Illustrative image. Photo: VNA

Vietnam records 39,334 new Covid-19 cases on April 8

Vietnam on April 8 reported 39,334 new Covid-19 cases, including one imported infection, according to the Ministry of Health.

The capital city of Hanoi continued to log the highest number of infections, with 2,897 cases.

On April 8, the northern province of Bac Giang registered an additional 25,763 cases to the national Covid-19 management system.It was followed by northern Yen Bai and Bac Giang provinces, with 2,115 and 2,052 infections, respectively.

The new infections brought the country’s total caseload to 10,135,789 since the pandemic broke out, ranking 12 out of 227 countries and territories in the world, according to VNA.

As many as 60,609 patients were declared to be free from coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, lifting the total number of recoveries to 8,455,675.

The same day, 35 fatalities were announced, raising the total death toll to 42,768.

More than 208.24 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines had been administered so far.

Opening ceremony of SEA Games 31 to gather over 3,000 performers

The opening ceremony of the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) will take place at 8 pm on May 12 at Hanoi's My Dinh National Stadium, gathering the participation of over 3,000 performers.

The two-hour ceremony will be divided into three parts, themed ‘Friendly Vietnam’, ‘Strong South East Asia’, and ‘Shining South East Asia’.

Performances at the event will introduce to audiences at home and abroad to the culture, tradition and people of Vietnam while conveying the spirit and the theme of the Games ‘For a Stronger South East Asia’.

Opening ceremony of SEA Games 31 to gather over 3,000 performers. Photo: NDO

Regarding the seating plan, the entirety of stand B will be used as the main stage. The centre of stand A will provide seating for leaders and officials while the sides of stand A along with stands C and D will serve spectators.

According to program, following the parade of athletes from the 11 participating countries into the stadium, the Vietnamese Prime Minister will declare the opening of the Games. Eight athletes will then light the SEA Games cauldron to signal the official opening of the SEA Games 31, reported NDO.

At a recent meeting to review the preparations for SEA Games 31, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung stressed that the opening ceremony is one of the most important events that contribute to the overall success of the Games.

Therefore, he asked relevant units to coordinate closely to make detailed and thorough preparations for the ceremony.

SEA Games 31 will be held in the capital city of Hanoi and 11 neighboring provinces and cities from May 12 to 23. Featuring 40 sports with 526 events, it is expected to attract around 10,000 participants.

The host, Vietnam, has registered 965 athletes, including 534 males and 431 females. They are set to compete across all 40 sports of the Games, striving to win 140 gold, 77 silver and 71 bronze medals and secure the top place in the tally.

Vietnam, Russia seek stronger agricultural co-operation

Vietnamese Ambassador to Russian Dang Minh Khoi and Russian Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sergei Levin discussed a range of measures aimed at ramping up agricultural co-operation between the two countries during a recent meeting.

Both sides compared notes on their co-operation in the field of agricultural, assessed the current situation of co-operation between competent agencies on import and export management, trade promotion, trade, whilst taking time to learn about each other's markets.

They outlined their belief that the market opening for each other's agricultural products, despite being significantly improved, has so far still failed to meet the market access needs, desires, and capabilities of firms from the two countries.

Ambassador Khoi emphasized that the number of enterprises exporting agricultural products to each other's markets is in the process of increasing each day.

At the meeting between Vietnamese Ambassador to Russian Dang Minh Khoi and the Russian delegation led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Sergei Levin. Photo:VNA

The local diplomat stated that by the end of 2021 Russia had permitted 50 Vietnamese enterprises to ship seafood to the Russian market. In contrast, 132 Russian firms are able to export meat and seafood items to the Southeast Asian nation.

This serves as an important premise in which both sides can strive to consolidate and expand co-operation in trade and agricultural product production moving forward.

The leader of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture stated that trade co-operation in agricultural products between both sides continue to boast a lot of potential for stronger development in the near future, cited VOV.

Russia features many key commodities that can be exported to the Vietnamese market, including wheat, corn, vegetable oil, and fertilizer, while in return, the nation also has many strong export products going to the Russian market.

The two sides put a score of measures in place as part of wider efforts to step up co-operation by organizing a ministerial-level online conference to promote agricultural trade co-operation in April and November.

This includes participating in the 23rd session of the Vietnam-Russia Intergovernmental Committee and holding a working session between leaders of the two countries' ministries of agriculture within the framework of the visit to Russia by Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

These measures made an important contribution to the results of agricultural trade co-operation between the two countries in 2021.

Most notably, agricultural exports from Vietnam to Russia in 2021 reached US$612.7 million, up 25% on-year, while exports from Russia to Vietnam hit US$523.1 million, a climb of 21% compared to 2020.

Moreover, the Vietnamese market represents the leading supplier of many products to Russia, such as coffee, seafood, cashew nuts, pepper, and tea. Meanwhile, Russia was the leading supplier of pork to the nation in 2021, with a turnover of US$137 million, accounting for 43% of Russia's total pork exports.

In addition to this, Russian fertilizer exports to the country in 2021 expanded by 162% compared to 2020, reaching US$153.3 million in the process.

HCM City welcomes nearly 130 holiday-makers from US

Ho Chi Minh City welcomed nearly 130 tourists from the US on April 8 under a tour organized by Citslinc International Inc in collaboration with Asia Life and Beauty Travel and Tour Services Co., Ltd.

As scheduled, the visitors, who came to HCM City for the first time, stay at Muong Thanh hotel in Phu Nhuan district, enjoy food at Rex Hotel Restaurants and Bars and Indochina Queen Rivercruiser.

Illustrative image. Photo: VNA

During their trip, they will also visit Cu Chi Tunnels, Ben Thanh market, and the Mekong Delta region, and join activities in the framework of the 8th Ao Dai Festival in 2022 in HCM City.

Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Duong Anh Duc highly valued the active preparation of the municipal Department of Tourism for the tourism resumption plan, VNA reported.

He said that with the local potential and advantage, and support of visitors, the city's tourism sector will soon recover, and affirm the position of the southern hub as one of the attractive destinations for tourists in Vietnam.

HCM City has exerted all-out efforts to promote a favorable and safe environment for visitors, towards becoming one of Asia’s leading metropolitan tourist destination, he said.

UNDP ready to join Vietnam in imminent development process

Achim Steiner, director-general of the UN Development Program affirmed his organization’s willingness to continue working closely and accompanying Vietnam in its upcoming development process at a recent meeting with Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, permanent representative of Vietnam to the UN.

The director-general of the UN Development Program UNDP expressed his great appreciation for the deep and meaningful co-operation relationship between the UN and Vietnam in general, with a particularly focus on the country’s ties with the UNDP in particular.

Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, permanent representative of Vietnam to the UN (R) and Achim Steiner, director-general of the UN Development Program. Photo: baoquocte.vn

According to Steiner, amid the current political and security situation facing plenty of challenges and difficulties, the world must focus more on development issues, including the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

He also affirmed the central role of the UN in supporting countries in terms of knowledge, technology, capacity building to implement this program, as well as strategies and plans at regional and national levels.

In response, Ambassador Giang thanked UNDP for its valuable support of the nation in recent years across many areas, such as post-pandemic economic recovery, climate change, mine action, and the implementation of recommendations under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council, according to VOV.

The Vietnamese diplomat stated that the country will always support UNDP's efforts in development, emphasizing the nation’s willingness to become increasingly involved in the UNDP’s policy making and development assistance efforts.

The meeting also saw Ambassador Giang hold a wide-ranging discussion with Steiner on areas where the two sides can step up co-operation, such as climate change response, energy transition, hunger eradication, poverty reduction, marine economy, and post-pandemic recovery.

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