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OVs in Thailand attend the programme. (Photo: VNA) Bangkok (VNA) – Overseas Vietnamese ( OVs ) in Thailand gathered at a programme hosted by the Vietnamese Consulate General in Khon Kaen province on January 29 to celebrate the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) festival – the longest and biggest traditional holiday of Vietnam. In his speech at the event, Vietnamese Consul General Chu Duc Dung briefed guests on socio-economic development achievements of Vietnam, as well as the agency’s operation, especially activities to connect Vietnamese expats in the northeast region of Thailand with the homeland. He spoke highly of the role played by OVs for the homeland’s development, affirming that they have been contributing to preserving Vietnam’s cultural identities and values through cultural and religious exchange activities in Thailand. The Vietnamese community abroad is an indispensable part of and important resources for the homeland's development, he stressed, hoping … [Read more...] about OVs in Thailand celebrate traditional Lunar New Year

The concert gathers about 100 artists (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – A grand concert to welcome the Year of the Cat was held at Hanoi Opera House on January 29 with the performance of the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra (VNSO) and the People’s Public Security Theatre. The New year concert 2023 was sponsored by the Ministry of Public Security as a present to officers, soldiers and their relatives on the occasion of the new lunar new year. The audience at the event (Photo: VNA) Following the success of the first one in 2022, the concert has been made an annual event on the 8th day of the first lunar year. The event this year gathered about 100 artists. It introduced a number of famous songs of Vietnam re-composed for the symphony orchestra such as “Mua xuan dau tien” (The first spring) and “Nguoi Ha Noi” (The Hanoian); and other western and eastern classical pieces about Spring./. VNA … [Read more...] about Ministry of Public Security hosts New Year concert 2023

Regiment 31 yearly welcomes nearly 1,000 recruits from Southern provinces. In order to leave good impression on recruits on their first days of recruitment, the unit always cleans the barracks, re-arranges barrack rooms, upgrades areas for entertainment and gathering, and supplements other supplies for troops to live, study, and train. Lieutenant Colonel Le Van Hiep, Deputy Political Commissar of Regiment 31 said that “Before the lunar Year of the Cat 2023, the regiment was determined to organize a safe, economical, high combat readiness Tet holiday while preparing to receive new recruits and open the training session for 2023. Therefore, the regiment’s affiliated agencies and units developed plans and tasked troops in the spirit of both enjoying the Tet (lunar New Year) holiday and fulfilling assignments.” Along with fixed funding from higher levels, battalions under the regiments have deducted money from their production fund and capitalized on available materials to renew each … [Read more...] about Regiment 31 makes preparation to receive new recruits

This ancient contest demonstrates gratitude for rice among people in Hanoi. The lively and funky rice cooking contest was organized on the 8th day of the first lunar month [January 29] in Thi Cam Village, Xuan Phuong Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi. This yearly competition is aimed to pay tribute to General Phan Tay Nhac, who lived under the regime of the 18th Hung King, 285 BC, the tutelary God of Thi Cam Village. The custom also prays for a prosperous, happy, and peaceful new year. The contest consists of three main parts: lighting the fire, fetching water, and cooking the rice. The event takes place in the village's temple. This year’s contest draws the participation of four teams, corresponding to four neighborhood groups in the ward. Cooking utensils and wood for the rice cooking competition are well prepared by the contestants. The bamboo sticks are stripped, while the straw is bundled to catch fire easily. … [Read more...] about Exploring unique Thi Cam Rice Cooking Contest in Hanoi

The office reported that in the month, total import-export turnover reached 46.56 billion USD, down 17.3% over the previous month and 25% year-on-year, with exports dropping 21.3% to 25.08 billion USD, and imports falling 28.9% to 21.48 billion USD. While the domestic sector saw a trade deficit of 1.04 billion USD, the foreign-invested sector (including crude oil) posted a surplus of 4.64 billion USD. Experts attributed the result to the long New Year and lunar New Year (Tet) holidays, which were all in January, reducing the number of working days. Last year, the Tet holiday fell in February. The GSO reported that the manufacturing-processing sector earned the highest export revenue with 22.32 billion USD, accounting for 89% of the country’s total. Meanwhile, there were three goods groups with imports of over 1 billion USD. In January, the U.S. remained the biggest importer of Vietnamese goods with a revenue of about 7.6 billion USD, while China was the biggest exporter to … [Read more...] about Vietnam posts trade surplus of 3.6 billion USD in January

Deputy Director of the FIA Do Van Su said disbursement of foreign investment this year is expected to hit USD 22-23 billion. Su acknowledged that the opening of China’s economy might affect Vietnam's foreign investment attraction, adding that China remained the leading investment destination in the region, so when they opened up, capital will flow into this market while that to Vietnam and other economies in the region will be limited. On the contrary, the investment capital movement of the Republic of Korea (RoK), Japan, and Taiwan (China) will be accelerated. This shift will be accelerated until 2025, and Vietnam will be a preferred investment destination for investors, he added. Currently, the RoK, Japan and Taiwan (China) are Vietnam’s major sources of foreign investment and they have constantly increased their investments in Southeast Asian countries. According to FIA, essential factors for FDI to continue to prosper in 2023 include economic growth results in 2022 and … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s FDI projected to reap up to USD 38 bln in 2023

Visiting a construction site of My Thuan 2 Bridge that crosses the Tien River and connects Trung Luong - My Thuan and My Thuan - Can Tho expressways between Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho, he asked constructors to speed up work, ensure the quality of the construction, labor safety and pay proper care to workers’ living conditions. With a total investment of over 5 trillion VND (USD 213.22 million), the construction of the 6.61-km bridge was started in March 2020 and is expected to complete this year. By now, more than 70% of the work has been completed. The leader added localities must proactively build intersections and organize traffic routes connecting to the bridge and the expressways to exploit new development space. At the construction site of a section of the eastern North-South Expressway that runs through Can Tho and Hau Giang, PM Pham Minh Chinh applauded workers for their efforts during the lunar New Year (Tet) festival. For more efficient infrastructure development, … [Read more...] about Prime Minister inspects key transport project in Mekong Delta

Nearly 100 petrol stations nationwide were closed during the Tet Lunar New Year holiday, claiming they had run out of stock and lacked employees. A petrol station is closed during Tet holiday in Ha Nam Province A survey carried out by Tien Phong Newspaper found that some 80 petrol stations in HCM City and some other southern localities closed for some hours or throughout the Tet holiday. The closed stations were located at HCM City's District 7, Binh Tan District, Thu Duc City, and some other neighbouring provinces including Binh Phuoc, An Giang, and Hau Giang, causing significant inconvenience for drivers. Authorities in some northern localities of Ha Nam, Haiphong, Hanoi, Hung Yen, and Hai Duong also issued fines to some petrol stations for selling fuel at higher prices and shutting down without adequate reasons. A representative of a station in Hanoi said that they could not buy enough stock and therefore had to limit sales. According to some petrol … [Read more...] about Nearly 100 petrol stations shut down during Tet holiday

The ministries of Industry and Trade, and Finance have sharply raised retail petrol prices from Monday afternoon. Illustrative photo Following the latest adjustment, the price of E5RON92 biofuel increased by VND970 to VND 22,320 per litre and RON95 by VND990 to VND 23,140 per litre. Diesel prices have also been raised by about VND890 to VND22,520 per litre. The price hike is said to have resulted from the rising prices of petrol and oil in the global market over the past 20 days. Nearly 100 petrol stations nationwide were closed during the Tet Lunar New Year holiday, claiming they had run out of stock and lacked employees. A representative of a station in Hanoi said that they could not buy enough stock and therefore had to limit sales. According to some petrol retailers, since authorities did not fix new retail prices on January 21 as scheduled and instead moved the announcement to February 1, they were selling at lower commissions … [Read more...] about Petrol prices sharply increase in latest adjustment after Tet holiday

Working session between representatives from Vietnam Centre for Overseas Labour and Ansan Counseling Centre for Foreign Workers (Photo: VNA) Seoul (VNA) – A working delegation of the Vietnam Centre for Overseas Labour (Colab) had a meeting on January 29 with representatives from the Counseling Centre for Foreign Workers of the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s Ansan city to promote the implementation of support activities for Vietnamese labourers in the RoK. The Vietnamese centre’s Director Dang Huy Hong, who is head of the delegation, thanked the Ansan centre for supporting foreign workers in general and Vietnamese in particular when living and working in the Korean city. He showed his hope that the centre will continue working closely with Vietnamese units to support Vietnamese workers, especially newcomers, to soon adapt to the life in the East Asian nation. Colab delegation posing for a photo with Vietnamese workers in RoK (Photo: VNA) During the working … [Read more...] about Support activities for Vietnamese workers in the RoK implemented