Good news for all

Representatives cut the ribbons to open the programme. — VNA/VNS Photo A programme to introduce Vietnamese goods and foods in the UK is underway at Longdan Supermarket in Crawley, about 45km south of London. The week-long event, which started on Sunday, is hosted by the Vietnam Trade Office under the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK, in collaboration with the Vietnam Business Association in the UK (VBUK), and Longdan and EUTEK groups. As part of activities in the trade promotion programme of the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the event aims to promote high-quality Vietnamese products that are benefiting from the UK-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) to British retailers and consumers. Handicraft products, coffee, fresh and dried fruits, canned fruit juice, vermicelli, dried noodle, rice papers, cashew nuts, and fragrant rice from reputable export enterprises of Viet Nam are being displayed at the supermarket and Vietnamese markets in Nottingham. At the … [Read more...] about Vietnamese goods, foods introduced in UK

The Japanese retailer sells Vietnamese agricultural products in some 350 of the group's stores and supermarkets across Japan and on its websites from July 1 to 3. AEON Group, the Japanese retailer, expected to sell about 30 tons of fresh lychee and 2.5 tons of fresh bananas from Vietnam during the three-day Vietnamese Goods Week in Japan. The Japanese retailer sells Vietnamese agricultural products in some 350 of the group's stores and supermarkets across Japan and on its websites from July 1 to 3. A number of Vietnamese fresh lychee are sold at AEON supermarket. Photo: congthuong.vn "Last year, we imported  five tons of fresh lychee from Vietnam and sold it only in large supermarkets. However, this year, we imported up to 22 tons of lychee and sold them in all AEON supermarkets throughout Japan," Soichi Okazaki, Executive Director of ASEAN Business at AEON, told the Vietnam News Agency . Okazaki added that Vietnamese lychee is very fragrant and … [Read more...] about Some 30 tons of fresh lychee sold at Vietnamese Goods Week in Japan

90-95% of goods on the shelves of major supermarkets in Hanoi such as Co.opmart, Vinmart and Hapro are made in Vietnam (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese commodities have made up 90% of goods sold in retail outlets owned by domestic enterprises and 60-96% of foreign supermarkets in Vietnam, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), showing that more Vietnamese consumers are choosing Vietnamese goods. In traditional retail channels, the ratio of Vietnamese goods in markets and groceries is at least 60%. Particularly, since COVID-19 broke out, 76% of Vietnamese consumers tend to prioritise domestic products, especially those with guaranteed quality and health benefits. Le Viet Nga, Vice Director of the MoIT’s Department of Domestic Market affirmed that the campaign to encourage Vietnamese to prioritise the use of Vietnamese commodities has helped changed domestic consumers and businesses’ awareness of domestic-made products. Nga underlined that with … [Read more...] about Made-in-Vietnam goods filling Vietnamese consumers’ shopping basket

For the first time, Việt Nam has had a representative in the Ironman World Championship. Lâm Túc Ngân, 27, from HCM City, qualified for the biggest event after winning Ironman Philippines 140.6’s 25-29 year-old female group and finishing in the top 8 of the women's ranking. She will join powerful athletes from all over the world at the 2022 event in Hawai in early October. Ngân shares her experience and plans for the upcoming race. Lâm Túc Ngân will be the first Vietnamese to compete at the World Ironman Championship in October in Hawaii, the US. Photo from Lâm Túc Ngân facebook Inner Sanctum: Congratulations. You are the first Vietnamese to earn a slot at the Ironman World Championship. How do you feel? Thank you. It is several months to go to the world championship. There are many things to work on. In the last 15 years of the world tournament, there was no one from Việt Nam. Lâm Túc Ngân trains for her world competition. She plans to complete the race … [Read more...] about Woman with an iron will

Phùng Ngọc Phong at his garage. Photo dantri.com.vn HCM CITY — Driving around districts 1 and 5 brings back a lot of memories to Phùng Ngọc Phong, the 44-year-old director of a private company in Bình Thạnh District, HCM City. Despite his car and well-to-do looks, he grew up on these streets, doing what he had to do to survive. "From a street kid, I now have a family with my wife and children. I have bought a house, a car, with my self-earned money. At this moment, I feel so happy and don't need anything," the director of Phùng Nguyễn Cao Tốc Co., Ltd told Dân Trí online newspaper. Born in a family in HCM City. Phong's parents left HCM City for Bình Dương Province to earn a living. Then they took him to Cambodia to find other jobs. In the vague memory of an 8-year-old boy, Phong remembered his family living with another group of Vietnamese people in Cambodia where his parents did many jobs. He stayed with his father, and sometimes with his mother … [Read more...] about Changing lanes: from homeless HCMC youth to successful business owner

Zoo employees collect around 800 kg of dung from five elephants in their enclosure. In the past, the dung was discarded or used for manure. Now, it gets recycled into paper. Mai Khac Trung Truc, director of the Saigon Zoo and Botanical Garden, said the elephants eat mostly grass and sugar cane, so their dung has a lot of fiber and isn't too smelly. "They can be used to make paper. Some countries have already done it and are producing high quality paper," he said. Truc said such recycling would help raise awareness about wildlife protection and teach children to save resources and protect the environment. The zoo has begun recycling elephant dung since February. Last Friday, Truc washed the collected dung at least seven times to remove impurities, leaving only the fiber left for recycling. The fiber was boiled at 200 degrees Celsius for two hours to kill bacteria and remove odor. The zoo uses around 3-5kg of elephant … [Read more...] about Elephant dung makes good sheets: Saigon zoo

Movitel, the telecommunications network of Viettel in Mozambique. There is significant room for Viet Nam and Mozambique to increase trade and investment cooperation. — Photo vneconomy.vn Mozambique could act as a gateway for Vietnamese businesses to penetrate member countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), President of the Mozambican Assembly Esperanca Laurinda Francisco Nhiuane Bias said at a meeting with representatives of the Vietnamese business community in Ha Noi on Tuesday. Held by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Mozambique Embassy in Viet Nam, as part of the President of the Assembly's visit to Viet Nam, she called on Vietnamese enterprises to invest in tourism, mining, energy and agriculture, in which Mozambique has potential. She stressed the African nation had established a portal providing information for both private and state-owned firms to support investors. She suggested that Vietnamese and Mozambican … [Read more...] about Mozambique could be gateway for Vietnamese firms to access southern Africa

Ambassador of Luxembourg to Việt Nam, Jean-Paul Senninger, writes for Việt Nam News on Luxembourg’s National Day (June 23) In 2023, Việt Nam and Luxembourg will celebrate their 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Since then, the world has changed significantly, and so have our countries. Since the outset, our countries have nurtured excellent bilateral relations, which encompassed significant support to Việt Nam’s rural, health and tourism sectors. These building blocks supported Việt Nam’s successful SDG agenda and paved the way, in recent years, to close cooperation in the banking and finance sectors, as well as academia and research. Beyond these sectors, we see tremendous opportunities in digital innovation, start-ups, green energy, circular economy, health tech, automotive and logistics. Bourscheid Castle in north-eastern Luxembourg. The medieval castle, which stands on a site with archaeological evidence of structures dating back to Roman times, is a tourist … [Read more...] about Luxembourg and Việt Nam to celebrate 50 years of friendship

Mai Ngọc Thương at work. Photo baogiaothong.vn HÀ NỘI — For Mai Ngọc Thương, going to work isn't a chore - far from it. The 39-year-old is the head of the safety inspection team of Hải Phòng City's rail transport, and she goes home happy knowing her passengers have had a safe trip. About 15 minutes after passengers leave the train, Thương's team start their work, cleaning the carriages, checking the number of carriages, handing over the trip records to the driver and head of train authority, and checking the train's safety system ahead of its next trip. After completing all the work, she sits in the last carriage and updates the itinerary. She sometimes checks the speed of the train through the speedometer to make sure the driver is travelling at the right speed. "I don't think it's hard work for a woman like me. But I am always worried as the current railway infrastructure is degraded. We have fewer new carriages. Most of them are only upgraded. Troubles … [Read more...] about All aboard: the railway officer keeping things right on track

Tourists go through a cajuput forest in Kiên Giang Province’s Giồng Riềng District. The forest is owned by farmer Dương Văn Minh. – VNA/VNS Photo Lê Huy Hải KIÊN GIANG – More farmers in Kiên Giang Province’s Giồng Riềng District have switched to growing cajuput trees on unproductive rice fields, fallow areas and lands with acid sulphate soil, optimal places for them to grow. The model of growing cajuput in combination with breeding bees for honey and fish and snails offers them a good income. Dương Văn Minh has a 22ha cajuput forest in Thạnh Lộc Commune’s Thạnh Lợp Hamlet and breeds bees, freshwater fish and other aquatic species in the forest. The trees are one to three years old and house 120 bee hives. He used to grow rice but the acid sulfate soil in his land affected growth. Now he harvests up to five hectares of cajuput a year, he said. The wood is used for construction, making paper and furniture. He is expanding the area under cajuput and making … [Read more...] about Kiên Giang Province farmers switch to cajuput