Category: News

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong was honoured with the Lenin Prize by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) at a ceremony held in Hanoi on December 15.

On behalf of the KPRF Central Committee, Vice Chairman Leonid Kalashnikov presented the Vietnamese leader with the noblest prize of the KPRF and the former Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

He affirmed that the prize demonstrates the respect for and recognition of the prominent contributions by General Secretary Trong, a brilliant politician highly valued in Russia and the world, as well as his unceasing efforts to solidify the Vietnam – Russia relations.

Vietnam’s success is a vivid illustration of the fact that socialism has been materialised, Kalashnikov said, stressing that the KPRF always attaches importance to the traditional friendship with the CPV and wishes that bilateral ties will be enhanced further, helping to promote the Vietnam – Russia comprehensive strategic partnership, for the sake of the two peoples and for regional and international peace and stability.

For his part, General Secretary Trong described the Lenin Prize as not only a recognition for himself but also the KPRF and Russian people’s respect for and sentiment towards the Vietnamese Party, State, and people. It is also a demonstration of the special long-standing ties between the CPV, the Vietnamese people and the Communist Party and people of the Soviet Union in the past and the Russian Federation at present.

He also highly valued Russia’s achievements in promoting national development and raising its stature in the international arena, along with the growth of the KPRF.

Trong thanked the enormous, wholehearted, and effective assistance that the former Soviet Union and today’s Russia have given to Vietnam. He pledged to join the KPRF and Russian partners to keep strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and the friendship between the two peoples.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Vietnam on December 15 handed over medical supplies and personal protective equipment worth 450,000 USD to 21 Vietnamese localities, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, to aid them in the COVID-19 combat.

The beneficiaries include health workers, volunteers and other forces in the fight, who are working to protect pregnant women, the elderly and girls against domestic violence.

Naomi Kitahara, UNFPA Representative in Vietnam, said the pandemic has become a disaster for women and children who are also facing violence and discrimination.

She cited a study conducted by the UNFPA in 2019 as showing that nearly two-thirds (62.9 percent) of women in Vietnam experienced at least one or more types of violence in their lifetime by their husband.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation has become even worse as the number of calls reporting domestic violence cases to the UNFPA-supported hotline has doubled, she said.

Kitahara stressed that the UNFPA’s aid demonstrates its commitment to accompanying the Vietnamese Government and providing services vital to reproductive health, sexual health and social support, as well as preventing and responding to gender-based violence.

According to Dinh Anh Tuan, deputy head of the Health Ministry’s Department of Maternal and Child Health, this is the fifth donation by the UNFPA to support Vietnam in maternal and child health, with total donations worth nearly 1 million USD.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha has had a working session with Minister of Environment Han Jeoung-ae of the Republic of Korea (RoK) on joint work toward the goal of being carbon neutral by 2050 as the heads of the two governments stated earlier.

At their meeting taking place on December 14 as part of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue’s official visit to the RoK, the two sides signed a plan on climate change cooperation toward the 2050 goal as the basis for implementing specific activities in the coming time.

Ha hoped the two ministries to further cooperate in realising directions of the two nations’ top legislators on environment and climate change.

The minister wished that the RoK Ministry of Environment will support his ministry in perfecting mechanisms and policies on solid waste treatment in urban and rural areas, handling air pollution, building a national plan on the environment, and completing policies for green-economy transition.

The Korean minister expressed her delight at the signing of the plan to meet the countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by 2030 and realise the carbon neutrality target by 2050.

The sides agreed to set up a joint working team to discuss the the implementation of the joint cooperation plan via such activities as the building and implementation of the RoK’s ODA projects on greenhouse gas emissions reduction, the conduction of the NDCs and the Paris Agreement on climate change, the conversion of waste into technology, and the monitoring of ocean plastic pollution, among others.

The two sides will also strengthen public-private cooperation through promoting environmental trade and exhibitions on advanced technologies, as well as organising conferences, seminars and forums to connect Vietnamese and Korean businesses.

Also on December 14, Minister Ha visited the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA)’s headquarters, where head of the agency Park Kwang-suk stated the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is an important partner of the KMA, with ample room for their bilateral cooperation.

Park said the KMA wants to expand the joint work based on a pact the sides signed recently.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi will develop selectively a number of key industries during the 2021-2025 period, focusing on the sectors and products using cutting-edge technologies and having high added values, a local official has said.

Nguyen Manh Quyen, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, released the information at a ceremony on December 14 to honour key industrial products in 2021.

According to the official, the production value of the key industrial products will increase to 40-45 percent of the city’s total industrial production value, and 10 percent of the local key industrial firms are set to be included in Vietnam’s top 500.

About 150-180 key industrial products will be recognised by the city. Meanwhile, by 2025, key industrial production firms will contribute 20-25 percent of the city’s accumulative export revenue.

In 2021, 34 enterprises with 54 products have registered for the key industrial product development programme, of which 46 products by 30 businesses are eligible for the selection of the top 10.

Total revenue of the 30 enterprises reached nearly 40 trillion VND (1.73 billion USD), with nearly 1 billion USD in export turnover. Of them, seven have been honoured in the list of Vietnam’s 500 largest businesses.

After the four-year implementation of the programme, the municipal People’s Committee has recognised a total of 133 products as key industrial ones.

In 2022, the committee will implement various programmes to support industrial production by improving the investment environment, expanding the markets, developing science-technology and human resources, and stepping up the communication work.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A credit contract to provide 95 million USD for the restructuring of Dak Drinh hydro power plant was signed in Hanoi on December 14.

Signatories were PV Power DHC that operates the plant, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and French bank Natixis.

The Dak Drinh plant located in Quang Ngai and Kon Tum provinces in central Vietnam is a key project of PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power) with an installed capacity of 125 MW, and a major project in the national power development plan for the 2011-20 period, with vision to 2030.

An AIIB representative said the new credit with a preferential interest rate will help cut production costs and enable investment in upgrading the plant’s equipment, thus improving its efficiency and profit.

PV Power, a subsidiary of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), is the second largest electricity supplier of Vietnam after the Vietnam Electricity (EVN).

The company is running six affiliates and power plants with a combined installed capacity of 4,205 MW, generating about 21 billion kWh per year and making up 12 percent of the market share.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

An action partnership network for gender-based violence prevention and response was launched at a seminar held both online and offline on December 14.

The event was co-hosted by the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Approved by the Prime Minister, the programme on gender-based violence prevention and response set a target that by 2025, at least 50 percent of gender-based violence victims will receive support from service suppliers and all having demand will be assisted in various forms.

Participants shared experience in building inter-sectoral coordination mechanisms in support of victims via the launch of Anh Duong (Sunshine) House, a shelter providing essential services to survivors of violence against women and girls based in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

The model is the first of its kind in Vietnam within the framework of the cooperation programme between MoLISA and UNFPA which is funded by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

UNFPA Representative in Vietnam Naomi Kitahara hailed MoLISA and relevant agencies for their achievements in dealing with gender-based violence over the past five years.

She suggested that more initiatives should be outlined to encourage the involvement of young people in the effort while similar models should be multiplied.

UNFPA called on the Government to issue better cooperation mechanisms in various fields to strengthen intervention activities in a bid to end violence against women, she said.

A 2019 survey by MoLISA and the General Statistics Office showed that 62.9 percent of Vietnamese women had suffered from one or different forms of violence and 90.4 percent of gender-based violence victims did not seek any support from authorities and half of them never shared their plights with anyone. Economic loss caused by violence against women accounted for 1.81 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam is among prioritised markets of Canada in educational cooperation, heard a workshop held by the Canada-Vietnam Trade Council on December 14.

The event was to update information on studying abroad and job opportunities in Canada for Vietnamese students.

Skandha Sunderasen, Associate Director, Global Engagement and Strategic Initiatives at Canada’s York University, said the Canada-Vietnam educational cooperation is forecast to be promising in the future.

He continued that the ASEAN-Canada free trade agreement, which is under negotiations, is hoped to bolster tertiary education collaboration between the two countries.

Vietnam is currently the largest trade partner of Canada in ASEAN.

York University and others hope to partner with Vietnam in overseas research and study and fields of mutual concern such as climate change adaptation, support for Vietnamese startups and small- and medium-sized enterprises to access the North American market, among others.

During a fact-finding trip to Vietnam held virtually last month, leaders of Canadian and Vietnamese universities discussed cooperation in overseas research and study, post-graduate study and start-ups.

Vietnam has the largest number of students in Canada among Southeast Asian nations and ranks fifth worldwide, with about 21,000.

Source: Vietnam News Agency