On the morning of March 21st, Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Binh had courtesy meeting with a delegation from the Foreign Affairs Department of Nara prefecture – Japan, headed by Mr. Hitomi Tatsuya, Director of the Foreign Affairs Department of Nara prefecture.

Having worked in Ho Chi Minh City for 10 years and being at the peak of his career, Nguyen Duc Tung, Director of X10 Digital Company, chose to return to Hue with the dream of building a “creative factory” in his homeland.

Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc, Director of the Provincial Department of Tourism, said that on the evening of January 26, within the framework of the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF), there was an award ceremony for the ASEAN Clean Tourist City Awards, taking place in Vientiane, Laos. The three cities representing Vietnam have been awarded (which will be effected from 2024 to 2026) namely: Hue (Thua Thien Hue Province), Vung Tau (Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province), and Quy Nhon (Binh Dinh Province).

Ms. Dinh Thi Hoai Trai, Director of the Hue Fine Arts Museum, announced on January 19th that the museum received nearly 60,000 visitors in 2023. Visitors were mainly attracted to Le Ba Dang and Diem Phung Thi art exhibitions. According to Ms. Trai, this figure represents a 40% increase compared to that of the year 2022.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the uncertain global economic and political situation, has directly affected the export sector. However, thanks to efforts to diversify markets and export goods, Thua Thien Hue's merchandise export turnover reached 1.1 billion USD in 2023, creating momentum for a breakthrough in 2024.

On January 10, the Provincial Department of Tourism coordinated with Vietjet Air, KX Group (South Korea), SMC Hue Co., Ltd. (South Korea), Hue Monuments Conservation Center, Vietravel Hue One Member Limited Company and related units to organize direct flights connecting Thua Thien Hue and Incheon (South Korea).

As the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced, on November 18th, Mr. Nguyen Van Hung, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr. Dinh Toan Thang, Vietnamese Ambassador to France, Ms. Le Thi Hong Van, Head of the Permanent Delegation of Vietnam to United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Ms. Le Thi Thu Hien, Director General of the Department of Cultural Heritage, together with representatives from Ministry of Public Security (Vietnam), the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, and UNESCO, witnessed the transfer ceremony of the ‘Emperor’s Treasure’ golden seal to Vietnam on the afternoon of November 16th at the Vietnamese Embassy in France.

Hue Digital Transformation Week 2023, with the theme “Generating Digital Data - Accelerating Regional Connectivity,” is expected to unveil strategies for a new phase of digital transformation (DT) in Thua Thien Hue. Mr. Nguyen Xuan Son, Director of the Department of Information and Communication (ICT) shared insights on this significant event with Thua Thien Hue Weekly.

On the afternoon of November 1, in Hanoi, the provincial delegation, led by Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Hoang Hai Minh, had a working session with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on the contents related to projects on planning, green transportation and climate change. Mr. Shantanu Chakraborty, the ADB Country Director for Vietnam, worked with the delegation.

Plastic waste is not biodegradable, which can only break into small pieces and float everywhere. With the exposure to sunlight, it may take many centuries to decompose. Those very familiar everyday small objects such as straws and bottle caps could take from 100 to 500 years to decompose; while it takes from 500 to 1,000 years for the flimsy plastic bags, and from 50 to 200 years for convenient foam cups to decompose, etc. Our environment and health are extremely negatively affected by plastic waste. It directly impacts soil, water, and air, which also creates favorable conditions for many disease-causing bacteria.