The press briefing held in Hanoi on August 29 to provide information about the 8th Vietnam - China border defence friendship exchange (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam, China to hold 8th border defense friendship exchange in September

The eighth border defense friendship exchange between Vietnam and China is scheduled to take place in Vietnam’s northern province of Lao Cai and its neighboring Chinese province of Yunnan on September 7 - 8.

The Vietnamese delegation will be led by Phan Van Giang, Politburo member, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission and Minister of National Defense. Meanwhile, Li Shangfu, a State Councillor and Minister of National Defense of China, will lead the Chinese side to the event, the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense told a press briefing in Hanoi on August 29.

On September 7, activities will take place in Vietnam, including a welcome ceremony for the Chinese delegation at the Lao Cai International Border Gate, a border marker saluting ceremony, the planting of commemorative trees, the launch of work on a friendship house of culture in Ban Phiet commune of Bao Thang district, a visit to and presentation of gifts to the Kim Dong Primary School in Lao Cai city, and the talks between the two delegations.

China will host others on September 8, including a welcome ceremony for the Vietnamese delegation at the Hekou International Border Gate, a border marker saluting ceremony, the planting of commemorative trees, a visit to a military unit/a school in the Hekou area, and a bilateral seminar.

Prior to the exchange, other activities will be organized, such as providing free health examinations and medicine for border residents, presenting scholarships to 50 students from poor families and heifers to disadvantaged households. The authorities will also review the twin relationship between border communities and the coordination between the border guard post of the Lao Cai International Border Gate and the Hekou border guard unit of Yunnan’s Mengzi region.

The ministry said the eighth border defence friendship exchange aims to help implement the Vietnam - China joint statement on the continued promotion and intensification of their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, issued during an official visit to China by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in November 2022, thereby helping strengthen mutual trust and cooperation between the two Parties, States, and defense ministries, cited VNA.

It is also one of important diplomatic activities between the countries’ defense ministries this year, with a view to promoting the friendship, solidarity, and substantive cooperation between their border defense forces, administrations of border localities, and local residents so as to build a joint border of peace, friendship, stability, cooperation, and development, the ministry added.

The first exchange was held in Quang Ninh province of Vietnam and Guangxi province of China in 2014.

Typhoon Saola to strike South China Sea amid emergence of Haikui storm

Typhoon Saola, is expected to enter the East Sea ahead in the next 48 hours, with another storm Haikui being formed and situated at about 1,500 km east of storm Saola, according to the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting.

At 13:00 p.m. on August 29, the eye of Typhoon Saola was located on the northeast coast of Luzon Island in the Philippines, with the strongest winds located near its center reaching between 150 km and 166 km per hour.

Over the next 48 hours, the storm is set to move in a northwest direction at a speed of between 10 km and 15 km per hour before entering the East Sea, thereby become the third storm in the country this year, according to VOV.

Photo: VOV

Along with the Typhoon Saola, another storm named Haikui has formed in the Pacific Northwest region, located about 1,500 km east of Saola.

Meteorologists emphasized that the interaction of the two storms will create a double storm effect, also known as the Fujiwara effect, which will ultimately make Typhoon Saola's developments become complicated and unpredictable.

With the emergence of the Fujiwara interaction, Typhoon Saola’s developments have changed a lot and the storm had been initially forecast to make landfall in Taiwan (China), then move into the Fujian area of China.

However, over the past two days Typhoon Saola has begun to change its direction, deviating more to the south and is expected to enter the East Sea in the next 48 hours.

Due to the impact of storm Sao La, there will be strong winds and rough seas expected in the North East Sea region from the evening of August 29 and August 30, with sea waves reaching between 3 meters and 5 meters in height.

US President Joe Biden to visit Vietnam next month

US President Joe Biden will pay a visit to Vietnam from September 10-11, revealed spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang on August 29, reported VNA.

US President Joe Biden (Photo: AP)

The visit is made at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong, she said.

“We believe that the visits by the two countries' senior leaders will further deepen the Vietnam-US relationship towards a stable, substantive and long-term development in all fields, contributing to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world at large,” she noted.

Vietnamese and Algerian localities set up twinning relations

The local administrations of Batna province of Algeria and the Vietnamese province of Dien Bien consented to establish a twinning partnership between the two localities on August 28.

The signing ceremony was held in Batna province with the witness of Provincial Governor Mohamed Benmalek, Vietnamese Ambassador to Algeria Tran Quoc Khanh, and a delegation from Dien Ben province led by Le Thanh Do, deputy secretary of the provincial Party Committee and chairman of the provincial People's Committee, reported VOV.

At the the signing ceremony (Photo:VNA)

Governor Benmalek said this represents the first agreement signed between two localities from Algeria and Vietnam. Dien Bien is known by many Algerians for the glorious Dien Bien Phu victory, which encouraged the national liberation movement of many countries around the world, adding that Algerians also have special affection for President Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen Giap.

For his part, Do highlighted various strengths and potential of Dien Bien and underscored the importance of the freshly-signed agreement to build co-operation development between the two provinces. He also voiced his hope that the two local administrations will materialize co-operation contents and devise practical plans and action plans.

He suggested that the two provinces strive to ramp up linkages in the fields of culture, sports, tourism, and delegation exchanges, as well as launching promotion activities.

Do also invited the host to visit Dien Bien in 2024 to mark the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory, as well as sending a business delegation to seek further investment co-operation opportunities in the province.

Vietnam in top 15 countries for expats

According to the latest survey by International - a global network of expats with more than 4 million members - Vietnam ranked 14th out of 53 best countries for expats, seven places lower than its rate in 2022.

The survey was conducted with 12,000 people from 171 countries and territories. The top five countries and territories in the 2023 list were Mexico, Spain, Panama, Malaysia and Taiwan (China). The five names at the bottom were Germany, South Korea, Turkey, Norway and Kuwait.

The survey covered 56 factors that affect a person's life abroad such as cost of living, quality of living environment, job opportunities, and technology, cited VNN.

The rankings announced by Internations.

Vietnam was praised by many foreigners for factors such as: "culture and welcome" (16th); "friend-seeking" (11th) and "hospitality of local residents" (5th). 82% of foreigners said that Vietnamese are friendly and hospitable.

Vietnam was also considered a place with affordable prices. Vietnam took the lead for the "personal finance" index. This index is based on three factors, including: satisfaction with financial situation, general cost of living, income of survey respondents with enough living expenses. Up to 77% of respondents rated the cost of living in Vietnam as favorable.

Vietnam ranked 34th globally on the safety and security index. In Asia, it ranked behind Taiwan (China), the UAE, Singapore, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, South Korea, Japan, and Saudi Arabia.

However, Vietnam was assessed to have poor environmental quality. About 55% of expats living in Vietnam felt uncomfortable with air quality, which is three times higher than the general rate around the world.

In addition, foreigners were also less satisfied with online administrative services and non-cash payments in Vietnam. They also faced difficulty in obtaining visas in Vietnam. The Vietnamese language is also an obstacle. "In fact, not a single foreigner living in Vietnam claims to be able to speak the language well, while the global rate is 34%," the report said.

Mexico ranked first on the list, and this was the ninth year it was in the top 5.

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