Fire policemen at the site.

Three foreign experts were rescued from a fire at a hotel which is being used as a quarantine area for Covid-19 prevention in HCM City on Friday evening. 

According to a representative of Tan Binh District People's Committee, the fire occurred at a storeroom on the fifth floor of the De Nhat Hotel at 6.43pm.

"When the alarm bell rang, dozens of people who are all foreign experts staying in quarantine managed to escape," the representative said. "Rescue forces arrived in time to save three other Chinese and Spanish people who were stuck in the fire. The fire was soon brought under control and there was no human loss."

According to local authorities, the hotel is hosting 71 foreign experts who are staying for 14-days quarantine period after arriving in Vietnam to work.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

Vietnam records no new community COVID-19 infections for 59 days

Vietnam recorded no new COVID-19 cases on October 31 morning, keeping the total number of infections to date at 1,177, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control.

Of the country’s infections, 691 are locally transmitted cases, including 551 cases linked with the outbreak in the central city of Da Nang since July 25.

Vietnam has gone through 59 consecutive days without new COVID-19 infections in the community.

Among the patients still under treatment, six have tested negative for the virus once, four twice and seven thrice. No patient is in critical condition at present. 

A total of 1,063 COVID-19 patients had been successfully treated while 35 patients with serious underlying diseases had died.

There are currently 14,713 people who had close contact with confirmed cases or came from pandemic-hit regions are under quarantine across the country.

As the COVID-19 pandemic can return at any time, the Ministry of Health recommended people to wear face masks in crowded places, wash hands with soap or hand sanitiser regularly, avoid large gatherings, keep distance from each other and make health declarations./.

PM calls for redoubling of efforts to compensate disaster losses

The settlement of the consequences of the recent storms and flooding in the central region was high on the agenda at the Government’s monthly meeting on October 30, during which Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc demanded that efforts to compensate local residents for their losses be redoubled.

The PM, Deputy PMs, and other Government members observed a minute’s silence in honour of the cadres, officers, soldiers, and civilians who lost their lives in the natural disasters.

PM Phuc stressed that storms and floods are common in October, but consecutive storms and floods this year caused huge losses of life and property, with 230 people having died, including cadres and officers of the armed forces while performing their duties, while many civilians are still missing at sea or in landslides.

He lauded efforts of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control along with police and military forces in locating and saving people in distress, in particular the ongoing search for landslide victims in mountainous areas in central Quang Nam province and the Rao Trang 3 hydropower plant in nearby Thua Thien-Hue province.

The Government offered its sympathies to the people of the central region and the families of officers and soldiers lost, the PM said, noting that the government has taken various drastic measures to save people, evacuate residents, and minimise damage, particularly in the face of Storm Molave, which hit the region on October 28.

More than 1.3 million people were moved to safer places in anticipation of Storm Molave.

The PM said the greater the hardships, the stronger the mutual support is, highlighting that people nationwide have joined hands to aid the central region and address the consequences of natural disasters.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong reported that, over the course of about two days, more than 90,000 military and police personnel and local forces from six central provinces were deployed to respond to Storm Molave.

However, he noted, as it was so strong, loss of life and property were huge. Twenty-three of the 26 seamen on two fishing boats from Binh Dinh province remain unaccounted for, and only three have been rescued. Meanwhile, in four provinces directly affected by the storm, 92,000 houses lost their roofs and 5,000 collapsed, while some 600 other facilities, like health stations and schools, were damaged.

Efforts are ongoing to search for landslide victims in Quang Nam, said Cuong, who is also deputy head of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control.

At the meeting, the PM requested that all-level authorities, sectors, and localities continue with search and rescue efforts, deal with the aftermath of the storms and flooding, pay due regard to the prevention of disease, including COVID-19, and return life to normal as soon as possible.

Financial support will be provided to families in Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces with seriously damaged houses, he said, adding that more assistance will also be given to provinces affected.

The Government leader stressed the necessity to double or even triple efforts to make up for the losses suffered, including stepping up the disbursement of public investment and ODA capital and boosting production and trade over the two remaining months of the year, to record annual growth of 2-3 percent./.

HCM City leaders meet overseas Vietnamese

Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen (standing) at the meeting with Vietnamese expats (Photo: baoquocte.vn)

Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen on October 29 met overseas Vietnamese attending a conference collecting their opinions on digital transformation and overcoming COVID-19 impacts for economic development.

Nen thanked them for offering suggestions to connect the city with foreign enterprises and investors. He wished that they would share experience and lessons learnt from abroad to turn the result of the conference into specific actions, contributing to the success of the city in all fields.

Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong said the city has so far put the second COVID-19 outbreak under control and is working toward the twin goal of fighting the pandemic and promoting economic development.

Ambassador Luong Thanh Nghi, Vice Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, for his part, said about 500,000 – 600,000 overseas Vietnamese (OV) are living and working in developed countries. Around 500 OV experts and scientists returned home and regularly collaborate with the Vietnamese Government, ministries, agencies, localities, research institutes and universities.

Steve Bui from Japan suggested the city issue a technological transfer mechanism when investors apply for investment licences, thus making it easier for local firms to access advanced technologies. He proposed further attention be paid to the use of artificial intelligence in supervision, thus bolstering investors’ trust in local business environment.

Vo Thanh Dang from Singapore asked the municipal authorities to heed the building of the city’s brand and improvement of brand valuation for Ho Chi Minh City and Thu Duc city in particular.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Vietnam Business Association in the Republic of Korea (VIBAK) Tran Hai Linh said VIBAK is ready to assist the city in development projects, especially in fields of the RoK’s strength such as smart urban development, digital transformation, and financial centre building.

Participants at the event also vowed to dedicate their brainpower and experience to the city’s development./.

Diplomats of Viet Nam, Japan seek ways to beef up ties

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn on Thursday met with Japanese Ambassador to Việt Nam Yamada Takio in Hà Nội to explore how to beef up ties between the two countries and co-operation at multilateral forums.

Ambassador Yamada said the government of Japan and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga held in high regard the outcomes of the PM’s official visit to Việt Nam last week. Noting that Việt Nam was selected as the Japanese PM’s destination for his first overseas trip, the ambassador said he hoped the two sides would continue closely co-ordinating to implement the results of the visit.

Deputy FM Sơn highly spoke of the growth of the Việt Nam-Japan strategic partnership, particularly the success of PM Suga’s visit.

Việt Nam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other ministries and agencies would work alongside the Embassy of Japan and Japanese partners to translate agreements reached during the visit into reality, he said.

He went on to suggest the two sides take measures to boost co-operation and step up bilateral and multilateral efforts to respond to the impacts of COVID-19.

The two sides agreed to strengthen co-operation at regional and global forums, such as the UN, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).

The Japanese diplomat appreciated Việt Nam’s role as Chair of ASEAN this year and co-ordinator of the ASEAN-Japan relations, saying he would continue partnering with Việt Nam and other countries to ensure the success of the 37th ASEAN Summit and related meetings, including the 23rd ASEAN-Japan Summit, which Việt Nam is hosting in November.

Both sides also highlighted the results of the implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) after the trade deal took effect a year ago and agreed to make the most of the deal to recover the economy amid COVID-19.

Research Development Programme connects Vietnamese researchers globally

Originally launched three years ago, the Research Development Program (RDP) is a community-based initiative launched through the Vietnam Knowledge Network iVANet with the aim of connecting, honouring, and developing the careers of Vietnamese post-graduates and new PhD candidates. 

Dr. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, a lecturer at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia and founder and operator of the iVANet-RDP, said that the past three years has witnessed the scheme arrange 15 online seminars. The purpose of these events is to connect Vietnamese doctors working at home and abroad with thousands of Vietnamese students of various ages, occupations, and career stages.

The seminars largely focused on four major areas, including the nature of doctoral studies, the development of research skills, the development of soft skills during research, and career development.

Guests featured in the programme include well-known professors. Indeed, approximately 40% of workshop participants are in the process of studying for a master's degree, 40% are graduate students, whilst 20% are PhD graduates who are living and working in the nation as well as in other countries globally.

Upon sharing the idea of establishing the RDP, Dr. Huong said that she understands both the advantages and disadvantages faced by Vietnamese students and researchers in their home country and abroad. In September, 2017, when participating in a discussion on iVANet, Dr. Huong and two other researchers, Trinh Ngoc Anh of the Banking Academy and Nguyen Thi Lan Huong of the National University, raised a proposal aimed at starting an online programme specifically for Vietnamese researchers through iVANet.

The proposal went on to receive plenty of positive responses from researchers and scholars nationwide, along with those based in many countries worldwide. As a result, iVANet - RDP was first launched on October 27, 2017, with the first online seminar focusing on the topic of how to make the scientific path feel less lonely for participants.

Just over a year since its initial launch, the scheme had organised eight online seminars featuring practical and useful content for those pursuing a research and teaching career. Most notably, the founding team of the programme also features many new members who are researchers in the field of natural sciences.

According to Dr. Huong, despite facing numerous difficulties over the past three years, all RDP members are determined to continue developing the programme as it heads in a more professional and sustainable direction.

The RDP group also hopes to co-operate with Vietnamese universities and other scientific research development agencies both at home and abroad as a means of contributing to the training and development of human resources of international standards, something which is needed in the country.

Hà Nội co-operatives prosper under new legislation

A member of the Chúc Sơn Fruit and Vegetable Co-operative harvests tomatoes grown under VietGap standards. — Photo nhandan.com.vn

 

Legislation introduced eight years ago has created favourable conditions for the development and operation of co-operatives in Hà Nội.

Head of Hà Nội’s Rural Development Division Nguyễn Văn Chí said the Law on Co-operatives had changed the way businesses operated and helped them adapt in a positive way to new conditions.

“Members of co-operatives are now focusing more on enhancing trade by improving their products and adopting technology in production,” he said.

“Many co-operatives have formed connections with enterprises to create supply chains,” he said.

In the city’s suburban district of Quốc Oai, Đồng Tâm Husbandry and Service was established in 2016 with ten members. Seven members are in charge of raising pigs to produce safe pork, while the other three are responsible for slaughtering, packaging and transporting the pork to stores and supermarkets.

Each member of the co-operative has 130-150 pigs, and they supply 400-500kg of pork each day, plus other products like hotdogs and spring rolls.

With clean organic products, the co-operative has found a stable market of consumers who prefer to buy food they can trust.

In Chương Mỹ District, the Chúc Sơn Fruit and Vegetable Co-operative has made changes to satisfy the requirements of the Law on Co-operatives. It now supplies clean produce to 22 units across the country, including hospitals, schools and convenience stores.

This has helped increase members' incomes by 30 per cent annually.

The Đồng Phú Organic Agriculture Co-operative in Chương Mỹ District has also attracted nearly 100 farmers who are growing Japanese rice.

With prices from VNĐ32 million (US$1,400) per tonne, the rice can generate about VNĐ80-100 million per hectare.

Agriculture official Chí said the Government had also issued decrees, circulars and guidelines to supplement support policies for the co-operatives.

However, he said some co-operatives were still struggling to gain access to the incentives on offer.

For example, the Government was offering loans of up to VNĐ2 billion ($86,300) to co-operatives with no collateral required, but only a few co-operatives had been able to access the funding because of their modest size and lack of detailed business plans.

Complicated procedures were also blocking the effectiveness of Government’s policies, he said.

Deputy director of the city's Agriculture and Rural Development Department Tạ Văn Tường said the department was trying to spread the word about the benefits of starting new-style co-operatives models and engage more on their development.

Tường also called for more support to simplify administrative procedures and access to loans and land, while training workers and adopting technological innovations.

Đồng Tháp unveils programme to preserve endangered pink mandarin

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Đồng Tháp has approved a project to preserve the specialty pink mandarin of its Lai Vung District, which is facing a threat of dying out, over the next five years.

To cost more than VNĐ73 billion (US$3.1 million), it involves growing the fruit on a total area of 546.63ha in the communes of Long Hậu, Tân Phước, Tân Thành, and Hòa Long.

The Lai Vung pink mandarin has only one harvest a year -- just before Tết (Lunar New year) -- and is one of the favourite fruits during the festival because of its beautiful colour, thin skin and sweet and unique flavour the fact it has few seeds.

It was first grown in the district 50 years ago, with farmers initially planting seeds and later switching to air layering.

The fruit grown in Lai Vung is sweeter than elsewhere because of its unique soil, but in recent years a large number of trees contracted dry root rot disease and died.

The district has around 800ha under the fruit, 300ha less than in 2015, according to its Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Of this, trees on 782.6ha have the disease.

Nguyễn Thanh Hùng, deputy chairman of the province People’s Committee, said the project would focus on zoning, using science technologies, training, advocacy, mechanism, farming techniques, seedling production, and using organic fertilisers.

The district plans to treat trees on 198.7ha as they are still growing well despite contracting the disease. 

It will help plant trees on 347.92ha in the next three years, providing farmers with inputs for the first two years. 

Farmers will be encouraged to use organic fertilisers made from rice straw and animal manure and added with trichoderma fungi to treat the dry root rot disease.

The province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Cần Thơ University have successfully trialled treatment of the disease since last year.

They teach farmers how to balance the use of chemical and organic fertilisers, prune disease-affected branches and roots and use bio-products to treat the disease.

Treated trees have recovered 80 – 90 per cent, according to the department’s Plant Cultivation Sub-department.

Nguyễn Văn Đầy, one of the participating farmers in Long Hậu Commune, uses rice straw and cow manure to make organic fertilisers to fertilise his mandarin trees and prevent inundation.

His trees have recovered 90 per cent and begun to bear fruit again, he said.

With guidance from agricultural officials, he uses organic fertilisers and this makes the soil spongy and helps cut costs by 40 per cent, he said.

Trần Thanh Tâm of the sub-department said after learning about the pilot models, farmers balance the use of chemical and organic fertilisers to stabilise the soil texture, make the soil fertile and spongy and enable the growth of useful microorganisms.

Not using a lot of chemical fertilisers unlike in the past also helps farmers reduce costs, he said.

Pink mandarins fetch an average price of VNĐ30,000 ($1.3) a kilogramme at the farm and a mature tree can produce 500kg annually.

Many pink mandarin orchards in Lai Vung also offer tourism services to visitors before Tết, taking advantage of the fact that the ripe pink fruits look beautiful. 

Hanoi creative space design contest launched

 

The Hanoi creative space design contest was launched on October 28 by the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports and Architecture Magazine in collaboration with the Hanoi’s People Committee and the Vietnam Association of Architects.  

To Van Dong, director of the culture department and head of the contest organising board said the contest aims to mobilise new ideas and unique initiatives to build creative and cultural hubs in Hanoi in order to awaken potential and form a network of rich and attractive creative spaces for the city

To inspire new and unique ideas in designing and exploiting city spaces, contestants can self-suggest locations or spaces to design or choose one of three topics suggested by the board of organisers. They include: promoting infrastructure like community living spaces in residential areas, parks or hospitals, malls or walking streets; among others.

Entries will be collected on March 22, 2021. The total value of prizes for professional and semi-professional sectors in all categories is up to 330 million VND (14,200 USD).

Vocational training brings suburban young people stable incomes

Two years ago when Nguyễn Ngọc Bình was 16, he wanted to do something to help feed his family.

His father had passed away some years before, leaving him the only man in the family with his mother and a younger teenager sister while the older sister had married and left home.

“At that time, my family did not have a stable income as my sister and I were at school while my mother just worked on our small rice field,” Bình said.

Like many other youngsters in Khôn Duy Village in Hà Nội’s suburban Chương Mỹ District, some 30km from the capital's centre, Bình did not have much access to job opportunities. He had no idea how he could start earning money.

Fortunately, he learnt about a vocational training centre in the neighbouring traditional handicraft village of Phú Vinh that offered free courses on making products from rattan and bamboo for local young people. Bình knew this was what he had been looking for.

He registered for a six-month-long training course with instruction from local artisan Nguyễn Văn Trung to learn weaving techniques using rattan and bamboo. After finishing the course, Bình was recruited to work at Trung’s workshop and now earns VNĐ3-4 million (US$130-170) a month by making the rattan and bamboo products.

“I have also taught my mother the weaving techniques so she can also make some products herself when she is not busy in the rice field and we can get some extra money from her products,” Bình said proudly.

Now 18, Bình knows he has a job that provides him with a stable income to help his family. He is also saving money for other vocational training in machinery.

Bình is among some 1,700 people from 14 suburban districts and one urban district of Hà Nội who have benefited from a project aiming at providing vocational training for young people in the suburbs of Hà Nội to help them get a stable livelihood.

The project, funded by the Citi Foundation, has been implemented since 2015 and has undergone five phases, which lasted 12 months each. After five years, the project has organised 52 training courses for young people in 14 suburban districts and one urban district Long Biên.

A representative from Citi Foundation, Bùi Quang Huy, said young people suffered the most from the rapid urbanisation in big cities. One of the visible impacts was that they would find it more difficult to have jobs which are suitable for their education and training, Huy said.

The project aims to not only help the trainees get jobs and stable income but also to provide them access to better job opportunities and higher income to develop sustainable livelihoods, while contributing to the preservation and development of traditional occupations in Hà Nội.

A report from the project showed nearly 90 per cent of trainees got jobs after completing courses. They also get a stable income from VNĐ100,000-300,000 for a working day. Of those, wood carving has the highest income at VNĐ200,000-300,000 a working day.

Nguyễn Thị Thơm, head of the Women’s Association in Thanh Trì District’s Vĩnh Quỳnh Commune, said the training courses were practical for local young women, especially those in the countryside.

According to Nguyễn Bích Vượng, Director of the Centre for Microfinance and Development (M&D), the latest Phase 5 of the project, implemented from October 2019 to September this year, offered 15 vocational training courses for 350 trainees. The courses included seven main traditional handicrafts of hand embroidery, rattan and bamboo weaving, shell inlaying, pottery, wood carving, making conical hat and cooking with the participation of artisans from famous traditional handicraft villages as trainers.

In Phase 5, the project has also added training in starting a business so that young people in the countryside could learn about small business management.

“This year, due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of courses have been affected,” she said, “However, thanks to the support from artisans as well as enterprises, most of the trainees still got job opportunities after finishing the courses.”

Artisan Nguyễn Thị Vui, Chairwoman of the Board of Ngọ Hạ Shell Inlaying Co-operative in Phú Xuyên District’s Chuyên Mỹ Commune, said that even if the pandemic had caused many difficulties for traditional handicraft villages, the artisans were happy to teach trainees as they really wanted to maintain enthusiasm for traditional crafts.

“If the class closed one day, the trainees would not be able to practise and would forget about what they learned, so we wouldn't have the next generation of artisans,” Vui said.

Vui suggested the project not limit the age of beneficiaries from 16 to 30 and offer more advanced courses for those who have finished basic courses.

Artisan in rattan and bamboo weaving Nguyễn Văn urged the project to find a way to help young people keep their enthusiasm for the occupations they were trained in.

Having joined in the project since the beginning, the artisan has opened dozens of courses for local young people, who he said were very skilled and creative.

“It is important to create favourable conditions for young people to have their own start-ups from the vocational training they got,” Trung said. 

Forum helps scaling up women-led businesses in Việt Nam

More than 120 participants, consisting of female start-up founders and entrepreneurs, attended a women's business forum on Wednesday in Hà Nội.

The event, entitled Scaling up Women-led Business, was jointly organised by the Women’s Initiative for Startups and Entrepreneurship (WISE) and Endeavor Vietnam with the support from the Embassy of Canada in Việt Nam.

“Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls is critical to the achievement of peace, prosperity, and sustainable development. Canada prioritises investments, partnerships and advocacy efforts that have the greatest potential to close gender gaps, and to promote women’s economic rights and leadership. The embassy of Canada is pleased to work hand-in-hand with local partners like WISE to advance women’s economic empowerment, including helping women-led businesses to grow," said Deborah Paul, Ambassador of Canada to Việt Nam.

According to the Business Report in Việt Nam by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), by the end of September 2019, there were more than 285,700 businesses owned or led by women, accounting for 24 per cent of the total number of businesses across the country. However, almost all are small and micro sized enterprises operating mainly in the service sector.

“Working with women entrepreneurs in the WISE community, we found that main challenges for women to take higher roles in larger enterprises or scaling up their business include social norms and prejudice, work-life balance, limited knowledge and skills for business management, and limited access to finance and networks,” said Từ Thu Hiền, WISE CEO.

The forum aimed to discuss challenges faced by women-owned or led businesses in the scaling process; lessons learnt and practical experiences in scaling up businesses from small to medium and large size shared by successful entrepreneurs.

Participants also spoke about potential economic and social impacts that can be achieved if gender equality and entrepreneurship is enhanced. The event is a chance to inspire and increase networking opportunities among participants and guest speakers.

“Women-owned enterprises in their scaling up process need very different forms of support compared to the initial stage. The skills that help them succeed at the start of a business may no longer be relevant when the business is established and on the verge of strong growth. Therefore, in addition to existing organisations that support women to start a business, there should be more specialised organisations and/or initiatives to support female leaders in scaling up their businesses, particularly in access to funding or to mentoring programmes,” said Nguyễn Lan Anh, Managing Director, Endeavor Vietnam.

Despite representing such a small percentage of all enterprises nationwide, women-owned businesses (WOB) have many strengths over their male counterparts, according to other studies, such as employing more female workers, paying higher social insurance, and incurring less costs to create jobs.

More women are becoming entrepreneurs each year, but they are less likely to grow and scale their business to medium and large size compared to men. The number of WOB gradually decreases as the size of the enterprise grows. According to a study by the Asian Development Bank, women owned businesses account for only 13.6 per cent of large enterprises.

At the event, participants also heard success stories and ideas shared by prominent female business leaders, diversified in size, generations and industries to clearly outline the development journey of businesses owned and led by women.

VN seeks sustainable development of fisheries

Fisheries output is expected to reach 8.2 million tonnes this year, much higher than the target of 6.5 – 7 million tonnes set under a 2016 -20 sustainable seafood development programme, according to the Directorate of Fisheries.

The export value is expected to be US$10 billion against a target of $8- 9 billion.

The output last year was 8.15 million tonnes, 4.38 million from aquaculture.

Yet the Government has invested only VNĐ14.5 trillion ($626 million) in the programme, or 29 per cent of the amount earmarked, for building fishing ports, storm shelters for fishing boats, seafood farming areas, fish fry farms, and other infrastructure.

Speaking at a seminar to review the programme in Cần Thơ City this week, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phùng Đức Tiến said the investment has been too low with the development of infrastructure not meeting the requirement even as the country signs more and more international trade agreements.

Aquaculture has huge potential and so the country needs to reduce its catch at sea and increase marine aquaculture to develop fisheries sustainably, he said. 

Developing strategy

He presented a draft strategy for seafood production for the period up to 2030 to gather public opinion before submitting to the Government for approval.

It aims to expand the fisheries sector until it accounts for 30 per cent of agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

It seeks to increase output to 10 million tonnes a year, 25 – 30 per cent from the sea and 70 – 75 per cent from aquaculture.  

It aims to increase exports to $18 - 20 billion a year and creating 3.5 million jobs.

It requires all processors who export seafood to comply with food safety and environmental protection requirements.   

Lưu Hoàng Ly, director of the Bạc Liêu Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the strategy should have a loan programme for developing seafood production and managing farms.

Besides, infrastructure should be created to serve shrimp farming, he added.

Officials from the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta, which accounts for 70 per cent of the country’s aquaculture output, said in recent years the investment in fisheries has been inadequate to fulfil the country’s potential in aquaculture.

Zoning plans should regulate the number of fishing boats allowed for each province, they said.

There should be zoning plans for local aquatic species that have high export potential like eel, frog and giant river prawn, they said.

The strategy should help fishermen who work near shore switch to aquaculture or services, they added.

Nguyễn Thanh Dũng, deputy chairman of the Cần Thơ City People’s Committee, said aquaculture production and seafood processing in the delta and elsewhere face many difficulties and challenges like low technology, insufficient infrastructure, lack of funding, climate change, pollution, and disease outbreaks. 

The strategy would play an important role in restructuring fisheries to increase value addition and achieve sustainability, ensuring the country integrates globally and catches up with other countries in science and technology, he said. 

Reign of COVID-19 in Vietnam short-lived: US magazine

The reign of COVID-19 in Vietnam has been watery and short-lived, in contrast to other countries like Italy or the United States thanks to an unique approach to testing, US-based Borgen Magazine said in a recent article.

It is mass-testing which has allowed Vietnamese doctors to practice thorough contact tracing and thus effectively control the spread of cases, the magazine noted.

It went on to say despite the tenure of the novel coronavirus in Vietnam and the world, the Vietnamese government remains optimistic about the country’s economy. “The Vietnam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR) predicts at least a 5-percent growth in the country’s GDP by the end of 2020, and citizens have already resumed normal economic activities.”

“In the midst of a global pandemic, the spirit of Vietnam seems unworried about fiscal matters.”

This is due to several governmental factors, it continued; over the past few decades, the poverty rate in Vietnam has fallen drastically as services such as healthcare have become more widely available to citizens.

In 1990, the country’s extreme poverty rate was 50 percent. Today, that figure has fallen to 2 percent. In 2019, 90 percent of Vietnamese citizens have access to health insurance, compared to 59 percent in 2011.

“The governance of Vietnam in the face of COVID-19 reflects measures that the country has taken against poverty,” Borgen Magazine said, outlining the government’s Resolution 84 which offers incentives and fee reductions to small, private-owned businesses during the time of the global pandemic.

Under this resolution, there is a 15-percent reduction in the renting price for government-owned land. In addition, the resolution includes a 2-percent interest reduction for government loans to small and medium-sized enterprises. “Such fee reductions are potentially conducive to more employment and greater amounts of business.”

It also highlighted that Vietnam and the EU recently came to an agreement on a free trade deal which would eliminate 99 percent of tariffs on traded goods between the countries. The World Bank estimates that Vietnam’s GDP and exports may be boosted by 12 percent by 2030, thanks to the deal.

“These optimistic projections also benefit the citizens of Vietnam — many of whom are farmers or producers of exported goods,” it said./.

ASEAN labour ministers commit to developing competitive, responsive and flexible workforce

Vietnamese Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Đào Ngọc Dung pledged thatViệt Nam and other ASEAN member states would make efforts to promote the implementation of labour agreements adopted at the 26th ASEAN Labour Ministers’ Meeting (ALMM) on Wednesday.

Dung together with other labour ministers of ASEAN countries and Secretary-General of ASEAN Dato Lim Jock Hoi attended the virtual meeting and discussed how to promote competitiveness, responsiveness and flexibility of ASEAN's labour force.

Ministers and heads of delegations approved declarations including ASEAN Declaration on Human Resource Development for the Changing World of Work, Declaration of ASEAN Labour Ministers on the future of work: adoption of technology for inclusive and sustainable growth, ASEAN Declaration on promoting green jobs towards equity and inclusive growth, ASEAN Consensus on the protection and promotion of migrant workers' rights, Vientiane Declaration on the transition from informal employment to formal employment towards promoting decent work in ASEAN, among others.

The delegates agreed the adoption of those agreements would promote human resource development in ASEAN as well as enhance the workforce’s competitiveness. Those documents will serve as a basis for ASEAN and each ASEAN member country to refer and integrate activities into their policies towards sustainable and people-centered development and an inclusive and equitable society.

ASEAN labour ministers also approved the working plan for the period 2021-25 including plan of the Working Group on Occupational Safety and Health, the Action Plan of the ASEAN on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Migrant Workers. This will be an important basis for member countries to implement specific activities and projects in the coming time.

They also approved a number of documents to submit to the 37th ASEAN Summit to take place in November this year.

On the same day, the ASEAN Labour Ministers’ Meeting plus three (ALMM + 3) was held with discussions focused on fostering labour co-operation between the bloc and China, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Japan.

Addressing the meeting, Vietnamese labour minister Dung spoke highly of the theme “Promoting competitiveness, responsiveness and flexibility of ASEAN workforce in the future of work”, which is relevant to the theme of ASEAN 2020.

Human resource development is one of three breakthroughs in the Việt Nam’s socio-economic development strategy in the 2011-20 period. Thanks to the strategy, the proportion of the trained workers granted degrees or certificates increased from 15.58 per cent in 2011 to 24 per cent in 2019 and is expected to reach the target of 25 per cent by 2020, he said.

Several Việt Nam's human resource index also ranked high in the region such as human capital index, innovation index, human development index, he added.

“Việt Nam is building human resource development strategy for 2021-30 period with a focus on labour force development being able to adapt to the 4.0 revolution,” Dung said.

Minister Dung highly appreciated the effective co-ordination of ASEAN member countries in building and approving the ASEAN Declaration on Human Resource Development for the World of Changing Cork while expressing Việt Nam’s willingness to promote co-operation within ASEAN and ASEAN+3 towards a competitive, responsive and flexible workforce. 

Film night presents one of the best Asian films of all time

One of Việt Nam’s most iconic movies will be screened on Saturday by the Friends of Vietnam Heritage.

Bao Giờ Cho Đến Tháng Mười (When the Tenth Month Comes), was hailed as one of the  best 18 Asian films of all time by American news outlet, CNN.

Directed by Đặng Nhật Minh, the touching drama is about Duyên, a beautiful countryside woman and her journey to visit her soldier husband on the battlefield, and how she coped with the reality.

Although set in wartime, the black-and-white movie is not just about the war but also about love and sacrifice.

The film won several prizes such as the Golden Lotus Prize at the 7th Việt Nam Film Festival in 1985, the Special Jury Award at the 1985 Hawaii International Film Festival, and the Special Prize at the 1989 Asia-Pacific International Film Festival.

The screening will take place from 7.30-9pm, at the Centre for Development of Movie Talent, 51 Trần Hưng Đạo Street.

Fee: VNĐ150,000. RSVP to Vân at phuongvan272@gmail.com.

Director reveals creepy theme for new film

Superstitious practices about Thailand's baby dolls are featured in the new film Thiên Thần Hộ Mệnh (The Guardian) directed by Victor Vũ.

A trailer for the film has been released revealing haunting scenes starring young faces from the Vietnamese movie industry including Trúc Anh, Salim and Amee.

The characters are surrounded by Thai life-sized baby dolls known as "luk thep", which are believed to be possessed by spirits that bring good luck and prosperity; and harm the enemies of the owner.

"Luk thep" literally translates as plastic child angels. Young girls in the film treat them like babies, feeding, dressing and cradling them. 

Director Vũ hinted that the film features scary charms and haunting moments.

Vũ, 44, is well-known for blockbusters like Scandal (2012), Tôi Thấy Hoa Vàng Trên Cỏ Xanh (Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass, 2015), Quả Tim Máu (Vengeful Heart, 2014), Người Bất Tử (The Immortal, 2018) and Mắt Biếc (Blue Eyes, 2019).

He has had success with both thrillers and romantic films. Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass attracted tourists to Phú Yên Province where the film was shot, while The Immortal featured the wonderful scenery in Quảng Bình Province.

Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass won the Golden Lotus Award for best feature film at the biennial 19th Việt Nam Film Festival. It also won the best film award at the Silk Road International Film Festival in China.

Trúc Anh has worked with Vũ before when she played Hà Lan in Blue Eyes, and in the latest film she stars as Mai Ly, a young woman who uses child dolls to harm her competitor.

“In modern society, when people face a hopeless situation, they often turn to spiritual solutions to solve their problems,” said Vũ. “The film reflects the weak points in young people’s psychology.”

“The Guardian also speaks about ambition, loss and sacrifice of youngsters who want to reach the peak of success. The touches on the dark sides of people’s minds and mysterious incantations, and I worked with young actors to bring new energy to the film.”

The Guardian is set to hit box offices nationwide on March 8 next year.

Logo & slogan design contest launched to promote power saving

The Ministry of Industry and Trade, in collaboration with the Vietnam Electricity (EVN), the World Bank, and the Vietnam Fine Arts Association, on October 28 launched a logo and slogan design contest to encourage people to cultivate power-saving habit.

Entries should be sent to the organising board no later than 17:00 on December 5, 2020. An awarding ceremony will be held in December.

In his speech at the launching ceremony, Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Development Department Phuong Hoang Kim said the contest aims to select the best logo and slogan which manifest the significance of power saving to the nation’s socio-economic development.

Meanwhile, EVN general director Vo Quang Lam said energy efficiency is the cornerstone of building a secure and sustainable energy system, while saving power is billed as one of the most effective measures.

Vietnam is currently home to 5,000 key corporations, which consume 35 percent of the nation’s total electricity, he said, adding measures to save power in production is necessary to ensure energy security while reduce burden for both businesses and electricity sector.

In the past years, the Vietnamese Government has carried out a wide range of programmes to promote effective use of energy, such as the Vietnam National Energy Efficiency Programme (VNEEP), which was implemented during 2006-2015, helps save 15 million tonnes of oil, as well as reduce 3.4 percent and 5.65 percent of power during 2005-2010 and 2011-2015, respectively.

Most recently, it issued Directive No.20/CT-TTg, calling on the whole nation to save at least 2 percent of the total energy consumption each year. The PM’s directive comes in the wake of concerns over power supplies due to hydropower plants affected by climate change. The scale of renewable energy like wind and solar power is still limited while many technical barriers remain./.

Ambassador lauds Vietnam-Algeria friendly, traditional relations

Vietnamese Ambassador to Algeria Nguyen Thanh Vinh has highlighted the time-honoured, friendly relationship between Vietnam and Algeria, on the occasion of the 58th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties (October 28).

He told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) that Vietnam was one of the first countries to recognise the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic in 1958.

Over the past nearly six decades, the bilateral relations have been tightened, with the exchange of high-level visits, and the establishment of cooperation mechanisms such as the Vietnam-Algeria Inter-governmental Committee and political consultation.

The two countries have also offered visa exemption to diplomatic and official passport holders, and visa fee exemption to citizens of each other, he said, adding that friendship parliamentarians’ groups and people’s associations have also been established with diverse activities.

Vietnam and Algeria have signed 12 agreements and 20 cooperation documents in diplomacy, economy-trade, science-technology, culture, sports, tourism, justice, post office-telecommunications, animal quarantine and hygiene, maritime transport, education, vocational training, finance and agriculture.

They have also supported each other at international forums, according to the ambassador.

Two-way trade reached 193 million USD last year, he said, commending the bilateral collaboration in oil and gas, and labour export.

With the fine political ties and resolve of Vietnamese and Algerian leaders to advance the bilateral relations, the multi-faceted cooperation between the two countries, particularly in economy-trade and labour export, would grow further, Vinh continued.

He advised Vietnamese firms to study Algeria’s trade and investment policies as well as its culture and religions, and seek partners before deciding to run business in the African country.

Vinh also suggested the two sides share experience in economic development, international economic integration and anti-terrorism, while intensifying and diversifying exchanges between businesses, researchers, scientists, students and residents in economy, culture, science-technology, sports, tourism and health care./

Over 350 Vietnamese citizens brought home from Australia, New Zealand

More than 350 Vietnamese citizens in Australia and New Zealand were brought home on October 29 on a flight operated by Vietnam Airlines.

The flight was arranged by relevant agencies of Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand. Passengers on the flight were those in difficult circumstances, including under-18 children, the elderly, workers with expired labour contracts and others in disadvantaged circumstances.

In-flight safety and preventive measures against COVID-19 were rigorously enforced to protect passengers’ health and prevent the spread of diseases.

All passengers and crew members received medical checkups and were sent to quarantine in line with regulations upon arrival at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

The repatriation of Vietnamese citizens in disadvantaged circumstances abroad will continue to be conducted in line with citizens’ wishes, the development of the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine capacity in the country./.

Russia thanks Vietnam for humanitarian assistance amid COVID-19

Spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova has expressed thanks to the Vietnamese Government for its continued provision of humanitarian assistance for Russia in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the Vietnamese Government, ministries, agencies and localities have donated about 1 million protective masks together with a plenty of sterilisation equipment to Russia in the spirit of friendship and comprehensive partnership, she addressed a regular press briefing in Moscow on October 29.

All batches of medical equipment have been transported to the port of Vladivostok and will soon be transferred to the Ministry of Emergency Situations for distribution in the Primorsky region, she added.

According to her, both Vietnam and Russia are strengthening close cooperation through their specialised agencies and organisations, including the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Centre, and through the exchange of expertise, to counter the spread of the pandemic.

Currently, Russia is considering the use of 500 respirators assembled in Vietnam, said Zakharova./.

Vietnamese in Malaysia, UK busy raising fund for flood victims in central region

Vietnamese Embassies in Malaysia and the United Kingdom and local Vietnamese societies there have been busy over the last several days raising funds for flood-stricken people in the central region.

As of October 27, Vietnamese people and associations in Malaysia had raised a total of 600 million VND (25,870 USD) in donations which will be sent to Vietnam to help affected people, particularly poor households, to recover from the natural disaster.

Vu Duc Minh, Second Secretary for community affairs at the Embassy of Vietnam, said Vietnamese expats in Malaysia have regularly organised charity events to help those in need in their homeland. Since the embassy called for donations, not only staff of Vietnamese missions but also Vietnamese associations have actively joined the fund-raising campaign, he added.

Despite the resurgence of COVID-19 in Malaysia causing many challenges to Vietnamese expats, they wanted to share burdens with their flood-hit fellows in the central provinces, according to vice chairman of the Vietnam-Malaysia Business Association (VMBIZ) Nguyen Thi Thanh Van. It is like an “order from the heart,” she said.

In the UK, the Embassy of Vietnam has coordinated with the representative office of national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and the association of Vietnamese golf players in the European nation to host a charity golf tournament to call for donations for the flood survivors.

A painting donated by the embassy has also been auctioned to raise funds for the victims.

A total of 9,000 GBP (11,650 USD) has been mobilised from the events.

Prior to that, the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK on October 23 launched an appeal to call for donations for the flood victims with more than 5,000 GBP donated./.

Deputy ministerial-level Vietnam-Laos political consultation held

Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung and his Lao counterpart Thongsavanh Phomvihane co-chaired their fifth political consultation via a video conference on October 29.

Both sides spoke highly of bilateral cooperation in the fight against COVID-19 and in key fields such as politics, security, national defence, economy, trade, investment, culture, and education-training.

As the two countries have basically curbed COVID-19 outbreaks, they highlighted a need to further facilitate travelling and trade via reopening mainland border gates and resuming commercial flights as directed by leaders.

Amid the complicated developments of the pandemic, the regional and world situation, they suggested tapping opportunities to create a driving force for bilateral collaboration.

On regional and global issues of shared concern, the two sides vowed to offer mutual support at regional and global forums, especially within ASEAN and sub-regional cooperation mechanisms.

The Lao side hailed Vietnam’s success in its role as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 tenure and ASEAN Chair 2020, making active contributions to building a united, resilient and prosperous ASEAN Community.

The two sides will continue working closely together to make thorough preparations for important events in the near future, including the 43rd meeting of the Vietnam – Laos Inter-Governmental Committee and the seventh ministerial-level political consultation.

They also pledged to hold activities in the two countries on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the Lao National Day and the 100th birth anniversary of Lao President Kaysone Phomvihane, enhancing training and consultation to share experience between the two foreign ministries’ units.

On the occasion, Dung reiterated the Vietnamese leaders’ thanks to their Lao counterparts and people for sending sympathy over human and property losses caused by recent floods in Vietnam’s central region. He also expressed his sympathy with Laos over difficulties caused by floods in Savannakhet province.

The next political consultation is to be held in Laos in 2021./.

Singapore allows travellers from China, Australia’s Victoria state

All travellers from mainland China and Australia’s Victoria state will be able to enter Singapore and not be quarantined from November 6, if they pass a COVID-19 test on arrival.

The same applies to Singaporean citizens, permanent residents and long-term passport holders returning from these two areas.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said on October 29 that mainland China and Victoria had been added to the list as they have comprehensive public health surveillance systems and had successfully controlled the spread of the coronavirus.

Travellers from the two places will be able to apply for an air travel pass to enter Singapore from October 30 noon for entry from November 6.

Applicants must stay in China or Australia in 14 consecutive days before entering Singapore.

As of October 29 noon, CAAS had approved 1,375 applications to enter Singapore from Brunei, New Zealand, Vietnam and Australia (excluding Victoria)./.

EU grants 470,000 USD to assist flood survivors in Cambodia

The European Union (EU) is offering 400,000 EUR (470,000 USD) to provide critical humanitarian assistance to families affected by severe flooding, which has wreaked havoc across large parts of Cambodia since the beginning of October, Cambodia's Agence Kampuchea Presse (AKP) reported on October 29.

According to the European Commission, the aid will focus on addressing the urgent needs of the most affected people in the worst hit provinces in the country’s northwest.

“This contribution underlines our solidarity with the people of Cambodia, many of whom have suffered the loss of homes, livelihoods and belongings in the wake of the devastating floods,” Olivier Brouant, who oversees the EU’s humanitarian response in the Mekong region, was quoted as saying.

The funding, which is part of the EU’s Acute Large Emergency Response Tool (ALERT), will support Save the Children and World Vision in delivering much-needed assistance to those most in need. This includes the distribution of clean water, hygiene kits and other essential relief items while ensuring access to sanitation facilities and good hygiene practices.

As of October 28 evening, the ongoing floods have affected 121 districts and cities in the country’s 20 of the 25 provinces and capital city, claiming 44 lives.

A total of 149,857 families have been affected, of them 11,896 families have been evacuated to the safety ground.

Besides, 134,003 houses, 951 schools, 307 pagodas, 284,961 hectares of rice fields, 97,029 hectares of subsidiary crops, and many roads, bridges, canals have been flooded and damaged.

On October 17, the US Embassy in Phnom Penh announced that the US, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), provided 100,000 USD in immediate humanitarian aid to support response efforts to severe flooding in Cambodia./.

Diplomats of Vietnam, Japan seek ways to beef up cooperation at multilateral forums

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son on October 29 met with Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Yamada Takio in Hanoi to explore how to beef up ties between the two countries and cooperation at multilateral forums.

Ambassador Yamada said the government of Japan and Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide held in high regard the outcomes of the PM’s official visit to Vietnam last week. Noting that Vietnam was selected as the Japanese PM’s destination on his first overseas trip, the ambassador said hopes the two sides will continue closely coordinating to effectively implement results of the visit.

Deputy FM Son highly spoke of the strong growth of the Vietnam-Japan strategic partnership, particularly the success of PM Suga’s visit.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other ministries and agencies will closely work alongside the Embassy of Japan and Japanese partners to translate agreements reached during the visit into reality, he said.

He went on to suggest the two sides to take measures to boost comprehensive cooperation in the coming time and step up bilateral and multilateral efforts to respond to impacts of COVID-19.

The two sides agreed to further strengthen cooperation at regional and global forums, such as the UN, Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM).

The Japanese diplomat appreciated Vietnam’s role as Chair of ASEAN this year and coordinator of the ASEAN-Japan relations, saying he will continue partnering with Vietnam and partner countries to ensure the success of the 37th ASEAN Summit and related meetings, including the 23rd ASEAN-Japan Summit, which Vietnam is hosting in November.

Both sides also highlighted the results of the implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) after the trade deal took effect a year ago and agreed to make the most of the deal to recover the economy amid COVID-19./.

Southern Cuisine Festival and Cultural and Tourism Week open

The second Southern Cuisine Festival and Cultural and Tourism Week opened in Tra Vinh on October 25, in association with the Tra Vinh Ok Om Bok Festival 2020.

The events, taking place from October 25 to 31, aim to continue to preserving and promoting the traditional cultural values of the country, and contribute to building and developing a Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity.

Attending to this year’s festival, visitors have the chance to enjoy a series activities such as the 2nd Southern Cuisine Festival; a tourism exhibition; an Introduction to the Tra Vinh tourism brand identity; a tourism trade fair with more than 370 booths of 135 units; a week honouring safe products; Tra Vinh Province’s Khmer Arts Festival; a competition for performing traditional costumes of the Khmer people; Workshop titled ‘Du Ke stage - 100 years of establishment and development’; Ok Om Bok Festival along with sports activities, folk games and Ngo boat racing; and an exhibition showcasing typical products of Khmer people in nine districts, towns and cities.

Tra Vinh was established a long time ago, creating alluvial land with many floating dunes along the river by nature. The intersection of cultures has created many landscapes and historical sites with great potential for tourism development, such as culinary tourism, garden ecotourism, and cultural spiritual tourism.

In order to bring tourism to become a key economic sector of the province, while preserve and develop Ok Om Bok Festival, the Provincial People's Committee have organised the second Southern Cuisine Festival and Cultural and Tourism Week in association with the Tra Vinh Ok Om Bok Festival 2020.

The event is considered as an opportunity for localities, economic organisations, and enterprises inside and outside the province to introduce their economic potentials, promote their brands, and look for business partners, as well as cooperate to invest in economic development. At the same time, the event is a place for businesses to exchange, approach market expansion, sell goods and sign trade. This is also an attractive destination for domestic and foreign tourists to visit, have fun and enjoy the entertainment.

V.League 1: Viettel FC and Hanoi FC play out goalless draw

Viettel FC still retained their right to self-determination in the V.League 1 title race after holding reigning champions Hanoi FC to a goalless draw in their capital derby at Hang Day Stadium on October 29.

Both teams created several opportunities to score, but failed to convert any of them into a goal before the final whistle.

The result has helped Viettel FC safeguard their two-point lead over their city rivals and remain the odds-on favourites to take the overall trophy, with just two games left to go this season.

Given its significance, the match took place fiercely with constant attacks deployed by both sides.

It was not until a few minutes before halftime that the first clear-cut chance was produced, with Rimario’s brilliant left-wing cross placing Pape Omar in a one-on-one with the Viettel goalkeeper; however, he could not beat goalie Nguyen Manh to open the scoring for Hanoi FC.

Ten minutes into the second half, the Senegalese striker wasted an additional opportunity firing a header off the post despite being left unmarked.

The following minutes saw Viettel squander their chances, with veteran forward Nguyen Trong Hoang twice shooting at goalkeeper Tan Truong face to face.

With the draw, Viettel remain on top of the table, but they are now only one point clear of second-placed Saigon FC, who edged out Quang Ninh Coal 2-1 thanks to Pedro’s brace to reignite their hopes of contending for the crown.

V.League 1 continues today (October 30) with the five remaining clashes of the second phase’s Matchday 5, including Becamex Binh Duong vs Hong Linh Ha Tinh, Ho Chi Minh City vs Hoang Anh Gia Lai, SHB Da Nang vs Thanh Hoa FC, Song Lam Nghe An vs Nam Dinh FC, and Hai Phong FC vs Quang Nam FC.

Khmer people’s Ok Om Bok festival opens in Tra Vinh

The traditional Ok Om Bok festival of the Khmer ethnic group was opened in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh on October 25.

To celebrate the festival, part of the national intangible cultural heritage, a wide range of activities are taking place, including a cultural and tourism week, a festival featuring the southern region’s delicacies, an exhibition on the Mekong Delta’s tourism, an agricultural product fair, a Khmer costume contest, along with traditional sports activities.

Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism Duong Hoang Sum said apart from helping with the preservation and promotion of Khmer people’s culture, the event, scheduled to last through October 31, is also an occasion to introduce local people and tourism potential to visitors, enhance the province’s tourism links with other localities, and attract investment in tourism.

The Ok Om Bok (moon worshipping) is one of the three main festivals, along with Sene Dolta and Chol Chnam Thmay, that Khmer people celebrate every year. It often takes place around the full-moon period of the 10th lunar month, after the harvest season.

Khmer people believe the moon is a god who controls the weather and crops. The worship aims to thank the moon for granting them good weather and bumper harvests, and to pray for better crops in the following year.

Tra Vinh is home to nearly 330,000 Khmer people who account for 31% of its population.

Vietnam – Russia cultural exchange held

A Vietnam – Russia cultural exchange took place in the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau on October 29.

The event was meant to celebrate the 70th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on fundamental principles of Vietnam – Russia friendship.

Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Van Tuan said Vietnam – Russia ties have been growing over the past years with high political trust and regular visits at all levels.

Amid complicated and uncertain developments in the region and the world, especially COVID-19, the two countries stood together to overcome challenges and win over the pandemic.

Ties between the province and Russia expanded in the fields of oil and gas, tourism, maritime and construction, with Vietsovpetro oil and gas joint venture becoming a symbol of successful cooperation between the two nations. Ba Ria – Vung Tau also exports major goods such as seafood, cashew nuts and apparel to Russia.

Exchange activities are regularly held by the provincial chapter of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations, the provincial Vietnam – Russia Friendship Association and Vietsovpetro’s Trade Union, contributing to deepening ties between the two peoples, especially for Russians living and working in the locality.

Russian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Popov Aleksei Vladimirovich stressed that together with State-level bilateral ties, relationship between Vietnamese and Russian localities have also been reinforced.  

Participants at the event watched a documentary featuring the 70th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and activities of the Vietnam – Russia Friendship Association, as well as enjoyed music performances and traditional cuisines of the two nations.

Philippines braces for approaching storm

The death toll from Typhoon Molave has risen to 22 in the Philippines, said the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) on October 30, while another storm is on the way.

The NDRRMC said in an updated report that four were still missing and 39 injured after the typhoon pounded the Philippines from October 25-27.

Typhoon Molave, the 17th tropical cyclone lashed the Philippines this year, displaced over 775,513 people in 2,469 villages in seven regions on the main island of Luzon and the central Philippines, and triggered flooding and landslides.

Meanwhile, PAGASA, the country's weather bureau, announced on the same day that the Philippines is bracing for Typhoon Goni that is forecast to make landfall on the eastern shore of the Luzon island on November 1 night or the next morning. Some of the provinces pummeled by Molave are in its path.

About 20 typhoons and tropical storms batter the Philippines each year.

The country has frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. It is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world due to its location in the "Pacific Ring of Fire" and Pacific typhoon belt.

HCM City’s Department of Foreign Affairs marks 45th founding anniversary

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh has urged Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Foreign Affairs to uphold its tradition and achievements, and improve efficiency in tasks to bolster external relations and international integration, especially economic integration.

Minh made the call during a ceremony to mark the 45th founding anniversary of the department held in the city on October 30.

Speaking highly of the achievements made by the department over the past years, he also asked the agency to exert more efforts in helping HCM City make use of the global context and attract resources for the implementation of its development policies.

On the occasion, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs handed over certificates of merit to five collectives and 16 individuals with outstanding contributions to the sector in the 2017-2019 period.

At present, HCM City has friendship relations with 53 localities of foreign countries across the globe. Some 60 consular agencies, international organisations and representative offices of international firms are operating in the city./.

Race against time to find landslide victims in Quang Nam

Rescuers are racing against the clock to find people missing from flash floods and landslides that hit Nam Tra My district in central Quang Nam province on October 28.

According to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Ho Quang Buu, 55 members of 15 households were buried in the landslides, two more than initially thought.

As of noon on October 30, 33 people had been rescued, while the bodies of eight had been recovered and 14 others were still missing.

Specialised equipment and sniffer dogs have been deployed to search for the missing. More military personnel from other communes in the district will be deployed to the site.

Search and rescue forces are exerting every effort to rescue more than 200 workers stranded at the Dak Mi 2 Hydro-power Plant in Quang Nam.

Meanwhile, the neighbouring province of Quang Ngai is mobilising all resources to help locals stabilise their lives after Storm Molave made landfall in the province two days ago.

The strong storm left 13 people injured, brought down 169 houses, and blew away nearly 85,000 roofs./.

2020 Hult Prize Southeast Asia Regional kicks off

The 2020 Hult Prize Southeast Asia Regional was launched during a press conference in Ho Chi Minh City on October 29.

Themed “Food for Good”, the competition this year calls on young people from 100 countries and territories across the globe, including former contestants, to mull over start-up models that are able to revitalise the potential and strengths of food, dubbed the most primary and necessary of resources.

Regional Director of the Hult Prize Southeast Asia Ho Quang Hung said that under this year’s theme, competing teams are required to set up food businesses that generate employment, bolster the economy, and re-establish food supply chains, as well as change public mindsets around food in the upcoming decade.

Preliminaries in Southeast Asia are being held from October and scheduled to wrap up at the end of this year. The competition has been underway at more than 20 universities in Vietnam.

The final round is due to take place next April in HCM City, where three teams from the region will be selected to join a one-month international training programme in London, starting in July.

Based on the results of the training, six squads will qualify for the global finals, held at the UN headquarters in New York on September 15, 2021.

The winning team will go home with a prize of 1 million USD presented by former US President Bill Clinton.

The Hult Prize is the biggest and most prestigious start-up event in the world, and awards millions of USD in investment to budding young entrepreneurs.

First held in 2009, it is run in partnership with the UN and with the support of President Clinton and the Hult International Business School.

The competition began in Vietnam in 2013 and became the Hult Prize Southeast Asia Regional five years later.

Vietnam Red Cross Society presents aid to flood victims

The Vietnam Red Cross Society (VRCS) Central Committee on October 30 sent emergency aid of nearly 2.6 billion VND (112,000 USD) in cash and kind to flood-hit households in the central provinces of Quang Nam and Quang Ngai and south-central Binh Dinh and Phu Yen provinces.

The assistance included 800 boxes of necessities, 500 home-repair tool kits, 800 boxes of water purifier, and 1 billion VND in cash.

On the same day, the VRCS Central Committee also mobilised two delegations to the localities.

The organisation previously delivered close to 5 billion in cash and kind to Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Quang Nam, and Thua Thien-Hue provinces, which have been devastated by recent storms and floods./.

Source: VNA/VNN/VNS/SGGP/VOV/NDO/Dtinews