News highlights for April 4, 2023

A project displayed at the exhibition themed "The Gardeners" in Hanoi. Photo courtesy of the VCCA

Australian State official David Hurley arrives in Hanoi

Australian Governor-General David Hurley arrived in Hanoi on April 3 to begin his four-day State visit to Vietnam on the invite of President Vo Van Thuong. The Australian official is President Thuong's first national guest in his new position and the first State leader that comes to Vietnam in 2023. The Australian official will meet Vietnam’s top leaders, including President Thuong, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, during his time in Vietnam and tour Australian facilities in the country. In 2023, Vietnam and Australia will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the foundation of their diplomatic relations.

Vietnam-South Korea seek further cooperation in agriculture

The Republic of Korea expects the Vietnamese Government to facilitate bilateral trading of agricultural products further, Lee Sung-hee, Chairman of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF) of the RoK, told Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai on April 3. The Korean official also backed the idea of developing a representative office for Korean cooperatives in Vietnam and organizing the Vietnamese agriculture fair in Pusan (Korea). In return, Deputy PM Khai wanted to explore opportunities and share ideas regarding agricultural development, thus increasing income for farmers of the two nations.

Hanoi theater to close for renovation

Director of the Hanoi Opera House, Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet, announced on April 3 that the theater will close in 2024 to renovate and improve its facilities. The upcoming project will focus on repairing the stage and equipment, including curtains, carpet, and chairs, that have broken down since the last renovation in 1997. The project management unit under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will lead the project. Officials expect to receive the participation of architect Ho Thieu Tri in the project. Architect Ho Thieu Tri also joined the renovation project 25 years ago.

Vietjet to open Hanoi-Phuket direct flight

The low-cost airline Vietjet Air will launch the first direct flight connecting Hanoi and Phuket (Thailand) on May 19. It takes about three hours to travel between the two destinations. The round-trip will depart at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport at 11:35 and return to the city at 18:35. The low-cost carrier has explored the two-hour round-trip between HCM City and Phuket, and other routes that link cities and provinces of Vietnam to Bangkok and Chiangmai of Thailand. Aside Vietjet, the national carrier Vietnam Airlines has an indirect flight connecting Hanoi and Phuket with a temporary stop in Bangkok.

“The Gardeners” exhibition on show in Hanoi

An exhibition themed “The Gardeners” is now on show at the Vincom Center for Contemporary Art (VCCA) until May 2. Inspired by “The Gardeners” poems of the late Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore, the exhibition will feature nearly 100 projects of 90 young, talented Vietnamese artists, ranging from sculptures, paintings, and graphical designs to multimedia arts. The exhibition is expected to become a new space for artists to show their ability and creativity that recreate the best out of the simplest thing in the life of normal people.