Vietnam News Today (June 5) features headlines include: Vietnam attends 24th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum; Vietnamese Prime Minister asks China to support Covid-19 vaccine; Vietnam compiles first Covid-19 map as part of disease control efforts and Vietnam preserving Mekong Delta’s ecosystem.

Vietnam News Today (June 4): Vietnam orders 170 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine

Vietnam News Today (June 3): Noi Bai, Tan Son Nhat airports continue receiving foreign arrivals

Vietnam News Today (June 1): PM attends Green Growth and Global Goals 2030 Summit

Vietnam News Today (June 5) notable headlines:

Vietnam attends 24th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

Vietnamese Prime Minister asks China to support Covid-19 vaccine

Vietnam compiles first Covid-19 map as part of disease control efforts

Demand for deposits soar as cashless payments become more popular

World Environment Day: Vietnam preserving Mekong Delta’s ecosystem

Health Ministry licenses China’s Vero Cell vaccine against Covid-19

Vietnamese PM calls for continued vigilance against Covid-19 pandemic

Vietnam posts trade deficit over five-month period

Vietnam among 7 nations eyed by Indonesia for int'l tourism reboot

The 24th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) 2021. Photo: VNA

Vietnam attends 24th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

Politburo member, Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Tran Tuan Anh attended the 24th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) 2021 which is being held in Russia in both in-person and online forms.

The Vietnamese official shared Vietnam’s experience in Covid-19 prevention and control at the forum, empemphasing that thanks to the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the drastic and effective management of the Vietnamese Government, and the unity and determination of the entire political system and the people, the country has successfully realised the dual goal of containing the pandemic and maintaining economic development.

Vietnam remains steadfast in its opening policy, actively and proactively integrating into the international economy, Anh stressed.

The country successfully assumed its role as Chair of ASEAN 2020, he said, adding that Vietnam has also promoted multilateral cooperation frameworks, and made important contributions to stabilising global supply chains, cited VNP.

The official called for global cooperation in preventing and controlling the Covid-19 pandemic, sharing vaccines, strengthening multilateral trade cooperation to avoid disruption in global supply chains, and in eliminating poverty and poverty relapse in the world.

With the theme “Together Again - Economy of New Reality”, the forum focused on a number of groups of issues such as the post-pandemic world, Russia’s development tasks by 2030, global social development issues, digital technology, solutions and opportunities for businesses, and safety of medicine.

Vietnamese Prime Minister asks China to support Covid-19 vaccine

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a phone conversation with his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang, asking for cooperation in the fight against Covid-19 and support in the implementation of the vaccine strategy.

In a phone call on June 4, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang exchanged contents to strengthen and enhance political trust between the two countries, sharing difficulties, advantages and discussing solutions to promote bilateral relations in the coming time, especially on socio-economic issues.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in a phone call. Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his desire for China to cooperate and support the implementation of Vietnam's vaccine strategy. The two Prime Ministers also shared experiences and suggested the two countries strengthen cooperation in the fight against Covid-19, according to the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Prime Minister emphasized that preserving and developing the traditional friendship and comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and China is always a top priority and a focus in Vietnam's foreign policy.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also affirmed that China attaches great importance to relations with Vietnam and is willing to continue to deepen the friendly neighborly relationship between the two countries, bringing practical benefits to the people.

Prime Minister Li Keqiang agreed to strengthen cooperation and support Vietnam in the fight against Covid-19, saying that Vietnam attaches importance to and pays attention to Vietnam's proposals in economic, trade and investment cooperation. He also expressed his wish to promote the negotiation mechanisms at sea between the two countries to soon achieve substantive progress.

Vietnam compiles first Covid-19 map as part of disease control efforts

The National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control has recently issued a regulation on risk assessment and corresponding administrative measures regarding pandemic prevention and control, with four levels of risk specified by experts as part of the first (Covid-19) map.

According to details given by Assoc. Prof. Tran Dac Phu, senior advisor of the Center for Response to Public Health Events, the purpose of this regulation is to ensure that the anti-pandemic map is based on data which is updated from commune level upwards and uses information gathered from available sources.

Photo: VOV

The map features four levels of risk, including normal, risky, high risk, and very high risk, which are shown on the map with corresponding colours. This is being done with the aim of helping each locality to proactively identify risk and take appropriate countermeasures, reported VOV.

Furthermore, the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control's safety assessment department will strive to put together a more accurate assessment on the pandemic situation in each locality, with all data placed on the Covid-19 map being updated at nguyco.antoancovid.vn. The four levels of risk, such as normal, risky, high risk, and very high risk will be marked in blue, yellow, orange, and red, respectively.

The Covid-19 map was drawn up based on previously-issued directives by the Government regarding pandemic prevention and control, with more specific regulations being applicable to each locality. The goal of the map is to both prevent the pandemic and ensure economic development moving forward.

With this regulation, various chairs of provincial and municipal People's Committees are fully responsible for disease prevention and control in their respective localities.

Therefore, it is the role of localities to strictly implement anti-pandemic measures corresponding to the risk levels shown on the map.

Demand for deposits soar as cashless payments become more popular

Demand for deposits by individuals have increased significantly in recent months as people tended to switch to cashless payment methods, especially in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Statistics of the State Bank of Vietnam showed that there were more than 104 million valid individual payment accounts at banks as of the end of March, with a total outstanding sum of more than VND741.3 trillion (US$31.9 billion), representing a rise of 11.2% against the end of 2020.

Individual checkable deposits rose by three times during the past five years with a considerable increase since 2020.

Specifically, individual checkable deposits rose by 55% against the end of March 2020. In comparison, individual deposits, including both demand and time deposits, increased by more than 5.5% from the end of March 2020 to the end of February 2021, cited VOV.

A consumer is making a payment via QR Code. Photo: enternew.vn

The central bank said that the increase in demand deposits at banks was attributed to the results of the financial banking system’s digital transformation process together with the development of e-banking, digital banking services, e-wallets as well as the promotion of a comprehensive digital finance ecosystem to create favourable conditions for citizens in conducting cashless payment.

The Covid-19 pandemic also pushed up demand for cashless payment and significantly contributed to changing the habit of using cash to cashless payment methods, the central bank said.

Statistics also showed that banking transactions conducted online increased by 5.9% in number and 28.4% in value in the first three months of this year over the same period last year.

Mobile banking transactions rose by 78% in number and 103% in value while via QR code by 83% and 146%, respectively.

Overall, cashless payment transactions jumped by 344.3% in number and 96.1% in value in 2020 against the previous year.

A recent survey by Visa also revealed strong increases in the use of e-wallets, contactless payment via cards and smartphones and QR Code. The year-on-year growth rate of the total e-commerce transaction value in the first quarter of 2021 rose by 5.5 times compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.

Notably, contactless card payments were used the most for food and catering services. Payments via QR Code strongly increased in the pandemic, especially in bill payment, retail shopping and at supermarkets.

World Environment Day: Vietnam preserving Mekong Delta’s ecosystem

The theme of World Environment Day this year being “Ecosystem Restoration” expresses the importance of preserving and developing natural ecosystems in order to sustain a healthy environment for people’s survival.

In Vietnam, multiple efforts have been made to assist in the recovery of degraded and destroyed ecosystems as well as conserve those that are still intact, particularly in the Mekong Delta, one of the world’s deltas most vulnerable to climate change.

The Mekong Delta is in the southern part of Vietnam and includes the centrally-run city of Can Tho and 12 provinces, accounting for 12 percent of the country’s area and nearly 20 percent of its population.

In Tan Lap floating village, Tan Lap commune, Moc Hoa district, the Mekong Delta province of Long An. Photo: VNA

In Kien Giang, the provincial People’s Committee has approved a project examining and surveying the current status of biodiversity in the Phu Quoc Marine Protected Area. Action is being taken to restore ecosystems that have become degraded or destroyed and to strengthen the monitoring of the environment and natural resources to promptly identify solutions for adaptive management, WVR reported.

On the island city of Phu Quoc, the first Saturday of each month has been observed as a day for the environment since mid-2019, when all people and organisations are called on to act for a greener, cleaner, and safer “Pearl Island”.

Together with Patong in Thailand and Donsol in the Philippines, Phu Quoc Island has made a commitment to eliminating plastic pollution by developing an action plan and trialling innovative solutions as part of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)’s Plastic Smart Cities initiative.

Many endangered and native animals, for instance Burmese pythons and pangolins, have been released into Ca Mau’s U Minh Ha National Park - a Ramsar site in Vietnam - by authorities, to protect its biodiversity, according to the park’s Director Huynh Minh Nguyen.

Conserving biodiversity and endangered natural resources not only help sustain local livelihoods but also remain key in boosting tourism in the Mekong Delta.

Rosie Nguyen