Vietnam News Today (May 10): PM promises voters to work hard for stronger national development

	Vietnam News Today (May 8): PM names four challenges facing Viet Nam
	Vietnam News Today (May 8): PM demands appropriate responses to COVID-19
	Vietnam News Today (May 7): Vietnam treasures traditional relations with Cuba: Party leader

PM Pham Minh Chinh (Photo: VGP)

PM promises voters to work hard for stronger national development

The Government will work hard, together with the whole political system, army and people, to promote the country’s achievements and overcome difficulties and challenges so as to further boost its development and successfully implement the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress.

Prime Minister made the statement during a meeting with voters in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho’s constituency No. 1 on May 8. Chinh and other candidates are running for seats in the 15th National Assembly.

The PM said that over 35 years of “Doi Moi” (renewal), Vietnam has gained great achievements. However, the country is facing big challenges, including the aging population, exhausted natural resources, climate change and non-traditional security issues, he noted.

The Government leader pointed out three key pillars for the country’s development – people, including their brainpower and values, value of nature and natural resources, and national historical and cultural values. He also stressed the need to promote the national great solidarity bloc for national development.

Regarding the action plan designed by the Government to realise the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress, PM Chinh said that the plan was made to suit the reality and will be implemented in a comprehensive and synchronous manner with a proper roadmap and certain priorities.

Regarding transport infrastructure, the PM said it is necessary to focus on studying and re-planning the transportation system of the Mekong Delta region, and outline solutions and mechanisms for developing inland waterways, seaports, roads, expressways and airports in the region.

He suggested local authorities uphold the spirit of self-reliance, join hands with the Government to further promote socio-economic development in the Mekong Delta, effectively perform the Government's Resolution on sustainable development of the Mekong Delta to adapt to climate change, and the Politburo’s Resolution on building and developing Can Tho city to 2030, with a vision to 2045, as reported by VOV.

PM inspects border control in southern border province

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh toured the Vinh Nguon border checkpoint in Chau Doc city of the southern border province of An Giang to inspect border control and management there.

The move was made amid complex and swift evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 333 community infection cases confirmed over the last 10 days.

In addition, the number of entrants from Cambodia is expected to keep rising in the coming days as the neighboring country had lifted lockdown.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh inspects border control and management in the southern province of An Giang on May 9, 2021. Photo: VGP

Speaking to the soldiers, the Government chief commended them for their tireless efforts to prevent illegal immigration and smuggling.

He urged the border guard force to continue close collaboration with other forces and local authorities to prevent importation of COVID-19 into Viet Nam.

Pham emphasized that outbreaks of COVID-19 can happen at any time and anywhere, thus it is necessary to prepare for all scenarios, especially the establishment of field hospitals in An Giang and the neighboring province of Dong Thap, according to VGP.

Party General Secretary meets voters in Hanoi

Candidates running for seats in the 15th National Assembly (NA) of Hanoi's constituency No. 1, including Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, on May 8 held a meeting with local voters in Ba Dinh, Dong Da and Hai Ba Trung districts in both in-person and online forms.

After listening to voters’ opinions and aspirations, the candidates pledged that if selected, they will work hard and regularly meet people to understand their aspirations.

They highlighted their own action plans, focusing on promoting the role of people’s representatives, protecting the interests of people, and engaging in deciding important issues of the country and actively supervising the implementation of laws and operations of the State, Government and local administrations.

They affirmed that in any position, they will always work hard to complete all tasks assigned by the Party, State and people, becoming an example in abiding by the Party's policies, the Constitution and the State's laws.

Voters at the meeting spoke highly of the action plans of the candidates, while giving their opinions on many issues such as the national construction strategy towards 2025, 2030 and 2045, Party building and purification, national sovereignty and territorial integrity, gender equality, COVID-19 prevention and control, the improvement of health care and education quality, environmental protection, and social welfare.

They showed their hope that the 15th NA will strengthen its supervision over important programmes and projects, and put forward stronger measures to boost socio-economic development.

On behalf of candidates in the constituency, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong thanked the voters for contributing their opinions, VOV reported.

Struggle for justice for Agent Orange victims to continue

Participants in a May 8 roundtable talk affirmed the resolve to continue the fight for justice for Agent Orange (AO)/ dioxin victims of Vietnam regardless of the court’s rulings, as reported by VOV.

The talk in Ho Chi Minh City was among activities of a project calling for support for legal action of Vietnamese-French woman Tran To Nga, who is pursuing a lawsuit against the US companies that provided the chemical toxins used by the US army during the war in Vietnam. She attended the event from France via videoconferencing.

After the lawsuit against the US chemical companies filed by the Vietnam Association for Victims of AO (VAVA) in 2004 had not ended with a desired result, Nga, born in 1942, sued these firms in the Crown Court of France’s Evry city in 2014.

The court opened a hearing on this case on January 25 this year and is expected to issue the verdict on May 10.

Nga graduated from a Hanoi university in 1966 and became a war correspondent of the Liberation News Agency. She worked in some of the most heavily AO/dioxin affected areas in southern Vietnam, such as Cu Chi, Ben Cat, and along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, ultimately experiencing contamination herself.

Of her three children, the first died of heart defects and the second suffers from a blood disease. She has also contracted a number of acute diseases.

With the support of several non-governmental organisations, she accused the companies of causing lasting harm to the health of herself, her children, and countless others, and of destroying the environment.

Talking via videoconference, Nga, who is currently in France, said regardless of the rulings to be issued by the court, the 10-year struggle will still continue, noting that she and her friends have been prepared to keep going for many more years.

The strength of justice and the truth will win, she stated.

Local enterprises must deal with challenges in FTA implementation

Vietnamese enterprises need to be proactive in terms of gaining knowledge of incentives, whilst simultaneously managing themselves in order to deal with gaps and weaknesses occurring in the implementation of free trade agreements (FTAs).

The negotiation, signing, and implementation of a series of FTAs in recent years has offered positive conditions for local firms to promote their exports and connections, whilst enjoying deeper participation in the global value chain and production network.

In the context of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic both last year and in the early months of this year, FTAs have increasingly emerged as a bright spot in the overall picture of the nation’s economic growth.

(Photo: VOV)

The Ministry of Industry and Trade reports that as of April, authorised agencies and organisations have issued more than 127,296 sets of C/O form EUR.1 (Certificate of Origin), with a turnover of more than US$4.78 billion to 27 EU countries. In addition, enterprises exporting goods to the EU market also self-certify the origin for roughly 3,585 consignments worth over US$10.88 million in order to enjoy tariff preferences in line with the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Furthermore, the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) also appears to have shown many positive signs in recent times, with Vietnamese exports to the UK during the first half of the year increasing by 22.1% over the same period from last year.

In terms of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), in just two years since the implementation of the deal, trade turnover between the nation and the other 10 CPTPP countries has reached US$77.4 and US$78.2 billion, up by 3.9% and 5%, respectively compared to 2018, VOV said.

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