Agricultural experts from Vietnam and Thailand shared experiences in boosting poverty reduction efforts and increasing the living conditions of ethnic people in rural areas at a workshop in Hanoi on September 21.

The Global IDA Relations Director of the Emerging Markets Development Group under US Group SAP, Slobodan Trendic, highly appreciated the potential of Vietnam’s information technology market and wished for cooperation with the country, especially Hanoi.

The Word Bank (WB) plans to assist Vietnamese youth, particularly their human development programme, which is directed at improving the quality of basic education, accelerating access to secondary tertiary education, and building high-quality training centres.

Good relationships in the workplace were critical to the future success of Vietnam's economy, an International Labour Organisation (ILO) official said at a two-day conference on "Strategies for Workforce Development: Keys to Success in the 21st Century, which concluded in Hanoi on September 20.

Officials of the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh on September 19-20 visited and presented gifts to dignitaries at local Khmer pagodas and families of war invalids and fallen soldiers on the occasion of the Khmer Sene Dolta festival.

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has agreed to provide nearly €225,000 (approximately VND4.5 billion) for the Vietnamese Women and Youth Assistance Association in Germany (VIFI) to build 400 houses for disadvantaged people in the country.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) is responsible for urging localities to implement the National Assembly’s resolution on solving pending master plans and projects by July 1, 2007. The bottom line is that all those involved in zoning plans must bear responsibility.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held at 58 Quan Su, Hanoi on September 20 for construction of the VND186-billion National Radio Broadcasting Centre with 15 stories (including two basements) on an area of 17,000 sq m.

The Ministry of Health on September 19 launched a Japanese-funded project to improve healthcare services in the Mekong Delta through 2011.

No new bird flu outbreaks have been detected across the country during the past nine months, according to the National Steering Committee for Bird Flu Control at its regular meeting in Hanoi on September 19.

Vietnam has secured first place for the second time after winning a total of 13 medals and six certificates of excellent occupational skills at the sixth ASEAN occupational skills competition held recently in Brunei. The runner-up was Indonesia followed by Thailand (third place) and Brunei (fourth place).

The minimum monthly salary for wage earners will increase from VND350,000 to VND450,000 as of October 1, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs announced at a press briefing in Hanoi on September 18.

Foreigners who intentionally or unintentionally violate Vietnamese laws are likely to be expelled from Vietnam in accordance with administrative procedures, according to a decree recently issued by the Prime Minister.

The US Government has decided to provide US$1.55 million for a new project to fight avian influenza in Vietnam and Laos, according to a press release issued by the US Embassy in Hanoi on September 18.

Around 28.6 million poultry in 27 provinces and cities nationwide including 13 million chickens and 15.6 million ducks have been vaccinated since the first drive of vaccination was launched in February this year. Dong Thap province is now engaged in the second drive of vaccination, according to the Veterinary Department.

The Vietnamese Party and Government have always taken great care to improve the material and spiritual lives of Khmer ethnic people, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said at a conference in Can Tho City on September 17.

About 110,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS, of which 18,000 have developed full-blown AIDS in Vietnam, warned experts at a recent conference in northern Lang Son province.

More than 4,200 HIV/AIDS-infected people have benefited from a project to strengthen community-based healthcare, consultancy, and support services launched by the Vietnam Red Cross Society and the Global Fund against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

The International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) Residential Representative, Irja Sandberg, has appreciated Vietnam's efforts in bird flu control, especially active contributions by the national Red Cross (VRC) to raising public awareness of the epidemic.

The Abbott Fund launched a new programme on September 12 to further expand its Child Nutritional Programme in Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Tri provinces through its implementing agencies AmeriCare and Giao Diem.

The French Development Agency (AFD) has agreed to provide loans worth 30 million Euro for the Ho Chi Minh City Investment Fund for Urban Development (HIFU) to improve the city’s social and environmental infrastructure facilities.

Ensuring gender equality in employment, job promotion, vocational training, and social sponsorship and dialogues was high on the agenda of a seminar in Hanoi on September 13-14.

An exhibition titled "Education on wild animal trafficking for high school pupils in Hanoi" opened in the capital city on September 14.

An Association for Liaison with Overseas Vietnamese-Ho Chi Minh City (ALOV-HCMC) was set up on September 14, with 181 members who include repatriated overseas Vietnamese.

Health quarantine agreements between Vietnam and China, Laos and Cambodia are no longer appropriate and should be revised, according to delegates meeting in Ha Long city, northern Quang Ninh province on September 14-15.

About 130 business people and researchers from various companies and institutes met in HCM City on September 14 to promote renewable energy and the application of bio-energy in Vietnam through a seminar discussion jointly held by the UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and the Asia-Pacific Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Energy (CESE).

An international seminar entitled ”Distant training: Policies and Technology” was held in Hanoi on September 14, drawing the participation of Deputy Minister of Education and Training Tran Van Nhung and rectors from 11 universities in Vietnam and in Southeast Asia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence, in cooperation with Australia, have organised a two-day seminar of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Hanoi.

Vietnam and Thailand agree to continue boosting bilateral cooperation to prevent drug abuse and drug-related crimes through tourism activities between the two countries.

The annual Southeast Asian conference on open and distance learning, the ninth of its kind, opened in Hanoi recently.