Carnegie for international peace

Vietnam helps maintain sustainable global peace: Officer

April 16, 2021 by vov.vn

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), Phung highlighted the positive contributions made by Vietnam’s peacekeeping force in UN missions.

Some 126 doctors and medical staff and 53 officers of Vietnamese level-2 field hospitals have joined UN peacekeeping forces since 2014, and they have successfully fulfilled their tasks. The Under-Secretary General for Peace Operations and the Military Adviser to the UN Secretary General sent a thank you letter to the Vietnamese Government for its medical contributions to the UN.

Peacekeeping is a priority for Vietnam at the UN Security Council as the country serves in different positions this year. It was UNSC Chair for the second time in April, suggesting 15 open meetings and ten closed meetings to discuss international peace and security.

Youth federation members exchange with Vietnamese peacekeepers

April 16, 2021 by en.qdnd.vn

Attending the event hosted by the chapter were Senior Colonel Mac Duc Trong, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations (VNDPKO), Phan Thi Thanh Huong, Secretary of the Vietnam Youth Union’s Ho Chi Minh City chapter, and Senior Colonel Nguyen Van Tuan, Head of the Department of Politics of Military Hospital 175 under the Ministry of National Defense.

During the exchange, the participants recalled stories highlighting the role of Uncle Ho’s soldiers and the contributions of the military medical force of the Vietnam People’s Army to the UN peacekeeping operations. These contributions help realize the Party and State’s foreign policies, and raise the prestige and position of Vietnam in general and of the Vietnam People’s Army in particular in the international arena.

The Vietnamese peacekeepers also recalled their unforgettable memories and impressions when they performed their tasks as ambassadors of peace in people-to-people diplomacy.

An exhibition showcasing Vietnamese peacekeepers’ activities in South Sudan, a presentation of 200 national flags, 200 bandannas, and 200 “I love my Fatherland” badges from the chapter to the Level 2 Field Hospital (L2FH) Rotation 3 also took place on this occasion as part of the exchange.

The chapter and the L2FH Rotation 3 virtually signed a cooperation agreement under which they will periodically organize exchanges and dialogues, host a virtual exchange program themed “Youth and aspirations to rise”, and build a green space at the L2FH Rotation 3 in South Sudan.

They will also coordinate to implement international voluntary projects in South Sudan related to healthcare, social skills, cultural exchanges, online refresher courses on international youth affairs, and launch a painting contest under the theme “Love for peace”.

The exchange aroused municipal youths’ patriotism and pride of Vietnamese troops and military doctors and featured the role of Vietnamese youth in participating in UN peacekeeping operations.

Translated by Mai Huong

9.1 million Vietnamese workers affected by Covid-19 in Q1

April 16, 2021 by e.vnexpress.net

Among the affected, 540,000 lost their jobs during the period while 3.1 million had their working hours reduced or took unpaid leave, with 6.5 million others reporting reduced incomes, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported Friday.

The country’s labor force shrunk by 1.1 million against the previous quarter to 51 million, the report stated.

Pham Hoai Nam, head of the GSO’s department of population and labor statistics, blamed the dark picture on the resurgence of Covid-19 before the Lunar New Year, the country’s biggest festival.

Vietnam encountered a new wave of Covid-19 on Jan. 28 in what the government said was caused by the U.K.-originated variant. In February, many areas in Vietnam were placed under lockdown as authorities raced against time to contain the spread of the virus.

The service sector was hit hardest by the crisis with 20.4 percent of workers affected, followed by the processing and manufacturing industries, along with agriculture.

The average monthly income in the first quarter was VND6.3 million ($272.95), down 2.3 percent over the previous year.

According to the GSO, the unemployment rate in the first quarter was 2.42 percent, down 0.21 percentage points against the previous quarter and up 0.08 percentage points year-on-year.

Severe Covid-19 impacts have seen as many as 40,300 companies shut up shop in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 16 percent.

GSO hoped the government would soon implement a Covid-19 vaccine passport so aviation, tourism and services could recover from the impacts of the pandemic.

The government closed borders and canceled all international flights in March last year, allowing in only certain categories of people including foreign diplomats and specialists and with stringent conditions.

Vietnam’s GDP grew 4.48 percent in the first quarter.

The government has set a GDP growth target of 6.5 percent for 2021.

RoK assists Vietnam in social housing development

April 16, 2021 by en.vietnamplus.vn

A social housing project in Vietnam (Illustrative photo: HUD)

Hanoi (VNA) – Workshops sharing experience in social housing development of the Republic of Korea (RoK) and policy improvements in Vietnam will be held in major cities of HCM City, Da Nang and Hanoi in the coming time, according to the Ministry of Construction (MoC).

The events are part of a project on the building of a master policy on Vietnam’s social housing development for the 2021-30 period, which is carried out using non-refundable official development assistance (ODA) from the RoK government via the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), said Deputy Director General of the MoC’s Housing and Real Estate Market Management Bureau (HREM) Ha Quang Hung.

The project strives to devise and complete legal documents on the field, particularly in Vietnam’s current policies, survey the need of those who are eligible for social housing, provide training for staff in charge of building social housing policies for 2021-30, and revise the housing law 2014.

KOICA experts will replicate ideas from different pilot programmes and apply successful ideas in Vietnam’s specific conditions. Analysis, evaluation and recommendations will be provided for the MoC to fine tune mechanisms and policies in a bid to integrate advanced social housing development approaches in the world into Vietnam’s social housing programmes.

Statistics of the HREM showed that 249 social housing projects for low-income earners in urban areas and workers at industrial parks have been finished so far, with more than 104,200 apartments spanning about 5.4 million sq.m.

Meanwhile, 264 projects housing some 219,000 apartments are underway. However, the result is still far behind the target set by the national housing development strategy of 12.5 million sq.m of social housing by 2020./.

VNA

9.1 million local workers adversely affected by COVID-19 pandemic in Q1

April 16, 2021 by vov.vn

Of the figure, the number of men makes up 51% of the total, while the number of people aged between 25 and 54 accounts for roughly 66% of the figure.

This information was unveiled by the General Statistics Office (GSO) during a press conference held on April 16 in Hanoi aimed at reviewing the local labour and employment situation during the first quarter of the year.

Out of a total of 9.1 million people adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, 540,000 people lost their jobs, whilst 2.8 million people endured temporary work stoppages.

Furthermore, 3.1 million people have seen their working hours cut down, been forced to leave work, or have been laid-off, while 6.5 million workers have had their incomes reduced.

Most notably, the third outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic which occurred over the Lunar New Year period significantly increased the number of underemployed workers in comparison to the previous quarter and the same period from last year.

Throughout the reviewed period, the average monthly income of employees reached VND6.3 million, representing an increase of VND339,000 compared to the previous quarter and a rise of VND106,000 compared to last year’s corresponding period.

The number of unemployed people of working age hit nearly 1.1 million, marking an increase of more than 12,000 people over the same period from last year.

To deal with the situation, the GSO has proposed that a number of solutions be implemented in order to remove difficulties for the labour market. This can be done through the acceptance of vaccine passports, thereby developing the necessary criteria to reopen the international tourism market in order to revive the local tourism industry.

It is anticipated that the development of these sectors will attract a large number of employees as a contribution to fully utilising the existing workforce.

Heightening youth’s role in corruption prevention and control

April 16, 2021 by en.qdnd.vn

PANO – The National Administration Academy, in association with some social organizations, held a seminar, “Youth’s role in transparent process in controlling and preventing corruption”, in Hanoi on December 8 ^th , as part of the “Young people towards transparency” program in response to the International Day of Corruption Prevention and Control on December 9th.

Photo for illustration

The seminar aimed to provide basic knowledge on corruption prevention and control for young people, as well as raise their awareness of promoting transparent values for sustainable development.

Also at the event, participants had a chance to exchange with former Mayor of Bolivia’s La Paz City Ronald MacLean-Abaroa on the occasion of his visit to Vietnam for the 11th Anti-Corruption Dialogue. He shared his experiences in enhancing transparency in administration and reducing corruption in La Paz City.

Translated by Van Hieu