Queen meetings with prime minister

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on September 28 chaired a monthly Government law-making session to discuss a proposal on drafting the Law on Management and Use of Weapons, Explosives and Supporting Tools. Participants looked into a proposal on building the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Advertising, the issuance of documents detailing and guiding the implementation of laws, ordinances, and resolutions of the National Assembly (NA) and the NA Standing Committee that have taken effect. In his opening remarks, PM Chinh said that in the first nine months of this year, the Government has focused on implementing three strategic breakthroughs, including institution building and perfection. An overview of Government law-making session (Photo: VNA) Therefore, the Government has spent a lot of time and resources, and applied innovations to promote the work of building and perfecting … [Read more...] about PM presides over Government’s September law-making session

A concrete road in Chau Hoi commune, Quy Chau district of Nghe An province has been destroyed by flash floods.(Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has sent a dispatch to ministries, agencies and localities affected by torrential rains and flooding , asking them to focus on responding to and dealing with flood consequences . The dispatch clarified that since September 25, due to the impact from a low depression, many northern and north-central localities have suffered torrential rains which were measured at 500mm in some places, causing floods and landslides , blocking streets and disrupting production and daily activities of locals, especially in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh province. Torrential rains are forecast to continue in coming days, posing high risks of flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas. In order to ensure safety for people’s life and property, PM Chinh asked the National Steering Committee on Natural … [Read more...] about PM orders prompt measures to deal with flood consequences

Hanoi takes a selective approach to attracting investment, prioritizing projects in high-tech, clean-tech, and environmentally friendly sectors. Hanoi will create conditions for domestic and foreign investors to develop the semiconductor industry in the city and the whole country, said Deputy Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen at the seminar "Development of Semiconductor Ecosystem and Connection for Investment in Hanoi" on September 27 in Hanoi. Delegates at the conference. Photo: The Hanoi Times He stated that the semiconductor industry is of great interest to the Government and the Prime Minister as it enhances Vietnam's participation in regional and global value chains and the development of high technology, electronics, semiconductors, financial centers and innovation. "Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh encouraged US semiconductor companies to deepen and expand their investments in Vietnam at various stages, including infrastructure … [Read more...] about Hanoi encourages semiconductor investment

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, 72 countries recognize Vietnam as a market economy, including Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea. The UK did so recently with an official letter to the effect. Speaking to VnExpress , a Trade Remedies Authority Department official said since its first anti-dumping investigation case against Vietnam in 2002 the U.S. had been considering the country a non-market economy. In a meeting with the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo in Washington last Tuesday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed the U.S. to soon recognize Vietnam’s market economy status . The need for recognition of Vietnam's market economy status was also in the joint statement between General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Joe Biden on upgrading the two countries' relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The EU also sees Vietnam as a non-market economy. In 2015, while free-trade agreement negotiations were underway, the EU … [Read more...] about Significance of Vietnam being a market economy

LRT Illustration (Photo: observerid.com) Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia ’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said on September 27 that the country’s government targets the light rail transit (LRT) project in Bali to start its groundbreaking in early 2024. The study had been carried out for a long time but was hampered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. Pandjaitan noted that the LRT will cross I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport and support passengers' movement from and to the airport. With no LRT, an accumulation of passengers will occur in 2026, considering that the airport serves around 24 million passengers annually. The minister also stated that during the meeting, President Joko Widodo had ordered ministers to conduct further studies for the Bali LRT from the Ngurah Rai Airport to Seminyak or further to Canggu, with a total length of around 20km. “We are planning to charge a ticket price of around 1-2 USD for each … [Read more...] about Indonesia to build light rail transit on Bali

The increase in electricity prices remains a hot topic as it has a major impact on households and businesses alike. Vietnam Electricity (EVN) has proposed another increase in retail electricity prices to compensate for its losses. Speaking at the state capital management in enterprises seminar last week, Nguyen Xuan Nam, vice president of EVN, said, "EVN accepts selling electricity at much lower prices than feed-in-tariffs (FiT). Although electricity prices have climbed three per cent in 2023, it only minimizes some parts of lingering difficulties since 2022. This year, retail electricity prices were not adjusted in a timely manner. As a result, EVN has incurred a loss of $1.48 billion." He added, "EVN's main task is to ensure a sufficient supply of electricity to the economy. However, the company encounters many challenges in mobilising and balancing its capital to fund its initiatives and ensuring safe operation and sufficient electricity supply in the following years. In 2023, … [Read more...] about Adjusting electricity tariff vital to the energy sector

Protesters hold a placard portraying Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May during a march in central London calling for an end to the "crisis" in the state-run National Health Service (NHS). (Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP) NHS staffing levels have been in crisis for months, an issue made worse by a winter flu outbreak. The public health service is a highly-emotive political issue, and controversially formed the centre-piece of the succesful pro-Brexit campaign during the 2016 referendum. Protesters carrying placards reading "NHS not for sale", and "Hands off our NHS", braved the cold and rain to demand that the government pump more money into the system, and roll back the influence of the private sector in the public-funded service. Hospital campaigner Tamsyn Bacchus demonstrated with a life-size replica vulture and an NHS placard, fearing that the free-at-point-of-use service was moving towards a US style user-pay system. "I have faith, and so do all these folk here, that it's so … [Read more...] about Thousands protest over UK health service

Participants at the first meeting of the Vietnam - Colombia Joint Economic Committee (Photo: VNA) Mexico City (VNA) – Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai and Colombian Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Soraya Caro Vargas signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on trade, investment, and industrial cooperation, and co-chaired the first meeting of the Joint Economic Committee of the two countries on September 27 in Bogota. Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai (L) and Colombian Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Soraya Caro Vargas (Photo: VNA) The positive growth of two-way trade turnover is clear evidence that bilateral trade relations are increasingly strengthened, she said. bilateral economic relations as well as cooperation within multilateral frameworks. Vietnam – Colombia Joint Economic Committee are a significant step in bilateral economic cooperation, demonstrating the commitment and … [Read more...] about Vietnam, Colombia ink MoU on trade, investment, industrial cooperation

The Vietnam National Authority of Tourism carries out a communications campaign with a series of videos themed “Vietnam: Travel to Love” on Youtube digital platform. (Photo: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) Hanoi (VNA) – With digital transformation accelerated, a kaleidoscope of smart tourism offerings has been developed to provide new experiences for travelers and help recover the tourism industry, which was battered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The "Wonders of Vietnam" project was launched as part of Google Arts and Culture that allows everyone to explore art, history and wonders of the world. (Screenshot photo) Featuring 35 stories and over 1,300 sumptuous photos of iconic sites, historical heritage, nature, cuisine and culture of Central Vietnam, the project is a unique way for hungry travellers to virtually explore. It is also an important part of Google’s overall support of the local tourism industry, which has been badly affected by pandemic-related … [Read more...] about Digitalisation drives tourism recovery

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – The Ministry of Labour , Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) held a national conference in Ho Chi Minh City on September 28 to discuss the implementation of a project on building and implementing an action plan to realise goals of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) until 2025 (Project 161), in both in-person and online format. The annual event brought together the ASEAN Secretariat in Indonesia, the MoLISA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Government Office, and various ministries and agencies within the ASCC in Vietnam, along with leaders from southern cities and provinces. Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha said during 2021-2022, the MoLISA worked closely with ministries, agencies and localities to complete the action plan to carry out the Project 161, with the majority of the goals outlined in the ASCC being … [Read more...] about Vietnam looks towards ASCC goals for the 2021-2025 period