Highlighting the sound connections between India and 10 ASEAN countries, Ambassador Chau stressed that bilateral ties have been growing in all aspects, from politics, economics, to science - technology and education. Among ASEAN countries, Vietnam boasts a traditional friendship with India, Chau said, adding that while serving as the coordinator of ASEAN - India relations during 2015 - 2018, Vietnam held a special ASEAN - India summit and helped lift bilateral relations to a new height. He underlined the thriving Vietnam - India partnerships in various fields, affirming that 2022 is a very positive year in multiple aspects for both Vietnam - India and ASEAN - India ties. The Special ASEAN - India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting is scheduled to take place in New Delhi on June 16 and 17. Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son will attend the event./.

Illustrative image (Source: asean.org)NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (centre) in a visit to India in December 2021 (Photo: VNA)– Vietnam has been playing a highly active role in enhancing ASEAN - India relations, Vietnamese Ambassador to India Pham Sanh Chau told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s resident correspondent in New Delhi.The Special ASEAN - India Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (SAIFMM) is scheduled to take place in New Delhi on June 16 and 17 as part of activities marking 30 years of dialogue relations between the two sides.Highlighting the sound connections between India and 10 ASEAN countries, Chau said ASEAN has dialogue relations with many countries, and India is a very important partner.According to the diplomat, bilateral ties have been growing in all aspects. First, economic and trade links have been increasing fast, which can been seen in Vietnam’s trade with India surging to almost 13 billion USD at present from about 200 million USD in 2000.The second is on security and politics with both sharing many similar viewpoints on international and regional issues, especially the East Sea issue and the Indo-Pacific vision, he said, elaborating that India supports ASEAN’s centrality, both sides attach great importance to law respect and law adherence, and they also wish to build a region of peace, stability, and development, as well as a free, open, and international law-based Indo-Pacific region.Third, most of the ASEAN countries and India advocate peace and justice when it comes to international issues. Fourth, they have been cooperating closely in science - technology and education.The fifth is connectivity cooperation, especially in air and road transport, he noted, expressed his hope for a road from New Delhi through northeastern India, Myanmar, Thailand, and Laos to Hanoi in the future.The last but not least is people-to-people exchange. The number of ASEAN and Indian visitors to each other’s destinations has been on the rise while Indian people living in Southeast Asia are also increasing, which reflects the close-knit ties between the two sides, he added.Among ASEAN countries, Vietnam boasts a traditional friendship with India. While serving as the coordinator of ASEAN - India relations during 2015 - 2018, Vietnam held a special ASEAN - India summit and helped lift bilateral relations to a new height.The two countries share many similar viewpoints on international issues and have showed those viewpoints when both were non-permanent members of the UN Security Council in 2021.With such a stature and an open foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, and diversification and multilateralisation of foreign relations, Vietnam has been playing a highly active role in helping strengthen ASEAN - India relations , Chau stressed.The ambassador described 2022 as a special year since Vietnam and India will celebrate the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties, ASEAN and India mark 30 years of their dialogue relations, and India mark its 75th Independence Day.He underlined the thriving Vietnam - India partnerships in defence, politics, trade, investment, tourism, and people-to-people exchange, affirming that 2022 is a very positive year in multiple aspects for both Vietnam - India and ASEAN - India ties./.

The organising board of Miss Universe Vietnam 2022 has selected “Chieu Ca Mau” (Ca Mau sedge) as the national outfit for the upcoming global beauty pageant. Most notably, the costume highlights the cultural values and national identity of Vietnam. Also on June 15, the lawmakers debated the draft Law on Implementation of Democracy at Grassroots Level. Thunderstorms and downpours in the region are projected to last throughout June 15, then gradually decrease. Vietnam has so far received 16.5 million doses of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for children in this age group from the Australian and Dutch Governments.

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)– The Ministry of Planning and Investment has sent a document to the Prime Minister asking for approval of a project to develop maritime clusters associated with building strong maritime economic centres until 2030, which sets a target of building from three to four centres leading Southeast Asia.The southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau and the southeast part of Ho Chi Minh City, and the Hai Phong – Quang Ninh region in the north are the two places proposed to host Vietnam ’s strong maritime economic centres.The ambitious project also aims to form maritime clusters in advantageous marine and coastal regions, striving to establish seven clusters by 2030.The economic growth rate of the key regions to develop maritime clusters associated with maritime economic centres is expected to be equal to at least 1.2 times that of the nation’s average.Seaports and logistics services will be prioritised in almost all maritime economic regions./.

The Bach Ho oil field (White Tiger oilfield) is a major oil field in the Cuu Long basin of the East Sea located offshore due east of the Mekong Delta. Over the last seven years, the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) signed three new contracts only.Nguyen Quoc Thap, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Association, said that several laws related to the operation of the oil and gas industry, such as Law on Public Investment, Law on Investment and Law on Enterprise and Law on Management and Use of State Capital enacted after Petroleum Law in 1993 leading to an overlapping and duplication that needed to be handled soon. He noted that essential investigation of the oil and gas industry involved many risks. Therefore, it needs to conduct more specific regulations.Nguyen Quoc Thap said that oil prices fluctuated unpredictably and the draft law mentioned the increasing cost while failing to mention the decrease in oil prices. As a result, the law would affect oil and gas industry development.The Vietnam Oil and Gas Association has asked the Law Compiling Committee to conduct more specific regulations relating to other laws, such as the Law on Construction.Thap said the revised Law on Petroleum needed to regulate the rights and responsibilities of PetroVietnam in approving oil and gas projects.The National Assembly will discuss the draft revised Petroleum Law this week./.

- To keep Long Thanh International Airport project on schedule, the Government has established an inter-disciplinary working team of officials from the Ministries of Transport, and Construction and a deputy minister of transport will visit the construction site weekly to push the pace of the project.These new measures were announced at a meeting held on June 14 chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh, who is also head of the project's steering committee.Thanh said the steering committee will convene every month to review the progress of the project.Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The said the project was on the right track and must not be delayed any further so that it can go into trial operation in early 2025.Thanh also ordered the People’s Committee of Dong Nai province to complete land clearance and asked the authorities to build road and railway systems connecting the airport with localities.At the next meeting, the Ministry of Transport must report the results of a survey on the road from the airport to Ho Chi Minh City.He also asked members of the steering committee to visit the site regularly and push the progress of the project, to make sure it is implemented in accordance with the report.Despite having some positive progress since the site check on April 27 this year, ground levelling work hasn’t been up to expectations, the Deputy PM said.Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The said ground levelling is an important task of the project and will affect other tasks if it is not completed, noting that it must be finished by July next year.He added that a deputy minister has been assigned to the construction site to examine and accelerate the progress.Covering more than 5,580 hectares, the Long Thanh International Airport will spread across six communes in Long Thanh district. Its construction has been divided into three phases.In the first phase, a runway and one passenger terminal, along with other supporting facilities, will be built to serve 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo each year. This phase is scheduled to be completed in 2025.The project started in 2021. Once fully completed in 2050, the airport will be able to handle 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo annually.Located 40km to the east of HCM City, the airport is expected to relieve overloading at the southern metropolis’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport, which is currently the largest in Vietnam./.

An overview of the session (Photo: VNA)– The 15th National Assembly adopted the Law on Mobile Police and two resolutions on June 14, the 17th working day of its third sitting.In the morning, the Law on Mobile Police was approved with 454 votes out of 474 deputies participating in the voting.The NA deputies also voted on a resolution on the establishment of a specialized supervision team on the mobilization, management and use of resources for COVID-19 prevention and combat and the enforcement of policies and laws on grassroots and preventive medicine. The resolution went through with 469 votes out of 475 deputies voting.The resolution on the establishment of a specialised supervision team for the implementation of NA resolutions regarding the three national target programmes was adopted with 465 supporting votes out of 471 deputies casting votes.Later on the day, the NA debated the draft law on implementing democracy at grassroots level, and the draft law on prevention and combat of domestic violence (revised).On June 15, the NA is scheduled to vote on a resolution approving the 2020 State budget balance, and the draft laws on cinematography (revised) and emulation and commendation (revised). The bill on oil and gas (revised) and a draft law on amendments and supplements to a number of articles of the Law on Radio Frequencies will also be tabled for discussion./.

Vietnamese trade offices in Europe always have a role to play in this regard, the ministry further said.The EU has recently excluded Vietnam’s vermicelli and other types of such products which cannot be classified as instant noodles from increased official controls. On June 13, it published a document amending another on the temporary increase of official controls and emergency measures governing the entry into the Union of certain goods from certain third countries.For Vietnamese dragon fruit and instant noodles containing spices/seasonings or sauces still, it still requires food safety certificates by the ministry.The decision takes effect from July 3, 2022./.

From June 14, the northern region and the north central province of Thanh Hoa will experience downpours with a rainfall of 40-80mm and the figure is likely to exceed 120mm in some areas. Kenneth Atkinson, president of the British Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (BritCham Vietnam), said that Vietnamese anti-corruption actions are extremely welcome, especially with cases involving high-ranking officials. The girl, hailing from Ho Chi Minh City, first rose to prominence by winning the first runner-up title at Miss Vietnam 2020, meeting the criteria for competing at the 2022 Miss International pageant. First launched in 1960, Miss International makes up one of the Big Four international beauty competitions, alongside Miss World, Miss Universe, and Miss Earth. Along with the title of Miss Eco Vietnam, Nguyen Thanh Ha will officially be the face representing Vietnam in the prestigious international beauty arena Miss Eco International 2023 in Egypt in February 2023.

A protest in Yangon, Myanmar, on March 3, 2021. (Photo: AFP/VNA)– Vietnam supports a comprehensive and sustainable solution with the strong commitment of relevant parties to the Myanmar issue, Deputy Head of the Vietnamese Delegation to the United Nations Le Thi Minh Thoa has stated.Addressing a meeting of the UN General Assembly on the Myanmar issue on June 13, the representative affirmed that the current top priority is ensuring safety and security for all people in Myanmar, and urged all parties in the country to end violence and ensure humanitarian access and health care along with vaccines against COVID-19.She called on the State Administration Council (SAC) of Myanmar to continue cooperation with ASEAN in fully implementing ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus and to conduct dialogues among all stakeholders to seek peaceful and comprehensive solutions in accordance with the will and aspirations of Myanmar people.Thoa stressed that the international community needs to help parties in Myanmar conduct dialogue and reconciliation, thus facilitating the democratic transition on the basis of respect for sovereignty and independence, territorial integrity and unity of Myanmar.The diplomat also spoke highly of efforts made by the ASEAN Chair and the ASEAN Special Envoy on Myanmar, and applauded the close coordination between the UN and ASEAN in ensuring humanitarian assistance in the country.She called on the international community to continue supporting ASEAN in promoting its central and leading role in helping Myanmar promote a peaceful solution.Regarding the situation in Rakhine state, the Vietnam ese representative reiterated the need for all parties to make efforts to address root causes of the crisis.During the meeting, UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer reported on current difficulties and challenges in the country, and highlighted the important role of ASEAN in de-escalating the crisis and promoting the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus. She also proposed specific measures to solve the problem in Rakhine State.Participants all highly valued ASEAN's role in promoting a peaceful solution in Myanmar, and emphasised the importance of immediately and fully implementing the consensus.At a meeting in Indonesia in April 2021, ASEAN leaders reached consensus on five points on Myanmar situation: ending violence, conducting constructive dialogue among all parties, appointing a special envoy of ASEAN to facilitate the dialogue, providing humanitarian assistance for Myanmar’s people through the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance, and sending the special envoy to Myanmar to meet all the sides involved./.

Đúng như sau này nhạc sỹ Nguyễn Đình Thi trong trường ca “Người Hà Nội” đã viết “nơi lắng hồn núi sông ngàn năm”. Khách quan mà nói, Thăng Long - Đông Đô - Hà Nội đã có những thời kỳ vàng son. Ảnh: Đoàn BổngCó thể nói so với thời Lý Công Uẩn khi định đô, Hà Nội đã mở rộng gấp nhiều lần (chỉ tính các quận nội thành). Khu vực phía Tây Hà Nội mới đấy mà không hơn gì 36 phố phường cũ, nghĩa là phố xá không khang trang, nhà cao tầng dày đặc, hệ thống thoát nước quá kém đến mức Hà Nội thành “Hà lội”. Người đứng đầu Hà Nội phải là người giải được bài toán mà thực tế đang yêu cầu, thực tế đang đặt ra.

They are planning to lift bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership this year. The group was scheduled to move to Uganda first then to Abyei. The challenges of climate change and energy security have propelled Asian nations to increasingly embrace investment in renewable energy. Read full story - The 8th International Day of Yoga (June 21) was celebrated with activities held in central Da Nang city and Binh Thuan province on June 11 and 12. The two-day programme in Da Nang was held in coordination with the Indian Embassy at Bien Dong (East Sea) Park./.

It was the second deployment of the unit, with the first 28 members leaving Vietnam on May 3 and arriving in Abyei on May 5. The Swimming Tournament has taken place from June 8 to 13 with the participation of about 700 students in 26 provinces and cities across the country. The International Yoga Festival - Da Nang 2022 featured yoga performances, along with exhibitions on the Vietnam - India friendship achievements and local tourism products. U.S. aids Vietnam with liquid oxygen systemsThe United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will provide 13 liquid oxygen systems to healthcare facilities across Vietnam to support the care of severe Covid patients. The Bach Mai oxygen system is the largest of 13 such systems being provided by USAID to hospitals in the country, the local media reported.

Environment Forum spotlights sustainable development of Vietnamese marine economy A forum on Vietnam’s sustainable marine economic development took place in the south central coastal province of Phu Yen on June 12. Environment Meeting marks World Oceans Day, Vietnam’s sea-island week in Phu Yen A meeting took place in the south-central province of Phu Yen to celebrate World Oceans Day (June 8) and the Vietnam Sea and Island Week, which began on June 1. Environment Ha Tinh: Vu Quang national park receives rare wild animals The Vu Quang National Park in the central province of Ha Tinh on August 11 received an Assam macaque and a pangolin from the local border force. Environment Government, partners discuss mangrove afforestation in Mekong Delta Local authorities and experts from international organisations and partners have discussed measures to increase the mangrove restoration and afforestation in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region at a workshop in Hanoi.

""The disadvantages in attracting and using FDI have been slowly overcome, affecting economic development, social order and national defence-security. "Thang said these limitations had many causes, but the most basic was that institutions and policies on FDI had not kept pace with development requirements.He added: "In the coming time, it is necessary to continue to improve institutions and laws on FDI attraction to improve the quality and efficiency of attracting and using foreign investment capital. "He said at the same time that it was necessary for the active, robust, synchronous and substantive participation of ministries, branches and localities to create a fair, open and transparent business and investment environment.He and his colleagues emphasised the solution to monitoring and evaluating FDI projects, especially the status of "hidden" investment in the form of individual investors in Vietnam. "In addition, there should be solutions to improve the efficiency of attracting and using FDI by enhancing the investment and business environment, reviewing the investment policy system, supporting investors to remove difficulties, strengthening the state management of FDI from the stage of project promotion, appraisal and implementation to the stage of inspection and supervision of implementation.VAFIE recommended that the Government soon issue a decision on the set of criteria to evaluate the effectiveness of the FDI sector. The evaluation criteria under construction include 26 specific economic, social, environmental, technological indicators, all serving as a basis for foreign investors to self-score and for project screening by localities to receive investment./.