National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and representatives of the Vietnamese community in Indonesia (Photo: VNA)

Jakarta – National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on August 4 met with officials and staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in Jakarta, the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to ASEAN and the Vietnamese community in Indonesia.

According to Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Ta Van Thong, about 500 Vietnamese people are living in Indonesia. Over the years, the embassy had focused on protecting Vietnamese citizens in the country, he said.

He noted that despite the global economic recession, two-way trade between Vietnam and Indonesia has still increased 10% each year to 14 billion USD in 2022. He held that the goal of 15 billion USD set by the two sides can be reached before 2028.

Many Vietnamese people have chosen Indonesia for travelling, while many Vietnamese businesses have invested in the country, he added.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Nguyen Hai Bang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to ASEAN, and ASEAN Deputy Secretary General Tran Duc Binh said that Vietnam and Indonesia are important partners of each other in ASEAN. The Vietnamese top legislator’s participation at the 44th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-44) is an important external activity in both bilateral and multilateral aspects, they underlined.

Representatives from Vietnamese businesses in Indonesia proposed that the NA and Government continue designing policies and measures to promote economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries.

Addressing the meeting, NA Chairman Hue highlighted the sound relations between Vietnam and Indonesia, initiated by President Ho Chi Minh and President Sukarno.

He said that Vietnam with a population of 100 million and Indonesia with nearly 300 million people have great cooperation potential, asking Vietnamese businesses, diplomatic agencies and community to continue to promote bilateral collaboration in promising areas towards the goal of 15 billion USD in two-way trade. Indonesia is currently the third largest of Vietnam among ASEAN members, he noted.

He said he hopes the embassy and Vietnamese community will continue to act as a bridge connecting the two countries. He also asked the Vietnam Trade Office to create optimal conditions for businesses of both sides to promote partnership.

He affirmed that the Party and State always consider the Vietnamese community abroad as an indispensable part of the Vietnamese nation, and expressed his hope that the Vietnamese community in Indonesia will maintain the language and culture of Vietnam.

He held that it is necessary to organise a Vietnamese Language Day abroad, along with the building of cultural facilities for Vietnamese people in other countries to gather./.

Tran Minh Men (L) and another blood donor. (Photo: tuoitre.vn)

Hanoi – Many people across Vietnam, regardless of their ages and jobs, have actively donated blood to save lives of many others.

In late July, 100 outstanding blood donors nationwide were honoured at a three-day programme in the capital city of Hanoi.

Among them, there are 20 female delegates, 16 representatives from the education sector, eight medical staff, seven from the armed forces and three ethnic minorities. The oldest delegate is 61 years old and the youngest is 22 years old.

There were 10 delegates who donated blood 19-29 times, 60 delegates 30-49 times, 20 delegates 50-69 times, eight 70-99 times, and two at least 100 times.

Tran Minh Men, a 52-year-old man, has donated blood 102 times over the past 22 years. He is now head of the Blood Bank Team in Nghi Duc commune, Tanh Linh district, the south central province of Binh Thuan.

He shared at a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh that he has also encouraged more than 3,000 others to participate in blood donation campaigns.

According to him, the greatest joy of those who participate in those campaigns is that patients are healthy and return to a normal life.

Meanwhile, Ho Kim Phuong from Ho Chi Minh City is the female donor with the most times donating blood at 78 times. She has participated in blood donation once every 3 months since 1997.

“Having witnessed many difficult and extreme situations, I always think “I can give what I can give, I can help someone with what I can”. My blood is available in my body, I can help people, help life until there is no health left. My family has four members, and all of us have donated blood more than 250 times, my husband has donated 72 times and is now over the age to donate blood, my daughter 52 times, my son 48 times,” Phuong said.

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

Over the past 15 years, as many as 1,500 voluntary blood donors nationwide have been honoured.

Last year, over 1.43 million units of blood were donated nationwide, 99% of which came from voluntary blood donors.

Since early this year, about 900,000 units of blood have been collected through various campaigns./.