Hue imperial palace

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue speaks at the meeting (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue chaired a meeting with the NA Standing Committee’s working commission for deputies’ affairs in Hanoi on April 19.

At the session, the commission suggested policies are needed to recruit a specific number of experts as full-time deputies when building personnel options and conducting the process of nominating candidates for the election of deputies to the NA.

The NA Chairman highlighted a large number of works to be done in preparation for the upcoming elections of deputies to the 15th legislature and all-level People’s Councils for the 2021 – 2026 tenure.

He asked the commission to work with the office of the National Election Council (NEC) to direct and provide guidance on the works.

Underscoring the preparation for the elections as the foremost task, Hue requested the commission collect results of provincial-level third consultative conferences to soon make a report to the NEC.

After the elections, the commission will have to conduct a series of works, including preparation for the summarisation of the elections and developing a training programme for elected deputies, among others.

Hue also asked the body to begin building a project on enhancing deputies’ working capacity right from now./.

The UniSmartItaly workshops, looking into study and work opportunities in Italy, are held virtually from April 16 to 24 by the Italian Rectors’ Conference and the Italian Trade Agency with the support of the Italian Embassy in Vietnam and the Uni-Italia Association.

In her remarks, Ambassador Hue thanked workshop organizers for choosing Vietnam as the first country to carry out this program, noting that although the number of Vietnamese students in Italy remains modest, it has been growing fast in recent years.

Italy is an increasingly popular destination for Vietnamese students as it has a high-quality tertiary education system that provides training in the majors that can help deal with global challenges related to development, the environment, and technology and thus, meeting Vietnam’s demand.

Many Vietnamese students returning from Italy have greatly helped with national development and the two countries relations, she said.

Besides, she added, bilateral trade has topped 5 billion USD, and more than 4,000 Italian businesses are cooperating with Vietnamese partners in export and import, which are favorable conditions to create more study and work chances for Vietnamese students in Italy.

Hue suggested Italy promote students’ participation in and contributions to economic events between the two countries and invite postgraduates to engage in bilateral research projects, especially those in scientific research cooperation programs.

She also recommended the two sides set up a channel for linking Italian employers with Vietnamese students and postgraduates in the country and sign an agreement on mutual recognition of each other’s certificates so as to facilitate the student exchange.

Vu Thi Bich Diep, deputy head of the Vietnamese Students Association in Italy, said Vietnamese students are confident in the development of bilateral ties across the board, which will further facilitate their efforts to study and find jobs in the European nation.

Source: VNA

Rice loaded for export. — VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Hue

In order to take advantage of FTAs ​​and increase the Vietnamese rice export market share at more competitive prices, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue to co-ordinate with ministries, branches and the Viet Nam Food Association to help businesses effectively implement the deals and make the most of markets such as South Korea and the EU.

The ministry would implement solutions on mechanisms and policies to remove technical and trade barriers, internalise international commitments, customs procedures, logistics and credit as well as building and developing brands to create a premise for rice export enterprises to exploit the markets, said Tran Quoc Toan, deputy director of the Import and Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

For rice exporters as well as farmers, Toan noted the need to be more proactive in improving the competitiveness of products through quality and price as well as building and protecting trade to diversify markets towards sustainable exports.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported the volume of rice exported reached 450,000 tonnes with a value of US$246 million last month.

The cumulative amount of rice exported in the first three months of this year rose 1.1 million tonnes, while the value hit $606 million, down 30.4 per cent in volume and 17.4 per cent in value over the same period last year.

Nguyen Van Don, director of Viet Hung Co., Ltd in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Tien Giang, said that the reason for the decline in rice exports was partly as the first quarter of this year coincided with the Lunar New Year holiday.

In addition, the first two months of the year were between-crop periods when the rice supply was limited while the price was high, so it was difficult for businesses to negotiate export contracts.

Although the company’s rice export volume declined by more than 30 per cent over the same period for the first three months of the year, the export rice price rose by about 20 per cent. The two largest import markets are still the Philippines and China.

Meanwhile, Pham Thai Binh, general director of Trung An High-Tech Farming JSC in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta city of Can Tho, said that the first quarter’s rice export dropped significantly in volume due to a shortage of empty containers and soaring freight rates.

“Customers still need to import, but enterprises cannot order containers to pack their goods, the shortage of empty containers has pushed freight rates up 600-700 per cent, from $1,000 to $6,000-7,000 per container. With this rate, not only rice exporters but also other firms are facing difficulties. This situation means the importer had to consider delaying the time of receiving the goods or looking for closer sources to reduce costs,” said Binh.

Commenting on this issue, Toan said that although the amount of rice exported in the first quarter of this year declined compared to the same period last year, the price of rice for export grew due to high demand for food reserves around the world, which has pushed up the general level of world rice prices.

Thai and Indian rice prices have also hit record highs in recent years.

Viet Nam’s rice price continued to remain at a high level of $547 per tonne by the end of the first quarter of this year, up 18.6 per cent, equivalent to an increase of $86 per ton compared to the same period last year. The current price of rice has been and is benefiting the rice farmers.

Vietnamese rice was being purchased by importers at high prices due to the improved quality of Vietnamese rice, said Toan.

Vietnamese rice exporters were increasingly focusing on improving quality and traceability to meet the strict standards of export markets such as the EU, South Korea, and the US, Toan said.

In addition, Viet Nam has entered into many trade agreements with many strategic countries and regions such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and more recently the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the UK-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA). — VNS