27th communist party congress

He made the direction to the municipal Department of Culture and Sports in a March 3 meeting that reviewed its performance and discussed tasks for the time to come. The Communist Party of Vietnam has described culture as the heart and spiritual underpinning of a society, he said, and it plays a prominent role in Hanoi, as the city has been dubbed the capital of a thousand years of civilisation, the city for peace, and the city of innovation. He asked the department to follow the views and goals outlined in resolutions from the Party and the municipal Party Committee to support its decision-making and fulfil its mission. The leader also requested the department promote digital transformation in culture and sports. Hue moved on to say that the city has demanded a review of the land bank for parks and tree planting as well as space for installing outdoor sports facilities for public use. It will also financially support the construction of more than 280 cultural houses in villages, costing about VND3 billion (US$130,900) each, he said. Districts and relevant units need to mobilise resources and closely coordinate with the city to complete these projects, while encouraging the involvement of society in maintaining and operating local cultural and historic relics, he said. According to the municipal Department of Culture and Sports, the city has mobilised nearly VND1.55 trillion, including nearly VND468 billion sourced from society, to repair and restore 179 cultural and historic relics since the beginning of 2020. Department Director Tran The Cuong said the department will continue to focus on its mission to develop Hanoi into the country’s cultural hub in the future. A digital database on Thang Long - Hanoi’s culture will be established, while a strategy to develop the cultural sector in the city will be implemented, he added. …

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Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh attended the 27th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Retreat held via videoconference on March 2 and 3, during which he and other delegates approved 10 initiatives and priorities for economic cooperation in 2021. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh attends the 27th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Retreat (Photo: VNA) The initiatives and priorities have been built with three main orientations - recovery, digitalisation, and sustainability - with a focus on such important fields as trade facilitation, tourism, energy, information technology, minerals, and sustainable development. Of note, several initiatives inherit cooperation contents from 2020 when Vietnam assumed the role of ASEAN Chair. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to have a serious impact, delegates discussed ASEAN’s efforts to recover economies so as to not only fight the pandemic but also boost economic development, particularly the expansion of the ASEAN List of Essential Goods. In particular, the retreat also reached consensus on 2021 agenda priorities in economy with 68 different contents, such as trade in goods, trade in services, investment, intellectual property, e-commerce, and consumer protection, among others. At the event, Khanh expressed his support for Brunei’s initiatives during its ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2021, and affirmed that Vietnam will continue cooperating closely with other ASEAN countries to realise the common targets of the ASEAN Economic Community. Vietnam also shared its experience and efforts to control the pandemic and ensure economic development while implementing its commitments within ASEAN and the ASEAN Plus frameworks. Together with discussions on intra-bloc economic cooperation, the participants also exchanged views on extra-bloc economic cooperation, such as reviewing the implementation of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) and …

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The initiatives and priorities have outlined three major orientations - recovery, digitalization, and sustainability - with a particular focus on such important areas as trade facilitation, tourism, energy, information technology, minerals, and sustainable development. Of note, several initiatives inherit cooperation contents from 2020 when Vietnam took on the role of ASEAN Chair. Amid the complicated COVID-19 pandemic, delegates discussed ASEAN’s efforts to boost economic recovery while going ahead with the fight against the pandemic and the important task of boosting economic development, particularly the expansion of the ASEAN List of Essential Goods. Vietnam also shared its experience and efforts to control the pandemic and ensure economic development while carrying out its commitments within ASEAN and the ASEAN Plus frameworks. Together with discussions on intra-bloc economic cooperation, the participants also exchanged views on extra-bloc economic cooperation, such as reviewing the implementation of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) and collaboration between ASEAN and the EU. They said their countries are redoubling efforts to soon adopt the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement to facilitate post-pandemic recovery. Within the framework of the retreat, the participants held a consultation with the ASEAN Business Advisory Council to make recommendations on health care and dealing with non-tariff measures, and enhancing public-private partnerships (PPPs) in ASEAN and between the grouping and its partners. …

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