PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc at the Pulkovo 1 Airport in Saint Petersburg (Photo: VNA) St Petersburg, (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc arrived at Pulkovo 1 airport in Saint Petersburg at 18:45 pm (local time) on May 20, beginning his official visit to Russia at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Dmitri Medvedev. The Vietnamese PM and his entourage were welcomed at the airport by the Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Konstantin Vnukov, the deputy governor of St Petersburg, the Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Ngo Duc Manh and many Russian and Vietnamese officials. St Petersburg is the first stop during PM Phuc’s trip to Russia. During the stay in the second biggest city of Russia, Phuc is scheduled to meet with leaders of St Petersburg. PM Phuc’s visit to Russia from May 20-23 takes place in the context that both nations will organise the Vietnam Year in Russia and the Russia Year in Vietnam in 2019 and 2020 to mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of the … [Read more...] about Prime Minister arrives in Russia, beginning official visit
Prime minister 50000 loan scheme
Prime Minister issues Directive on sustainable development
Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed Directive No. 13/CT-TTg on sustainable development on May 20, asserting that sustainable development is a consistent policy of the Party and State of Vietnam. The Government issued Vietnam Agenda 21 in 2004, the sustainable development strategy for 2011-2020 in 2012, and the national action plan implementing Agenda 2030 for sustainable development with 17 goals and 115 specific targets covering economics, social affairs, and the environment from now to 2030. The viewpoint on sustainable development has been mainstreamed in the 2011-2020 socio-economic development strategy and the 2011-2015 and 2016-2020 socio-economic development plans, the Directive said. The country has attained sustainable development achievements in the economic, social and environmental domains, however, many state offices, businesses and people failed to have a sufficient and comprehensive awareness of sustainable development, and socio-economic … [Read more...] about Prime Minister issues Directive on sustainable development
Vietnam Book Day helps promote reading culture: Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam speaks at the event (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The establishment of the Vietnam Book Day has contributed greatly to restoring and developing the reading culture, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said at a national conference on April 18 reviewing the impacts of the Book Day since it was first observed five years ago. April 21 every year is designated the Vietnam Book Day under the Prime Minister’s Decision 284/QD-TTg dated February 24, 2014. Deputy PM Dam hailed publishing houses, organisations and individuals who have made great efforts to publish books and send books to remote areas. The mass media have also played an important role in promoting the reading habits and the love for books. For the good habit to continue spreading, the deputy PM requested the Ministry of Information and Communications to compile policies to facilitate book publishing and distribution, noting that there remain several problems in financial and economic … [Read more...] about Vietnam Book Day helps promote reading culture: Deputy Prime Minister
Prime Minister celebrates Chol Chnam Thmay festival with Khmer people
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc extends New Year wishes to the Khmer community (Photo: VNA) Can Tho (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc joined a gathering in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on April 6 to celebrate the Chol Chnam Thmay – the traditional New Year Festival of Khmer people in the south, which falls from April 14-16 this year. The majority of Khmer people in the south concentrate in nine Mekong Delta localities of Soc Trang, Tra Vinh, Kien Giang, An Giang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Vinh Long, Hau Giang, Can Tho. There are also Khmer people living in Ho Chi Minh City and southeastern localities. During the festival, Khmer people conduct many traditional rituals such as pagoda visiting and Buddha bathing, aiming to pray for favourable weather conditions and good luck for family members, as well as showing gratitude to parents and ancestors. Addressing the event, PM Phuc extended his New Year wishes to the Khmer community, which number around 1.3 million. He … [Read more...] about Prime Minister celebrates Chol Chnam Thmay festival with Khmer people
Prime Minister urges banks to lend more to stop loan-sharking
A note of a loan-sharking ring near an industrial park in Hanoi that offer loans for workers. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Du Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has said banks need to lend more, especially to poor people, to overcome the loan-sharking crisis. He admitted at a conference Wednesday that though loan-sharking is prohibited, the problem persists in many rural areas, causing serious financial harm to people. One reason for its prevalence is the difficulty in getting bank loans. The PM concurred with the World Bank's warning that the ratio of the Vietnamese population without access to credit is high. "Banks are partly responsible for this issue since they have not been able to extend their services to remote and rural areas." The banking sector needs to more proactively coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security to better handle the loan-sharking crisis and make credit more accessible to people, especially the poor, he said. Incomplete statistics from the … [Read more...] about Prime Minister urges banks to lend more to stop loan-sharking