Vietnam News Today (Sep. 12): US President Biden Thanks Vietnam For "Warm Welcome"

President Joe Biden uploads a post in his Twitter account along with photos of the welcome ceremony chaired by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, for President Biden at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi.

US President Biden thanks Vietnam for “warm welcome”

“Thank you for the warm welcome, Vietnam. I know this will be a historic visit,” said United States President Joe Biden in a post uploaded to his Twitter account late on September 10.

The sentiment was posted along with photos of the welcome ceremony chaired by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong for President Biden at the Presidential Palace on the afternoon of September 10, cited VOV.

In another post, President Biden wrote, “It was great to speak with you, General Secretary. As I said earlier, Vietnam and the United States have an enormous opportunity to be critical partners. I know we can achieve the aspiration both countries share for a future of greater peace, security, and prosperity.”

In his latest post uploaded on September 11, President Biden said, “Secretary General and I elevated the United States and Vietnam cooperation directly to their highest tier of partnership – A Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This status will be a force for prosperity and security in one of the most consequential regions in the world.”

President Biden started a two-day State visit to Vietnam on September 10 at the invitation of Party General Secretary Trong, marking the first time that President Biden has visited the country since taking office in 2021.

HCM City promotes cooperation with French partners

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Phan Van Mai hosted a reception on September 11 for Catherine Deroche, Chairwoman of the France - Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians' Group of the French Senate, who is on a working visit to the city.

Mai spoke highly of the contributions of the group and Deroche herself to the sound development of Vietnam - France ties.

HCM City always defines its responsibilities and proactively implements activities to concretise commitments between the two countries, contributing to the overall development of their relations, he said.

The Chairman suggested the France - Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Group pay attention and introduce French people and businesses to the city to promote investment and trade collaboration, according to VNA.

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Phan Van Mai (right) and Catherine Deroche, Chairwoman of the France - Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians' Group of the French Senate at the reception on September 11. (Photo: VNA)

Mai went on to say that attention should be paid to supporting cooperation between Ho Chi Minh City and French research institutes, universities, experts, and businesses in urban planning, training high-quality human resources in the medical field and developing specialized medical care centers. Education and training cooperation should be included along with cultural exchanges as well as enhancing the effectiveness of cooperation between the city and French localities, he added.

For her part, Deroche highlighted that 2023 is a special year as the two countries are organizing activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Vietnam - France diplomatic relations and the 10th founding anniversary of their bilateral strategic partnership.

France and Vietnam are having a good relationship with a long-term and close connection which is reflected by the presence of a large number of French businesses in Vietnam, she said.

Appreciating the economic potential and investment attraction of HCM City amid the context that the economic relationship between the two countries is making great strides, the French senator expressed her hope that more French businesses will pour investment and do business in the southern largest economic hub in the fields of finance, education, research and pharmaceutical production.

Vietnam-Saudi Arabia Business Forum opens in Hanoi

The Vietnam-Saudi Arabia Business Forum officially opened on September 11 in Hanoi, with the event attracting the participation of nearly 500 delegates, including representatives from relevant ministries, associations, and over 50 Saudi Arabian businesses.

These Saudi Arabian firms mainly operate in fields such as energy, information technology, the iron and steel industry, mining, industrial spare parts, construction, healthcare, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, tourism, and natural resources, transportation, retail, furniture, garments, agriculture, fisheries, and information technology.

This represents the largest business delegation from Saudi Arabia, as well as the Middle East region in general, to visit Vietnam as part of efforts to explore investment opportunities in Vietnamese localities, VOV reported.

The Vietnam-Saudi Arabia Business Forum attracts the participation of nearly 500 delegates (Photo: baoquocte.vn)

During their stay in Vietnam, Saudi Arabian businesses are expected to visit a number of industrial zones, export processing zones, seaports, and businesses in several provinces.

There will be also business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-people (B2P) sessions being held during the event in order to help firms strengthen trade connectivity, along with a space set up to display advantageous products of Vietnamese businesses and localities.

Saudi Arabia makes up also one of the nation’s leading economic and trade partners in the Middle East region. Two-way trade turnover last year reached over US$2.7 billion, an increase of 32.4% compared to 2021.

A number of large Saudi Arabian corporations have since invested in the Vietnamese market in the fields of real estate, energy, and steel.

Over recent years, more Saudi Arabian businesses have been keen to boost co-operation with the country in such fields as trade, investment, energy, seaports, Halal food, and tourism.

Petrol prices kept unchanged, oil prices up in latest adjustment

The retail prices of petrol have been kept unchanged in the latest adjustment on September 11 by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance.

The ceiling price of E5 RON 92 petrol was kept at VND23,471 (US$0.97), and that of RON 95 at VND24,871 per liter.

Meanwhile, the price of 0.05S diesel oil was capped at VND23,055 per liter, up VND410 per liter from the previous adjustment, and the ceiling kerosene price, up VND374 to VND23,188 per liter, cited VNA.

A customer buys petrol at a station in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA)

Since the beginning of this year, petrol prices have undergone 26 adjustments, with 15 times up, seven down, and four unchanged.

Enterovirus, adenovirus identified as cause of pink eye in HCM City

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health informed that enterovirus and adenovirus were identified to cause pink eye in the city.

The presence of the two viruses was found out in 37 out of 39 pink eye patient samples, accounting for 95 percent of total infectious patients.

Of these, the enterovirus dominated with 86 percent while the previous common virus adenovirus accounted for 14 percent.

The conclusion is based on a quick report on the research results implemented by the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in collaboration with the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU), SGGP reported.

A pink eye patient. Photo: VNN

Accordingly, 39 pink eye patients including adults and children who come from 13 districts in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Ba Ria- Vung Tau, Long An and Tien Giang provinces with a median age of 19.7 years were taken their samples for testing at the Eye Hospital on September 7. Right after, the samples were sent to the laboratory of the unit for research in emerging infectious diseases to screen for individual or symptom-associated viruses like adenovirus, enterovirus, metapneumovirus and parainfluenza virus via Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique.

The results showed that no cases were positive for metapneumovirus or parainfluenza virus as well as symptom-associated viruses between enterovirus and adenovirus.

Currently, the research team continues to analyze and sequence the genomes to accurately identify the serotype and genotype of the enteroviruses and adenoviruses causing pink eye.

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