Press digest – December 18
PM to partake in 5th GMS Summit in Thailand
PM Nguyen Tan Dung will attend the 5th Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Summit on December 19-20 in Bangkok, Thailand to promote ties with regional countries on the sustainable use of the Mekong River water and consolidate linkages with Thailand.
The attendance will be made at the invitation of his Thai counterpart Prayuth Chan-ocha.
Viet Nam’s participation in the event is to illustrate the country’s respect for the GMS mechanism which promotes sub-regional and regional links; and make full use of international support for the joint efforts in the sustainable management and exploitation of the Mekong River water.
Rescuing trapped workers may take days
Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai on December 18 flew to the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong to direct the rescue of workers who are being trapped under ground in Da Dang-Dachomo hydropower plant.
Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai called for best rescue workers and modern equipment to speed up the rescue work, adding that all measures must be quick while guaranteeing the safety of victims.
Rescue workers are making every effort during the past two days but challenges have emerged due to torrential rains on Tuesday that give rise to the water and landslides in the tunnel.
Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, Minister of Construction Trinh Dinh Dung, and Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang are also present at the site.
Four ministries implement macro-economic management regulation
The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MoPI), the Ministry of Finance (MoF), the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) on December 17 held their first meeting to enforce the recently signed macro-economic management regulation.
Under the chair of MoPI Minister Bui Quang Vinh, the meeting focused on three topics including the management and regulation of macro-economic norms in Q1 and the whole year of 2015 and the formulation and cooperative mechanisms of relevant ministries, agencies and organizations.
Earlier, the regulation was inked on December 1, 2014 under the witness of PM Nguyen Tan Dung and other Government members.
Health ministry launches online public services
The Ministry of Health introduced on-line public services level 4 to help food production and trading companies in applying for certifications on meeting food safety regulations and conditions.
Service level 4, the highest of the four administration service levels in the country, is expected to create more convenient conditions in the registration process for enterprises involved in the healthcare sector.
The online registration service level 4 will allow people, businesses and management units to perform administrative formalities, submit required forms, handle documents and payments and receive results using only a computer connected to the Internet.
VN welcomes resumption of US-Cuba ties
Viet Nam welcomes the declarations of Cuban President Raul Castro and President Barack Obama on resuming their diplomatic relations after 53 years of interruption.
VN to absorb US$ 12 bln remittances in 2014
Overseas remittances to Viet Nam are estimated to touch US$ 12 billion in 2014, according to a report of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM).
The CIEM on December 17 released a report on an overview of overseas remittances in Viet Nam over the last 20 years and their impacts on socio-economic development.
The report found that overseas remittances to Viet Nam expanded around 38.6% and valued around US$ 80.38 billion in the 1991-2013 period.
Overseas remittances accounted for about 8% of the country’s GDP and placed Viet Nam on the list of the world's top-10 overseas remittance recipients in 2014.
VN suspends Australian fruit imports
Viet Nam would temporarily suspend the import of Australian fruits as it concerns about fruit fly, said Nguyen Xuan Hong, Director of the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
According to Mr. Hong, all 38 Australian fresh varieties named in the list for import by Viet Nam would be temporarily suspended since January 1, 2015.
Viet Nam had informed the Australian authorities of the suspension 60 days before the effective day, which is in line with international rules, said the Director.
Logo of VN-New Zealand’s 40-year ties announced
New Zealand’s Embassy in Hanoi and Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City announced an official logo used for all events marking the 40-year milestone of Viet Nam-New Zealand diplomatic relations (June 16, 1975 - 2015) on December 18.
The logo was designed by a Vietnamese young artist Tran Giang Nam, who won the logo design competition launched by the New Zealand Embassy. It beat 500 other entries.
Northern mountainous provinces tighten ties with China’s Yunnan
Several cooperation agreements were signed at the fifth meeting of a working group between Viet Nam’s four northern mountainous provinces of Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Lai Chau and Dien Bien and China’s Yunnan province on December 18.
They include an agreement on coordination regulations on border labour management between Ha Giang and Yunnan, and another on cooperation between Ha Giang’s Dong Van Karst Plateau and Yunnan’s Shi Lin (Stone Forest) National Park.
National TV festival opens in Thua Thien-Hue
The 34th National Television Festival kicked off in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on December 17.
In his opening speech, General Director of Viet Nam Television (VTV) Tran Binh Minh highlighted challenges facing both the regional and global television industry, especially in the context of the current digital era.
It is essential to turn challenges into opportunities, thus further promoting the industry’s development in the future, he stressed.
The annual festival is to review the operations of the television industry throughout the year, and honour outstanding works./.
(Source: VGP/VNA/VOV/Nhandan)
