Top leader chairs national cadres conference
Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong chaired the national cadres conference in Hanoi on April 23 to discuss the COVID-19 fight, measures for socio-economic stabilisation and developments, and others. About the 13th National Party Congress, the leader said focus must be on the document and personnel work, adding that the personnel work plays a crucial role in Party building and a core part of all Party activities, deciding the success or failure of the revolution.
Participants at the event proposed macro-measures to restore and promote socio-economic development following the pandemic. They also agreed with proposals to tackle business difficulties, improve business environment and boost exports, step up external activities and consolidate national defence-security, considering it a major political task of the country, departments and agencies in the near future.
NA Standing Committee convenes 44th session
NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan speaking at the session (Photo: quochoi.vn)
The 44th session of the National Assembly Standing Committee (NASC) opened in Hanoi on April 20 under the chair of NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. From April 20-28, excluding April 23, the committee also offered opinions on the draft revised Youth Law, the draft (amended) Law on Sending Vietnamese Workers Abroad Under Contracts, the draft law on amendments and supplements to a number of articles of the Law on Environmental Protection and the draft Law on International Treaties.
The participants will also deliberate the legislature’s law and ordinance building programme for 2021; the submission to the NA for its approval of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA); the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA); and the accession to Convention No.105 concerning the Abolition of Forced Labour by the International Labour Organisation.
PM orders continuation of measures against COVID-19 in new context
PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc has recently issued Directive 19/CT-TTg on continuing the implementation of measures against the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has recently issued Directive 19/CT-TTg on continuing the implementation of measures against the COVID-19 pandemic in the new context. The directive states that although a number of initial achievements have been recorded, the pandemic is continuing to develop in a complicated way, and the risk remains high.
The PM asked ministries, ministry-level offices, People’s Committees of provinces and central-level cities to maintain the viewpoint of “fighting the pandemic as if fighting the enemy”. They must mobilise the engagement of the whole political system and the people while, at the same time, continuing to develop production and businesses. Party officials and members, as well as state employees, must be exemplary in their work, he said.
Rice export continues despite pandemic and natural disasters
Online customs declaration services was made available for exports of additional 38,000 tonnes of rice at 0:00 am on April 26. (Photo: VNA)
Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung on April 20 ordered the advancing of the export quota of 100,000 tonnes of rice from that which was set for May in order to ease difficulties for firms that have rice stuck at ports but are unable to submit customs declarations.
Chairing a meeting on rice export amidst the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, along with drought and saltwater intrusion, Deputy PM Dung said glutinous rice can be exported as normal. He assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade to coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to review and assess the domestic supply and demand of rice to manage the export.
Vietnam contributes to WHO’s COVID-19 response fund
At the hand-over ceremony (Photo: VNA)
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung on April 24 symbolically handed over US$50,000 as a contribution of the Vietnamese Government and people to the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s COVID-19 response fund. The handover ceremony was attended by representatives from the Government Office, the Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs, the UN, and WHO Representative in Vietnam Kidong Park, among others.
Deputy Minister Trung reiterated the Vietnamese Government’s twin targets of containing the pandemic and ensuring socio-economic stability and social welfare. He used the occasion to thank the WHO and relevant UN agencies in general and the WHO Office and UN Resident Coordinator Office in Vietnam in particular for their support to the country during the fight against the pandemic, helping to deepen the partnership between Vietnam and the UN.
Vietnam’s internet speeds meet user demand during Covid-19
Vietnam’s internet quality meets the exceptionally high demand during the social distancing period.
Broadband internet download speeds in Vietnam average out at 61.69 Mbps, according to results from 30,000 users as announced by the Vietnam Internet Network Information Centre (VNNIC). The agency said that this speed is 45% higher than that reported by foreign companies.
For mobile networks, the average download speed is 39.44 Mbps, meaning Vietnam’s internet quality meets the appropriate standards, especially while demand is exceptionally high during the social distancing designed to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Two more Vietnamese footballers join AFC’s #BreakTheChain campaign
Forward Huynh Nhu, captain of the women’s national team, and striker Ha Duc Chinh of SHB Da Nang FC are the latest Vietnamese footballers to participate in the Asian Football Federation (AFC)’s #BreakTheChain campaign to raise public awareness of the COVID-19 pandemic.
During a short clip produced for the AFC and released today (April 21), Huynh Nhu, who scored for Vietnam in their Olympic play-off against Australia in March, urged fans to do their part in this battle. Earlier, Ha Duc Chinh made an appearance in another clip released by the AFC on April 19, encouraging people to “keep healthy and united to push back the disease.”
