Microfinance institutions

VNSC Director Pham Anh Tuan said the 4-kilogram satellite is the product of a project to create a nanosatellite under the national space technology programme during the 2016-2020 period.

It is a step towards the goal of mastering the technology to design and manufacture small satellites for earth observation.

In addition to the process of researching, designing, integrating and testing the satellite’s functions which was conducted entirely in Vietnam by VNSC staff, the entire mechanical structure and power supply circuit were also manufactured in Vietnam.

After being tested in a simulated space environment at the Kyushu Institute of Technology, NanoDragon will be returned to Vietnam to await its launch, scheduled for September in coincidence with the VNSC’s 10th founding anniversary.

It is expected to be carried into space by the Epsilon rocket free of charge under Japan’s innovative satellite technology demonstration programme and will operate at an altitude of 520 kilometres.

NanoDragon will have two main tasks, namely the monitoring of marine vehicles with an automatic identification system and the use of an optical imaging device to verify the quality of the satellite position controller when operating in orbit.

The events were selected from the following areas: policies and mechanisms, natural sciences, social sciences and humanities, applied research, international integration, and prominent scientists.

This is the 15th year of the vote for the top 10 S&T events, attracting the participation of more than 60 journalists who cover the S&T sector from 25 press agencies. The nomination was assessed by prestigious managers and scientists.

Below is a list of notable S&T events in 2020:

1. Prime Minister approves Programme on national digital transformation

The Prime Minister on June 3 issued Decision No.749/QD-TTg approving the National Digital Transformation Programme by 2025, with an orientation toward 2030.

The approved program has the dual goal of developing a digital government, economy and society while establishing Vietnamese digital technology enterprises that have the potential to go global.

The digital transformation in Vietnam has seen more strong developments than ever, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has had such a strong impact on the socio-economic situation, trade, education, culture, administration and transport.

2. Successful research on SARS-CoV-2 virus

* Successfully cultivating and isolating SARS-CoV-2 virus

The National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology announced on February 2 that it had successfully cultivated and isolated the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the laboratory, enabling quicker tests for the virus.

With the achievement, Vietnam was then able to test thousands of samples a day when necessary. This also served as a basis for the development of a vaccine against the virus.

* Researching and manufacturing quick test kits for the SARS-CoV-2 virus

The Ministry of Science and Technology declared on March 5 the success of a research on a test kit for SARS-CoV-2 virus, making Vietnam among very few countries in the world to have succeeded in the research at that time.

The real-time RT-PCR research was conducted by the Vietnam Military Medical University and the Viet A Corporation as directed by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The project’s success is important at a time when the COVID-19 epidemic remains a global threat. Results also confirmed Vietnamese scientists’ high levels of professional skill and the ministry’s determination to have effective epidemic prevention and control.

3. Successful development of technology for flight control and balloon retrieval in the stratosphere

This is project VT-CN.04/17-20 on ‘Research to Approach the Technology to Use Balloons in the Stratosphere, integrated with Information Transceivers, to Monitor, Give Direction, Rescue, and Calculate Physical Parameters in the Atmosphere’ was carried out under the National Science and Technology Program on Space Technology in the 2016-2020 period.

The project was directed by Associate Prof. Dr. Pham Hong Quang from the Center for Informatics and Computing.

The project uses an IoT network at an affordable cost level for deploying sea and forest rescue tasks, monitoring off-shore fishing boats, floods, landslides, and forest fire data.

4. Science ministry receives draft Vietnamese history

The Ministry of Science and Technology held a ceremony in Hanoi on November 12 to receive a draft of Vietnamese history after five years of its compilation.

The draft history comprises 25 volumes of general history and five volumes of event chronicles.

The project, funded by the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development, was carried out by nearly 300 scientists from research institutes and universities, mostly in Hanoi, Thua Thien-Hue and Ho Chi Minh City.

5. Viettel makes first 5G call with locally produced equipment

Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh (left) and Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hùng make a call on January 17 with a Viettel-made 5G device (Photo courtesy of Viettel)

The Military Telecommunications Industry Group (Viettel) successfully conducted the first call using fifth generation (5G) technology in Vietnam on January 17 with Viettel’s gNodeB transceiver.

The gNodeB transceiver, made by Viettel, includes both software and hardware. The device was developed in six months, starting in June 2019.

In May 2019, the carrier used a foreign-made device to make a call via the 5G network. After 8 months, Viettel has helped Vietnam master 5G technology.

6. Locally-developed tracing app Bluezone launched

Bluezone, a locally-developed app that helps determine if a person has come in contact with a COVID-19 patient, was launched in Hanoi on April 18 by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) and the Ministry of Health.

Developed by tech firm Bkav, the app uses Bluetooth Low Energy, a wireless personal area network technology, to link smartphones within a two-meter distance.

As of mid-November 2020, more than 23 million Vietnamese people had downloaded the app.

7. Completion of Hoan Kiem Lake’s embankment using advanced technology

On August 20, 2020, the Vietnam Science and Technology Joint Stock Company (Busadco) announced the completion of the 1,500-meter embankment around Hoan Kiem lake in Hanoi. It took 65 days to complete the project, and it was completed 2 months ahead of schedule.

Remarkably, this construction project applies non-metallic reinforcement technology, previously applied in the project on building technical infrastructure systems in rural areas to prevent natural disasters and climate change, which won the Ho Chi Minh Science-Technology Awards in 2016.

8. Vietnamese scientists become affiliates in important physics research published in Nature

For the first time, Vietnamese physicists have become affiliates of a breakthrough research project published in Nature – a prestigious global scientific journal.

The international experiment, named T2K and described in the article ‘Constraint on the Matter–antimatter Symmetry-violating Phase in Neutrino Oscillations’, was published in Nature on April 16, 2020.

It was carried out in Japan with a collaboration between around 600 physicists and engineers across more than 60 organisations from 12 countries worldwide.

Vietnam is the second country in Asia besides Japan to have neutrino research appear in the Nature Journal. This Neutrino group is working at the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research in Science and Education (IFIRSE) – a member of the International Center of Interdisciplinary Science Education (ICISE), located in Quy Nhon City, Binh Dinh Province.

9. Successful operation to separate conjoined twins

The twins, their parents and doctors pose for a photo on October 7, the day they are discharged from hospital (Photo: VNA)

Nearly 100 doctors and nurses from leading hospitals in Ho Chi Minh on July 15 successfully carried out an operation to separate twins born conjoined at the pelvis.

This success of the operation demonstrated the qualification of Vietnamese doctors and advanced development of the Vietnamese healthcare sector.

This is the second complicated operation to separate twins in Vietnam, following the first 32 years ago.

10. Assoc. Prof., Dr. Do Van Manh receives Asian Innovation Award 2020

The Hitachi Global Foundation on October 30 granted the 2020 Asian Innovation Award to Assoc. Prof., Dr. Do Van Manh from the Institute of Environmental Technology (under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology).

Dr. Manh is highly lauded for his research on the implementations of advanced biogas to exploit sludge from beer and sugar manufacturing plants to produce energy and organic fertiliser. The research contributes to environment protection and sustainable development in the Central Highlands and South Central regions.

Việt Nam News introduces a story by Bulgarian Ambassador to Việt Nam Marinela Petkova to mark the National Day of the Republic of Bulgaria (March 3)

Bulgaria and Việt Nam are natural and close partners. Our decades-long relationship exhibits shared principles and goals for building a community of peace and prosperity for our peoples. Our lasting bilateral ties have been carefully cultivated and nowadays rest on common objectives, executed with equal strength on bilateral, as well as on multilateral level.

On March 3 Bulgaria celebrates its National Day, its liberation in 1878 from foreign domination, the end of a centuries-long struggle, which in its final stages attracted widespread international support. Therefore, it is not only an occasion to celebrate Bulgaria’s sovereignty and freedom, but also a day to reflect on the transformative power of solidarity, cooperation and common values.

Being one of the first countries to recognise Việt Nam’s right to independence, in 2020 Bulgaria and Việt Nam celebrated 70 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Thanks to Việt Nam’s successful effort in containing the spread of COVID-19 we were able to carry out a series of events to commemorate the anniversary as an important milestone and a testament to the endurance and resilience of a friendship that upholds its unique people-centred character.

Rallying the support of partners from state and local level institutions and agencies across Việt Nam and Bulgaria, with the help of the numerous active Việt Nam-Bulgaria friendship associations , the 70th anniversary was widely recognized through diplomatic visits and events in HCM City, Hải Phòng and Vĩnh Phúc, with B2B webinars, various cultural happenings, book publications, all culminating in the month of November with the inauguration by the Vietnam News Agency of the exhibition Việt Nam-Bulgaria: 70 Years of Friendship and Development and a friendship concert at the Hà Nội Opera House.

The Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria Marinela Petkova (centre) with the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Tô Anh Dũng (right) and the General Director of Vietnam News Agency Nguyễn Đức Lợi at the ’70 years of Việt Nam-Bulgaria Friendship and Development’ exhibition on November 16, 2020 in Hà Nội. Photo courtesy of the embassy

It was the turbulent historical events of the mid-20th century that brought Bulgaria and Việt Nam together, but it was through dedicated will and thoughtful commitment that our partnership managed to transcend tests of time to nowadays encompass pragmatic and hands-on solutions for applied diplomacy. Boasting an earnest bilateral political dialogue, consistently growing economic co-operation (yet to meet its full potential), and dynamic multi-sectoral collaboration, the current agenda of Bulgaria-Việt Nam relations has widened to include exchange on international developments and security concerns, economic engagement and socio-cultural matters, taking shape and projecting results on a larger world canvas.

While competing visions and agendas on the global order are at play now, the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe and demonstrated how interconnected and interdependent the world has become. It has overturned lives and livelihoods revealing some opportunities hidden in the conspicuous challenges, such as hastening the transformation of industries, digital connectivity, setting up regulatory standards and norms and pointing to the necessity of streamlining government policies for an enhanced rule-based multilateral framework.

Drawing on Việt Nam’s membership in ASEAN and Bulgaria’s membership into the European Union we ensure and witness consistency and complementarity between our multilateral and bilateral diplomacy and co-operation. In December 2020 under Việt Nam’s Chairmanship of ASEAN both organisations elevated their relationship to the level of strategic partnership, stipulating even deeper joint work on matters of politics, economy, security, connectivity, sustainable development, climate change and green growth. The institutionalisation of the EU-Việt Nam relations continued through the groundbreaking EU-Việt Nam FTA, the launch of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and the signature of the Framework Partnership Agreement, to name just a few.

Furthermore, the timely and effective measures for COVID-19 control taken by the Government of Việt Nam made the country a world role model, while in parallel as ASEAN Chair Việt Nam led the regional efforts in containing the pandemic and guiding the post-pandemic recovery. In Europe, Bulgaria participated in developing a common EU approach to ensure safe and free vaccination for all, and in co-ordinating on a 1.8 trillion euro recovery plan; the EU has committed more than 850 million euro to COVAX, working also to advance solidarity with international partners, including ASEAN and its member states, via ‘Team Europe’. The objective, defined as a joint EU global vision, with the substantial financial resources allocated, is “to seek a post-pandemic recovery that is sustainable, human rights-based, inclusive, green, digital, and which strengthens gender equality and boosts human development, especially for those furthest behind.”

Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria, Marinela Petkova, with distinguished guests at the ceremony to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of Bulgaria – Việt Nam Diplomatic relations on November 17, 2020, at Hà Nội Opera House. Photo courtesy of the embassy

Now, the emerging new norms of co-operation are integral to seeking pragmatic co-operative solutions and a drive towards inclusive multilateralism, deepening our ties on key priorities and demanding truly strategic relationships. Tackling social and gender inequalities is also essential. In that regard promoting the role and participation of women, including along the Women, Peace and Security Agenda has a vital place in both Bulgaria’s and Việt Nam’s foreign policies, with the alignment of objectives and initiatives between the programme document ‘Hanoi Commitment to Action’ , adopted in December 2020, and Bulgaria’s ‘Women, Peace and Security National Action Plan 2020-2025’ .

Pushing further the multi-stakeholder partnerships between government, society, private sector, academia, scientific community the guidelines of the 13th National Congress of the CPV aim at increasing prosperity towards a high-income Việt Nam by 2045. Transcribed into Vietnam’s Socio-Economic Development Strategy 2021-2030 they outline areas of bilateral collaboration of common significance such as economic modernisation, innovation and promoting environmentally-friendly standards, private sector development, effective institution-building, resilience to climate change and social justice.

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Bulgaria and Việt Nam’s relationship persevered because it has been continuously adapting and developing, nowadays doing so to match and navigate the ever complex body of entwined international challenges and changing geopolitical realities. Upheld by mutual understanding and true peoples’ friendship the story of the Bulgaria-Việt Nam partnership teaches a lot about solidarity, compassion, generosity of spirit and giving back. It is the story of how diplomacy and dialogue have been instrumental in influencing and strengthening peaceful state-to-state relations.

Decades of mutual support and respect give Bulgaria and Việt Nam the confidence and the ambition to continue to work together to promote growth and ensure sustainable and inclusive national development. While we prepare for another leap forward post-pandemic both countries should continue to act as effective partners in today’s multipolar world, to propel the strategic communication through well-connected networks for dialogue – academic, cultural, social and business, and encourage their significance in state-to-state affairs. VNS

Children from Việt-Bun Kindergarten performing Bulgarian songs at the International Food Festival 2020, on December 6, 2020, in Vạn Phúc Diplomatic Compound, Hà Nội. Photo courtesy of the embassy