Australian defence minister

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh offered incense to President Ho Chi Minh and launched the annual New Year tree planting festival at K9-Da Chong relic site, Hanoi’s outlying district of Ba Vi, on January 27, the sixth day of the Year of the Cat. PM Pham Minh Chinh joins in tree planting at the relic site (Photo: VNA) Co-organised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of National Defence and Hanoi municipal authorities, the tree planting festival started a series of activities nationwide for the programme “For a green Vietnam” with an aim to plant 22.5 million trees this year. Speaking at the event, PM Chinh recalled that 64 years ago, President Ho Chi Minh called on the entire people to respond to the tree planting month which has become a tradition every lunar new year since then. According to him, Vietnam’s forest coverage expanded from 28% in 1990 to over 42% in 2022, absorbing over 70 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. … [Read more...] about Prime Minister launches New Year tree planting festival

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked the ministries to quickly resolve the relevant issues to keep the ring road project moving forward as planned. Hanoi and the two provinces of Bac Ninh and Hung Yen have made big progress in land clearance for the construction of the Ring Road 4, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said on January 27. Prime Minister talks to local people that live in the area of the Ring Road 4 on January 27. Photo: Vietnam News Agency At the moment, Hanoi municipal  authorities have developed a land clearance plan for the whole 58.2-kilometer stretch of the ring road that runs through Hanoi. The capital has relocated almost two fifths of all the graves found along the ring road. Hung Yen Province has cleared land in Van Giang, Khoai Chau, Yen My and Van Lam districts and moved almost 16% of all graves along the ring road. Meanwhile, Bac Ninh Province does not have a plan to relocate graves and cemeteries in the project area, but Bac Ninh … [Read more...] about Prime Minister praises Ring Road 4 project’s land clearance

Co-organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of National Defense and Hanoi municipal authorities, the tree-planting festival started a series of activities nationwide for the program “For a green Vietnam” with an aim to plant 22.5 million trees this year. Speaking at the event, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh recalled that 64 years ago, President Ho Chi Minh called on the entire people to respond to the tree-planting month which has become a tradition every lunar new year since then. According to him, Vietnam’s forest coverage expanded from 28% in 1990 to over 42% in 2022, absorbing over 70 million tons of carbon dioxide. The PM highlighted Vietnam's commitment to achieve net zero by 2050 and expressed his belief that the tree-planting campaign 2023 will produce positive achievements, helping the country deliver its commitment and contributing to national development. At the launch ceremony, he joined delegates in planting 3,000 trees at the … [Read more...] about Prime Minister launches New Year tree-planting festival

The sector should continue to follow policies and guidelines adopted by the Party and the State, while closely coordinating with ministries, agencies and localities to fulfill socio-economic tasks, he said. Priorities should be given to maintaining the macro-economic stability, controlling inflation, spurring growth and ensuring major economic balances, the leader continued. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to improve its analyzing and forecasting capacity, provide timely consultancy and flexibly respond to developments of the domestic and international situation. The central bank was also urged to intensify inspection and supervision, ensure transparency, promote digital transformation, raise service quality, and support innovations and small- and medium-sized enterprises. It needs to further consolidate monetary institutions, mechanisms and policies to create a concerted legal corridor, thus giving a push to the monetary and credit markets, … [Read more...] about Prime Minister urges banking sector to make more innovations

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) Sydney (VNA) – Minister for Trade and Investment of Victoria state of Australia Tim Pallas has announced Vietnamese carrier Vietjet’s decision to choose Melbourne city as the destination for its first flights to Australia and establish its office in the state. VietJet will run three direct weekly flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Melbourne airport from April and will develop it into a daily service in December 2024. Its flights are expected to bring more than 136,000 passengers to Melbourne each year and add 97 million USD annually to the state's economy. VNA … [Read more...] about Australia’s Victoria state pins hope on Vietjet’s launch of flights

PANO – Cao Bang province on December 15 th solemnly organized a ceremony to mark the 70 th founding anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) and 25 th anniversary of whole people’s defence day, and announce Tran Hung Dao forest’s recoginition as a special national relic site. The event was attended by State President Truong Tan Sang. Opening the ceremony, Secretary of Cao Bang Provincial People Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Council Ha Ngoc Chien recalled the establishment and victorious revolutionary traditions of the VPA and the province. Art performance at the ceremony On December 22 nd , 1944, as instructed by President Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) was founded in Tran Hung Dao forest in Tam Kim commune, Nguyen Binh district, Cao Bang province. Of the first 34 soldiers of the army at that time, 25 were from ethnic minorities in Cao Bang. Three days after its establishment, with ingenuity and couragousness, … [Read more...] about Cao Bang marks VPA’s 70th founding anniversary

Former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan (Photo: chinhphu.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – The signing of the Paris Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam on January 27, 1973, had brought a special spring to the northern region, when for the first time in the resistance war there was no air-raid siren and no evacuation, former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan told Vietnam News Agency during a recent interview on the occasion of the agreement's 50th signing anniversary. At the signing ceremony of the Paris Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam on January 27, 1973. (Photo: VNA) On January 23, 1973, the Paris Agreement on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam was initialed by two special advisers Le Duc Tho and Henry Kissinger. On January 27, 1973, the Foreign Ministers of the four parties, including the US, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam and the Republic of … [Read more...] about Paris peace accords brings spring of freedom to nation: former Deputy PM

Japan's government will drop its recommendation to wear masks indoors and downgrade its medical classification for Covid-19, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida removes his face mask before his speech during a plenary session of the upper house of parliament in Tokyo on January 27, 2023. (Photo by Kazuhiro NOGI / AFP) The changes, effective from early May, will classify the disease on the same level as the flu, down from its current status on par with tuberculosis and SARS. "As for masking, regardless of indoors and outdoors, the decision will be left up to individuals," Kishida told a televised government meeting. "We will take further steps towards 'life with corona' and make steady progress on returning to normality in homes, schools, workplaces, neighbourhoods and all facets of life." Masks are ubiquitous in public places and are commonly worn outdoors as well, despite the government having already said they … [Read more...] about Japan to drop mask guidance, relax Covid strategy

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the scale of the Vietnamese retail market is USD 142 billion, which is expected to reach USD 350 billion in 2025, with contribution of 59% to total GDP. Last year, the total revenue from retail sales of goods and services rose 21%, exceeding the target of 8%. A survey by Vietnam Report showed that over 53.8% of total retail firms enjoyed similar and higher business results compared to the pre-pandemic level. Experts held that growth of retail sales is being supported by rise in income and the strong recovery of the tourism sector as well as relevant sectors such as transport and accommodations, as well as the effectiveness of inflation control measures. Particularly, from now to the lunar New Year (Tet) Festival, which falls in late January, consumers are predicted to loosen their wallet dramatically. At the same time, there are signs of vibrant retail activities as many foreign investors have announced their plans to … [Read more...] about Retail market forecast to bustle this year

Illustrative image (Photo: Newstraitstimes) Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - The Communications and Digital Ministry of Malaysia plans to announce the introduction and implementation of 5G by Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) with added features at the end of March. Minister Fahmi Fadzil said DNB is currently studying and evaluating the available options to ensure the coverage will not just reach 80% but will be expanded nationwide. Fahmi said the implementation of the 5G will enable companies and factories to achieve efficient and fast communication services in order to increase productivity and provide the public with efficient services. Meanwhile, referring to issues of personal security and online scams, the ministry aspires to turn the Personal Data Protection Department into a statutory department to carry out its functions more efficiently, said the minister. The agency under the ministry will become one of the most important departments to be strengthened to deal with … [Read more...] about Malaysia to implement 5G technology by end of March