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At the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on business cooperation between Nordic enterprises operating in Hanoi and the possibility of establishing relations between Hanoi and the capitals of Nordic countries.

Speaking at the meeting, Chairman of the Hanoi municipal People’s Committee Chu Ngoc Anh affirmed that Hanoi always welcomes Nordic businesses to explore its investment environment and expand upon business opportunities in the city.

As a national political-administrative hub, a major centre of culture, science, education, economics and international transactions, Hanoi is aiming to become a “green-smart-modern” city by 2030, has said, adding that the city is also promoting technology, science and innovation; as well as addressing traffic, urban andmedical issues.

The city encourages Nordic enterprises to expand their business in Hanoi in high-potential sectors such as investment-trade-tourism promotion, smart city, e-government, green technology, energy and sustainable development, technology transfer, labour cooperation, human resources development and cultural exchange.

According to the Vice President of the Nordic Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam Quist Thomasen, Nordic companies are developing their strengths in areas such as Smart and Green cities, renewable energy and sustainable development.

For his part, NordCham Vietnam Chairman Quist Thomasen said he hoped to understand the needs and vision of Hanoi city, while at the same time introducing experiences of Nordic countries to contribute to the overall development of Hanoi.

The facility, the bulk of the EUR750-billion (US$898-billion) recovery fund, will provide EUR312.5 billion in grants and up to EUR360 billion in loans.

Dombrovskis said that with the approaching deadline of April 30 for the submittal of such plans, there were some countries that seemed more prepared than others. He, however, expressed conviction that the deadline will be met.

“Some Member States are nearly there and submitting their plans by the end of April is achievable. For others, this looks more difficult. Finalisation will require somewhat more work for a couple more weeks,” he told a press conference following a virtual meeting by the EU’s finance ministers.

He said the commission’s executive vice-president Margrethe Vestager, responsible for competition, updated ministers on how the EU rules are supporting the economy in the context of the pandemic and recovery.

At the third consultative conference, the Presidium of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee approved a list of 205 qualified people from central agencies, organizations and units who were nominated for the election of the 15th National Assembly.

The list is divided into groups, with 11 candidates in the Party agencies, three in the assistant agencies to the State President, 15 in government agencies, 130 in National Assembly-related agencies, 14 in the armed force, 29 in agencies under the Vietnam Fatherland Front and social unions. Among them, there are 16 members in the Politburo and 4 members in the Central Party Committee’s Secretariat.

At the third consultative conference, the Presidium of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee approved a list of 205 qualified people from central agencies, organizations and units who were nominated for the election of the 15th National Assembly. Photo: Minh Dat

The 16 Politburo members include:

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong

State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue

Standing member of the Central Party Committee’s Secretariat Vo Van Thuong

Standing Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh

Head of the Central Organizing Committee Truong Thi Mai

Head of the Central Economic Commission Tran Tuan Anh

Head of the Central Committee for Internal Affairs Phan Dinh Trac

General To Lam, Minister of Public Security

Senior Lieutenant General Phan Van Giang, Minister of National Defense

Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court Nguyen Hoa Binh

General Luong Cuong, Chairman of the General Department of Politics of the People’s Army of Vietnam

Director of Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council Nguyen Xuan Thang

The four members of the Secretariat include:

Do Van Chien, Chairman of Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee

The 15 candidates from government agencies:

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien

Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung

Senior Lieutenant General, Minister of National Defense Phan Van Giang

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung

General, Minister of Public Security To Lam

Minister of Justice Le Thanh Long

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh

Minister of Finance Ho Duc Phoc

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son

Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra

Thu Hang

* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday called on the world’s leading mayors to take urgent climate action.

* More than 187.36 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered across China as of Friday, the National Health Commission said Saturday.

* The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday announced a series of retaliatory measures, including expulsions of diplomats and entry bans, in response to the recent “hostile actions” of the United States. Russia will ask 10 US diplomats and five Polish ones to leave the country, the ministry said in a statement.

* US President Joe Biden and visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday voiced commitment to further strengthening the two countries’ alliance to address regional and global challenges.

* The Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH) reported on Saturday 11,101 new COVID-19 infections, bringing the total cases in the Southeast Asian country to 926,052. The death toll climbed to 15,810 after 72 more patients died from the viral disease, the DOH said.

* India registered 234,692 new COVID-19 cases, the third consecutive day that the country reported over 200,000 new cases, taking the total tally to 14,526,609, said the data released by the federal health ministry on Saturday. Besides, as many as 1,341 people died since Friday morning, as the total death toll rose to 175,649.

* Thailand registered 1,547 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, raising the total number in the country to 40,585, the Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) said Saturday.

* The Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR) level settled at US$104.82 billion as of end of March, compared to US$105.16 billion a month earlier, according to data from the Philippine central bank.

* The Republic of Korea reported 658 more cases of COVID-19 as of midnight Friday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 113,444. The daily caseload was down from 673 in the previous day, but it stayed above 600 for four straight days.

* Two Russian warships on Saturday passed through the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul towards the Black Sea, local media reported.

* Russia confirmed 9,321 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 4,693,469, the official monitoring and response center said Saturday. The national COVID-19 death toll rose by 398 to 105,193 in the past day, while the number of the country’s recoveries grew by 8,832 to 4,319,389.

* Italy’s imports and exports improved in February compared to the previous month, the country’s National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) reported on Friday.

* Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Jens Stoltenberg discussed a series of regional issues over the phone, Turkey’s presidential office announced on Friday.

* Argentina reported on Friday a record daily COVID-19 infections of 29,472 and 160 more deaths, bringing the national tallies to 2,658,628 and 59,084 respectively, said the Health Ministry. The previous most daily cases were recorded at 27,001 on Tuesday.

* Brazil on Thursday reported 3,560 deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, raising its pandemic death toll to 365,444. According to the Ministry of Health, during the same period, tests detected 73,174 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections to 13,746,681.

* Chile’s Ministry of Health on Thursday said 50 percent of the target population have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Some 7,600,908 people, or half of the 15 million people considered enough to create herd immunity in a country of around 19 million inhabitants, have been inoculated, Health Minister Enrique Paris said at a press conference.

* Omani authorities announced on Friday that the country is lifting the entry restrictions that had come into effect on April 8, noting all visa holders would now be allowed to enter the sultanate, the Oman News Agency reported.

* Morocco registered 587 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, taking the tally of confirmed cases in the North African country to 504,847, the health ministry said in a statement. The total number of recoveries from COVID-19 in Morocco increased to 490,921 after 555 new ones were added.