Hoang Nguyen Thanh wins the first ever gold medal in the men's marathon at SEA Games for Vietnam. (Photo: VNA)
During the event began in early May 19 morning near Hanoi-based My Dinh National Stadium, Thanh faced fierce competition from defending champion Agus Prayogo of Indonesia and Tony Ah-Thit Payne of Thailand.
He reached the finish line first after 2:25:08, faster than the second-placed Prayogo by 30 seconds.
In addition, he set a new personal record as his previous one was 2:26:56.
The 27-year-old runner from the southern province of Binh Phuoc quenched Vietnam’s thirst for medals in the men’s marathon for more than six decades.
Previously, Pham Thi Binh clinched a gold medal in the women’s marathon for Vietnam at SEA Games 28 in 2013.
Speaking to reporters after the competition, Thanh said he was proud but hardly believed that he could win. In the last kilometres, he told himself to do his utmost until the end with cheering from local supporters.
Also on May 19 morning, Vietnam bagged two more golds in the men’s and women’s 20km walk by Vo Xuan Vinh and Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuc, respectively.
Nguyen Thanh Ngung clinched a bronze in the men’s 20km walk.
With three golds and one bronze on the last competition day of athletics, the Vietnamese delegation packed a total of 22 gold, 14 silver and seven bronze medals in the sport, surpassing its set target of 15-17 golds at SEA Games 31.
SEA Games 31, themed “For a Stronger South East Asia”, is being held in Hanoi and 11 neighbouring provinces and cities until May 23.
It features 40 sports with 523 events, attracting around 10,000 participants. The biennial event was initially slated for late 2021 but delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
US agrees to import Vietnamese pomelos
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) has just received a notice from the US authorities saying they have completed the appraisal of procedures of importing Vietnamese pomelos, reported the Voice of Vietnam.
The US is putting the finishing touches to the opening of its market for Vietnamese pomelos.
During a recent meeting with Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan, US Under Secretary of Agriculture Jason Hafemeister said the US was putting the finishing touches to the opening of its market for Vietnamese pomelos. He went on to say the US has been collecting public comments since February 2022 and is currently gathering them for early announcement.
Minister Hoan, who accompanied Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on his May 11-17 working visit to the US, told his host that Vietnam considers the US a leading partner in agriculture.
Vietnam is now transforming towards green agriculture, and it has engaged in many initiatives with the US, other countries and international organizations in this regard, Hoan stressed.
Illustrative photo
Pomelo is Vietnam’s seventh fruit eligible to enter the US after mango, longan, lychee, dragon fruit, rambutan and star apple.
According to the Vietnam Trade Office in the US, the US is a potential market for Vietnamese fruits when it has more than 330 million consumers with high per capita income and the culinary trend is increasingly focused on vegetables and fruits.
The US was the largest consumer of Vietnamese farm products in the past four months, with its import turnover reaching US$4.9 billion, up 27.3% year on year. The import of Vietnamese vegetables and fruits continued to increase significantly over the same period.
Six more VN pangasius processors eligible to export to US
According to the Vietnam National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department, the US Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has recently recognised an additional six Vietnamese pangasius processors which meet the food safety requirements to export products to the US market, reported the Voice of Vietnam.
The six processors are Hop Nhat Seafood Jsc., Atlantic Seafood Frozen Factory (Atlantic Seafood), Basa Mekong Factory (Basa Mekong), the high-grade pangasius processing plant, Co May Import and Export Co., Ltd., and CK Frozen Food Vietnam Co., Ltd.
The Vietnam National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (Nafiquad) noted that these factories all fully comply with the regulations set out in the FSIS’s mandatory inspection programme for fish of the order Siluriformes and products derived from these fish.
The Centre for Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance of Zones 4 & 6 have since been assigned to grant certificates of quarantine for pangasius export shipments from these factories to the US market in line with FSIS’ announcement.
According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), the total value of pangasius exports to the US during the first half of April surged by 131.4% to US$195.3 million against the same period from last year.
At present, the demand for whitefish (Coregonidae) imports from both the US and the EU has been growing positively, especially in the context that the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict is expected to exert a significant impact on the global whitefish market.
FSIS has so far recognised 19 Vietnamese pangasius processing factories that are allowed to export products to the US.
Tokyo to host 14th Vietnam Festival in June
The 14th Vietnam Festival is scheduled to take place at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo, Japan, from June 4-5, reported Vietnam News Agency.
Aoyagi Yoichiro, member of Japan’s House of Representatives, and head of the 14th Vietnam Festival managing board, speaks at the press conference. (Photo: VNA)
The information was revealed by Aoyagi Yoichiro, member of Japan’s House of Representatives and head of the festival managing board, at a press conference in Tokyo on May 18.
He highlighted the significance of the festival in increasing people-to-people exchanges, adding that it is expected to welcome 60,000 visitors. He also pledged to organise this year's festival in an exciting and safe way.
To ensure its safety, the organising board requests all attendees to strictly follow the pandemic prevention measures of the Japanese Government as well as the Tokyo administration such as wearing masks, implementing social distancing and avoiding excessive cheering, Yoichiro said.
For his part, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Vu Hong Nam, a co-chair of the festival managing board, expressed his gratitude to late Senator Iwao Matsuda, who put forth the initiative to hold the festival. He also expected that the upcoming festival will take place successfully.
The ambassador also affirmed that the Japanese Government is controlling the COVID-19 pandemic well and the organisation of the festival reflects that socio-economic activities in the country have returned to normal.
The first Vietnam Festival in Japan was held in 2008 as part of the activities to celebrate the 35th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries. It is one of the largest annual festivals in Tokyo, which does not only promote Vietnamese cuisine and culture to Japanese people but also helps enhance mutual understanding between their people./.