Illustrative image (Photo: Hanoi Melody Residences)- The Ministry of Construction has proposed the Government allow foreigners to buy and own houses in Vietnam in the draft Housing Law (amended).However, in the draft law, expected to be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and discussion at its 5th session in May and approval at its 6th session, foreigners are not permitted to own houses associated with land use rights.The ministry also proposed the abolishment of regulations on a fixed term of apartment ownership in the draft law, and the supplementation of regulations related to the term of use and the demolition of old apartment buildings.It stressed the need to clarify responsibilities of relevant parties in the demolition, renovation and reconstruction of apartment buildings.According to experts, the regulations on the apartment ownership term should not be included, because it greatly affects the interests of people and the operations of real estate businesses and the market.Regarding social housing, the draft law removes the requirement that 20% of the land areas of investment projects to build commercial houses and urban areas must be used for social housing construction. The draft law stipulates additional authority of the provincial People’s Committees in using the money to invest in the construction of social housing projects for sale, lease, or lease purchase and housing for workers to rent in the area.In the real estate market, social housing is currently one of the segments of special interest. Statistics from the Ministry of Construction show that the country has completed 301 social housing projects with 155,800 apartments in urban areas. Currently, 401 projects with 454,360 apartments are underway./.

Vietnam is sending a 1,003-strong sport delegation to SEA Games 32. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam is sending a 1,003-strong sport delegation to the 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 32), about 700 of them athletes, together with coaches, doctors and experts. The Vietnamese U22 men's football and women's football squads have not yet finalised the official list to partake in SEA Games 32. SEA Games 32 will be held in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Preah Sihanouk, Kampot, and Kep in Cambodia from May 5 to 17. As host of SEA Games 31, Vietnam topped the medal table with 205 golds.

The fairy tale “The Wild Swans” written by Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen will be performed in a musical version in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in May 2023. The show will feature artists from the private IDECAF (Institute of Cultural Exchange with France) including Vietnamese performers, Mỹ Duyên and Hữu Châu playing the leading roles. According to Vietnam News, the musical is part of a long-term theater programme called Ngày Xửa Ngày Xưa (Once Upon a Time) launched by IDECAF in 2000. “We have worked hard and have enough resources to stage quality drama plays and musicals to entertain young audiences,” said Tuấn, founder of IDECAF. The first show of the musical The Wild Swans is scheduled to be staged on 28 May 2023 at Thánh Tôn Street, District 1.

Eastern Sarus cranes in the Tram Chim National Park in Dong Thap province. (Source: VNA)- The Vietnam Zoos Association has partnered with the Zoological Park Organisation (ZPO) of Thailand to increase the population of the Eastern Sarus Crane in Vietnam.The agreement, signed through a memorandum of understanding (MoU), also involves cooperation from the People's Committee of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta province of Dong Thap and the International Crane Foundation.The ZPO has been reintroducing the Eastern Sarus Crane to Thailand since 2009, with breeding and release into the natural wetlands of Buri Ram province.ZPO Director-General Attapon Srihayun said the organisation is striving to bring them back from the brink of extinction into their natural habitat.The population of the bird in Vietnam is still at risk of extinction, which is why the MoU aims to restore their number in the Tram Chim National Park in Dong Thap province.The partnership will involve breeding and transferring captive-reared juvenile sarus cranes from the Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo for release in Vietnam, as well as training staff and developing captive-rearing facilities and a release and monitoring system./.

President Thuong congratulates Vovinam masters and trainees on their efforts and success in practicing and promoting the Vietnamese national martial arts spread globally. Cuong emphasised the importance of environmental protection and sustainable development, which are among topics of Vietnam's national development policies and decisions. Forum discusses cultural tourism development in VietnamA forum on Vietnam’s cultural tourism development took place in Hanoi on April 14, with participants sharing their experiences in effectively building, developing, and exploiting this potential field. Cultural tourism is also named among 13 cultural industries of Vietnam, he added. The forum was part of the ongoing Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) in Hanoi, also themed “Cultural tourism”.

An art performance at the event (Photo: VNA)Visitors at a booth of France's food. (Photo: VNA)– An art performance celebrating the ongoing 12th Vietnam-France decentralised cooperation conference was held at the pedestrian spaces in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem district on April 14 night.Two other events with pavilions featuring the two countries also took place on the occasion as part of activities marking the 50th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties and 10 years of their strategic partnership.They carried the message of cooperation, peace and development, towards the future, said Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen at the opening ceremony.French Ambassador to Vietnam Nicolas Warnery noted that with hundreds of pavilions and various activities, the events have demonstrated the strength of the Vietnam-France relationship.After the art performance , which saw the participation of 150 artists, delegates visited the booths capturing culture, tourism and products of Vietnam, as well as cooperation between the two countries, along with France’s restaurants, hotels, agriculture and food.Cooperation between Vietnamese and French communities date back to the 1990s. The above-said conference has been held every two or three years since 1996, with Vietnamese and French localities taking turns to host the event. It is a chance for both sides to discuss difficulties, evaluate the results in bilateral relations, and deliver feasible solutions to foster their partnerships, thus strengthening the diplomatic ties between the two countries./.

Panellists discuss digital transformation in Vietnam at the Australia-Vietnam Tech Forum that opened in HCM City on April 12. Vietnam has a national agenda for utilising “Industry 4.0” technologies to improve productivity and accelerate economic growth. Rebecca Ball, senior trade and investment commissioner at Austrade, said the Australian Government supports ASEAN in its development of sustainable smart cities, including Vietnam. The seminar concentrated on evaluating research and knowledge transfer in Vietnam, as well as measures to develop an excellent framework for this work to be suitable for the higher education context in Vietnam. Participants were treated to musical and martial art performances, traditional dishes, traditional calligraphy and tea ceremony of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand.

The WB recommended that the slowing economic growth in the first quarter needs close monitoring. In the first quarter, the services sector grew by some 7% and contributed 2.9 percentage point to the GDP. This was the 13th consecutive month in which retail sales recorded year-on-year double digit expansion. Both exports and imports contracted by 11.8% and 14.6%, respectively, in the first quarter, the second consecutive quarter of contraction in merchandise trade. In order to support the economy, the State Bank reduced the operating interest rate twice in March, leading to a reduction in deposit and lending rates of commercial banks./.

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The Smart City Asia International Expo and Forum 2023 was launched at the Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on Thursday, 13 April 2023 and will go on until 15 April, reported Vietnam News. The event has nearly 300 local and foreign exhibitors from Korea, Finland, the UAE, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, etc. coming to present advanced technologies and solutions for public lighting, smart cities and smart homes, urban planning and public administration. Here, management agencies, domestic and foreign experts could come to discuss strategies, solutions and practical management tools for smart city development in several seminars, said Phan Văn Mãi, chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee. The event’s organizers shared that they expect to receive more than 10,000 visitors that are interested to learn more about smart city development suitable for Vietnam the most.

The festival will feature renowned foreign artists such as German conductor Alexander Mickelthwate and bassoonist Sebastian Chaves, along with local artists and teachers of the Vietnam National Academy of Music. The annual event aims to respond to the Prime Minister’s decision of selecting April 21 as Vietnam Book Day. Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day seeks to honour the role and importance of books in education and social life, as well as promoting reading culture in the nation. Long was a coach of the Vietnam national karate team, the Hanoi karate team and the People's Police Karate team. Young writers’ comic on Vietnamese history releasedA comic series on Vietnamese history during the Trịnh and Nguyễn dynasties have been released by the Thanh Niên (Young People) Publishing House.

(Screenshots)Hanoi (VNA) - The Authority of Foreign Information Service under the Ministry of Information and Communications on April 13 inaugurated a multi-lingual platform to promote Vietnam at https://vietnam.vn. The platform is upgraded from the website https://vietnam.vn with completely different features on a new technology platform. Apart from official information, the website will provide updated information on localities (Destinations column), beautiful images and videos about Vietnam (Multimedia), digitized information on Vietnam (Vietnam 3D); and introduce outstanding individuals (Figure). The platform is also an open forum for domestic and international viewers to express their perspectives on Vietnam (Views), Tuan said. On the occasion, the Authority of Foreign Information Service launched a contest “Happy Vietnam 2023” themed “For happiness of everyone” for local and foreign photographers and video makers.

– Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Nguyen Quoc Dung on April 12 had a meeting with nearly 200 lecturers and students of the University of Virginia (UVA) in Virginia state of the US as part of the Ambassador Series of the university’s Department of Politics.The ambassador highlighted Vietnam's socio-economic achievements, potential, open external policies and rising position in the region and the world, spotlighting the progress in the Vietnam-US relationship 28 years after the normalisation of their relations and 10 years of the bilateral comprehensive partnership.Before that, he had a discussion with UVA professors on opportunities to further foster tertiary training cooperation between it and education facilities of Vietnam, especially in the exchange of students.On the occasion, the diplomat presented the university’s library with books on the nation, people, history and culture of Vietnam.The UVA is a public university established in 1819 by President Thomas Jefferson , the third president of the US and the author of the US’s Declaration of Independence. It is currently the only in the US recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Site. Many Vietnamese professors and approximately 170 students are currently studying and working at the university./.

Minister Matsumoto highly valued his guest’s visit, which he described as a contribution to the Japan - Vietnam extensive strategic partnership. Also on April 4, the MPS delegation had a meeting with the Japan - Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance. Vietnam will co-host a workshop of the ASEAN Regional Forum on this field in Hanoi in late April, she added. It also saw the presence of President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Nguyen Phuong Nga and Country Representative of UN Women Vietnam Elisa Fernandez. The Vietnam Coast Guard coordinated with other forces to detect, handle and hand over 110 cases with 176 involved people.

Law-building will be a focal point of the upcoming fifth session, during which a large number of large-scale and important bills will be debated and approved. Read full story - Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung and Cambodian Minister of Labour and Vocational Training Ith Samheng on April 5 co-chaired the Vietnam-Cambodia Labour Ministers' Meeting in Hanoi. Read full story - Minister of Public Security Gen. To Lam on April 5 met with representatives of the Japan Coast Guard as part of activities in his working visit to the country. Read full story - The Vietnam Prosperity Joint-Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) has officially signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) in enhancing digital banking experiences for its customers. Read full story ./.