The Moroccan Ministry of Culture invited Vietnam to send art troupes to join the African country’s traditional music festival in July this year. The minister highly valued the role of the EU-ABC and EuroCham as bridges for European businesses’ cooperation with ASEAN and Vietnam. The launch of the joint photo website aims to honour the EFEO’s activities in Vietnam and cooperation with local partners, including research institutes and universities. Finally, a task force is established under the instruction of the Prime Minister. The proposal should be sent to the Prime Minister before June 20, 2023.

Vietnam looks to boost tourism cooperation with RoK's Jeollabuk-do provinceThe Republic of Korea (RoK) is one of the favourite destinations of Vietnamese tourists, especially young people, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Ha Van Sieu has said. Vietnam is also a market that Jeollabuk-do is targeting, because the province's tourism promotion website has a Vietnamese version, which is friendly for Vietnamese users. Regarding local capital, 13 out of 14 provinces in the region (all except Hoà Bình) have allocated VNĐ2 trillion of local budget capital to implement the three programmes. As of January 31, 13 of 14 provinces have completed the capital allocation, while Tuyên Quang urgently completes the procedures. According to Tran Anh Minh, director of the department, the festival aims to preserve and promote the province’s national intangible cultural heritage and tasty vegetarian food.

299 old bombs from the Vietnam-American war were discovered by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) and the RENEW project in Quang Tri province, Vietnam. They were safely destroyed in An Mỹ Village, Gio Mỹ Commune, Gio Linh District in the central province of Quang Tri. According to Vietnam News, this was the largest number of explosives discovered in a single day by the project this year. Both the NPA and RENEW projects’ mission is to eliminate cluster munitions and make people’s lives safer by reducing accidents, injuries, and death caused by explosive war-time ordinance. Source: https://vietnamnews.vn/society/1483372/nearly-300-war-time-explosives-found-in-quang-tri.html

At the event (Photo: VNA)Bandar Seri Begawan (VNA) – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held a roundtable discussion with Brunei energy and oil and gas enterprises in Bandar Seri Begawan capital on February 11, as part of his ongoing visit to Brunei. Delegates discussed and proposed new business ideas and opportunities to lift bilateral economic, trade and investment ties, especially in energy and oil and gas. A representative of the Brunei Government shared the vision, socio-economic development strategy and economic restructuring and diversification plans under the Brunei Vision 2035 that turns the country into an economy with dynamic and sustainable development. PM Chinh committed all possible support for Brunei firms to do business effectively and sustainably in the country. He asked for measures to step up collaboration in energy, chemicals, and Halal food for Islamic people.

Vietnamese police on duty in Turkey (Photo courtesy of the delegation)The team works at the site (Photo courtesy of the delegation)– A 24-member team deployed by the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security has begun engaging in search and rescue efforts in the Turkish southeastern city of Adiyaman, which is among localities bearing the brunt of the devastating February 6 earthquake.According to the ministry’s police department of fire prevention, fighting and rescue, the delegation arrived in the Istanbul international airport on February 10. Due to difficulties in traveling and having to transport 15 tonnes of equipment for rescue work, they were divided into two groups to reach the site where their services are needed.On February 11, they began working at the rubble of a building in Adiyaman where the local authorities said 15 people are trapped.Related inspection and planning activities are thoroughly conducted given extremely difficult conditions, as the temperature drops to minus 6 degrees Celsius and collapsed buildings continue to fall, said a representative of the team.The group left Vietnam for Turkey on February 9, marking the first time Vietnam has sent a delegation on an international search and rescue mission to a disaster site far away from its territory./.

Watching the film, people can also see images of changes and development of Vietnam today, he said. On the morning of February 10, an individual of this kind of primate appeared in the garden of Le Van Thanh in Cam Tu village. Le Thanh Tung, head of Cam Tu village, said after receiving information from locals about the presence of the primates in the village, village authorities asked local residents not to hunt them. It was recognised by the Vietnam Records Organisation (VietKings) as the biggest of its kind held in Buddhist rituals in Vietnam. To boost traditional and historical education to younger generations, the event also shows people’s dreams, aspirations and cultural creativity, contributing to preserving national cultural identity.

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s rice exports are predicted to reach just 6 million tonnes this year, lower than last year's figure due to limited supply and inventories, said businesses. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam exported only 400,000 tonnes of rice worth 203 million USD in January 2023, down 20.9% in volume and 17.4% in value year-on-year. Vietnam shipped over 3 million tonnes of rice to the Philippines last year, accounting for 45% of the country’s total rice exports and more than 80% of the Philippines’ rice imports, he said. If the Philippines has high inventories, its import demand will drop. Moreover, Vietnam’s rice inventories had slumped as of late 2022, resulting in lower rice export volume this year, he said.

Hanoi, (VNA) - The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency. – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on February 10 as part of his official visit to Singapore. The United States remains Vietnam’s leading trade partner in the region with Vietnam’s exports and imports to the market reaching 7.2 billion USD and 860 billion USD, respectively. It was followed by Canada with about 360 million USD and 45 million USD, respectively.Read full text- With continuous strong growth in recent years, processed fruits and vegetables have officially entered the one-billion-USD export club. Vietnam will compete in 30 sports among the 36 with 444 contents out of the 583 in the Phnom Penh event.

The exhibits were collected by Alain Dussarps, Vice President of the French-Vietnam Friendship Association (AAFV), in his visits to Vietnam. Nhung Lehoux, President of Association Vietnam 17, underlined the importance of preserving and promoting traditional culture values of ethnic minority groups of Vietnam, hoping that more French visitors and overseas Vietnamese will visit Vietnam to explore and experience the country’s culture. Cooper congratulated Vietnam on socio-economic achievements over the past years and highly valued the country’s climate commitments made at climate change conferences. Japan will keep expanding cooperation activities with Vietnam in terms of investment, trade, science - technology, and other fields, he noted. Vietnamese ethnic groups’ cultural quintessence showcased in HanoiThe annual cultural program entitled “Spring colors across Vietnam 2023” will take place on February 11 and 12 at Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism in Hanoi’s outlying township of Son Tay.

Inflationary pressure for Vietnam's economy in 2023 is "huge" and comes from many factors, he said in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA). Demand for petrol and electricity – the two important commodities for production and consumption – will increase in 2023. It is calculated that if the electricity price rises by 8%, the GDP will decrease by 0.36% and inflation will be up by 0.5%. If the electricity price increases by 10%, the GDP will decline by 0.45% and inflation will be up 0.61%, Lam said. The business community needs to make thorough preparations to boost production and business, ensuring the supply and circulation of goods.

It was recognised by the Vietnam Records Organisation (VietKings) as the biggest of its kind held in Buddhist rituals in Vietnam. A household that has not received compensation at Vinh Loc Residential Area in Binh Hung Hoa B Ward, Binh Tan District. Former Dutch diplomat donates paintings to Vietnamese museumThe Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum has recently received two paintings from former Deputy Ambassador of the Netherlands to Vietnam Ellen Berends. House prices in the outskirt of HCMC like Hoc Mon District, Cu Chi District, District 12 have witnessed a significant rise. A household that has not received compensation at Vinh Loc Residential Area in Binh Hung Hoa B Ward, Binh Tan District.

Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a list of selected news summaries last night by the Vietnam News Agency. The working session followed his fact-finding tour of some key transport projects after the Lunar New Year holiday. The Vietnamese Embassy in Belarus has organised a programme attracting over 400 Vietnamese and their Belarusian relatives. The sum was sourced from the Ho Chi Minh City chapter of the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s Fund for the Poor. Accordingly, the retail price of RON 95 went up 990 VND per litre to 23,140 VND (0.91 USD) from 7pm the same day./.

At the festival. (Photo: VNA)Lai Chau (VNA) – Thai ethnic people in Than Uyen district, the northern province of Lai Chau, held their traditional new year festival of Lung Tung (Going to the field) on January 29, drawing crowds of local residents and visitors. Then, the government's and locals' representatives went to the field to perform the plowing and sowing rituals, hoping for a year of abundant harvest. During the festival, visitors have a chance to participate in folk games, nem con (throwing a ball through a ring for good luck), crossbow shooting, tug of war and cultural exchanges. Addressing the event, Tran Quang Chien, vice chairman of Than Uyen district’s People’s Committee said that Lung Tung festival is an opportunity to strengthen community bonds, preserving the fine traditional cultural values of ethnic groups and popularising the image of Than Uyen district to tourists./.

Next to the PMH is the Poetry Shop, where poets and poetry lovers will interact with the public, read poetry and talk about Vietnamese poetry. Vietnam Register urges car owners to visit any auto testing center on their way back to work from their hometowns to avoid long waits. As the demand for auto testing remains high, Vietnam Register decided to reopen auto testing centers throughout the country right after Tet, the traditional national holiday. He highly appreciated the efforts of the Permanent Representative of Vietnam to Geneva in participating in UN mechanisms and forums. On January 27, 1973, the Foreign Ministers of the four parties, including the US, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam and the Republic of Vietnam, officially signed the Paris Agreement.

Remittance flows into Vietnam approximated 19 billion USD in 2022. (Photo: VNA)– Vietnam remains one of the 10 countries receiving the most remittances in the world, according to the recent Migration and Development Brief by the World Bank and the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD).Despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s major impacts on the global economy over the last two years and growing inflation in many countries, remittance flows into Vietnam remained relatively stable compared to previous years, the report noted.Total remittances to Vietnam increased by nearly 5% in 2022 and may go up 3.6 - 4.5% in the following years after growing 5% in 2021, according to statistics of WB and KNOMAD Last year, the value rose about 1 billion USD to approximate 19 billion USD, making the country one of the three biggest recipients in the Asia-Pacific and among the top 10 globally in terms of remittances.Some banks perceived that the growing remittance inflows will help them not only gain more profits from services but also boost foreign exchange reserves, serving Vietnam’s foreign currency attraction policy.Among remittance sources, the US houses the largest number of Vietnamese immigrants, followed by the UK, Australia, and Canada. Meanwhile, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan (China) post the most number of workers from Vietnam./.