(VOVworld) – Vietnam’s rural electrification has expanded in the last 15 years. Last year nine million Vietnamese gained access to electricity. Now 98% of rural households are connected to the national grid. The electrification program has improved rural life and helped reduce the number of poor households.

(VOVworld) – Vietnam’s northwestern region has significant potential for tourism with historical sites, distinctive ethnic minority cultures, and unspoiled nature. The best way to tap the potential of each province and locality, turning nature, and culture into lures for tourists, is by increasing tourism links.

(VOVworld) – Vietnam’s negotiations to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership are entering the final stages. Participating in this deal will create many opportunities for Vietnamese agriculture.

(VOVworld) –Vietnam is finalizing the last negotiations with the US to join the Trans-Pacific partnership agreement and is close to signing a Free Trade Agreement with the EU. Meeting requirements for these deals will offer both challenges and opportunities for Vietnam, especially in the footwear sector, to increase exports.

(VOVworld) – Trade unions, which represent more than 50 million workers in Vietnam, have been implementing a range of social activities to support fishermen at sea. Their support has helped to boost the development of the fisheries sector and Vietnam’s marine economy.

(VOVworld) – The national flag was raised on the roof of the Independence Palace 39 years ago, marking the collapse of the puppet regime and opening a new era of development in Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh city. VOV reports on changes in the city since its liberation day April 30th 1975.

(VOVworld) – The establishment of special administrative and economic zones known as free economic zones is no longer a new idea. But it’s quite a new model for Vietnam. It is hoped that the creation of these zones of preferential treatment will have an effect on other economic zones in Vietnam.

(VOVworld) – Mechanical engineering plays a key role in Vietnam’s industrialization and modernization process. Under the development strategy for Vietnam mechanical engineering industry approved by the Prime Minister in 2002, the sector has gained encouraging achievements towards international integration.

(VOVworld) – Corporation 36, a state-owned firm under the Ministry of Defense, is speeding up the equitization roadmap pursuant to the Prime Minister’s instruction of rearrangement and renovation of SOEs under the Ministry until 2015. VOV talked to Colonel Nguyen Dang Giap, Chairman and Director General of the Corporation, about advantages and challenges faced by the equitization process.

(VOVworld) – With more than 5,000 historical relics, close to 1,300 traditional craft villages, and a great number of intangible cultural heritages, Hanoi is an attractive destination for tourists. The municipal tourism sector is looking to regional links to improve efficiency.