NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue attends 42nd AIPA General Assembly
National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and other delegates of Vietnam attends the AIPA-42 opening ceremony via videoconference on August 23. (Photo: VNA)
Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Vuong Dinh Hue led the Vietnamese delegation to attend the 42nd General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-42), held by Brunei on August 23-25.
AIPA-42, themed “Forging Parliamentary Cooperation in Digital Inclusion towards ASEAN Community 2025”, took place via videoconference from August 23 to 25 with the participation of leaders and legislators of AIPA member parliaments, observer delegations, and the AIPA Secretary-General.
Concluding the event, head of the parliaments of 10 Southeast Asian countries signed a joint communique on the 42nd AIPA General Assembly.
They also adopted a resolution admitting the parliaments of Ukraine and Pakistan as the new observers.
Following the closing ceremony, Brunei handed over the role of AIPA 2022 Chair to the Cambodian National Assembly.
US Vice President pays visit to Vietnam
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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) and US Vice President Kamala Harris (Photo: VNA)
Vice President of the US Kamala Harris paid a visit to Vietnam from August 24 to 26 at the invitation of her Vietnamese counterpart Vo Thi Anh Xuan.
This marks the first time a US Vice President has visited the Southeast Asian country. It is hoped that the visit will contribute to strengthening ties and expanding economic cooperation between the US and important partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
During her stay, Harris had meetings with Vietnamese leaders, including a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on the COVID-19 pandemic, regional security, and economic cooperation.
She attended the inauguration of the office of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Hanoi, which will work to deal with issues related to infectious diseases in Southeast Asia.
She also visited the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology to witness the hand-over of 270,000 of the 1 million doses of vaccine that the US is providing for Vietnam.
Vietnam remains favoured destination for foreign investment despite COVID-19
Vietnam is likely to remain the favoured destination of foreign investors despite the resurgence of COVID-19 ravaging across the country, The Australia Financial Review (ARF) said in a story published earlier last week.
Though rapidly rising Delta COVID-19 infections have hit manufacturing in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s commercial hub, the big-picture story of Vietnam as a favoured destination for foreign investment is not expected to change, the daily newspaper said. Even as forecasts are trimmed, economists have faith that the nation will bounce back.
“In recent decades, Vietnam has excelled in reeling in the big fish in electronics, footwear and clothing,” it said. “Low labour costs, reliable infrastructure and a smooth bureaucratic process have attracted the likes of Samsung, Foxconn, Nike, Adidas, Gap and Levis.”
While some expats have cleared out, many others have stayed. “The small and medium-sized business owners who have investments here have stayed. Most are not panicking. They want to be here, so their companies can recover as soon as possible,” it quoted Simon Fraser, executive director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce (AustCham) in Vietnam, as saying.
Home-grown COVID-19 vaccine Nano Covax approved by National Ethics Committee
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The domestically-developed vaccine fully meets all safety and immunogenicity requirements.
The National Committee for Ethics in Biomedical Research under the Ministry of Health (MoH) has agreed that the mid-term results from phase 3 of Nano Covax's clinical trials will be submitted to the Advisory Council for the Registration of Circulation of Drugs and Medicinal Ingredients for consideration on the issuance of a registration certificate for the conditional circulation of the vaccine.
In its statement issued on August 28, the National Committee for Ethics in Biomedical Research affirmed that the homegrown COVID-19 vaccine meets the safety requirements.
The statement also mentioned the committee’s conclusion at its urgent meeting on August 22 to evaluate the mid-term result of Nano Covax's phase 3 clinical trials until August 18, stressing that the COVID-19 vaccine has displayed immunogenicity in the tried cases.
The committee proposed domestic vaccine developer Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC and the research team to complete a report on updating and supplementing the clinical trial research results of Nano Covax and send it to the ethics committee and the advisory council for evaluation and approval.
Vietnamese student wins third prize at 50th UPU writing contest
Vietnamese student Dao Anh Thu, an eighth grader from Nguyen Huy Tuong Secondary School, Dong Anh District, Hanoi City, won third prize at the 50th Universal Postal Union (UPU) International Letter Writing Contest.
The information was announced by the UPU International Office at the closing plenary session of the 27th Congress of the Postal Union in Abidjan (Ivory Coast) on the evening of August 27, 2021.
The 50th UPU International Letter Writing Competition - 2021 was organised by the UPU with the theme: "Write a letter to a family member about your experience with COVID-19".
As the author of the letter that won the international third prize, Dao Anh Thu chose the idea of sending a letter to a baby girl born while her mother was treating Covid-19 at the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases. The letter described the difficulties and hardships of the doctors and the pride in their contributions to the prevention and control of the pandemic in Vietnam.
Vietnamese resort named among the most breathtaking eco-resorts to visit in 2021
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Six Senses Ninh Van Bay in Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam, has been named among the most breathtaking eco-resorts to visit in 2021
Six Senses Ninh Van Bay in Khanh Hoa Province, Vietnam, has been named in the list of 11 breathtaking eco-resorts in the world to visit in the summer of 2021 as selected by Euronews.
Euronews wrote that, based on the assessment of model Danielle Copperman, Six Senses Ninh Van Bay Resort has been selected for the list.
In her own words, the hotel is an 'isolated eco-paradise', featuring on-going conservation projects and growing fresh produce on site. Danielle explored the plantations and sampled the local fruit on offer, from lemongrass, mango and papaya to pomelo, kumkwat and dragon fruit, according to Euronews.
Coming to Six Senses Ninh Van Bay in Khanh Hoa, visitors will have the opportunity to experience scuba diving and jungle adventures, with an equal emphasis on wellness and relaxation - think soothing spa treatments and flying yoga.
Along with Six Sense Ninh Van Bay, Euronews also selected a number of other famous eco-resorts in the world associated with nature conservation activities.
Powerlifter Le Van Cong wins silver at Tokyo 2020 Paralympics
Le Van Cong on August 26 secured a silver medal for Vietnam in the men’s 49kg powerlifting at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
He succeeded in all the three lifts of 165kg, 170kg, and 173kg.
Meanwhile, Jordan’s Qarada Omar Sami Hamadeh won the gold medal in the category; though his best lift was also 173kg, he managed to lift 170kg right from the first attempt.
The bronze medal went to Mammdov Parvin of Azerbaijan with the best lift of 156kg.
Prior to the 2020 Games, Cong was the Paralympics champion in the 49kg category, with a lift of 183kg - also a Paralympic record.
Vietnamese team performs well at 2021 Int’l Army Games
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Members of the engineering team of Vietnam at the 2021 Army Games pose for a group photo (Photo: VNA)
The chemistry team of the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) came second only after the host China in the shooting event held on August 29 within the framework of the “Safe Environment” category of the ongoing 2021 International Army Games.
At present, the team is placed third in the overall rankings. It will enter the final event of relay on August 31.
Also on August 29, Vietnam clinched a bronze medal in the “Meridian” competition.
In the final of the “Safe Route” category held in Russia’s Tyumen province on August 29, Vietnam’s engineering team ranked third, with a time of 55:40.
On the same day, with an overall time of 1:21:25 and bringing down 11 out of 15 targets, the Vietnamese tank crew teams ranked ninth out of the 11 squads competing in the “Tank Biathlon” category.
