Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (Photo: VNA)

Party leader’s writing energizes efforts towards a prosperous, civilized nation target

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s recent article titled "Proud and confident under the Party's glorious flag, determined to build a Vietnam more prosperous, powerful, civilized, heroic with a fine and long-lasting culture" has given more strength to the entire Party and people to strive for the goal of rich people and a powerful, democratic, equal, and civilized nation, some scholars and Party members have said.

The article was written on the occasion of the 94th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) (February 3, 1930 - 2024).

Speaking highly of the writing, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ha Quy Quynh, head of the personnel affairs and examination division at the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, said the article highlights all the remarkable achievements the country has obtained under the CPV’s leadership.

Written in a succinct, simple, and understandable style, the article points out the fact that by undergoing many development periods of the world and humankind, the Party has identified right targets for each period and led Vietnam’s development in a way matching each development period of the world, he said.

Quynh noted it identifies the difficulties and challenges facing the Party, opportunities that must be seized, the focal and core tasks, along with regular tasks while demanding resolve and better implementation from the central level to each Party organization, Party member, and the entire people to further develop the country.

The scholar held that to reach the goal of rich people and a powerful, democratic, equal, and civilized nation, each official and Party member needs to keep thoroughly grasping and seriously implementing the Party’s viewpoints and guidelines as well as the State’s laws and policies on fast and sustainable development, and apply them to their localities, agencies, and units.

Each Party member also needs to actively seize opportunities to help foster economic development, pay more attention to the harmonious development of economic, cultural, and social aspects, guarantee social welfare and security, and unceasingly improve people’s material and spiritual life quality.

It is also important that Party members are imbued with the Party’s ideology; severely comply with discipline and behave with integrity; boost creativity and innovation in the fields they work in; think big, act bold, and dare to bear responsibility; bring into play their pioneering role and set good examples; and work for the sake of their collectives, the people, and the nation, according to Quynh.

As a Party member at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Dr. Tran Quang Dau said featuring three main parts, General Secretary Trong’s writing provides an overview of the Party’s history, from its foundation to its leadership over the struggles for national independence, the South liberation, national reunification, the settlement of war consequences, the cause of Doi moi (Renewal), and integration into the world.

Over the last 94 years, the Party has always been a source of pride of the Vietnamese people, who trust in and view the CPV as the political pioneering force and the only real leader of the entire nation.

The CPV is not only the decisive factor in every victory of Vietnam’s revolution but also a source of steadfast confidence and pride for the nation, he went on.

Showing his interest in the article’s Part 3 on the implementation of the Party and State’s Doi moi and international integration policies, Dau noted that this part outlines some major orientations and general issues and also includes very concrete and detailed contents and requirements in terms of discipline, morality, and wisdom for each Party organization, Party member, and people.

Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, permanent representative of Vietnam to the UN (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam underscores peace and stability prerequisite for global challenges

Peace and stability are the prerequisite for seeking solutions to global challenges, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, permanent representative of Vietnam to the UN, emphasized, while attending a plenary session held by the UN General Assembly on February 7 to discuss UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ priorities for 2024.

In his remarks at the event, Secretary-General Guterres voiced his concerns over the worsening violence, instability, geopolitical division, and conflicts threatening both international peace and security.

The top priority of the UN is to promote peace and to prevent wars and conflicts, he said, stressing that to cope with global challenges such as poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, humanitarian crises, and terrorism, countries need to make joint efforts and comprehensively reform multilateral systems, ranging from the UN Security Council to international economic - financial institutions.

Addressing the session, Ambassador Giang, shared the Secretary-General’s concern about the instability and multidimensional crises currently facing the international community.

As a means of seeking solutions to those global challenges, he stressed peace and stability form the prerequisite, meaning that member states need to comply with international law and the UN Charter, refrain from the use of force, and resolve disputes by peaceful means.

Regarding the Summit of the Future – a priority of the UN for 2024, the Vietnamese diplomat said this will be a chance to further enhance international collaboration, make reforms, and implement the international community’s common commitment to peace, prosperity, and sustainable development for future generations. Vietnam will work to actively contribute to this process with a people-centered approach, he added.

As part of this occasion, the Ambassador greatly valued Guterres’ leadership role in promoting international assistance for the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate finance, including the adoption of initiatives such as the SDG Stimulus and the Just Energy Transition Partnership. Vietnam will join other UN member states in supporting and making efforts aimed at implementing the abovementioned initiatives of the Secretary-General for the sake of common goals, Ambassador Giang added.

An elevated station of Metro Route No 1, Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien, in HCM City (Photo: VNA)

Ho Chi Minh City’s metro trains to run on a trial basis throughout Tet

All the 17 trains of Metro Route No 1, Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien, in Ho Chi Minh City will continuously run on a trial basis during the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, said the city’s Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR). Accordingly, contractor Hitachi of bidding package CP3 will make use of the equipment installation suspension to increase pilot operations. The continuous test run aims to complete the testing of the remaining equipment to put the route into commercial use this year.

Once put into use, the systems of the route will operate harmoniously and almost automatically, so trial operations are compulsory to ensure all equipment is well-connected with one another, MAUR said. It added that about 40 personnel, mainly experts from Europe and Japan, will be in charge of the test run during the holiday.

Metro Route No 1 consists of 17 trains, each of which comprises three carriages and is 61.5m long. All were manufactured in Japan. Each train can carry a maximum of 930 passengers, including 147 sitting and 783 standing. The designed maximum speed is 110km per hour on elevated sections and 80km per hour on underground sections. About 97.5% of the route’s workload has been completed. The facility is expected to become operational in July 2024.

Vietnamese fruits promoted in the Berlin exhibition

Vietnamese fruits have been introduced at the Fruit Logistica, the world's largest fruit and vegetable exhibition in the world, which is underway in Berlin from February 7-9. Seven Vietnamese companies brought their products to the event. This is the third year that Vietnam has joined the exhibition.

Tran Van Cong, an Agricultural Counsellor at the Vietnamese delegation to the EU, said that the European market spends up to 300 billion USD to import agricultural products, including about 60 billion USD for the fruit and vegetable group alone. So, there is huge potential for Vietnam's exports.

In the coming time, Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will carry out an action program to promote the export of agricultural products to the European market as well as strengthen coordination with relevant agencies and guide localities and businesses to assist farmers in producing products that are qualified to enter the EU.

More promotional work will be done so that Vietnamese goods can penetrate deeply and widely into the European market, he said.

According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Vietnam's fruit and vegetable export turnover to the German market surpassed 36 million USD in 2023, an increase of 45.6% from the previous year.

Fruit Logistica is the world's most important trade fair for the fresh fruit and vegetable industry, aiming to increase businesses' direct access to global markets. This year, it focuses on fresh vegetables, fruits, organic products, and innovative solutions in agricultural processing equipment and machinery. The exhibition attracted 2,770 businesses from 94 countries around the world this year.