Press digest – July 18

Party leader receives Slovak Prime Minister

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong gave a reception for Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Ha Noi on July 18.

He welcomed high-level political dialogues between states, governments, parliaments and ruling parties of the two countries, suggesting the two countries continue to maintain delegation exchanges and fortify cooperation between their ministries, sectors, localities and enterprises.

He thanked the Slovak government for facilitating the Vietnamese community to live and work in the host country. 

Vietnamese, Slovakian PMs seek measures for bilateral ties

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Slovakian counterpart Robert Fico compared notes on specific measures to step up cooperation between the two countries during their talks in Ha Noi on July 18.

The two leaders said bilateral economic and trade ties have developed steadily over the recent past, with an average annual two-way trade of about US$ 300 million. Slovakia is running five projects in Viet Nam while the Southeast Asian country has only one project in Slovakia.

National Election Council reviews general election outcomes

The National Election Council on July 18 in Ha Noi convened a meeting to sum up the election of deputies to the 14th National Assembly and People’s Councils for the 2016-2021 term.

The event drew the attendance of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, State President Tran Dai Quang, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Head of the Council, and the Vice Heads of the Council.

Addressing the event, NA Chairwoman Ngan emphasized that the general election was of great importance for the implementation of the 12th Party Congress and the fulfillment of the socio-economic development plans for 2016.

VN no longer exchanges environment for economic interests

Viet Nam never trades its environment for economic interests and considers environmental protection as a development goal, affirmed Deputy PM Trinh Dinh Dung.

Deputy PM Dung made the remark on July 18 in Ha Noi at a conference reviewing the performance of the natural resources and environment sector in the first half of 2016 and missions in the rest of the year.

Export turnover fetches US$162.57 billion in H1

As of late June, total trade turnover valued US$162.57 billion, up 2.4% or US$3.76 billion against the same period last year, according to the Viet Nam Customs Department.  

In the first half, Viet Nam ran a trade surplus of nearly US$1.7 billion.

Total export turnover was over US$ 82.13 billion, up 5.7% or nearly US$4.44 billion against the same period last year.

Extension of flood-proof house construction program proposed

The Ministry of Construction has proposed the Government extending a program to build flood proof residential clusters and houses in areas highly vulnerable to flood in the Mekong Delta region to another period from 2016 to 2020. 

As planned, 132 projects will be added to the program, with the construction of 86 additional residential clusters and dykes around 44 flood-affected residential areas, aiming to prevent serious flood, landslide, saltwater intrusion as well as ensure safe shelters for 44,800 locals. 

27th International Biology Olympiad opens in HN

The 27th International Biology Olympiad (IBO) kicked off in Ha Noi on July 17, drawing 264 students and 238 teachers from 71 nations and territories. 

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha said that Viet Nam has successfully hosted many international Olympiads, which reflects the recognition and confidence of the international community in the development of the country’s education sector. 

The event is a chance for participants to intensify cooperation, share experience, and boost the study and research of biology. 

Fruit and vegetable imports up 40% in first half

Fruit and vegetable imports hit US$351 million during the first half of this year, up 40% over the same period of two years ago, the General Department of Viet Nam Customs reports.

Higher volumes of imported fruit and vegetables came from key markets- Australia (up four times to nearly US$20 million), and New Zealand (double to nearly US$11.3 million).

Other markets like the Republic of Korea, India, South Africa and Brazil also experienced relatively high import growth while imports from China saw a slight increase of 30% to US$80 million.

4G to be licensed in the third quarter of 2016

Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan urged enterprises to send recent reports on 4G testing results as the Government had policies to accelerate the licensing for 4G this year.

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) recently held a review meeting for the first half of this year.

Previously, many enterprises and localities have proposed to the ministry to grant 4G license soon as the technology is a foundation for cities and provinces to implement e-Government, Internet of Things (IoT) and modern information systems./.

(Source: VGP/VOV/VNA)