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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hold online talks with French PM Jean Castex. Photo: VOV

Vietnam, France agree to share experience in Covid-19 fight

Vietnam and France have agreed to share experience in the Covid-19 pandemic fight, and help each other with Covid-19 vaccines.

Vietnam desires to further promote the time-honoured, trustworthy and strategic partnership with France, a leading partner of the nation in Europe, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, said during his online talks with French PM Jean Castex on June 14.

During the talks, the Vietnamese cabinet leader rejoiced over the fruitful developments of the bilateral ties between the two nations over the past time, while the French PM applauded the strategic partnership and highlighted Vietnam as a leading partner of France in the region.

The French PM hailed Vietnam’s position and role in the region and the world, particularly the major achievements the country has recorded in Covid-19 containment efforts and socio-economic development, reported VOV.

Both sides consented to share experience in the pandemic fight, help each other with Covid-19 vaccines and work together on economic recovery after the pandemic.

They agreed to boost closer coordination to optimize the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and speed up the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

The leaders concurred to facilitate the export of Vietnamese agricultural and fishery products to France, especially fruits that are under harvest like lychee, mango, dragon fruit and passion fruit.

The pair also called for joint efforts to urge the EC to remove its “yellow card” on Vietnam’s fisheries, helping the country’s fishery sector develop in a sustainable way.

With regard to the East Sea issue, they shared the view on the significance of ensuring the freedom of navigation, aviation, security and peace in the waters, as well as the role of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

More Covid-19 patients announced as recovered

The Covid-19 Prevention and Control Steering Committee of Bac Ninh province declared 73 more Covid-19 patients as recovered on June 14.

Since May 5, the total number of those given the all-clear in the locality has reached 616, while 714 others are under treatment at the provincial and field hospitals.

The same day, a Covid-19 treatment field hospital in the northern province of Phu Tho gave the all-clear to three patients who had tested negative for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus three times.

The patients will undergo 14-day home quarantine following the Ministry of Health’s regulations.

Covid-19 patients in Phu Tho province given the all-clear on June 14. Photo: baophutho.vn

Ho Chi Minh city will continue to apply city-wide social distancing in line with Government Directive No. 15 until the end of June amid the complicated developments of coronavirus outbreaks in the city, as announced by Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Long on June 14, cited NhanDan.

At a meeting with officials from 21 districts and Thu Duc city, Chairman Long said the order, imposed since May 31 following large outbreaks related to a Christian mission church and originally set to expire on June 15, would be extended for another two weeks (until midnight on June 30).

Under the order, non-essential services and businesses in the city would continue to be halted, no gatherings of five or more in public outdoor areas are allowed, while people (especially those 60 years old and above) are advised to stay home unless they must leave for essential purposes, always keeping a distance of 2m during contact.

Meanwhile, more restrictive measures – where people are ordered to not go out unless for essential purposes - in Go Vap district and Thanh Loc Ward of District 12, will be eased from June 15. The measures were imposed on the two areas on May 31.

Northern region braces for latest heat wave

A hot low-pressure area originating from the west is poised to head for the nation’s northern region, causing a prolonged hot spell which will last from June 15 to June 21.

Photo: VNN

Most notably, the harsh weather conditions will hit both the northern and central regions between June 18 and June 21, with temperatures climbing to between 37 degrees Celsius and 40 degrees Celsius, with some places even seeing temperatures rise over 40 degrees Celsius.

The National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF) has therefore warned of a prolonged spell of hot weather that will not only harm people’s health through dehydration, but also cause forest fires and potential blazes in residential areas.

In Hanoi, temperatures are forecast to quickly rise and hit up to 39 degrees Celsius by the middle of the week, according to VOV.

The extreme weather will be met with low humidity of between 50% and 60%. Whilst the time for temperatures to rise over 35 degrees Celsius will be between midday and 5 p.m.

The ultraviolet (UV) index in the northern and central regions is also predicted to reach high-risk levels which is very harmful to the health of residents.

Vietnam sees surge in farm produce exports to China

Agricultural exports to China posted impressive growth between January and May, with shipments of some produce even matching or surpassing the corresponding figures for the entire 2020, data of the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development showed.

During the period, Vietnam shipped over 468,000 tonnes of mango to China, equivalent to 112 percent of last year’s figure; 348,000 tonnes of banana, 87%; 301,000 tonnes of jackfruit, 92 percent; and 1.1 million tonnes of dragon fruit, 63%.

The Nong nghiep Vietnam (Agriculture of Vietnam) Newspaper cited Hoang Trung, director of the Plant Protection Department, as saying that China has long been the main importer of Vietnamese farm produce, and although Vietnam is working hard to diversify export markets, this could not be done overnight.

A worker handles lychees for export at a factory in Thanh Xa commune of Thanh Ha district, Hai Duong province. Photo: VNA

Given this, China will remain the largest buyer of Vietnamese agro-forestry-fishery products in the time to come, he noted.

As China has set increasingly strict standards for agricultural imports from other countries, since 2018, the Plant Protection Department has coordinated with localities, businesses, and cooperatives nationwide to meet the importer’s requirements, cited NhanDan.

Within three years, Vietnam granted 3,400 production unit codes for many products to serve different export markets. In particular, 1,703 production unit codes were given to farming areas and 1,776 others for packaging facilities in order to meet requirements for exports to the Chinese market, Trung said.

The two sides have reached consensus on plant quarantine solutions for sweet potato and durian while pomelo, passion fruit, and coconut are among those awaiting negotiations, the official added.

Online ads earn big amid Covid-19 pandemic

Online advertising, as the first choice of firms and brands amid the pandemic, is thriving in Vietnam and could reach the milestone of US$1 billion in revenue this year.

According to the Vietnam Digital Marketing Trends 2021 report by Novaon, Vietnam’s online ad market will continue growing during the 2020-2025 period, with a compound annual growth rate of 21.5%. Despite the pandemic last year, online ad revenue still reached US$820 million, which is forecast to rise to US$955.7 million this year.

Chairman of the Clever Group Nguyen Khanh Trinh expressed his optimism about the annual growth of 10-20% in the sector.

Photo: VNA

Last year, Vietnam’s digital economy was worth US$14 billion, which is forecast to reach US$52 billion by 2025. In particular, e-commerce expanded by 46% as Vietnamese spend 3.5 – 4.2 hours per day on the internet, which gives an edge for the online advertising sector to earn US$1 billion this year.

However, the sector also faces unfair competition with cross-border platforms like Facebook and Google accounting for over 80% of online ads revenue in Vietnam, cited VOV.

Statistics showed that only about 5% of firms do not or have yet to use Facebook for their marketing campaigns. Many others spent more than 50% of their online ads budget on Facebook instead of other channels.

Nguyen Dang Ngoc, Deputy Director of the VCCorp, said customers prefer using ad services by cross-border platforms because they do not have to fulfill taxation and fee obligations.

The Decree No.38//2021/ND-CP regulating administrative fines in culture and ads, which took effect on June 1, 2021, is expected to fill gaps to promote fair competition in the field, making it easier for domestic firms to win market share from foreign giants.

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