Vietnam Connect Forum 2024 to be held in Haiphong

Vietnam Connect Forum 2024 will be held in northern Haiphong City on April 10, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on March 28. The event will focus on the discussion and update of new trends in green and low-carbon economy, as well as the evaluation of Vietnam's green economic development process from the practice of localities and enterprises. This is also a good opportunity to strengthen investment and trade cooperation between local enterprises and international partners.

Agriculture, forestry and fishery trade surplus rise sharply

In the first three months of the year, the total export turnover of agriculture, forestry, and fishery products was estimated at US$13.53 billion, up 21.8% over the same period last year. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, China, the US and Japan are the top three destination markets for agriculture, forestry and fishery products, accounting for 20.2%, 19.9% and 7% of the export value, respectively.

Vietnam - Australia strengthen cooperation in offshore wind power development

At a meeting with Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski and leaders of Corio Generation Company (part of Macquarie Group) on March 28, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha hoped that Vietnam and Australia would strengthen cooperation in developing offshore wind power projects.

He called on relevant parties to develop policies on direct electricity trading, electricity pricing, and solutions for the constrion of transmission grid. According to Ambassador Goledzinowski, many Australian companies intend to build offshore wind farms in Vietnam thanks to the country's great potential. Meanwhile, leaders of Corio Generation Company suggested mechanisms to create favorable conditions for investors in the field of renewable energy.

Wind power plant No.7 in the southern province of Soc Trang. File Photo

Vietnam aims to be among top 8 countries using IPv6 Internet addresses

The Ministry of Information and Communications sets a target of 65-80% Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) usage rate on the Vietnamese Internet by the end of December 2024, which will put Vietnam among the top 8 countries in the world in terms of IPv6 usage rate, according to the IPv6 for Gov 2024 plan.

Due to its almost large address space, IPv6 will be prioritized to secure address resources for Internet development, industrial Internet, with new services including Internet of Things, cloud computing, 5G/6G network.

Brazil-Vietnam Football Festival to be held in Danang
The Brazil-Vietnam 2024 Football Festival will be held on April 27-28 in the beach city of Danang, with the aim of promoting tourism and sports relations between the two countries, especially laying the foundation for the city's development of international sports tourism. The event will be a celebration of the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Brazil.

The festival includes various music shows at the Hoa Xuan Stadium, the Beach Festival - Gala Dinner and the opening ceremony of the Brazil Football Center in Danang, as well as other activities to promote tourism and beach sports.

Hanoi to conduct mid-term population and housing census
The Hanoi Statistics Department will conduct a mid-term population and housing survey for 2024 in the city in April. The survey will use face-to-face interviews to collect information on topics such as demographics, migration, education, marital status, reproductive history of women aged 10-49, deceased household members, housing, and living conditions.

It will provide a basis for evaluation of the implementation of the Socio-Economic Development Plan 2021-2025, policy development, formulation of the Socio-Economic Development Plan 2026-2030, and monitoring of the implementation of the Government of Vietnam's Sustainable Development Goals.

HCMC aked to replace one million fossil-fueled vehicles with electric
Nguyen Huu Phuoc Nguyen, CEO of Selex Motor, an electric vehicle startup, proposed the authorities of Ho Chi Minh City replace one million fossil-fueled motorcycles with electric vehicles over the next five years. 

The proposal was made at a meeting between Ho Chi Minh City leaders and the startup community on March 28. The project will target firms supplying transport services by motorbikes because their operation capacity is five times higher than others, throwing a high emission rate to the environment.

Education Ministry requires inspection of international schools
Local authorities must audit and inspect schools offering international and integrated programs, according to the Ministry of Education and Training.
In a document issued on March 28, the ministry also asked provincial departments of education and training to develop plans and organize inspections, audits, and strict handling of legal violations. The request comes as a number of educational institutions involved in foreign cooperation and investment in Vietnam have not been in compliance with legal regulations, to the detriment of students' legitimate rights.