Politics Vietnam, Oman sign agreement on visa exemption Vietnam and Oman have sealed an agreement on visa exemption for bearers of diplomatic, special and official passports. Politics Japan considers Vietnam extensive strategic partner: Official Vietnam is an extensive strategic partner which shares strategic interests with Japan, said a Japanese Government official ahead of Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s official visit to Vietnam. Politics Vietnam always gives highest priority to relations with Laos: Party chief Vietnam always treasures and gives the highest priority to its special relationship with Laos, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said while receiving Lao Vice President Pany Yathotou in Hanoi on April 28. Politics PM suggests Soc Trang shift towards agriculture-based economic development Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested that Soc Trang shift from agricultural production to agriculture-based economic development, at a working session with officials of the Mekong Delta province as part of his trip to the locality on April 28.

The food map (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) – A national record has been set for the creation of the first food map of Vietnam made from typical dishes of all the 63 localities across the country. The record was announced during a ceremony held in Ho Chi Minh City on April 27, together with an award ceremony for ‘The Future Chef 2022’ contest. The 20-metre map was created with dishes prepared by 50 contestants of the competition’s various editions and chefs in all regions of Vietnam. The Future Chef competition was held annually over the past decade. Groups from the Central Highlands and the north-eastern coastal region bagged the second and third ones, respectively./.

An overview of the meeting (Photo: qdnd.com.vn)– Minister of Public Security General To Lam met with Gunnar Wiegand , Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific at the European External Action Service ( EEAS ), in Hanoi on April 28, asking for further support from the EU in cyber security protection.Lam highlighted the strong growth of the EU-Vietnam partnership across all fields, especially since the two sides set up their bilateral comprehensive cooperative partnership in 2016 and put the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) into use last August.The deal has turned Vietnam into the EU’s leading trade partner among the ASEAN countries and one of the Asian countries that the EU has shared partnership with in all fields, including security and law enforcement, he noted.The minister highlighted that in the field of cyber security, the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and the EU have enjoyed close collaboration with the regular organisation of conferences, training, online meetings, consultations and the exchange of expertise.He underlined that the ministry recognises and highly values the support and positive cooperation, dialogue and experience sharing from the EU in building and implementing laws related to cyber security.Lam said that during the building of the Law on Cyber Security and related decrees, Vietnam has received consultations and experience sharing from the EU in protection of personal data, he added.The official proposed that in the time to come, the EU will continue to share its experience with Vietnam in ensuring cyber security for major information infrastructure works as well as managing trans-border data and protecting data in important sectors, while increasing discussions and engagement in building and completing national legal framework regarding cyber security, national sovereignty in cyber space and cyber war, as well as introducing and transferring technologies, equipment, supporting tools for cyber security protection, and cyber and high-tech criminal prevention and combat.Regarding the EU-initiated Enhancing Security Cooperation in and with Asia (ESIWA) programme, Lam underlined that the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security highly values the outcomes of the EU-funded projects within the framework of the programme in the 2014-2020 period, adding the projects have made positive contributions to the economic development in Vietnam, making the Vietnam-EU comparative partnership deeper and more practical.He suggested that the EU increase cooperation with Vietnam within the ESIWA Programme, especially in cyber security, maritime security, anti-terrorism and crisis management, and proposed the organisation of detail discussions to sketch out specific activities to meet the demands of all sides.For his part, Wiegand said that the growing ties between the EU and Vietnam has not limited in economy, trade and investment but expanded to strategic areas of politics, diplomacy and security.The official affirmed that he will continue to work hard to reinforce and further lift up the EU-Vietnam partnership./.

Ho Chi Minh City hosts Visegrad Jazz Quartet concertThe Consulate Generals of countries which make up the Visegrad group (V4 - Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic) hosted a V4 Jazz Quartet concert in Ho Chi Minh City on April 27 to mark the Hungarian Presidency of the group. Alongside Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the two cities witnessed a drastic rise of 75% in terms of searches. Born in Ho Chi Minh City, she first rose to prominence by winning the first runner-up title at the Miss Vietnam 2020 pageant and will therefore represent the country at the 2021 Miss International pageant. With the upcoming arrival of the two trains, the metro line No.1 in Ho Chi Minh City will have a total of 17 trains manufactured in Japan. 34-36-42 Chu Manh Trinh street in Ho Chi Minh City; and a gambling case in An Giang province.

Huỳnh Văn Tí, former Party Central Committee member and former Secretary of the Binh Thuận provincial Party Committee in 2005-2010 and 2010-2015 tenures, was reprimanded. Attending the ceremony were members of the HCMC Party Executive Committee, including Mr. Nguyen Phuoc Loc, Head of the Organization Commission of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee; Mr. Duong Ngoc Hai, Chairman of the Inspection Commission of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and Mr. Huynh Khac Diep, Chief of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Office. 4 has been transferred from the Vietnam Military Medical University to the Vietnam Department for Peacekeeping Operations. HCM City helicopter tours fully bookedIn an attempt to offer a new experience to visitors in Ho Chi Minh City, the “Contemplate Ho Chi Minh City from above” tour by helicopter has been introduced, and is already fully booked for the upcoming holidays. Sketches featuring Southern Resistance War on showAn exhibition themed "Sketches of the Southern Resistance War" opened at the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum on April 26.

Bio-methane project scheme in Indonesia (Photo: https://www.jgc.com/)Jakarta (VNA) - The Indonesian state energy company Pertamina will cooperate with engineering giant JGC Holdings Corporation (JGC) of Japan to turn methane generated in palm oil production into a biofuel. JGC, Osaka Gas Co., Ltd, and Inpex Corporation of Japan, and Pertamina on April 25 agreed to jointly study the project’s feasibility. Wastewater from palm oil mills in Sumatra and Kalimantan islands of Indonesia, one of the world’s biggest producers of palm oil, will be fermented and purified to produce biomethane - a renewable alternative to fossil fuels. Wastewater from palm oil mills in Indonesia is often temporarily stored in outdoor lagoons. This project will not only serve as a source of renewable energy, but also help reduce the immediate release of methane into the atmosphere./.

– Singapore’s national pencak silat fighter Iqbal Abdul Rahman aims for a gold medal at the upcoming 31st SEA Games in Vietnam from May 12-23.Iqbal's men's artistic single event is among the first medal events scheduled to take place on the eve of the Games' official opening ceremony, so he could be in contention for Singapore's first gold in Hanoi.He said it would mean a lot if he could grab that first gold for pencak silat and it would be amazing if he is also able to be the first gold for Singapore. “I'm looking forward to going in and aiming to be the first to win. "Iqbal Abdul Rahman is a world champion and four-time Asian Championships gold medallist. But the 28-year-old player has yet to get a SEA Games triumph in five attempts.A silver medal at the last edition of the SEA Games in the Philippines in 2019 is Iqbal's best showing. He also won a bronze medal in 2015.

Apart from the Olympic champions, the upcoming SEA Games 31 in Vietnam next month will have presences of many other athletes and medalists at the world championships, Asian championships and ASIAD. Ministry striving to ensure security-order at SEA Games 31Leading officials of the Ministry of Public Security have ordered relevant agencies to effectively handle criminals and ensure security-order for the successful holding of the coming 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) across 12 localities. SEA Games 31: Cyclist Dinh Thi Nhu Quynh eyes gold medalVietnamese cyclist Dinh Thi Nhu Quynh, who bagged the first gold medal for Vietnam at the 30th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 30), is training hard in an effort to achieve the best performance at the upcoming SEA Game 31, according to the Organising Committee of SEA Games 31. Quynh’s gold medal at SEA Games 30 showed her great will and determination, because cross-field biking was not her forte. Recently, an athletics referee training course for SEA Games 31 has completed.

A Joint Communiqué announcing the establishment was signed in Wellington, New Zealand, by Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand Nguyen Van Trung, who is on behalf of the Government of Vietnam, and Elizabeth Wright-Koteka, Cook Islands High Commissioner to New Zealand, who is on behalf of the Government of the Cook Islands.The two sides agreed to officially establish their diplomatic ties at the ambassadorial level from the date of signing the Joint Communiqué and apply the 1961 Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations in the two countries’ relationship.After the signing ceremony, Ambassador Trung discussed with High Commissioner Elizabeth about activities to enhance mutual understanding and develop solidarity and friendship between the two peoples.Regarding bilateral cooperation, the two sides agreed to intensify collaboration in their advantageous fields such as tourism, agriculture and fisheries, and exchange experience in climate change response and COVID-19 prevention and control.They were also unanimous to coordinate at Asia-Pacific forums as well as in United Nations (UN) organisations.With this move, Vietnam has had diplomatic relations with 190 countries around the world. Vietnam is the 57th country in the world and the sixth in ASEAN that the Cook Islands has officially set up diplomatic relations with.The Cook Islands is a nation in the South Pacific, with a population of 20,200 (2019’s data) and 15 main islands. It boasts rich marine and ocean resources, including fisheries and pearling./.

First Secretary of the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy Nguyen Thanh Vinh (R) and Pham Xuan Tong, the founder of The International Qwankido Federation (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - The International Qwankido Federation, a member of the Vietnam Vovinam (traditional martial arts) Federation (VVF), hosted the first ever world championship for teenagers in Padova city in the Veneto region of Italy from April 23 – 24. He spoke highly of the authorities of Padova city and the Veneto region for their coordination in organising the event, as well as efforts of the federation in promoting and developing Vietnam’s traditional martial arts in Italy in particular, and the world in general. According to Pham Xuan Tong, the federation founder, the Vietnamese traditional martial arts have developed strongly in Europe, especially in Italy in recent years. Many masters and athletes expressed their desire to study more deeply about Vietnamese history and culture, learn the Vietnamese language and visit the Southeast Asian nation. Established in 1981 in Milan, Italy, and became a member of the VVF in 1990, the martial art is practiced in dozens of countries around the world./.

Venerable Thich Tho Lac visited the Embassy of Vietnam in Germany on April 25 as part of his tour to some European countries.The head of the VBS Central Committee’s commission on cultural affairs was on a visit to Germany to attend the stone-laying ceremony for the start of the construction of a pagoda in Erfurt. He is also scheduled to attend a ritual invoking God into a statue and a peace prayer. Venerable Thich Tho Lac presents a Buddhist statuette to Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vu Quang Minh. (Photo: VNA)He unveiled that the VBS is crafting a project on orientating the Vietnamese Buddhist cultural identity in four components – language, clothing, architecture and heritages.Ambassador Vu Quang Minh expressed his hope that the SBV will soon finalise the remaining project components to popularise the spirit and culture of the Vietnamese Buddhism He suggested the SBV expands connection with the Deutsche Buddhistische Union (DBU) to further promote international integration and popularisation of Vietnamese Buddhism in Germany and Europe at large.The diplomat expected Buddhist monks, nuns and followers in Germany will continue playing a role in heightening the reputation of Vietnam and Vietnam ese people in Germany and bolstering the strategic partnership between the two countries./.

Bananas being packed for export at MTV Kizuna Co in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. (Photo: VNA)- Vietnam has set a goal of achieving an average export growth rate of 6-7 percent in the 2021-30 period, following the Government's strategy on import and export released recently.Specifically, the country sets an annual average export growth goal of 8-9 percent between 2021 and 2025 and 5-6 percent in the subsequent five years.Meanwhile, annual import growth is expected to average 5-6 percent in 2021-30. The growth will be 7-8 percent in 2021-25 and 4-5 percent in the following five years.Under the strategy, the State expects to achieve a trade balance by 2025 and a sustainable trade surplus by 2030 period.Manufactured and processed products will account for 88 percent of export turnover by 2025 and 90 percent by 2030 with the proportion of exported medium and high-tech goods reaching about 65 percent by 2025 and 70 percent by 2030.By 2025, Asia will make up 49-50 percent of the country's total export turnover, 46-47 percent by 2030. This will create a premise to improve the productivity, quality and competitiveness of export products and carry out an in-depth restructuring of export goods.Furthermore, greater efforts will be made in diversifying export markets in order to avoid excessive dependence on one market and ensure a healthy and reasonable bilateral trade balance.Effectively exploiting opportunities brought by international economic integration commitments in free trade agreements (FTAs) to boost exports to major markets such as the EU, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and ASEAN and deeply penetrating into potential markets like the US, Russia, India, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America are parts of the strategy.Both imports and exports rose strongly in the first quarter, according to the latest updates of the General Statistics Office.Total trade stood at 176.35 billion USD, up 14.37 percent year-on-year, with exports rising by 12.9 percent to 88.58 billion USD and imports by 15.9 percent to 87.77 billion USD.Most key exports achieved high growth, helping the trade balance climb into positive territory.Major markets like the US, EU, the Republic of Korea, and Japan increased their imports of Vietnamese goods. The US was the largest export market of Vietnam in the first quarter of this year, with a revenue of 25.57 billion USD, up by 15 percent from the same period last year.Exports to the US reached 11.21 billion USD, up 16.3 percent, ASEAN 8.1 billion USD, up by 19.9 percent, the RoK 6.26 billion USD, up 21 percent and Japan 5.4 billion USD, up 10.6 percent.Both exports volume and value were up, especially for agricultural produce, crude oil, fertilisers and plastics.Another 16 products joined the 1 billion USD list, in which five saw exports of more than 5 billion USD.Experts forecast that the nation's total import-export revenue might hit a record 700 billion USD by the year-end, driven by the enforcement of new-generation FTAs.The Ministry of Industry and Trade targeted that Vietnam would maintain a trade surplus this year and exports would grow by 6-8 percent to reach around 363 billion USD./.

The launch of the Vietnamese association in Kumamoto prefecture is held on April 24. (Photo: VNA)Tokyo (VNA) – A new Vietnamese association has opened in Kumamoto prefecture, becoming a common house of the Vietnamese community while helping strengthen their solidarity and mutual support. Speaking at the event, Tram said the establishment of the association marks an important milestone, showing the strong growth of the Vietnamese community in Kumamoto. She pledged to work with the executive board to build the association as a trusted place for the Vietnamese community. Representatives of Kumamoto all spoke highly of the contributions made by the Vietnamese community to the socio-economic development of the prefecture.

SEA Games 31: Upgrading work at My Dinh Stadium completes by 95 percentA working team from the Vietnam Sports Administration on April 24 inspected the preparations for the upcoming 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) at My Dinh National Stadium. Meng Fansheng, born in 1968, was detained during an ongoing campaign by local police to ensure safety and security for the coming SEA Games. Lao Vice President Pany Yathotou to visit Vietnam shortlyVice President of Laos Pany Yathotou will pay an official visit to Vietnam from April 25 – 27, according to a press communique from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam. She has completed a BA degree in Business and Banking in Hanoi (Vietnam). Previously, in 2014, the Prime Minister decided to replace the name of the Vietnam Book Day into Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day to continue to spread love and develop habits of reading books to everyone.

Midfielders Worachit Kanitsribamphen and Weerathep Pomphan are selected to attend SEA Games 31. (Photo: Thethaovanhoa.vn)Coach Alexandre Polking of Thai men’s football team has revealed his selection of three over-23-year-old players for the upcoming 31st Southeast Asian Games ( SEA Games 31 ) in Vietnam next month.They include goalkeeper Kawin and midfielders Worachit Kanitsribamphen and Weerathep Pomphan. They have all made appearance at SEA Games, the regional biggest sports event.The 25-year-old high-performing Worachit and his teammates championed at SEA Games 2017.The men’s football tournament will kick off on May 6, and the women’s football events from May 9 – 21. Meanwhile, the men’s futsal will be held from May 11 – 20 and the women’s, from May 10 – 19.SEA Games 31, themed “For a stronger South East Asia”, will run in Hanoi and 11 neighbouring localities from May 12 to 23. The biennial event was initially slated for late 2021 but delayed due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic./.