Isolated Rain Showers and Thunderstorms Expected Across the PhilippinesAmbassador visits Vietnam’s French friend Madeleine Riffaud

Manila – The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has forecasted continued isolated rain showers and thunderstorms across the Philippines due to the influence of easterlies.

According to Philippines News Agency, PAGASA reported on Saturday that while the northeast monsoon is affecting extreme Northern Luzon, regions including Batanes and the Babuyan Islands will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains. Meanwhile, the rest of the country, including Metro Manila, can expect partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms caused by the easterlies and localized thunderstorms.

The weather bureau warned that severe thunderstorms may trigger flash floods or landslides in susceptible areas. In terms of wind and sea conditions, Northern Luzon is expected to encounter moderate to strong winds and moderate to rough coastal waters. The remainder of the archipelago will experience light to moderate winds and slight to moderate seas.

Temperature forecasts for key cities include a range of 24°C to 31°C in Metro Manila, 17°C to 24°C in Baguio City, 24°C to 32°C in Laoag City, 25°C to 32°C in Legazpi City, 26°C to 32°C in Metro Cebu, 25°C to 32°C in Puerto Princesa City, and 25°C to 34°C in Metro Davao.

Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang has visited and presented gifts to Madeleine Riffaud, a French revolutionary and former journalist of the French newspaper L’Humanité, and a close friend of the Vietnamese people.

Riffaud recalled her deep memories of Vietnam, a country she always loves. At the age of 99, despite her poor health, she still clearly remembers the times she met General Vo Nguyen Giap and extended her regards to her Vietnamese friend Nguyen Thi Binh.

She said she does not forget the images of the American bombings which devastated the North of Vietnam. For her, Vietnam always remains in her memories and her love for this distant country is always intact, never changes.

Ambassador Thang briefed Riffaud on the recent activities commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and 10 years of strategic partnership between Vietnam and France and affirmed its significant contribution to these relations. On this occasion, he presented the French friend w
ith a souvenir with the logo of 50 years of Vietnam-France relations.

Jean-David Morvan, who takes care of Riffaud and is always at her side, presented to the ambassador the memories she brought back from Riffaud’s visits to Vietnam, including the posters ‘Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom’, to the Order of Friendship, pages of the Tet newspaper of Courrier du Vietnam, and the popular prints of Dong Ho. According to Morvan, all these memories are always cherished and respected by Riffaud.

Born on August 23, 1924 in Paris, the young French Madeleine Riffaud joined the French Resistance front at the age of 18 under the pseudonym Rainer. She fought bravely against the Nazis during World War II. As a war correspondent for the newspaper l’Humanité which speaks for the French Communist Party, she was directly present in the anti-American war in Vietnam.

Her articles on the life and courageous struggles of the Vietnamese people in this war were published in France, attracting many peace-lovin
g readers. It has always supported the Vietnamese people in the national liberation struggle in the past as well as in the work of building the country today.

Recognising Madeleine Riffaud’s great contributions, the Government of Vietnam awarded her the Order of Resistance, first class in 1984, and the Order of Friendship in 2004./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

NA leader launches Vietnam Town in Thai province


National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on December 9 cut the ribbon to launch the Vietnam Town in Thailand’s northeastern Udon Thani province, which is the first in Thailand and the world.

The top legislator described the opening of the Vietnam Town as a new imprint of Vietnam in Thailand.

He expressed his delight that cultural and historical values of Vietnam have been promoted in Thailand, marked by Vietnamese pagodas and three relic sites dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh.

He thanked the administration of Udon Thani and sponsors for supporting the Vietnam Town project.

Underlining that it is the first and only Vietnam Town in the world, NA Chairman Hue said he believes that with the strong support of the local administration, the town will see bustle business, cultural and tourism activities, thus becoming a destination for Vietnamese in Thailand as well as tourists, contributing to enriching the local culture and fostering the friendship and attachment between locals and Thai people of Vietnamese
origin here.

The Vietnam Town initiative should be multiplied in other suitable localities of Thailand, he said.

Udon Thani Governor Wanchai Kongkasem reviewed the friendship and cooperation between the two countries over the years.

He said that the Vietnamese community has acted as an important factor in promoting the ties between the two countries.

The official said the formation of the Vietnam Town is a symbol of the solidarity, friendship and cooperation between the two countries and peoples.

According to the Vietnamese Association in Udon Thani, the Vietnamese community in the locality comprises about 60,000 people.

The Vietnam Town is located in the Vietnamese market area in the city downtown, with 99% of residents being of Vietnamese origin. Along with the support of the local administration and Vietnamese in Thailand, the project has received sponsorship from a number of Vietnamese firms at home./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue meets with Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn


National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue had a meeting with Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida in Bangkok on December 8 as part of his ongoing visit to Thailand.

The top legislator conveyed Vietnamese senior leaders’ regards to the Thai King and Queen, and briefed the host on the outcomes of his talks and meetings with President of the National Assembly and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and President of the Senate of Thailand, and the Thai Prime Minister.

Hue expressed his belief that under the reign of the King, the Thai parliament, government and people will continue to reap greater achievements in national construction and development, enhancing the country’s role in the region and the world.

He affirmed that Vietnam always attaches great importance to fostering the enhanced strategic partnership with Thailand, and hoped that the two countries will soon elevate their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership in the coming time.

The King spoke highly of NA Chairman
Hue’s visit, and highlighted the close and long-standing relations between Thailand and Vietnam and the need to continue strengthening bilateral ties.

King Maha Vajiralongkorn expressed his pleasure at the sound development of the Vietnam-Thailand relations and the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between Thailand’s House of Representatives and Vietnam’s National Assembly.

He recalled his good impression of Vietnam during his visits in 1992 and 1997 as the Crown Prince of Thailand.

The King agreed with NA Chairman Hue’s proposal that the King, the Royal Family and Government of Thailand continue creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Thailand to settle down, and supporting the development of Vietnamese culture and language in the country, including President Ho Chi Minh relic sites, Vietnamese pagodas, Vietnam Town and Vietnamese study centres.

NA Chairman Hue highly valued the previous visits to Vietnam by King Maha Vajiralongkorn as the Crown Prince, as wel
l as trips by members of the Thai Royal Family, which contributed to fostering the friendship and all-round cooperation between the two countries.

The Vietnamese NA leader said he will tour Udon Thani province and thanked Thailand for supporting the formation of the first Vietnam Town in Thailand, which is also the first in the world.

On the occasion, NA Chairman Hue conveyed the invitation from Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Vo Van Thuong to invite the Thai King to visit Vietnam at an appropriate time./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Top legislator visits Vietnamese embassy in Thailand


National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on December 8 visited the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand as part of his ongoing visit to the Southeast Asian country.

Briefing the embassy’s staff on the outcomes of his talks and meetings with Thai parliament’s leaders, he said that the two sides agreed on many important orientations for the bilateral relations in the future.

NA Chairman Hue highlighted the growing Vietnam-Thailand relationship with bright prospects.

Currently, Thailand is Vietnam’s second biggest trading partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he said, noting that the two sides are striving for 25 billion USD in bilateral trade in a more balanced direction. This is also a task of the embassy and especially the Vietnamese Trade Office, he stated.

He lauded the efforts by Ambassador Phan Chi Thanh as well as the embassy’s staff in preparing for his visit.

He asked the embassy, together with other relevant agencies, to continue working hard to prepare for the elevation
of the Vietnam-Thailand ties in the future.

At the same time, the embassy should promote the similarities between the two nations to further bolster partnership between the two countries as well as cooperation in the Mekong sub-region, the NA leader said./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Deepening ties benefits both China, Vietnam: Chinese ministry’s spokesperson


The strengthening of solidarity and friendship and the deepening of mutually-beneficial cooperation between China and Vietnam is in the common interests of both sides and conducive to peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world, the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Wang Wenbin has said.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President of China Xi Jinping and his spouse will make a State visit to Vietnam on December 12-13 at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong and his spouse, and President Vo Van Thuong and his spouse.

Speaking at a regular press conference in Beijing on December 7, Wang noted that right after the 20th National Congress of the CPC, CPV General Secretary Trong made a visit to China from October 30 to November 1 at the invitation of Xi.

During the visit, leaders of the two countries had an in-depth discussion on major orientations to promote the comprehensi
ve strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and China, said the spokesperson.

This year has seen frequent high-level interactions, close exchanges between various ministries and localities, and deeper cooperation in various fields, which have brought benefits to the peoples of the two countries, he added./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

PM urges Ca Mau to fully tap potential for sustainable development


Ca Mau should double efforts to maximise its potential and strength, and promote resources and the spirit of self-reliance for its local development, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at a ceremony to announce the southernmost province’s master plan for the 2021-30 period, with a vision to 2050, and its investment promotion event on December 9.

Mentioning the key policies of the Party and State in socio-economic development and international integration, the PM urged Ca Mau to focus on exploiting its brand of ‘Ca Mau Cape’, the southernmost point of the country, thereby promoting tourism development, and fully tap its advantages for developing renewable energy and seaports.

At the same time, Ca Mau should promote the application of science and technology in aquaculture and seafood processing, striving to to become a centre in this field.

Attention should be also paid to creating breakthroughs in transport infrastructure, especially road, inland waterway, aviation and sea transport, he said, while urging
the province to build runways so that large aircraft can land at Ca Mau airport.

The PM also asked local authorities to concentrate on improving the quality of human resources, investing more in education and training, intensifying the application of science and technology and promoting the creative startup ecosystem, developing appropriate mechanisms and policies, speeding up administrative reform and improving business investment environment, increasing competitiveness and promptly removing difficulties and create favourable conditions for businesses.

He requested businesses that were granted investment registration certificates and those have been given in-principle approval to urgently complete procedures and soon put their projects into operation.

Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Tien Hai briefed on potential, strengths, opportunities, and investment projects in the province.

He said that the province’s master plan for the 2021-30 period, with a vision to 2050 approved by the Prime
Minister on November 16, 2023, is an important basis for policy-making, investment planning, and creating motivation for production, business activities, and social security in the locality.

He called on domestic and foreign investors, and international organisations to explore investment opportunities in the locality in the coming time, saying that the provincial authorities pledge to do their best to support and accompany businesses and investors.

Ca Mau has recorded important achievements in socio-economic development in recent years. Its GRDP in 2023 is estimated to reach more than 45.4 trillion VND (over 1.87 billion USD), up 7.83% year-on-year, exceeding the set plan. GRDP per capita is estimated at nearly 70 million VND, while the province’s social investment capital is valued at 24 trillion VND./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency