Category: Politics

Hanoi: Vietnamese drama and romance movie Mai has been released in international markets since March 22.

The production by film producer and director Tran Thanh is currently available in theatres in the US.

The film will be later screened in Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, France, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, and the UK.

Mai features a story about a massage therapist named Mai, who faces misfortunes in life. After moving into an old apartment, she meets Duong, a rich young man who wants to experience a normal life. Both quickly fall in love.

The work features Phuong Anh Dao, Tuan Tran, Uyen An, and veteran actors People’s Artists Viet Anh and Ngoc Giau.

It was released in Vietnam on February 10, or the first day of the Lunar New Year.

After 41 days in theatres, Mai raked in 520 billion VND (20.9 million USD) and sold around 6.5 million tickets, becoming the highest-grossing Vietnamese film of all time.

Thanh is known for producing the high-grossing movies in Vietnam.

He rose to fame as a producer wi
th his debut movie and smash hit Bo Gia (Dad, I’m Sorry) in 2021, directed by Vu Ngoc Dang, which broke box-office records for a Vietnamese film by earning 400 billion VND (16.1 million USD).

The film was also sold to Malaysia, Singapore, the US, and Australia.

It won the Silver Lotus Award for Best Feature Film and for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenplay at the annual Vietnam Film Festival.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism chose the film as the Vietnamese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Category at the 2022 Oscar Awards.

Following the success of Bo Gia, Thanh released his directorial debut Nha Ba Nu (The House of No Man) in 2023.

The film broke his own record by earning 475 billion VND (19.2 million USD), selling 5.8 million tickets.

It was screened in the US, Singapore, Canada and New Zealand./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

HCM City: The 4th Ho Chi Minh City Youth Fest 2024 opened on March 22 evening with the message ‘ New generation – Adaptation – Connection and Sharing’.

The three-day event, organised within the framework of Youth Month to celebrate the 93rd founding anniversary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (March 26, 1931 – 2024), is expected to attract about 50,000 visitors with exchange activities in different spaces, including culture and arts, technology, sports, social skills improvement, and start-up.

Five international youth delegations from Russia, Laos, and Malaysia visited the city on this occasion to work and exchange with local youth.

Notably, festival goers can enjoy street art playgrounds, alongside a ‘Light Route’ space, exhibitions of traditional cultural products, shows of ‘ao dai’ (traditional long dress) and ancient costumes of Vietnam, and the traditional costumes of other Southeast Asian countries, and cultural exchange activities between Vietnamese youth and international ones at the ‘Youn
g Culture and International Exchanges’ space.

Meanwhile, at the ‘Reading Culture’ space, people can read and buy books at preferential prices, and meet with famous authors.

The ‘Culinary Culture’ space offers visitors an opportunity to enjoy typical dishes and learn about the culinary quintessence of regions across Vietnam. At the ‘Youth Start-up’ space, visitors can buy products from businesses run by young people or agricultural products under the ‘One Commune – One Product’ (OCOP) programme.

The “Music – Connection” space features traditional, contemporary, street, and roller skating art performances; an exchange programme for art teams; and a dance group festival titled ‘Dance for Youth’.

At the event, experts and successful young entrepreneurs are invited to share start-up knowledge and experience with young people. A start-up contest named “Startup Wheel” was launched at the event, seeking for startup ideas.

This year, the youth festival promotes new technology experience activities for young peopl
e with the “Technology Bus” space introducing many new technology tools and solutions to serve their learning and working./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

President of the Argentine Republic Javier Milei has sent a congratulatory letter to Ilham Aliyev on his re-election as the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

“I was very pleased that the foreign ministers of our countries recently had a very productive telephone conversation that served the development of our bilateral relations,” the Argentine President noted.

“Based on the principles of friendship and respect that underpin our relations, I would like to reiterate that I will continue to spare no effort to strengthen our bilateral cooperation and economic relations in areas of mutual interest for the welfare of our countries.

I once again convey my sincerest congratulations to you on your new presidential term and, avail myself of this opportunity to express my deep respect and consideration to you,” President Javier Milei emphasized.

Source: Azerbaijan State News Agency

Speaker of Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova has chaired the Asian Parliamentary Assembly (APA) Co-ordinating Meeting held within the framework of the 148 Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

Addressing the meeting, Speaker of Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova said that this was the first APA co-ordinating meeting held under the aegis of the Inter-Parliamentary Union with Azerbaijani chairmanship.

The participants heard the report on the activity of APA since the last meeting, as well as the planned calendar events by the end of this year.

Then, representatives of the member countries shared their views on the current issues, as well as the proposals and topics to be discussed by the APA countries within the framework of preparation for the 148th Assembly of the IPU.

The meeting continued with the speeches of the representatives of the parliaments of the APA Member States regarding the APA common position statement at the 148th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, as well as about fu
rther deepening of cooperation within the Organization.

Source: Azerbaijan State News Agency

Azerbaijan’s chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) had breathed new life into this Organisation and defined new directions in its work, said Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Sierra Leone Abbas Chernor Bundu as he met with Speaker of Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova on the sidelines of the 148th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union held in Geneva, Switzerland.

During the meeting, the parties exchanged views on the possibilities of promoting inter-parliamentary ties, as well as stressed the importance of cooperation within international organizations.

The sides hailed Azerbaijan’s important role in the activities of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Parliamentary Network. It was remarked that important steps had been taken during the Azerbaijani chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement towards the Organisation’s institutional growth. It was further mentioned that the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Youth Organisation of the Non-Aligned Movement had
been established at the initiative of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

Speaker of Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova mentioned that the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement plays an important role in the development of parliamentary diplomacy, expansion of ties between the legislative bodies of the Member States of the Organisation and manifestations of solidarity to address several issues of concern to humanity.

Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Sierra Leone Abbas Chernor Bundu offered congratulations on the initiatives and efforts to expand the activities of the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement, saying that the Azerbaijani chairmanship had breathed new life into this Organisation and defined new directions in its work. He said that the issues addressed by the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network concurred with the new challenges, and commended, in particular, Azerbaijan’s position on the issue of decolonization.

The sides emphasized the significance of promot
ing inter-parliamentary relations, stressing that the meetings and dialogues built within the Inter-Parliamentary Union and other international organizations serve to deepen the ties between the legislative assemblies of both countries.

The parties also exchanged views on other issues of mutual concern.

Source: Azerbaijan State News Agency

Speaker of Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova has met with Speaker of the National Assembly of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana Manzoor Nadir on the sidelines of the 148th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union held in Geneva, the Swiss Confederation.

During the meeting, the sides emphasized that the meetings held under the aegis of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and within other international organizations, as well as the dialogue help broaden the relations between the legislative assemblies.

Speaker of Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova underlined the fact that parliamentarians represent their nations, adding that deepening the links between the legislatures also brought the nations closer.

The sides discussed cooperation within international organizations. They underlined the significance of the links within the Parliamentary Network of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) that was established at the initiative of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

Speaker Sahiba Gafarova informed her colleague of
the global initiatives that President Ilham Aliyev had put forward during Azerbaijan’s chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement. She underscored the importance of the emergence of the Organization’s Parliamentary Network for the progress of parliamentary diplomacy. The Speaker underscored that the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network had held one constituent and two sequential conferences so far.

Speaker of the National Assembly of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana Manzoor Nadir highlighted the importance of inter-legislature links, noting that his country attaches special attention to cooperation in international parliamentary entities.

During the meeting, the sides underlined that both countries attach great significance to tolerance and multicultural values. The Speakers of Parliament shared their views on the inadmissibility of national, racial and religious discrimination currently observed worldwide.

The parties also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest.

Source: Azerbaijan Sta
te News Agency