Press digest – January 29
PM approves IT application in social security project
The PM has ratified the estimates for information technology (IT) application in the social security sector in 2012-2015.
The project, worth VND1,263.33 billion, will be mobilized from sources based on regulations.
The software and database group and the IT technical infrastructure group will be allocated VND495.83 billion and VND700 billion, respectively.
VN, Japan hold third defense policy dialogue
The third Viet Nam-Japan defense policy dialogue took place, covering world and regional issues of mutual interest and assessing bilateral defense cooperation over the recent past.
The two sides agreed that the two ministries will maintain defense policy dialogues at deputy ministerial level while continuing to exchange delegations at different levels.
Both sides expressed their wish to promote all-round defense ties in the interests of the two countries’ people and for the sake of peace, stability and development in the region and the world as a whole.
China, VN talk free navigation at Bac Luan River mouth
Deputy Head of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s National Boundary Commission and Head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s Department on Boundary and Ocean Affairs conducted the fourth round of negotiations on an agreement on free navigation at the mouth of the Bac Luan River between Viet Nam and China.
The two sides focused on dealing with dissent issues and agreed on specific contents to get a better understanding of each other's views. They also consented to speed up negotiations for the early signing of the pact later this year.
VN-EU celebrate 25th anniversary of ties
The EU and Viet Nam are celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2015.
Ambassador-Head of the EU Delegation in Viet Nam Dr. Franz Jessen stressed that the completion of the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement negotiations has marked an important milestone in cooperation between the two sides.
Jessen said the EU will continue to assist Viet Nam in fulfilling goals in its socio-economic strategy by increasing ODA from €300 million to€400 million in the period 2014-2020 and continue to be the largest ODA providers to Viet Nam.
Exports witness slight increase in January
Viet Nam earned an export value of US$12.9 billion, up 0.2% against the previous month.
The US maintained its status as the largest importer of Viet Nam’s products, with the value of US$2.6 billion in January, a year-on-year increase of 12%.
Viet Nam’s imports in the first month of the year reached US$13.4 billion, down 4.5% compared to the previous month.
China is the largest exporter of Viet Nam with US44.2 billion, up 47.1%, followed by ASEAN US$2 billion, up 26.6% and the Republic of Korea up 12.6%.
RoK supports central region development
The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in Viet Nam has announced a series of new projects it is funding with Official Development Assistance (ODA) in central Viet Nam.
The projects include a US$6 million planning scheme for the Huong River and Hue city and a US$6.2 million project to upgrade the Viet Nam-Korea Friendship Information Technology College in Da Nang city.
They also include a US$4 million project to strengthen capacity for the Thua Thien Hue general hospital and Da Nang hospital and a US$9.7 million Heangbok program in the central province of Quang Tri.
Over US$33 million for poverty alleviation in Ha Giang
Thirty communes in five districts in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang will benefit from a US$33 million poverty reduction project.
The Commodity-oriented Poverty Reduction Program will receive US$20 million in Official Development Assistance (ODA) capital provided by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), while the Vietnamese Government will provide US$9.5 million and the beneficiaries will contribute the remaining US$4.2 million.
By Thuy Dung
