Environment and waste management

The message was conveyed by Dung at the first event of the “Vietnam digital technology’s challenges” Forum, held on April 9.

An Vui was the first technology firm to join the forum when it introduced Anvui, a platform on smart carrier management.

The platform helps the passenger transport sector have scientific administrative methods and optimize costs, thus reducing waste and improving the competitiveness of transport firms amid the technology revolution.

An Vui CEO Phan Ba Manh said that Anvui, started in 2015, has 28 modules which help digitize the entire carrier operation process. Over 150 transport firms with 4,000 passenger cars are using Anvui.

Anvui supports carriers in ticket sales, drivers, passengers, cargo, petrol and finance management as well as builds brands with AI switchboard, GPS system, electronic tickets and contracts. This allows carriers to save 30 percent of labor costs, 60 percent of communications costs and increase 30 percent in revenue from ticket sales.

At the event, Manh answered questions from journalists and users about Anvui development, the methods to make Anvui competitive with other solutions, and about clients and business data security. They also asked how An Vui persuades carriers to use An Vui’s solutions and how much carriers pay to use An Vui’s platform.

Seventy percent of the attendees at the event said the Anvui carrier management platform was useful.

Unlike the old version of the forum, the 2020 Technology Friday, the opening ceremony of An Vui solution did not aim to show technology, but rather offer a presentation of an answer to a question from the angle of an enterprise.

Dung said the multi-dimensional interactions from audience and mass media will serve as “compass” that helps technological solutions find problems and pains existing in the society and solve them.

Dung quoted Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung as saying that unlike the previous industrial revolutions, the success of digital transformation today not only depends on technological progress and technology masters, but on users or those who will apply the technologies, the first people who will see the real problems of the society.

Trong Dat

Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in HCM City has shortened the time for goods clearance by using an automatic airway management and monitoring system. — Photo:nld.com.vn

HCM CITY — The HCM City Department of Customs has shortened the time for goods clearance at the Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport by using an automatic airway management and monitoring systems at two warehouses.

The TCS warehouse is managed by the Tân Sơn Nhất Cargo Service Joint Stock Company and the SCSC warehouse by the Saigon Cargo Service Joint Stock Company.

Bùi Lê Hùng, head of Tân Sơn Nhất Airport’s Custom Department, said the system would greatly reduce the time and necessary procedures for businesses and airlines to deliver goods.

The city’s Customs Department worked with representatives of SCSC and TCS warehouses to implement the plan.

Last year, Hà Nội’s Nội Bài International Airport began using the system after more than a two-year trial implementation.

A survey of enterprises by the General Department of Customs found that the VASSCM system helped save about 2.5 hours per shipment when completing procedures for importing goods through the Nội Bài airport. — VNS

Minister of Home Affairs Phạm Thị Thanh Trà. —VNA/VNS Photo

Phạm Thị Thanh Trà, the first female Minister of Home Affairs, speaks to Vietnam News Agency about her thoughts and feelings after her appointment

First of all, I would like to congratulate you as the first female Minister of Home Affairs. How do you feel right now?

It is a great honour but also a heavy responsibility for me after the National Assembly passed a resolution approving the Prime Minister’s proposal to appoint 12 ministers, including me.

I will make great efforts together with the ministry’s Party Committee and the ministry’s officials to boost the sector’s development and meeting the tasks set. I felt quite emotional when I became the first female minister of Home Affairs. This requires me to try my best to continue developing the sector as the previous leaders did.

As one of the two female members of the Government, what advantages and disadvantages will you have?

The first advantage is that the Resolution of the Party’s XIII Congress has clearly defined the goals, directions and tasks to develop the country and the sector.

I think the directions were very clear, like the road has been opened ahead. The thing that I have to do is carry on that road in the correct way to reach the destination.

Another advantage is the previous leaders of the sector have created a strong foundation for future development.

As a woman, I will definitely receive the attention, support and encouragement from other women when doing my job.

There is also support from other officials and staff of the sector. All of this will give me motivation and confidence to overcome any disadvantages and complete the assigned tasks.

Being the head of a multi-sectoral ministry, what priorities do you set for yourself?

The Ministry of Home Affairs is a multi-sectoral ministry with difficult and sensitive work. There will be pressure but I am ready to tackle it.

When I served as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs since October 2020, my predecessor Lê Vĩnh Tân had shared and helped me a lot in handling my tasks. Tân is very enthusiastic and dedicated to his work. He has contributed much to the sector’s development over the past five years.

The future tasks of the sector are very challenging. The first thing to do is to thoroughly grasp the spirit of the Resolution of the XIII Congress of the Party and implement the tasks synchronously.

The first task is focusing on consulting to improve the institution and build a State administration that is democratic, modern, professional, disciplined, public and transparent to serve the people and achieve our goals.

The second task is promoting administrative reform to make a breakthrough for the period of 2021-26 in order to fix shortcomings and create motivation for the country’s development.

The third is streamlining administrative apparatus, including re-arranging units at district and commune levels. Previously, the ministry made initial steps and got some results. Now, it is the stage of implementing very drastically on this matter.

The fourth is downsizing the workforce of the sector, paying attention to discovering, fostering and appreciating talented people. This is also one of the contents specifically stated by the Resolution of the XIII Congress of the Party so that we could concentrate on building a team of civil servants that are professional, responsible, dynamic and people-centred.

The final task is perfecting decentralisation mechanisms in State management in every aspect of the sector, identifying clearly functions of each unit, responsibility of each officer and member of staff; as well as conducting more inspections to improve the quality and efficiency of State management.

You already worked as the head of a province for a long time, how will you apply your experiences in the role of a minister?

I have experience in many fields, including home affairs, after working as a female head of a province for many years. I also have accumulated experience in leadership and management.

When I held the position of Secretary of Yên Bái Province’s Party Committee, the province strongly implemented five aspects related to home affairs, especially the success in arranging organisational apparatus, administrative reform and decentralisation mechanism.

These are good experiences and valuable lessons to help me perform well as the head of the ministry. — VNS

Seafarers wear protective clothing. — Photo vinalines.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Transport (MoT) has asked the Government to add seafarers and maritime workers to the list of frontline workers to receive COVID-19 vaccinations.

This agency also requested the Government to direct the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to help Vietnamese crew members who stuck abroad return home on repatriation flights.

Vietnamese seafarers who are quarantined in concentrated isolation areas should be prioritised at an affordable cost, the MoT said in the written request to governments and People’s Committees of provinces and cities.

At the end of March, leaders of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued a joint statement calling on United Nations member states to put seafarers and crew members at the head of the vaccine queue to facilitate safe travel between countries.

In a letter sent to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Nguyễn Xuân Sang, Director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration and Deputy Secretary-General of the IMO Vietnam, asked IMO to prioritise COVID-19 vaccinations for sailors regardless of their nationality.

Sang proposed that IMO member countries include maritime workers on their priority lists , administering the vaccines to sailors and maritime workers on vessels that dock at ports under their management.

The Vietnam Shipowners’ Association the move is to keep nation supplied with vital goods and contributing to the recovery and stabilisation of the economy.

Volunteers injected with made-in-Vietnam COVID candidate vaccine

Six volunteers on Monday received the second shot of a homegrown COVID-19 vaccine, COVIVAC.

These people were injected with the first shot of COVIVAC, Việt Nam’s second candidate vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, on March 15.

The vaccine was developed by Nha Trang-based Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals (IVAC).

Ninety-six volunteers have been had been given the first shot in the first phase of COVIVAC’s clinical trials, according to Phạm Thị Vân Anh, director of Centre for Clinical Pharmacology, Hà Nội Medical University.

There were no serious reactions after 24-hours and 7-days in the volunteers.

Reactions were expected, mostly mild symptoms such as pain at the injection site and headache.

It is expected that the first shot of COVIVAC vaccine’s test will be completed on April 18 for 120 volunteers. — VNS

V.League 1 referees don’t have access to VAR technology yet. — Photo laodong.vn

Peter Cowan

It’s not often the head honchos of domestic football come in for praise in this column, but credit where credit is due, they’ve gotten at least one big decision right in recent years.

The Việt Nam Professional Football Joint Stock Company (VPF) has many faults that I’ve banged on about , but their decision (or perhaps indecision) about the dreaded video assistant referee (VAR) has been spot on.

At the start of 2019, the VPF announced to a fair bit of fanfare that VAR was coming to the V.League 1 , or at least to the handful of stadiums with the facilities to use the technology.

There was even talk of a mobile VAR van parked up outside grounds, though one would hope for the sake of the poor officials it would have been parked somewhere discrete.

VAR still hasn’t made its way to Việt Nam despite that announcement and after another weekend of English Premier League football plagued by those three dreaded letters, I for one am breathing a sigh of relief.

On Saturday night a friend back home sent me a video clip of a VAR decision that had gone against his beloved Liverpool and lamented that: “This beautiful game of ours has died.”

The same thing happened to Manchester United on Sunday and caused a social media furore as one would expect, but what worries me the most is something else my friend said.

He said he felt “apathetic” toward all things VAR and after a couple of years of these same controversies, again and again, analysing and debating whether or not a forward’s nose is a millimetre offside, I can understand why, but for anyone who wants to see the V.League 1 thrive, apathy is something that has to be avoided.

It’s no exaggeration to say VAR has taken some of the passion and life out of football at the highest level and if we’re to avoid some of the same problems in the V.League 1, VAR needs to stay out of Việt Nam.

The argument in favour of the tech over here has always been the poor standard of refereeing, but as we’re seeing in the UK and across Europe, VAR doesn’t take human error or judgement out of officiating, if anything it magnifies its importance.

The best referees are those you don’t notice, those who stay out of the way and let the game go on around them. Conversely, the worst are those who have managed to convince themselves they are part of the entertainment and there are a few of them in every league on the planet.

VAR gives the handful of officials with delusions of grandeur yet another stage upon which to strut their stuff and I personally dread the day a match I’m watching in Hàng Đẫy Stadium is held up while the man in the middle takes his time judging the length of Nguyễn Văn Quyết’s arm hairs.

Now, I’m no Luddite and recognise that there must be some good that can come out of the sane use of VAR, but there’s no need for Vietnamese football to go through all these teething pains leagues elsewhere are facing.

The VPF should watch and learn, and once the technology and procedures for its use are improved massively, maybe then it’s time for VAR in Việt Nam. VNS