 epicentre at present – should continue speeding up testing and tracing all possible contacts with confirmed cases, while carrying out flexible screening tests at high-risk areas.

The recommendation was made by Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, head of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, during a virtual meeting with the provincial People’s Committee on February 23.

Dam lauded efforts exerted by the locality and the Health Ministry’s support forces in pandemic prevention and control.

Experience learned from the fight in Hai Duong can be valuable lessons for other localities nationwide, he stressed, adding that even when the pandemic is over, Hai Duong needs to stay alert like other localities.

The Deputy PM also asked Hai Duong to encourage its people who do not live in disease-hit areas to wear cloth masks, and strictly punish those making false health declarations.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Luong Van Cau affirmed that Hai Duong is capable of conducting COVID-19 testing. He added the province will conduct extensive testing in the next six days.

Regarding the testing, Deputy Health Minister Do Xuan Tuyen emphasized that extensive testing need to follow health authorities’ directions, and asked the province to strengthen prevention and control measures at concentrated quarantine areas./.

Ministry steps up scientific research for COVID-19 prevention

The Ministry of Science and Technology has said it is intensifying studies serving COVID-19 prevention and control, particularly those on vaccine production.

It will prioritise cooperation with competent agencies in Vietnam and international partnerships in the import, research and production of COVID-19 vaccines, it noted.

The body said it is also working with relevant units in offering information on the pandemic developments.

Since the first outbreak detected in Vietnam, the ministry has joined scientists to conduct studies on epidemiology, virology, treatment regimens, especially the production of the virus test kits. Such work laid the basis for current mass production of the kits.

Vietnam logged three more COVID-19 cases on February 23 morning, raising the country’s total community infections to 1,496, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Vietnam is one of the 40 countries that have conducted human trials of a COVID-19 vaccine. The nation expects to have 80 percent of its population vaccinated against COVID-19. However, the current supply allows the country to inject only 20 percent of the population in 2021-2022, targeting 95 percent of those vulnerable to virus infection./.

Tree planting festival: Individual trees make a forest

The tree planting festival initiated by President Ho Chi Minh has beeen a tradition in Vietnam for more than 60 years, encouraging afforestation and forest protection and greatly contributing to national development.

Since the first tree planting festival was held in the spring of 1960, following the late leader’s teachings, authorities and sectors from the central to grassroots levels, along with people nationwide, have joined hands in planting trees whenever a new year arrives.

To uphold this tradition and cope with global climate change, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on December 31, 2020, issued Directive No 45/CT-TTg on organising a tree planting festival and stepping up forest protection and development at the beginning of 2021.

Accordingly, Vietnam is to plant 1 billion trees from now to 2025, including about 182 million this year./.

Work begins on Vietnam – RoK Friendship Village

Work started on the Vietnam – Republic of Korea Friendship Village in the mountainous district of Bac Ai, the south-central province of Ninh Thuan on February 23.

Funded by the Korean Cultural Centre, the project has a total investment of 1.3 billion VND (56,407 USD).

Located in Ma Lam village, Phuoc Tan commune, the project will comprise 21 houses, 36 sqm each, with a porch and an indoor toilet.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, Ko Jae Seung, the project’s director, said the friendship village is funded by the RoK’s non-refundable aid. Each house will cost about 63 million VND, of which 53 million VND will come from the aid while the remainder will be sourced from soft loans provided the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies and financial assistance from local authorities.

The project is the first funded by the Korean Cultural Centre in Bac Ai and Ninh Thuan.

Once completed, the project will not only accommodate poor people in the area but also promote Vietnamese and Korean cultures in the province./.

Tuyen Quang advised to pay greater attention to forest economy

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has lauded Tuyen Quang’s achievements in recording highest forest coverage ratio among localities nationwide at 65 percent, suggesting the province to consider forestry as a major economic development orientation to escape from poverty.

The PM had a working session with key leaders of Tuyen Quang on February 23 after attending the launching of the tree-planting festival in the northern mountainous province.

He stressed that Tuyen Quang should become an important hub of wood industry of Vietnam and the region, asking the locality to mobilise all resources for the goal.

At the same time, Tuyen Quang should expand a number of other agricultural sectors, he said, suggesting that the province increase the area of sugar canes for export and call on investors to invest more in agriculture and forestry.

The PM reminded Tuyen Quang, the province to pay greater attention to preserving and promoting unique cultural identities of ethnic minority groups in the locality, thus boosting the development of tourism and service sectors.

PM Phuc expressed delight at dramatic changes that the province has made in the past 10 years in both urban and rural areas.

However, he noted that the province has still faced many difficulties in socio-economic development and investment attraction, keeping it a poor province.

On the occasion, PM Phuc visited the Tan Trao special national relic site in Son Duong district, which comprises 183 smaller relic sites having close relations with the national liberation cause in the middle of the 20th century.

He also visited and presented gifts to Cao Thi Co, a Heroic Vietnamese Mother in Tan Quang ward of Tuyen Quang city and Nguyen Dinh Phung, a former revolutionary official in An Tuong ward./.

Vietnam, Jordan look to step up trade and investment

Vietnam and Jordan are looking to step up investment as well as trade in areas of potential such as tourism and Halal food production, a meeting in Singapore heard.

The meeting between Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Tao Thi Thanh Huong and Jordanian Ambassador to Singapore and Vietnam Mahmoud Hmoud was held at the Vietnamese Embassy on February 23 to discuss ways to boost bilateral relations.

Huong briefed her guest on the results of the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, which concluded earlier this month, and the country’s success in maintaining positive economic growth and responding to COVID-19 last year.

Hmoud, for his part, said he expects Jordan and Vietnam will continue fostering bilateral cooperation in trade and investment. Jordan has introduced a number of incentives for foreign investors at industrial parks, he said, adding that the country has also signed free trade agreements with various Middle East and African countries, paving the way for enterprises from foreign countries to access these markets via Jordan.

He also noted that Jordanian firms show a high level of interest in Vietnam as a major market with an open economy.

The two ambassadors agreed that bilateral ties in trade and investment have fallen short of potential and that the two sides should accelerate partnerships via discussions on agreements regarding double taxation avoidance and business visas.

Both agreed that Vietnam and Jordan need to increase the exchange of business and official delegations. Once COVID-19 has been fully brought under control, high-level visits will help intensify economic cooperation between the two sides. In the short term, online meetings between businesses from both countries are perfectly feasible, they said.

Huong reaffirmed that the embassy will made all possible effort to work with the Jordanian Embassy to strengthen bilateral economic, trade, and investment cooperation./.

Festive activities excluded from upcoming Hung Kings Temple Festival

Only ritual ceremonies will be held at the Hung Kings Temple Festival in the northern province of Phu Tho this year due to COVID-19, heard a meeting of local authorities on February 23.

Incense and flower offering ceremonies are scheduled to take place at the Hung Kings Temple relic site in Viet Tri city on April 17 and 21 (the 6th and 10th days of the third lunar month).

The strict implementation of COVID-19 prevention and control measures was ordered at the meeting, along with traffic safety and social security.

Normally including myriad festive activities, the festival was cancelled last year due to the pandemic. It welcomed over 7 million visitors in 2019.

Legend has it that the eldest son of Lac Long Quan (son of Kinh Duong Vuong) and Au Co (the fairy daughter of De Lai) was made king. He named the country Van Lang and set up the capital in Phong Chau (modern-day Viet Tri city), beginning the 18 dynasties of the Hung Kings.

The kings chose Nghia Linh Mountain, the highest in the region, to perform rituals devoted to the rice and sun deities to pray for healthy crops.

To honour their substantial contributions, a complex of temples dedicated to the kings was built on Nghia Linh Mountain, and the tenth day of the third lunar month serves as the national commemorative anniversary for the kings.

The worshipping rituals of the Hung Kings was recognised as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2012./.

New deal promises green solutions for HCM City

A memorandum of understanding on green development cooperation for 2021-2025 was signed between the Urban Environment Limited Company (CITENCO) and the Finance and Investment State-owned Company (HFIC) from Ho Chi Minh City on February 23.

The pact highlights investments in green solutions to improve the effectiveness of environmental projects implemented in the southern economic hub, which generates nearly 9,000 tonnes of domestic solid waste daily. According to CITENCO Director Huynh Minh Nhut, of that total, only 2,000 tonnes are recycled, while nearly 75 percent of the remainder is buried.

Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, Chairman of the HFIC Members’ Council, said the deal reflected the common orientations of the two companies in launching urban environmental projects together, particularly those on recycling solid waste.

Projects include the building of a landfill at the Phuoc Hiep – Cu Chi waste treatment complex and a plant for recycling and treating solid waste classified at the source, as well as moving a hazardous waste treatment plant from Dong Thanh to Phuoc Hiep commune.

The HFIC has committed to supporting CITENCO in paperwork and granting it preferential loans for project implementation.

The two also agreed to introduce cooperative opportunities to each other and invite the engagement of a third party when necessary./.

RoK aids Quang Tri in alleviating flooding aftermath

The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) has offered the central province of Quang Tri over 6.9 billion VND (over 300,000 USD) in non-refundable aid to help it handle the damage caused by consecutive storms and flooding in October last year.

The funding will be used to repair basic infrastructure and facilities in seven communes, including Cam Thuy, Phong Binh, Hien Thanh, Hai Thuong, Triecu Trach, Thuan and Mo O, as well as at the Quang Tri technical college.

According to a document approved by local authorities on February 23, repairs are set to run until July 31.

Central Vietnam was struck by four storms, three floods, and a series of landslides last October. The seven communes bore the brunt of the disaster, with schools, bridges, roads, water supply systems, housing, and other buildings swept away or destroyed.

KOICA provided non-refundable aid of more than 9.6 million USD to Quang Tri in the 2013-2017 period, to help the province conduct a programme on increasing living standards in rural areas./.

Prime Minister launches tree planting campaign in Tuyen Quang province

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on February 23 launched a tree planting campaign in the northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang which is a former revolutionary base.

In his remarks, PM Phuc highlighted Tuyen Quang’s advantages for forestry development, saying over the past years, the province has made outstanding performance in forestation, forest protection and forestry-based economic development in tandem with new-style rural area building.

Environmental protection is the responsibility of all people, he said, adding that tree planting and preservation is one of the practical activities to ensure sustainable development.

The Government has joined hands with localities nationwide in this regard, aiming to maintain forest coverage at 42 percent, and raise the export revenue of timber and forestry products to at least 14 billion USD this year, and over 20 billion USD in 2025, the PM continued.

He called on administrations at all levels, departments, agencies and ethnic groups in Tuyen Quang province to respond to the tree planting festival initiated by President Ho Chi Minh in the spring of 1960.

PM Phuc assigned the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to assist the province in implementing relevant programmes and projects, and suggested Tuyen Quang combine forestation and forest preservation with eco-tourism.

The same day, the PM attended a ceremony announcing Tuyen Quang city as a second-tier urban area, a subordinate administrative unit of Tuyen Quang province.

Speaking at the event, PM Phuc said Tuyen Quang city plays a significant role as a political and socio-economic centre of the province, and a hub of transport and infrastructure of the northeastern and northwestern regions.

He asked the city to spur socio-economic development, while ensuring national defence and security and environmental protection.

Tuyen Quang city needs to make greater efforts in order to win the status of first-tier city in 2030, the government leader said./.

Striker Anh Đức comes out of retirement to join Long An

Former top national team striker Nguyễn Anh Đức has inked a one-year contract with V.League 2 club Long An.

The 35-year-old has joined Long An as a player and a member of the coaching staff.

The former player of Bình Dương is about to complete the A coaching class held by the Việt Nam Football Federation, so the contract signed between Long An and Đức has a provision for him to become an assistant coach.

“Đức joined Long An to continue to maintain his passion for football. In addition to being a player, he is also able to pass on his experience to young players on the pitch as well as in real life. So the team decided to create conditions for Đức to assume the role of assistant,” said Võ Thành Nhiệm, chairman of Long An Football Club.

Đức is hoped to greatly improve Long An’s attack in an effort to win promotion to the V.League 1 for the 2023 season.

According to the club’s technical director Ngô Quang Sang, Đức’s experience is extremely valuable, which can help young players improve for the goal of winning promotion in the 2022 season.

“Long An want to be back in the V.League 1 in 2023. Particularly for the 2021 season to start, we only aim to get the best results possible. To complete that goal, Long An need to invest a lot in human factors.

“Đức is an experienced player with many years of playing for Bình Dương and the Vietnamese national team. His presence means a lot for the future of Long An club,” said Sang.

Đức played for Bình Dương in the national top-flight from 2006 to 2019, scoring 116 goals in 335 matches. He won four V.League 1 titles, four National Super Cups and two National Cups.

He was a key part of the national team that won the AFF Cup 2018 and in the Asian Games 2019.

After leaving Bình Dương, he played for Hoàng Anh Gia Lai in the V.League 1 last season but didn’t score any goals.

HCM City hospital collects blood from employees

HCM City’s Thống Nhất Hospital organised a Day of Voluntary Blood Donation for its staff on February 23 to address a shortage of blood amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Its 202 employees donated 60.2 litres, equivalent to 240.4 units of blood.

It was followed by the HCM City Hospital of Haematology and Blood Transfusion and National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion calling on people to donate blood.

According to the institute, with the return of the pandemic before Tết, voluntary blood donation programmes had to be cancelled, leading to a shortage of blood.

Its stocks are also falling, it said.

The institute estimates it needs nearly 50,000 units for this month and next.

Red Cross launches campaign to support farmers in COVID-19-hit Hải Dương

The Việt Nam Red Cross Society (VNRC) launched a campaign to help COVID-19-hit Hải Dương’s farmers sell their agricultural products on Tuesday.

The campaign, entitled ‘Together with people to consume agricultural products’, aims to support farmers and overcome difficulties in virus-hit parts of Hải Dương Province.

Speaking at the launching ceremony, VNRC President Nguyễn Thị Xuân Thu said the campaign would run from now until mid-March with the peak period from February 24 to March 5 with support from the Hà Nội City Red Cross Society and the Mùa Thu và những người bạn (Autumn and Friends) volunteer group.

“Agricultural produce trading activities will be held in conditions to ensure safety against the COVID-19 pandemic. All of these goods are strictly quarantined and sterilised before they reach consumers,” said Thu.

Đỗ Minh Quân from Ciputra Urban Area in Bắc Từ Liêm District, Hà Nội, said he went to buy some farm produce to help farmers in pandemic-hit Hải Dương, which has seen more than 600 locally-transmitted COVID-19 infections in almost a month.

On the first day of the campaign, VNRC and Autumn and Friends helped sell 11 tonnes of farm produce, including kohlrabi, cabbage, guava, eggs, carrots and tomatoes from virus-hit Hải Dương.

More than 11 tonnes of agricultural products were sold on the first days of the campaign. — VNS Photo Thanh Hải

The programme aims to help farmers in COVID-19 pandemic-hit areas sell their agricultural products and overcome the difficulties of the pandemic by buying and organising sales points for their produce.

Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/VIR/SGT/Nhan Dan/Hanoitimes