Afternoon briefing on March 22


Hanoi: The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

-A delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) led by NA Vice Chairman Tran Quang Phuong attended the opening ceremony of the 148th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-148) and a plenary session in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 24.

During the IPU-148, themed ‘Parliamentary diplomacy: Building bridges for peace and understanding’, the delegates are scheduled to take part in plenary sessions of the assembly and the Governing Council, along with meetings of the Standing Committee on Peace and International Security, the Committee on Sustainable Development, Finance and Trade, the Committee on Democracy and Human Rights, and the Committee on United Nations Affairs.

-Vietnam condemns all acts of terrorism in any form targeting civilians, including the terrorist attack that caused great loss in Russia on March 22 evening, said Vietnamese Ambassador Dang Minh Khoi.

According to latest statistics
released by Russian authorities, at least 137 people were killed and 182 others injured, many in severe conditions, after armed attackers stormed Crocus City Hall in Moscow and opened fire.

– Experience in social supervision and criticism was shared between the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Committee of Ho Chi Minh City and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Shanghai Committee at their talks in Ho Chi Minh City on March 25.

Briefing the Chinese side of the city’s economic-cultural-social situation in 2023, Vice Chairman of the VFF Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Thanh Trung said that the city faced formidable challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts as well as complicated and unprecedented global and regional political-economic developments.

-Secretary of the Party Committee of Ninh Binh province Doan Minh Huan expressed his hope for stronger multi-faceted cooperation between the northern locality and the Republic of Korea (RoK) at his reception for Korean Ambas
sador to Vietnam Choi Young-sam on March 25.

Briefing the ambassador on Ninh Binh’s socio-economic situation, potential, strengths and development orientations, with its economy growing 7.27% last year, Huan lauded contributions by Korean partners to the province’s achievements.

-A Vietnam – Canada business forum was held in Hanoi on March 25, aiming to enhance the bilateral economic relations via the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

In his opening remarks, Vice Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese (OV) Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Manh Dong highlighted that OVs and OV businesses have unceasingly developed and affirmed their positions in foreign countries over the past time.

– Visa, a global leader in digital payments, has provided its insights into Vietnam’s payment landscape with its latest Consumer Payment Attitudes study that highlights the surge in cashless transactions among Vietnamese consumers.

According to t
he study, 56% of Vietnamese respondents surveyed are now carrying less physical cash than they did a year ago, signaling a progressive mindset towards embracing new financial technologies. Particularly, young consumers are playing a pioneering role in the shift towards cashless payment, with 89% of the surveyed having successfully adopted cashless methods.

– The southern province of Tra Vinh has approved an investment worth 576 billion VND (23.26 million USD) to develop a petroleum storage terminal project by the Tra Vinh Petrochemical and Energy Joint Stock Company.

The project is developed on an area of more than 46ha in Kim Son commune, Tra Cu district. It will build a petroleum storage with a capacity 50,000cu.m and a terminal which is capable of receiving 20,000 tonne vessels.

-The Agency of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the ASEAN Secretariat on March 25 opened a joint session of ASEAN and Korean experts on the transposition of ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA) pro
duct specific rules from harmonised system codes HS 2017 into HS 2022.

Attending the three-day event in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh are representatives from the Republic of Korea (RoK) and 10 ASEAN member states./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency