HCM City hosts International Festival of VolunteersThe 10th International Festival of Volunteers was held in HCM City on December 5, with the theme focused on combating the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of volunteer associations, clubs and groups were honoured by the Vietnam Youth Federation in HCM City in recognition for their outstanding work in blood donation, COVID-19 fight and other charitable activities. Receiving call for help from the ship’s captain, the Vietnam MRCC sent its ship SAR 412 from Da Nang to rescue the sailors. 9th Congress of Vietnamese students' union in France organizedThe Union of Vietnam Students in France (UEVF) convened its ninth Congress for the 2021 – 2023 term in Paris on December 4, during which it announced to change its name to the Union of Vietnamese Youth and Students in France. Vietnam has recorded 1,309,092 COVID-19 infections so far, ranking 35th among the 223 countries and territories.

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)The Kim Boi Joint Stock Company in the northern province of Hoa Binh on December 2 exported 28 tonnes of processed fresh bamboo shoots to the Netherlands - a new and promising market in Europe.Products of the company such as bud shoot, pre-sliced bamboo shoot, sour bamboo shoot, Quan Tu bamboo shoot, dried-sliced bamboo shoot and dried bamboo shoot have been sold in many countries, including the Netherlands , Czech, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and Angola, and almost supermarkets and e-commerce floors across Vietnam.These are positive signals for the province’s agricultural sector, contributing to affirming Vietnamese food brands in international markets.Ngo Duc Sinh, Director of Kim Boi JSC, said that the company has worked to promote sustainable development, and maintain its growth in the next years.The company has proposed the local authorities and relevant sectors and agencies to create favourable conditions for and support the firm in expanding export s to foreign markets.So far this year, Kim Boi JSC has exported 280 tonnes of fresh bamboo shoots and dried vermicelli to many foreign markets, earning 100 billion VND (4.38 million USD) in revenue and creating jobs for over 100 local workers./.

Vietnam to actively contribute to Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games (Photo: Getty Images)– Vietnam will make positive contributions to the successful organisation of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Beijing 2022, said Nguyen Phuong Tra, Deputy Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN).The Vietnamese diplomat made the affirmation during a meeting of the UN General Assembly on December 2 where the General Assembly adopted a resolution entitled “Sport for development and peace: Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal”.She emphasised the importance of sport, expressing her belief that sport can create positive social changes, thus contributing to peace and development.The Olympics is the most important global sporting event that helps promote peace and development, the diplomat said, adding that the Olympic spirit is the common aspiration of the people around the world for friendship, peace and exchange among nations, as well as integration of civilizations.She took the occasion to announce that Vietnam will host the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) in 2022, which is expected to promote solidarity and friendship among Southeast Asian nations.The resolution, which is reviewed by the UN General Assembly every two years, highlights the positive contribution of sport to promoting education, sustainable development, peace and cooperation.It promotes solidarity, equity and social integration at all levels of locality, region and globe. This is also the foundation for the organisation of Olympic Games.The drafting of this resolution was chaired by China, officially starting its hosting of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games 2022 in Beijing.The same day, the UN General Assembly also adopted the Resolution “Proclaiming 2022 International Year of Basic Sciences for Sustainable Development”./.

At the signing ceremony (Photo: VNA)– The northern province of Hung Yen on December 2 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in smart city development with Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) of the Republic of Korea ( RoK ).Speaking at the signing ceremony, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Quoc Van said over the past time, Hung Yen has poured investments in infrastructure and high-quality human resources to better meet requirements of domestic and foreign investors.Hung Yen always supports businesses, helping them remove difficulties in a timely manner, he said, asking investors to quickly inform the People’s Committee about their roadblocks through the committee’s hotline.The province has also created favourable conditions for businesses to train labourers, and commits to streamlining administrative procedures, the official added.LH Chairman Kim Hyun-jun said the MoU is expected to contribute to enhancing the bilateral cooperation mechanism to build smart cities that are competitive in Vietnam and the world at large.Currently, LH and TDH Ecoland JSC based in Hung Yen are partnering in building a clean industrial park covering 140ha in the province./.

Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs check Border Marker No. 43 in Dak Lak province. (Photo: VNA)– A delegation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs examined the border and territory management in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak on November 11 and December 1.The Dak Lak border guard force is assigned to manage and safeguard more than 73km of borderline with the Cambodian province of Mondulkiri. There are seven border guard posts located in four communes of Ea Sup and Buon Don districts.At a meeting with the province’s Border Guard Command, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu spoke highly of the force’s performance, especially in managing and protecting the border, dealing well with issues emerging, and advising the provincial administration about border demarcation and marker planting.Vu, who is also Chairman of the National Boundary Commission, asked the force to push ahead with border management and defence.The Command should continue assisting the Dak Lak Party Committee and People’s Committee to work with relevant agencies of Mondulkiri province to soon open the Dak Rue (Vietnam) - Chi Miet (Cambodia) border gate pair.The force also needs to maintain the traditional friendship and close coordination with its Cambodian counterpart so as to build the shared land boundary into a border of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development, according to the official.The two countries share 1,137km of land border that runs across 10 provinces of Vietnam and nine provinces of Cambodia ./.

Vietnam National University - Hanoi establishes two new member schoolsThe Vietnam National University (VNU), Hanoi has upgraded its two faculties into VNU – International School (VNU – IS) and VNU – Hanoi School of Business and Management (VNU – HSB). Vietnam seeks consultancy in developing energy technologiesThe Vietnam Energy and Technology Forum 2021 was held in Hanoi on November 30 to put forward policies and recommendations for Vietnam in energy technologies. The Vietnam women's national football team will also join in the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup Tournament under the training of coach Mai Duc Chung. 2,000 Vietnamese died of HIV/AIDS each yearHIV/AIDS is still a burden on Vietnam with about 12,000 new cases diagnosed and about 2,000 deaths each year, according to the latest report on HIV/AIDS situation in Vietnam. YSE Regional | Hanoi joined the Vietnam National University – International School (VNU-IS) to organize a three-day virtual workshop from 26 to 28 November.

Belyaninov (L) presents an insignia "We say thank you" to Nga in recognition of her contributions to strengthening friendship among Eurasian countries. (Photo: VNA)At the meeting (Photo: VNA)– President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Nguyen Phuong Nga had a working session with Secretary General of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly (EPA) Andrey Yurievich Belyaninov within the framework of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s official visit to Russia.Belyaninov thanked the VUFO and organisations in Vietnam for supporting and actively participating in events organised recently by the EPA, such as an independent debate on the sidelines of the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) 2021.He expressed his wish to further strengthen cooperation with the VUFO and people's organisations of Vietnam, thus enhancing mutual understanding between Vietnamese people and Eurasian nations, contributing to socio-economic development and realising the UN's sustainable development goals.For her part, Nga thanked the EPA’s attention to developing cooperation with the VUFO, and agreed with Belyaninov that it is necessary to further increase people-to-people exchange and cooperation between the two organisations.The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation, organise conferences and seminars on topics of mutual concern on green economic development, digital transformation, tourism in various forms, and popularise culture and language of Russia and Vietnam in both nations.Belyaninov took this occasion to present an insignia “"We say thank you" to Nga in recognition of her contributions to strengthening friendship among Eurasian countries and giving peace initiatives in the region./.

Business Vietnam on world’s top 5 in global trade connectedness Vietnam was listed on the world’s top 5 countries in global trade connectedness, according to the DHL Global Connectedness Index 2021 (GCI 2021) report which was jointly released by the US New York University Stern School of Business and Germany-based DHL Logistics Company. Business Stock market attracts more foreign investors The number of accounts owned by foreign individuals and organisations in Vietnam’s stock market had hit more than 38,000 as of September 2021, a year-on-year surge of 34.7 percent. Business Workshop seeks to promote investment from Australia into Vietnam With a stable socio-political environment, improved infrastructure and a population of nearly 100 million, of which 70 percent are young and educated people, Vietnam will soon become a favourite destination for Australian investors, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung said on December 2.Business Hung Yen province cooperates with RoK firm in smart city development The northern province of Hung Yen on December 2 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in smart city development with Korea Land and Housing Corporation (LH) of the Republic of Korea (RoK).

- Vietnam is working closely with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) in its response to new coronavirus variant Omicron, according to Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long.The Ministry of Health on November 30 held a meeting on the threats of the very concerning variant with WHO Representative in Vietnam Kidong Park , CDC Southeast Asia Regional Director John MacArthur, and Director of US CDC Vietnam’s Global Health Security Programme Matthew Moore.Long said as of November 30 morning, Vietnam has not recorded any case of COVID-19 with the new variant.The ministry last week asked the government to halt flights to/from South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Lesotho, and Mozambique, as well as suspend the issuance of visas for passengers coming from these countries.The ministry has also asked to step up surveillance to promptly detect abnormal signs at COVID-19 outbreak clusters, and ordered the Pasteur institutes and the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology to perform genome sequencing on suspect cases with Omicron, especially ones with a history of travel to southern Africa.The WHO and CDC representatives all stressed the four important steps in dealing with Omicron, including enhancing testing and surveillance to detect the cases, speeding up vaccination, boosting the capacity of the medical system – especially at the grassroots level – to make them able to deal with growing outbreaks, and stepping up communication on COVID-19 prevention and control measures and making public the genetic sequences of COVID-19 cases for further analysis by researchers and experts.At the meeting, leaders of the Health Ministry together with the representatives of WHO, US CDC in Southeast Asia and US CDC in Vietnam agreed to be ready to share the results of the genetic sequencing of COVID-19 cases.Long said Vietnam to date had administered 120 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines and progress had been steady recently, especially with the rollout of vaccines for children aged 12-17 in more than 30 localities around the country.He also urged the public to follow COVID-19 prevention and control measures but not to panic or become overly anxious in the face of the Omicron variant./.

The National Boxing Championships 2021 kicks off in the northern province of Bac Ninh on November 29. (Photo: VNA) Bac Ninh (VNA) - The - The National Boxing Championships 2021 kicked off in the northern province of Bac Ninh on November 29, attracting 311 competitors from 25 localities and agencies nationwide. During the event, boxers compete in the two age groups of between 17-18 and 19 – 40 for men and women. Nguyen Duong Bac, Vice Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said the tournament attracts athletes with the best boxing skills in the country. The tournament is scheduled to last until December 3./.

– Malaysia's Department of Statistics (DOSM) has released a Malaysia Economic Statistics Review (MESR), which predicted that the country’s economy will become better despite negative impacts from restrictions due to COVID-19. Malaysian chief statistician Uzir Mahidi n said that business gained confidence towards the fourth quarter with the confidence indicator at minus 0.3 percent compared with minus 21.3 percent in the previous quarter.He held that this is a sign of recovery in the fourth quarter of 2021 and 2022 when the country’s GDP is projected to expand 3-4 percent thanks to high vaccination ratio, support policies and high demand.DOSM said that the Malaysian economy grew 3 percent in the first nine months of this year compared to minus 6.4 percent in the same period last year.Uzir said that downturn was seen in all economic sectors, adding that Malaysian tourism sector suffered a drop of 4.9 percent in the thrid quarter of 2021.However, the country’s trade rose 18.1 percent year on year thanks to domestic trade and high demands from the outside.At the same time, Uzir said that Malaysia’s consumer price index (CPI) rose 2.9 percent in October rose 2.9 percent over the same period last year. He attributed the increase to a double-digit rise in the price of transportation group.According to the DOSM, in the January-October period, the Southeast Asian country saw rise of 2.3 percent in CPI over the same period last year./.

The event marks the 91st anniversary of the traditional day of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (November 18, 1930 - November 18, 2021) and the 76th anniversary of Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day (November 23, 1945 - November 23, 2021). Airbus Helicopters said that it has provided many types of helicopters to Vietnam and is ready to help Vietnam develop a dedicated aircraft fleet. In an interview recently granted to Vietnam News Agency reporters in Moscow, Khoi said Vietnam – Russia ties are close-knit, loyal and rare in the world. Third, it affirms the strengthening of joint work against COVID-19 pandemic, especially in the research and production of vaccines and medicines. The current Covid-19 pandemic situation in the locality is complicated and unprecedented amid new coronavirus surges.

Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue (right) and RoK Ambassador Park Noh-wan (Photo: VNA)Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue on November 29 separately met with the ambassadors of the Republic of Korea (RoK) and India.At a reception for RoK Ambassador Park Noh-wan, Hue said there is ample room for the Vietnam-RoK strategic partnership to reach a new height.The bilateral ties, through the State, National Assembly and Government channels, and people-to-people exchange , have been strengthened over the past time, Hue said.Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, high-ranking leaders of the two countries have maintained bilateral meetings, both online and in-person, Hue said, recalling his online talks with Speaker of the RoK's National Assembly Park Byeong-seug last June.For his part, Park lauded Vietnam’s efforts in achieving the dual goals of pandemic containment and economic development, with the country working towards the high-income status by 2045.The ambassador conveyed the RoK’s NA Speaker to Hue to pay an official visit to the East Asia and attend the 29th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) to be held in Seoul.Korean leaders attach importance to the trip by the Vietnamese chief legislator, he affirmed.

At the online talks (Photo: VNA)The Commissions for Mass Mobilisation of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and the Cambodian People’s Party Central Committee sought cooperation orientations during their online talks on November 29.Head of the CPV Central Committee’s Commission for Mass Mobilisation Bui Thi Minh Hoai briefed the Cambodia n side on Vietnam’s situation and mass mobilsation work.She stressed the significance of enhancing the solidarity and cooperation between the two countries, Parties and commissions to stability and development in each country, as well as peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region.Men Xom On, head of the Cambodian commission, congratulated the Vietnamese Party, State and people on achievements they have recorded over the past time, and spoke highly of the thriving relations between the two countries.She informed Hoai about the political, socio-economic situation, external affairs, the COVID-19 combat and the mass mobilisation work in Cambodia.The two sides agreed to step up the communications work to encourage people, especially young generations, to further consolidate the bilateral ties.They will also increase delegation exchange and information sharing in mass mobilisation, while providing mutual support in regional and international issues of shared concern.They will pay more heed to mass mobilisation collaboration in localities that share the border line./.

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right) has a meeting with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghegreyesus (left) at WHO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 28. (Photo: VNA)Geneva (VNA) – Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc spoke highly of the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s coordinating role in addressing global health issues during a meeting with Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghegreyesus at WHO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 28. President Phuc said WHO has set healthcare standards and guidelines and provided technical support for countries in responding to public health emergencies and building capacity in coping with pandemics. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (left) shakes hands with Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghegreyesus. The Vietnamese leader also expected WHO to offer technical assistance for Vietnam’s home-grown COVID-19 vaccine Nano Covax to join its global clinical trial programme./.