November 9-15: 37th ASEAN Summit and related summits wrap up successfully

Nhan Dan Online reviews the notable events that made headlines over the past week.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (sixth from left, first line) poses a photo with delegates to the closing ceremony of the 37th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits. (Photo: VNA)
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (sixth from left, first line) poses a photo with delegates to the closing ceremony of the 37th ASEAN Summit and Related Summits. (Photo: VNA)

37th ASEAN Summit and related summits wrap up successfully

The 37th ASEAN Summit and related summits concluded successfully on the afternoon of November 15.

During the events, leaders of participating countries reached consensus on numerous important decisions, including the Mid-term Review of ASEAN Community Vision 2025 Blueprints, reviewing the implementation of the ASEAN Charter, and approving the Hanoi Declaration on post-2025 ASEAN Community Vision.

On the occasion, the leaders of the ASEAN member states adopted a Narrative of ASEAN Identity and issued the Hanoi Declaration on Strengthening Social Work towards Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN Community.

ASEAN’s initiatives on cooperation in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and disease risks were announced and put into operation.

The leaders also adopted the ASEAN Comprehensive Recovery Framework (ACRF) and a plan to carry out the ACRF on all three pillars of the ASEAN Community to help people and businesses overcome pandemic impacts and stabilise socio-economic activities.

At the closing ceremony, Vietnam handed over the ASEAN Chairmanship to Brunei Darussalam, which will be chair of the bloc in 2021.

NA Standing Committee convenes 50th session

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan delivering her opening speech at the session (Photo: quochoi.vn)

On November 9, members of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee sat for the 50th session to consider and give opinions on a number of contents to be submitted to the 14th NA’s 10th session.

During the session, members of the NA Standing Committee were scheduled to comment on a draft resolution on value-added tax rates for fertilizers, and the continued implementation of seniority allowance regime for teachers, as well as issues related to the assignment of medium-term investment plan of central budget capital for the 2016-2020 period to the Vietnam Development Bank, along with solutions to remove difficulties facing the Vietnam Airlines Corporation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the same time, the NA Standing Committee gave opinions on the submission to the NA for approving the appointments of Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and judges of the Supreme People's Court.

Vietnam's 500 largest enterprises in 2020 announced

The Vietnam Report JSC and VietNamNet e-newspaper announced the 500 largest enterprises in Vietnam (VNR500) in 2020 on November 10 to honour the largest companies in Vietnam, which achieved remarkable successes in production and business activities.

On the list are Samsung Electronics Thai Nguyen Co Ltd, Vietnam Electricity (EVN), Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group (Viettel), and Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex).

Among those, firms operating in services and industry account for a lion’s share of 97.3% of revenue in 2019, while businesses in the agriculture sector make up only 2.7% of revenue.

Return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) of VNR500 companies were 5.73% and 16.24%, respectively, up by a remarkable 2.78% and 13.8% against the previous year. In addition, return on sales (ROS) inched by 0.26% to hit 6.58% this year.

Vietnam formally approves construction of Long Thanh Airport

A rendering of Long Thanh Airport (Source: ACV)

The Prime Minister has issued a decision to formally approve the construction of Long Thanh Airport, which is designed to replace the overburdened Tan Son Nhat Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

The new airport, located in Long Thanh District, Dong Nai Province, about 40 kilometres to the east of Ho Chi Minh City, is expected to become a regional aviation hub.

In the first phase, at a costs of US$4.664 billion, Long Thanh will feature a 4,000-metre long runway and a terminal that can handle 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo per year.

Once all three phases of Long Thanh Airport are fully complete in 2040, the airport will have four runways and four terminals, capable of handling up to 100 million passengers per year.

Vietnam Security Summit 2020 opens in Hanoi

The 2020 edition of the Vietnam Security Summit opened in Hanoi on November 10 under the auspices of the Central Economic Commission and the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Under the theme “Cybersecurity in the AI and Big Data Era”, the event featured a main session and two seminars on security related to critical national IT infrastructure and protecting the new-generation corporate information system.

As part of the summit, an exhibition on cybersecurity was held with the participation of more than 30 leading solution providers in the region and from across the world, such as RSA, TrendMicro, Cloudflare, Hikvision and Palo Alto Networks.

Solutions on display at the exhibition included cloud security, terminal security, mobile security, identity and access management, multifactor authentication, biometric security and the Internet of Things, among others.

Hospital successfully performs double forearm transplant

The patient’s forearms performed well after the first successful simultaneous forearm transplant in Vietnam.

The Hanoi-based Military Central Hospital 108 has become the first medical facility in Vietnam and Southeast Asia to successfully perform a double forearm transplant.

The surgery was among the multiple organ transplants conducted by the hospital on September 16. This is the fourth time the hospital has implemented an organ procurement and transplant at the same time.

The organs, which were taken from a brain-dead donor, were transplanted to six patients. The patient who received the forearm transplant is an 18-year-old man who lost his forearms three years ago due to injuries he sustained in an accidental explosion.

Now, nearly two months after the surgery, the patient’s wounds have healed and the limbs are adapting well. The patient is able to hold things and use a mobile phone. He still needs to undergo more physical therapy to improve his range of movement.

Digitised design of Bao Dai Palace presented to Lam Dong Province

Lam Dong Provincial People’s Committee held a ceremony in Da Lat City on November 13 to receive the digitised design of Bao Dai Palace presented by French Ambassador to Vietnam Nicolas Warnery.

According to the French Ambassador, the digitised copy of the design was a gift from Jacques Veysseyre, the son of French architect Paul Veysseyre. The original design is currently being restored in France.

The event will further deepen cooperation between Lam Dong Province and the French Embassy in Vietnam and its partners, contributing to preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritages, especially French architectural heritages in Da Lat City.

Vietnamese teacher shortlisted among 10 finalists for 2020 Global Teacher Prize

Ha Anh Phuong (central) and her students at Huong Can High School.

29-year-old Ha Anh Phuong, an English teacher at Huong Can High School in Phu Tho province, became the first and youngest Vietnamese teacher ever to be shortlisted among the 10 finalists for the 2020 Global Teacher Prize.

The finalists were announced on November 11 by the Varkey Foundation, the London-based charity that grants the award. The finalists also included teachers from Brazil, India, Italy, Malaysia, Nigeria, South Africa, the Republic of Korea, the UK and the US.

Young Muong ethnic teacher Ha Anh Phuong is a graduate of the Hanoi University. After receiving her master’s degree in English, Phuong decided to return to her hometown in Thanh Son District’s Huong Can Commune, a remote commune where more than 90% of the students are from ethnic minorities.

Viettel FC crowned V.League 1 champions with two point lead

A solitary goal by Bruno Cantanhede helped Viettel FC edge past Saigon FC 1-0 in their last-round match on November 8 to lift the overall V.League 1-2020 trophy.

Grabbing 19 out of the total 21 points in the second phase of the season, Truong Viet Hoang’s side claimed the top honour with a two point lead over 2019 title holders Hanoi FC.

This was the first V.League 1 crown for Hoang in the managerial role. As the overall champions, Viettel FC received the gold medal and the V.League 1 trophy together with a cash prize of VND3 billion (US$129,600).

With the 2020 V.League crown, Viettel FC have been guaranteed a place in the group stage of the AFC Champions League next year, while National Cup winners Hanoi FC and V.League 1’s third-placed Saigon FC will represent Vietnam to compete in the AFC Cup.

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