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Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam is entering a new stage of development that will meet the demand and aspirations of voters and people nationwide, according to Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

Talking to the press after casting his vote in Hanoi on May 23 morning, the Party leader highlighted the significance of the 15th general elections , which coincide with the 131st birth anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh and follow the success of the 13th National Party Congress.

He noted that this time’s elections take place more than 75 years after the country gained independence and 35 years since the launch of Doi moi (Renewal), at a time when the country has fulfilled the socio-economic development plans for 2016-2021 and set out to implement the socio-economic development plan for the next five years.

With nearly 70 million voters who will select 500 deputies to the 15th National Assembly (NA), nearly 4,000 to provincial-level People’s Councils, over 20,000 to district-level People’s Councils, and more than 240,000 to communal-level People’s Councils, this is the largest-ever elections, General Secretary Trong affirmed.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, voters have played a very active and responsible role in preparing for the elections over the past months, the Party chief emphasised, voicing his belief that the most deserving persons will be selected for the NA and all-level People’s Councils for the 2021-2026 tenure.

The leader added that he hopes the deputies of the NA and People’s Councils in the new tenure will wholeheartedly work for the sake of the country and the people, fulfill their responsibilities and duties in line with the Constitution and laws, and be absolutely faithful to the Fatherland, the people, and the Constitution./.

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Vietnam has granted emergency licenses for three vaccines against Covid-19: AstraZeneca, Sputnik V and Sinopharm. It is expected that Pfizer will be the fourth vaccine on this list.

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said on June 13 that the Government is drafting a National Recovery Plan in preparation for the country to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic at a reasonable level.

The plan based on data, science and all preparations that had been done, including in terms of pandemic management, the economy, vaccination programme and so on, will be presented to the National Security Council (MKN) next week, he said.

In the past 24 hours, Malaysia recorded 5,304 more COVID-19 cases, raising the total infections to 657,508.

Among more than 76,000 active patients, over 900 are under intensive care./.

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Russia looks towards boosting friendly relations with all countries on the basis of mutual respect and consideration of each other’s interests. One of Russia’s traditional and preferred partners in the Asia-Pacific region is Vietnam, according to the ambassador.

He recalled the traditional friendship between the two sides since the Soviet Union’s establishment of its diplomatic ties with Vietnam in 1950. The Soviet Union helped Vietnamese people during their years of struggle for independence and freedom as well as in the peace-building period.

A tradition of friendship and cooperation for mutual benefit has been built by previous generations through difficult years and is currently being promoted on the basis of bilateral relations. Twenty years ago, Russia and Vietnam signed a Joint Statement on a strategic partnership, and since 2012 the bilateral relationship has been upgraded to the comprehensive strategic partnership.

The diplomat stressed that the bilateral cooperative relationship is currently developing dynamically in a wide range of fields. Political dialogue is maintained regularly at all levels. Telephone talks have also taken place between Russian President Vladimir Putin, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Medvedev Dmitry and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong, and between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son.

Trade-economic cooperation has expanded continuously. Thanks to the active efforts of the parties in implementing the Free Trade Agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and Vietnam, signed on May 29, 2015, trade revenue between the two countries has increased, with two-way trade in 2020 rising by 15 percent year-on-year to 5.7 billion USD.

The ambassador also said that Vietnam and Russia have also made efforts to promote cooperation against the COVID-19 pandemic. The two countries’ relevant ministries, sectors and agencies have exchanged experience in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of this pandemic. Negotiations are also underway on the supply and construction of a Russian Sputnik V vaccine production facility in Vietnam.

Russia is very grateful to its Vietnamese friends for donating several batches of medical masks to Russia. For its part, Russia has transferred to Vietnam a batch of Sputnik V vaccine, medicines, testing systems and reagents for research, he added.

Russia highly appreciates the activities of the Joint Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Research and Technological Center which is one of the most important scientific and technical cooperation projects of the two countries. On this basis, over the past 30 years, many unique studies have been conducted in the areas of environmental safety, biology and chemistry, as well as in epidemiology and medicine in tropical conditions.

Education and training remains a traditional area in bilateral cooperation. In the 2020-2021 school year, the Russian Government granted a quota of 965 for Vietnamese students who wish to study at leading Russian universities. In the next academic year, 1,000 Vietnamese students will be allowed to study in Russia. Despite the decrease in cultural exchange activities due to the pandemic, the two countries still organised a Russian film week in Hanoi and a Vietnamese film week in Moscow in 2020.

Within the framework of the recent visit to Vietnam by Secretary of the Security Council of Russian Federation Nikolai Patrushev, an inauguration ceremony of the monument of poet Alexander Pushkin was held in the capital city of Hanoi.

When life returns to normal after the pandemic, Russia and Vietnam could quickly restore the number of tourists moving between the two countries. Before the pandemic, Vietnam was one of the most popular destinations for Russian tourists. As many as 680,000 Russian citizens traveled to Vietnam for tourism in 2019. In addition, Vietnamese people’s interest in tourist attractions in Russia is also increasing.

One of the most important cooperation directions between the two countries is coordination in the international arena. The two countries have similar stances on many international and regional issues, advocating the formation of a just and multi-polar world order based on the standards of international law, respect for sovereignty and the interests of all parties. Russia and Vietnam have cooperated effectively at the United Nations Security Council. Vietnam was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 term. The Russian Federation attaches great importance to the development of the ASEAN-Russia Dialogue Partnership.

The multifaceted cooperation between Russia and Vietnam benefits both countries and is continuously growing in accordance with the agreements at the highest and high levels in a spirit of comprehensive strategic partnership. The foundation of this relationship is the solid tradition of friendship, solidarity and mutual understanding without dependence on temporary political situations. This allows the two countries to be optimistic and look to the future, the ambassador affirmed.

The two countries and peoples are facing important tasks to promote bilateral relations in both established fields as well as new areas, for the stable development and prosperity of Russia and Vietnam, and for peace and stability in the region and the world, he said.

Source: VNA

Hanoi (VNA) – Mastering technology and constantly creating innovations are the ongoing aims of scientific and technological development and application projects conducted by the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam). The success of such projects has generated trillions of VND for Vietnam, ensuring the profitability of oil and gas fields and plants and helping many localities improve people’s living standards.

Constant endeavour throughout 60 years of development

Developing and applying science and technology are an ongoing task for PetroVietnam, as assigned by the Party and the Government.

The Politburo issued Resolution No 41-NQ/TW, dated July 23, 2015, on the strategy for developing Vietnam’s oil and gas industry to 2025 and vision to 2035, and Resolution No 55-NQ/TW, dated February 11, 2020, on the national energy development strategy to 2030 and vision to 2045. Both resolutions stress that PetroVietnam must further apply scientific and technological advances in petroleum exploration as well as the production and trading of oil and gas, electricity, fertiliser, and new energy such as shale oil, gas hydrate, and hydrogen gas, so as to guarantee national energy security.

The group’s development strategy also emphasises the overall goal of building strong scientific and technological capacity by adopting breakthrough solutions, which is considered a foundation for PetroVietnam to accelerate its growth and develop sustainably.

Over its 60 years of development, it has worked to improve its sci-tech development and application capacity, adopted advanced techniques and technologies, and optimised existing technologies in order to keep up with its counterparts in the region and the world.

The oil and gas sector has received hundreds of awards for its scientific and technological achievements, including the Ho Chi Minh and State Awards for Science and Technology, and prizes from the Vietnam Fund for Supporting Technological Creations (VIFOTECH).

This year, the six most outstanding projects in the sector have been nominated for the Ho Chi Minh and State Awards for Science and Technology by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Among its remarkable science and technology achievements, the research and construction of oversize and overweight oil and gas facilities at sea have been completed after 10 years of implementation; the development and application of technological solutions to collect, treat, and use associated gas in the fields of the Vietnam – Russia joint venture Vietsovpetro and nearby fields have been carried out continually for 25 years; and sci-tech application solutions to optimise the Dung Quat Oil Refinery’s production processes have been developed and completed after 12 years.

Momentum and foundation for sustainable development

Science and technology have been applied in all of PetroVietnam’s production and business endeavours.

The group has been boosting fundamental research, with findings viewed as providing a trustworthy scientific basis that is key to building its long-term development strategy and the country’s economic development plans. Fundamental research is also to pave the way for new in-depth studies seeking unconventional gases such as coal gas and gas hydrate.

Scientific research and technological development have also been encouraged by PetroVietnam via activities such as holding innovation competitions, honouring initiatives and inventions, organising sci-tech meetings and workshops, and opening forums to share information and experience.

The successful research, development, proposal, and application of scientific and technological solutions in the oil and gas industry have not only brought about enormous economic benefits for the country but also made significant contributions to oil and gas science in Vietnam and the world. They are also robust demonstration of the endless creativity of the Vietnamese people, including personnel in the oil and gas sector, who are entrusted with the task of turning the impossible into the possible.

On the occasion of the eighth Vietnam Science and Technology Day on May 18, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the Members’ Council of PetroVietnam Hoang Quoc Vuong sent a letter to collectives, individuals, and those involved in the group’s scientific and technological research activities. The letter states that, in 2021, the group began to implement its scientific research plan for the 2021-2025 period, with important breakthrough programmes that will provide a foundation for developing key products and services able to compete with rivals in the domestic and global markets.

Vuong also requested that relevant units focus their resources on carrying out the science and technology plan, and expressed a hope that the group’s science and technology researchers and managers will exert every effort to continually create innovations, seize and apply the achievements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in production and business activities, and devise breakthrough solutions, thereby contributing to PetroVietnam’s stable and sustainable development./.

VNA