Vietnam most important cities

It was a weekend morning when anime fan Minh Trang traveled to Ho Chi Chi Minh City from neighboring Binh Duong Province to attend the seventh Japan Vietnam Festival.

“I learned about the festival from a friend,” Trang told Tuoi Tre News .

“I love Japanese culture so I decided to come here.”

Trang was accompanied by her friend, Khang, who freestyled his anime-inspired outfit.

The duo has drawn the attention of the event goers, with several jumping to ask for photos with them.

Besides Trang and Khang, a number of cosplay fans also showed up with their favorite characters’ outfits at the fest jointly held by Japan and the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee.

The festival taking place at 23/9 Park in District 1 on April 17 and 18 gathered around 100 booths, aming to introduce the two countries’ tourism, local specialties, cuisine, culture, education, and technology.

One of the crowded booths was the baseball area where visitors could try playing the sport which is popular in Japan with the instruction from Japanese coaches, as well as buying baseball-inspired souvenirs.

Another highlight of the event was the main stage which showcased performances of Vietnamese and Japanese artists, from traditional folk music to modern pop songs.

The seventh Japan Vietnam Festival in Ho Chi MinH City had been postponed for several times before being able to take place in April due to COVID-19.

Speaking through a livestreamed video, Takebe Tsutomu, representative for the festival’s organizing board from the Japanese side, expressed his gratitude to see the event happen thanks to the constant effort of the Vietnamese and Japanese governments as well as relevant agencies.

He also expressed his hope that the fest would create a better future for the two countries of Vietnam and Japan.

Meanwhile, Vo Van Hoan, vice-chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, took the stage to affirm the strong bond between Japan and Vietnam in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular, referring to Japan as “one of the close and sustainable partners” of the southern metropolis.

“People in Vietnam in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular have always cherished Japan,” he stated.

“Following the success of previous festivals, this year’s event will continue to promote Japanese cultural specialties so that Vietnamese and foreigners living in Ho Chi Minh City could experience them as if they were in Japan.”

The first Japan Vietnam festival was organized in Ho Chi Minh City in 2013.

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Addressing the launch, Deputy Minister of Information and Telecommunications Hoang Vinh Bao said this marks a start of a series of events of this year’s Vietnam Book Day, a day to celebrate the reading culture nationwide.

Via the events, the organisers want to inspire a love for books among people around the country, encourage them to read more and make reading their habit, he said, adding that it will help spread the reading culture among the community.

A host of events, including a display of books about Ho Chi Minh City, a launch of books on digital transformation, and talks with renowned writers and poets, are scheduled on the Book Street from April 18 – 22.

Meanwhile, an online book fair is underway at book365.vn, featuring more than 70 domestic publishers and over 20,000 book titles. An online festival on book copyright will also take place from April 19 – 26, attracting around 50 domestic and international publishing houses.

Then Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued Decision No 284/QD-TTg on February 24, 2014, designating April 21 as Vietnam Book Day, in order to encourage a reading culture among the public.

An ocean of passengers continued flooding Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday morning, crowding the security screening area, ahead of a national holiday.

The crowding was attributed to the rising demand for travel as Vietnam is about to commemorate the death of the Hung Kings, considered the founding fathers of the country, on Wednesday.

The airport’s current infrastructure fails to handle a large numbers of passengers at the same time.

From the very early morning, the security screening area, located on the airport’s first floor, was overcrowded with thousands of passengers queuing up for procedures including medical declaration, as a COVID-19 control protocol.

This situation has gone on for several days at the airport, with long queues of passengers inching forward in fatigue.

Such passenger congestion has happened not only in the screening area but also in some check-in counters of airlines, for many passengers had yet to complete their medical declaration.

Many passengers who were first-time flyers or who did not master how to make medical declaration nearly missed their flights.

Nguyen Khanh Hung, a 57-year-old passenger from Binh Duong Province, just outside Ho Chi Minh City, who checked in for a flight to Thanh Hoa Province in north-central Vietnam, said it took him a lot of time to fill out health declaration forms because of his old age and his ignorance of technological applications.

“Staff here have aided me enthusiastically,” Hung said.

“It took me two hours to complete all procedures from medical declaration to security screening, as there were so many passengers.”

By noon on Sunday, the security screening stalls were still crammed with waiting passengers.

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HCM City has proposed adjustments tothree areas in the eastern part of the city that will become an innovativesmart-cityhub.— Phototuoitre.vn

The areas, which include Linh Trung and Truong Tho in Thu Duc District and Tam Da in District 9, are part of high-tech, innovative hub development zone.

Under the proposal, the Linh Trung area, which connects the city’s university village and High Tech Park, would have four land areas adjusted with a total area of 28ha.

Most of the areas are public land under the management of Agriculture-Forestry University and Saigon Water Co-operation (Sawaco).

The Linh Trung area will become the National University IT & EduTech Hub under the master plan for the area.

The Truong Tho area, the innovative hub for the area, would have three land plots adjusted with a total area of 8ha.

The three areas would have sustainable infrastructure adapted to climate change, transportation and technology.

In addition, 28ha of the Tam Da area would become the Tam Da eco tech hub in the future.

The proposals for adjustments to the master plan are in line with the plan of creating a smart hub in the eastern of the city.

The adjustments would also help the city call for investors and improve the city’s management capability.

Last year, the city launched a contest on the planning concept for the smart innovative area in the eastern of the city.

Sasaki Associates Inc, a US architecture and design solution firm, won first prize worth VNĐ4.5 billion (US$193,960).

Sasaki proposed forming six innovation hotspots in the eastern part of the city with infrastructure for a hi-tech and smart urban development zone.

Six innovation hotspots include Thu Thiem Urban and Financial Centre, Rach Chiec Sport and Wellness Hub, Saigon Hi-Tech Park and Automated Manufacturing Hub, National University IT & EduTech Hub, Tam Da EcoTech Hub,  and Truong Tho Future Hub.

These six hotspots are located in districts 2, 9 and Thủ Đức.

The HCM City Department of Home Affairs has submitted a plan to the People’s Committee on the merger of these three districts and 19 wards in districts 3, 4, 5, 10 and Phu Nhuan to form the creative hub.

After the merger, the new hub is expected to spread over more than 211sq.km and be home to more than 1.1 million people. The eastern area is expected to become an innovation hub based on a digital, knowledge-based economy. — VNS

Vietnamese military doctors hold up two flags of the United Nations and Viêt Nam at Juba International Airport, South Sudan as they begin to carry out UN peacekeeping missions in the African country. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – As President of the United Nations Security Council in April 2021, Việt Nam will organise a high-level open debate on the role of regional organisations in promoting confidence-building and dialogue in conflict prevention and resolution on April 19 via both in-person and online forms.

The event will be presided over by State President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, marking the first time a high-ranking leader of Việt Nam has chaired an event within the framework of the UN Security Council. This is also the first important multilateral diplomatic event of the Vietnamese President since the 13th National Party Congress.

Building trust and dialogue

Deputy Foreign Minister Đặng Hoàng Giang said that Việt Nam has presided over the making of, and actively consulted to pass the Statement of the UN Security Council President.

The Statement will affirm the importance of cooperation between the United Nations, its Security Council and regional organisations in conflict prevention and settlement through peaceful measures, on the basis of respecting basic principles of international law and the UN Charter, and underlined confidence-building and dialogue measures as essential elements to contribute to conflict prevention and settlement.

The Statement will call for efforts to strengthen cooperation between the UN, its Security Council and regional organisations as well as between regional organisations in conflict prevention and settlement towards the building of sustainable peace, while encouraging the UN and the international community to support the improvement of capacity of regional organisations in conflict prevention and settlement, post-conflict reconstruction, and peace maintenance.

“The role of regional organisations in promoting trust building and dialogue in conflict prevention” is the most important and inclusive theme of the UN Security Council which is the UN’s main body in the prevention of wars and conflicts and maintenance of international peace and security, Giang said, adding that as a member of many important regional mechanisms, especially ASEAN, Vietnam wants regional organisations to further promote their roles, improve their images and share responsibility with the UN in preventing and solving conflicts in the region, for the stability and prosperity of the region and the world.

Đỗ Hùng Việt, head of the Foreign Ministry’s Department of International Organisations, emphasised that when building priorities for the working term as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021, Vietnam determined to promote the role of regional organisations in cooperation with the UN Security Council in particular and the UN in general.

The upcoming high-level open debate will elevate Việt Nam’s initiatives to contribute to maintaining international peace and security. Through this event, Vietnam wants to affirm its commitment and efforts to address global challenges facing the international community, Việt added.

In particular, President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc’s presiding over the event is the affirmation at the highest level about Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification, multilateralism, and proactive and active international integration during its new stage of development.

Intensifying ASEAN’s role

According to Việt, as a member of ASEAN, Việt Nam wants ASEAN to have an increasing voice, position and role in matters directly related to the region as well as enhancing the bloc’s presence as a regional organisation at the UN.

Through this event, Việt Nam will contribute to drawing the attention of the international community and the United Nations to cooperation with ASEAN, and strengthening the bloc’s role at international forums and institutions in the coming time.

The open debate will be also an opportunity for leaders of the UN and regional organisations such as ASEAN, the European Union (EU), the African Union (AU), as well as the UN Security Council member states to assert the important role of regional organisations, share experience of each regional organisation in dealing with difficulties and challenges in their respective regions.

Việt Nam expects this to be the start of a longer process at the UN Security Council on issues related to regional organisations and their role in promoting trust building and dialogue in conflict prevention, thus contributing to the UN’s joint efforts to maintain peace, security and development in the world. VNS