Vietnam News Today (March 2): Da Nang set to become a special-class city
	Vietnam News Today (Feb 28): Leaders show gratitude to healthcare workers on Vietnamese Doctors’ Day
	Vietnam News Today (Feb 27): Countries’ leaders offer congratulations to Party General Secretary, President Nguyen Phu Trong

The National Day of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Photo: The Peninsula Qatar)

Vietnam extends congratulations to Bosnia and Herzegovina on National Day

Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong on March 1 sent a congratulatory message to Chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Sefik Dzaferovic on the occasion of the country’s Independence Day (March 1, 1992-2020).

On the same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh cabled a message of congratulations to Bisera Turkovic, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to NDO.

PM Phuc chairs cabinet meeting

The Government convened its regular monthly meeting on March 2 under the chair of Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

At the meeting, the cabinet members will further evaluate the implementation of the socio-economic development plan in 2020 and discuss the implementation of the 2021 plan among other issues.

The country’s socio-economic situation saw positive changes despite the prolonged Lunar New Year holiday and the complicated development of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Import-export activities during the January-February period recorded high growth, with the total trade revenue estimated at US$95.8 billion, up 24.5% year-on-year.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (middle) chairs the Cabinet meeting, Ha Noi, March 2, 2021. Photo: VGP

Of the figure, export turnover reached US$48.6 billion (up 23.2%) and import revenue stood at US$47.3 billion (up 25.9%), resulting in a trade surplus of US$1.3 billion.

Industrial production continued to see positive change, as the index of industrial production (IIP) grew by 7.4% year-on-year, with the manufacturing industry expanding by 10.4%, higher than the 7.1% level recorded in the same period of 2020.

Many products reported strong growth, such as televisions (up 61.5%), phone components (up 55.7%) and rolled steel (up 47.3%).

Agro-forestry and fishery production in February was relatively favorable. The afforestation and the implementation of the spring tree planting festival were substantively organized in many localities.

Total retail sales of goods and revenue from consumer services increased by 5.49% over the same period last year, and by 5.52% if the price factor was excluded.

Positive signals were also recorded in business registration. A total of 18,100 new enterprises were established nationwide with a combined registered capital of VND334.8 trillion (US$14.5 billion), employing 172,800 workers, up 4% in terms of the number of businesses and up 52.2% regarding the registered capital.

At the meeting, cabinet members will discuss solutions to achieve the most urgent goals of effectively combating the pandemic, ensuring people’s health and safety, and creating favorable conditions for socio-economic development, according to VGP.

Vietnam, Cuba hold sixth political consultation

Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba Marcelino Medina Gonzalez held the sixth political consultation at the deputy foreign ministerial level on March 2 in the form of a videoconference.

Those in attendance also included Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Le Thanh Tung, Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Orlando Nicolas Hernandez, Interim Ambassador of the Cuban Embassy in Vietnam Irmina del Pilar alongside representatives from the two nations' foreign ministries.

Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son briefed the participants on the domestic situation, including the outstanding results of the 13th National Party Congress, COVID-19 response measures, and efforts to ensure socio economic development and social security.

He affirmed that Vietnam always attaches great importance to and wishes to continue deepening the special traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation with Cuba.

Deputy FM Marcelino Medina Gonzalez, in turn, informed about the Cuban situation and a range of measures to remove difficulties caused by the embargo and the COVID-19 pandemic, and carry out the updating of socio-economic development models.

Both sides reviewed the areas of bilateral cooperation and discussed measures to further develop a deeper and more comprehensive bilateral relationship in the time ahead, VOV reported.

Thailand’s Udon Thani Province wishes to take lead in cooperation with Vietnam

Udon Thani governor Sayam Sirimongkorn has asked for the Vietnamese Embassy’s support to make the province a leading locality in northeastern Thailand in terms of fostering economic and cultural cooperation with Vietnam.

The Udon Thani official made the remark during a working session with Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh on the occasion of the latter’s working visit to the province from February 23 to 28.

Sayam Sirimongkorn spoke highly of the Vietnamese community in Thailand as a whole and in Udon Thani in particular, who, he said, have always showed a great sense of solidarity, complied with the law and made significant contributions to the locality.

Ambassador Phan Chi Thanh thanked the provincial authorities for offering valuable support to the Vietnamese community, voicing his hopes that the Udon Thani leaders will continue to create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community and help them in terms of policies and law, as well as supporting the work of local Vietnamese associations.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh (L) meets with Udon Thani governor Sayam Sirimongkorn (Photo: NDO)

Highlighting the province’s advantages for boosting cooperation with Vietnam, the ambassador suggested the two sides strengthen the discussion of cooperation opportunities, including coordinating on the organisation of the Vietnam-Thailand Business Forum in Udon Thani in Q2 2021, on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of Vietnam-Thailand diplomatic ties.

During a meeting with Vichian Khaokham, chair of the Udon Thani provincial administration organisation, Thanh shared the socio-economic development experiences of Vietnamese localities with similar conditions to Udon Thani, agreeing that the two sides need to soon prepare for the exchange of delegations and the signing of cooperation documents immediately after the air route between the two countries is reopened.

The Udon Thani leaders agreed to create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to further develop their business & investment activities in the locality, towards establishing Vietnamese business and culinary streets in Udon Thani when conditions allow, as reported by NDO.

Over 30 million people download COVID-19 tracking app

Vietnamese free coronavirus contact tracing app Bluezone boasted for over 30 million downloads as of March.

The figure rose by 5.2 million since January 27 when the third wave of local infections broke out.

Da Nang, the epicenter of Viet Nam’s second coronavirus wave took the lead among localities nationwide with 42.31% of local population installing the app (47,937 downloads).

Hai Duong Province, the largest hotspot of the country’s third local transmissions, came second with 38.08% of population or 649,362 downloads, followed by Ha Noi (35.89%), Quang Ninh (34.44%), and HCMC (30.58%).

(Photo: Hanoi Times)

Bluezone, developed by technology firm Bkav and the Ministry of Information and Communications, is a Bluetooth-based app that helps determine if a person has come into contact with a Covid-19 patient.

The ministry targets to have 45 million active Bluezone subscribers out of the country’s 76.8 million smartphone users.

So far, Viet Nam documented 2,472 COVID-19 patients, according to the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, according to VGP.

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