Ho chi minh city map

HCM City (VNA) – Students of Cambodia and Laos in Ho Chi Minh City on April 12 joined a get-together held by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) of the city on the occasion of their New Year festival.

The New Year festival, called Chol Chnam Thmay in Cambodia and Bunpimay in Laos, takes place in April every year.

Addressing the event, Vice Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai wished the participants a new year of happiness.

He added that the friendship, solidarity and mutual support between the countries are the factor ensuring victory in the countries’ national development and safeguarding in the past, at present and in the future.

Hai voiced his belief that students of Laos, Cambodia and HCM City will actively strengthen their bond and bolster the sound relations between the countries towards the goal of building the ASEAN Community of peace, cooperation and development.

The get-together also featured Laos and Cambodia’s rituals like thread tying on the wrist and water-splashing to wish for a year of happiness and prosperity.

There are some 925 Lao and Cambodian students learning at HCM City’s educational establishments./.

VNA

HCM City (VNA) – A ceremony was held at Pho Minh Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City on April 14 to celebrate the traditional New Year of Cambodia , Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand.

Organised by the HCM City Union of Friendship Organisations (HUFO) and the city’s committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS), the ceremony saw the presence of representatives from the consulates-general of the four countries in HCM City, the municipal Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, the municipal Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, and the countries’ entrepreneurs and students.

The traditional New Year festival is known as Chol Chnam Thmay in Cambodia, Bunpimay in Laos, Thingyan in Myanmar , and Songkran in Thailand.

Addressing the celebrations, HUFO Vice Chairwoman Tran Hoang Khanh Van said the ceremony aims to further promote mutual understanding, cultural exchange, and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam, including HCM City, and the four neighbouring countries.

She noted that Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand are ASEAN members and have cooperated and assisted one another over many years. Their peoples have stood side-by-side in fighting for national independence, developing their countries, and building an ASEAN Community of peace, stability, cooperation, and prosperous development.

Most Venerable Thich Thien Tam, Vice President of the Executive Council of the Central VBS Committee and deputy head of the HCM City VBS Committee’s executive board, said the traditional New Year of Cambodia, Laos , Myanmar, and Thailand reflects the similarities in culture and religious practices among the countries, adding that it is helpful in strengthening the five nations’ solidarity in their development efforts and in ASEAN Community building.

Echoing that view, Ratiwan Bonprakhong, Chief Representative of the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s HCM City Office, held that the ceremony helps bring the five countries’ people closer together and also demonstrates their solidarity and unity./.

VNA

The Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee held the fifth conference in the 11th tenure on April 13 to discuss a draft report on socio-economic and budget performance in the first quarter, and key tasks and goals for the second quarter.

They also mulled over a draft action programme to realise the Resolution of the 11th municipal Party Congress on mass mobilisation.

Chairing the event, Politburo member and Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen said the fight against COVID-19 remains the top priority in the second quarter and the coming time.

He required that the city will continue raising public awareness of following the 5K message, tightening immigration management, while putting in place a plan to implement “vaccine passport” pending its approval to promote tourism and economic development.

The official took note of clear signs of recovery of the city’s socio-economy situation in the first quarter with the GRDP up 4.58 percent, compared to a 0.42 percent increase in the same period last year.

The city basically achieved the dual goal of containing COVID-19 while maintaining socio-economic development and ensuring national defence-security.

About preparations for the elections of deputies to the 15th National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels for the 2021-2026 tenure, he urged the steering committee, election committee and sub-committees involved to enhance inspection, especially personnel work, as well as promptly discover and handle acts that distort information related to the effort.

Nen also wanted work to early start to implement the master plans of HCM City and Thu Duc city.

He said more efforts should be made to improve business climate and competitiveness, first of all to tackle difficulties faced by businesses, push forward with administrative reform and assist people and enterprises in restoring production and business.

Source: VNA

In a previous working session with Binh Phuoc Province’s leaders in last December, the then PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc delegated the provincial People’s Committee to implement the project under the public–private partnership (PPP) mode.

He also asked the Ministry of Planning and Investment in coordination with the Ministries of Finance, and Transport to allocate financial resources collected from the State budget in the Mid-term public investment plan for the 2021-25 period.

On March 18, the governments of HCMC and its neighboring province of Binh Phuoc had a working session on the construction project of HCMC-Thu Dau Mot-Chon Thanh expressway. On this occasion, the two sides agreed to establish a steering committee for the project.

Accordingly, the HCMC-Thu Dau Mot-Chon Thanh expressway is about 70 km long with 6-8 lanes, connecting HCMC and the Southern provinces of Binh Duong and Binh Phuoc. The stretch in HCMC is 1.5km long, expected to link up to Ring Road No.2 at Go Dua Intersection in Thu Duc City. The section running through Binh Duong Province is 57km long while the section running through Binh Phuoc Province is 11.5km long.

The project costing VND36,000 billion (US$1.55 billion), including around VND17,000 billion (SU$736.5 million) coming from the State budget will be kicked off before 2030.

Binh Phuoc Province will take responsibility for carrying out the project; organizing working sessions on investment modes, capital resources, building the overall plan for the project with ministries, departments and localities.

Top Thai Brands 2018 attracted 210 Thai firms to explore business opportuntities in Vietnam

The four-day event features a great variety of quality Thai products and services and is expected to attract more visitors, including distributors and consumers alike. The expo also aims to create a business platform for both Thai and Vietnamese enterprises to expand their networks and develop partnerships.

Typical products from Thailand include home appliances, automobile and motorcycle parts and components, food and beverage, health and well-being, cosmetics, as well as pet related products. It also covers service sectors, including education, tourism, franchise, and restaurant.

Ureerat Ratanaprukse, the Thai consul general in Ho Chi Minh City, said, “After the Prime Minister of Vietnam’s official visit to Thailand in August last year, bilateral relations between Thailand and Vietnam have gained significant momentum, especially in the economic aspect.”

“Two-way trade volume reached $15 billion, with $9.3 billion of registered capital. This reflects the confidence of the Thai private sector in Vietnam’s vibrant economy,” she added.

Building upon our robust economic cooperation, Top Thai Brands further accentuates the global trend where “branding” holds added-value to the products and also widens opportunities for small- and medium-sized enterprises to grow.

The event not only creates business opportunities for the Thai private sector but also provides access for Vietnamese parties to top quality Thai products at reasonable prices, thus contributing to mutual benefits and partnerships between Thai and Vietnamese entrepreneurs.

Top Thai Brands 2018 is taking place from May 10 to 15 at Saigon Exhibition and Convention Centre in District 7. The exhibition is being organised by the Thai Trade Centre in Ho Chi Minh City in collaboration with Vietnam National Trade Fair & Advertising Company.