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PM Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse conclude an official visit to the Republic of Korea (Photo: VNA)

Prime Minister concludes successful visit to RoK

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse and entourage arrived in Hanoi late July 3, concluding a successful official visit to the Republic of Korea from June 30-July 3 at the invitation of RoK PM Han Duck Soo and his spouse.

PM Chinh engaged in 34 activities during the visit, including talks and meetings with his counterpart, President Yoon Seok Yeol and Speaker of the National Assembly of RoK Woo Won Shik.

He attended and delivered a keynote speech at the Vietnam-RoK business forum, the labor cooperation forum and the tourism promotion and cultural cooperation forum. He also joined meetings with executives of Korean economic organizations and intellectuals, and delivered a policy speech at the Seoul National University.

In addition, the Vietnamese PM had working sessions with executives of leading Korean firms such as Samsung, Hyundai, LG, POSCO, Daewoo E&C, GS Engineering & Construction, Celltrion, Hyosung, Lotte and Doosan Enerbility, cited VNA.

During the visit, more than 40 cooperation agreements were signed and exchanged, covering a wide range of fields, such as digital transformation, renewable energy, green transition, climate change, semiconductor, AI, science-technology, innovation, startup, finance, trade, investment, tourism, culture, education, human resources development and infrastructure.

The PM had a meeting with Korean friends, visited the Vietnamese Embassy, met with representatives from the Vietnamese community and called at a multicultural family.

The visit is successful in every aspect, marking a step further in implementing the guideline on external relations set by the 13th National Party Congress and Resolution 34-NQ/TW of the Party Central Committee’s Politburo, and in concretising the plan of actions to implement the Vietnam-RoK comprehensive strategic partnership.

Vietnam to boost defense cooperation with Japan, Laos

Defense Minister Phan Van Giang expressed Vietnam’s desire to increase defense cooperation with Japan and Laos, during his separate meetings with the Ambassadors of Japanese and Laos to Vietnam in Hanoi on July 3.

Receiving Ambassador Ito Naoki, Gen. Giang noted that Vietnam - Japan defense cooperation in recent times has been effectively promoted, yielding important results and serving as a pillar in bilateral relations, especially in areas such as visit exchanges, cooperation between armies, human resource training, network security, maritime security, and in overcoming the consequences of war.

The minister affirmed that the potential for defense cooperation between the two sides remains large, particularly in areas where Japan is strong and Vietnam is in need. He expected that the Ambassador would play an active role in promoting bilateral defense cooperation, contributing to strengthening the Vietnam - Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia and the world, according to VOV.

Vietnamese Minister of Defense Gen. Phan Van Giang (R) receives Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Ito Naoki in Hanoi on July 3. (Photo: PANO)

Ambassador Naoki for his part spoke of the positive developments in Vietnam – Japan relations, and assured his host that he would make every effort to reinforce bilateral cooperation, including defense cooperation, during his working term in Vietnam.

At another meeting with Ambassador Khamphao Ernthavanh, Gen. Giang emphasized that defense cooperation is a major pillar in Vietnam – Laos relations, saying both sides have effectively deployed their signed protocol and cooperation plan on defense, contributing to each other’s cause of national construction and defense.

He congratulated Laos on successfully organizing conferences within the ASEAN framework, and voiced Vietnam’s strong support for Laos to successfully assume the role of ASEAN Chair 2024. He proposed that the two sides increase visit exchanges, review the results of the protocol on Vietnam – Laos defense cooperation for 2020 – 2024, and prepare to sign a new protocol for 2025-2029.

For her part, Ambassador Ernthavanh thanked the Party, State and army of Vietnam for providing effective assistance to Laos over the years, and said the two countries have deployed many practical and effective cooperation activities, such as communications on the friendship between the two countries, border management, training, and collection and repatriation of martyrs’ remains.

She vowed to work hard during her term to cultivate and promote the relationship between the two countries and the two armies.

Ninh Binh tour among world’s best experiences: TripAdvisor

A full-day tour to Ninh Binh from Hanoi has been named among Top 10 Experiences in the world for 2024 by TripAvisor readers, according to the Tourism Department of the northern province of Ninh Binh.

The department said on July 3 that the world's largest travel guidance platform TripAdvisor has revealed its Travelers’ Choice Awards Best of the Best Things to Do 2024, and the "full-day Ninh Binh highlights tour from Hanoi" was on the list of Top 10 Experiences in the World.

"Skip the hassle of piecing together boats and bike rentals and savor Ninh Binh’s highlights on this guided door-to-door experience," TripAdvisor said.

The Dong Ho folk painting "Muc Dong Thoi Sao" (The Shepherd Playing the Flute) on the rice field in Ninh Binh province. (Photo: VNA)

According to the platform, visitors will visit Hoa Lu, once capital of Vietnam, explore Mua Cave and take in views from the mountain above, ride a boat through the Tam Coc caves, and cycle through the fields to Bich Dong Pagoda cave temples. The trip includes a restaurant lunch and small-group transfers by limousine minivan.

In recent years, Ninh Binh has continuously been ranked high by domestic and world organizations. In 2020, the US’s Trips to Discover named Ninh Binh on the list of 14 most attractive destinations in Asia. In 2022, the US’s Travel and Entertainment Magazine announced Ninh Binh on the list of 12 most beautiful filming locations in Asia.

In 2023, Ninh Binh won the Tourist Review Award, entering the top 10 friendliest destinations in the world. The US’s Forbes magazine voted Ninh Binh as one of the 23 most worth visiting destinations in the world. In April, 2024, Ninh Binh was placed fourth in the “Top 10 Crowd-Free New Wonders of the World”.

According to the provincial Tourism Department, in the first six months of 2024, Ninh Binh attracted more than 6.28 million visitors, a year-on-year increase of 38.47%.

Vietnam calls for strong cooperation to handle climate change impacts

Vietnamese Ambassador Mai Phan Dung has called on the international community to strengthen cooperation to effectively deal with climate change impacts on people’s livelihoods.

Ambassador Dung, who is Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other international organizations in Geneva, made the statement while representing the core group of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) resolution on human rights and climate change.

The group includes Vietnam, Bangladesh and the Philippines, to address a debate on ensuring sustainable livelihoods in the face of climate change impacts. The event was part of the HRC’s 56th session in Geneva, VGP reported.

Illustration photo. Photo: VGP

He underlined the importance of safeguarding sustainable livelihoods, particularly for the groups vulnerable to climate change as a top priority of developing countries.

The Ambassador took the occasion to urge the Loss and Damage Fund, established at the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), to be run efficiently to provide necessary finance for climate change-hit communities, especially in developing countries.

He also proposed several suggestions, including implementing policies to empower local communities through education, resources and adaptation strategies; promoting sustainable practices in agriculture and fishery to guarantee food security and sustainable livelihoods; and integrating the improvement of climate adaptability into social protection programs to strengthen vulnerable groups’ resilience.

The Vietnamese government has committed to addressing climate change issues. In Vietnam, environmental protection is not only for current economic development but also helps sustainable future economic development and addresses climate change.

In 2021, for the first time, Vietnam made a commitment to achieving "net zero" emissions by 2025.

The Government has established a National Steering Committee to implement Vietnam's commitments, chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. All ministries and sectors have also developed related implementation programs and plans.

In 2023, Vietnam and international partners adopted a Political Declaration to establish the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) to implement green transition and reach the net zero emission goal by 2050.

PM requests putting response plans in place as heavy rain blasts north

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has asked relevant ministries and localities, especially mountainous localities in the north to closely monitor and put response plans in place as a round of heavy rain is striking northern Vietnam.

In a telegram dated July 2, the PM requested localities to promptly detect and proactively evacuate people, vehicles and property in areas at risk of flooding, flash floods and landslides.

He asked them to put forces and vehicles on standby in key areas to promptly deploy rescue work in case of emergency, cited VOV.

Heavy rain flood parts of northern Ha Giang province in June 2024. (Photo: baohagiang.vn)

This time of the year is the peak period of the rainy and flood season in the North, and localities should be highly vigilant, by timely and effectively deploying flood response plans to limit damage and impact on people’s production and daily life, reads the telegram.

A round of heavy rain is blasting northern localities, threatening to produce damage and flooding, especially in mountainous localities, according to the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting.

Heavy rain started on July 2 and is anticipated to last for several days, with common rainfall of 40-80mm or even 150mm to be recorded in many localities across the region.

Meteorologists warned about a high risk of flash floods and landslides in mountainous areas and flooding in low-lying areas in localities.

The spell of rain helped to break the heat wave that has gripped northern localities for the past few days. Temperatures are forecast to drop to 27-32 degrees Celsius.

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