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Sen. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Trong Nghia, Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Communication and Education speaks at the meeting. (Photo: VNA)

Head of PCC’s Commission for Communication and Education meets with voters

Sen. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Trong Nghia, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Communication and Education and the National Assembly (NA) deputy delegation of the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang had a meeting with voters in Go Cong town and Go Cong Tay district on March 12 ahead of the 11th session of the 14th NA.

At the meetings, the deputies informed voters on the draft agenda of the 11th session and listened to their ideas, aspirations and requests.

The voters mentioned a wide range of issues, including those related to economics, justice, agricultural and rural development, drought and saline intrusion.

Sen. Lt. Gen. Nguyen Trong Nghia also informed voters about the country’s socio-economic situation since the beginning of the year; and some issues related to the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic in Vietnam and across the world.

He also answered constituents’ queries and took note of their suggestions which may be submitted to the relevant authorities, as reported by NDO.

Foreign ministry hosts gathering for female diplomats

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) on March 12 held a gathering with the participation of female diplomats and representatives of international organizations, spouses of ambassadors, and the ministry’s officials to celebrate the 111th International Women’s Day.

In his remarks, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung spoke highly of the contributions of female diplomats and spouses to foreign affair activities, especially against the backdrop of COVID-19.

He noted that promoting gender equality and women empowerment are among consistent priorities of Vietnam, for inclusive and sustainable development, as well as an important pillar of the country’s diplomacy.

In 2020, Vietnam voiced its support for gender equality and women empowerment in all multilateral forums, the diplomat added.

(Photo: VOV)

For the first time in the frameworks of the United Nations and ASEAN, Vietnam initiated and successfully held the ASEAN Leaders' Special Session on Women's Empowerment in the Digital Age, and an international conference on women’s role in building and sustaining peace.

For her part, Sara Valdés Bolano, Mexican Ambassador to Vietnam, who is co-president of the Ambassadors Group for gender equality, congratulated Vietnam on its achievements in the field, re-affirming a commitment to helping the country continue efforts towards gender equality.

Ambassador Nguyen Nguyet Nga, spouse of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, said that the MoFA set up a network of female diplomats of various generations last year to foster their bond as well as international efforts in women empowerment, VOV reported.

Vietnam requests civilian protection from conflict-induced hunger

A Vietnamese diplomat to the United Nations on March 11 called on the international community to resolve conflicts in order to protect civilians from conflict-induced hunger.

Addressing an open debate of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, Head of the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations, proposed that the UNSC increase its efforts to address conflict-related hunger.

He urged international organizations and donors to maintain their contributions to humanitarian aid programs, support conflict-affected countries in increasing their protective capacity and develop sustainable food systems to help civilians access safe and nutritious food.

The UN should have a comprehensive solution, which focuses on addressing the root causes of conflicts, resolving conflicts and building and maintaining lasting peace in conflict-ravaged regions, said the Vietnamese ambassador.

World Food Programme director David Beasley warned about a hunger pandemic alongside the current COVID-19 pandemic, stressing that children are most vulnerable to these disasters, according to VOV.

Academic cooperation model contributes useful expertise to MDR’s climate change response

Policymakers and local authorities should take up effective results of academic cooperation from joint researches of Vietnamese and foreign universities and academies in mitigation of climate change in the Mekong Delta Region (MDR), said Mr. Ivo Hooghe, the First Secretary in charge of development cooperation under the Embassy of Belgium in Viet Nam.

Specifically, three Belgium-funded projects in the Mekong Delta Region are undergoing including (1) soil-improving cropping systems for sustainable rice production in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (SUSRICE), (2) supporting the Mekong fish farmers with the breeding of tra catfish, (3) and towards a sustainable pangasius breeding (PRD – PANGAGEN).

According to the diplomat, there are a lot of academic cooperation programs in Viet Nam with useful and practical scientific expertise in mitigation of climate change. He suggested policymakers and local authorities select useful ones to apply knowledge and materialize researches in reality in the path to help the MDR adapt to climate change and reduce green-house gases.

Mr. Ivo Hooghe, the First Secretary in charge of development cooperation under the Embassy of Belgium in Viet Nam (Photo: Vetec)

Firstly, the SUSRICE project aims at increasing crop production by introducing soil-improving cropping systems, while reducing inputs like water and fertilizer, and greenhouse gas emissions. Cropping systems in which rice is rotated with upland crops within one year instead of rice monoculture with three rice crops per year, and amending soil with organic fertilizers.

The second program depends on established and successful quantitative genetic approaches where uncertainty on parentage limit progress. It proposes the development and application of molecular genetic markers in order to certify parentage and optimize domestication. The outcome should improve the resilience of the rural community in view of global change and improve the research capacity of the local scientists.

PRD – PANGAGEN, worth around € 500,000 of grant, aims at bringing new solutions to the threats the catfish aquaculture sector starts to face in the Mekong Delta. It targets the generation of animals using a selection experiment and to organize the local sector to obtain an optimal diffusion of the experiment results, so that the research could be beneficial for all the actors of the chain, including the smallholders, who are the most threatened by the coming changes, VGP reported.

VN confirms 17 new cases of COVID-19

Viet Nam confirmed 17 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, raising the national patient tally 2,550.

The latest cases comprise four local infections in Hai Duong and 13 imported cases, according to VGP.

The imported cases include a Philippine woman and a man from Hong Kong, China.

The same day, 38 patients were declared free of the virus, bringing the total recoveries to 2,086.

(Photo: VNE)

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