Category: Business

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son hosted a reception in Hanoi on March 27 for Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre Lazare Eloundou Assomo, who is paying a visit to Vietnam.

Son stressed UNESCO’s important role in maintaining and consolidating peace, sustainable development and prosperity of countries worldwide, and in preserving and promoting heritage and cultural values of humankind in particular.

Vietnam has worked to contribute to major UNESCO mechanisms to which it is a member such as the Executive Board, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, he said.

The minister noted that Vietnam always attaches importance to culture, considering it a spiritual foundation of the society, a target and momentum of national development.

He appreciated the support of Assomo himself and the centre for the recognition, conservation and promotion of cultural and natural heritages of Vietnam, saying he believes that the world heritages in Vietnam have significantly contributed to raising living standards of local residents as well as national socio-economic development.

For his part, Assomo expressed his good impression on Vietnam during his first visit, and lauded the country’s efforts in managing, conserving and promoting world heritage values.

He also highly valued Vietnam’s approach in ensuring the balance and harmony between heritage preservation and development, and called the country a model in heritage conservation and promotion.

Vietnam’s experience in this regard should be shared with other countries, he said.

Assomo affirmed that the centre always accompanies and provides the best support for Vietnam in the conservation and promotion of world heritages; and commits to supporting Vietnam’s world heritage nomination documents in the near future.

The centre will provide consultations for and assist the country in management, conservation and promotion of its eight global heritage sites and back its bid for a seat in the World Heritage Committee in the 2023-2027 tenure, he said.

Earlier on March 24, Assomo was received by Deputy Foreign Minister and Chairman of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO Ha Kim Ngoc, who underscored Vietnam’s commitment to the conservation and preservation of world heritages for future generations.

Asomo, for his part, appreciated the attention of Vietnamese leaders and communities to the management, conservation and promotion of world heritage values. Vietnam is one of the typical countries with the effective implementation of the 1972 UNESCO Convention concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage, he said.

The UNESCO official was on a Vietnam trip from March 24 to 27 at the invitation of Ngoc./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh is encouraging farmers to grow more organic coconuts to increase the value of the produce.

Tran Van Dung, deputy director of its Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said coconut farmers and companies would be offered preferential policies for the purpose and linked up to establish value chains.

The department has instructed its Plant Protection and Cultivation Sub-department to teach farmers organic coconut growing techniques and strengthen advocacy about its benefits.

Besides reducing costs, the cultivation of organic coconuts also helps protect the environment and community health.

Tra Vinh, which is the country’s second largest coconut producer after neighbouring Ben Tre province, has more than nearly seven million trees, mostly in Cang Long, Tieu Can and Cau Ke districts.

It produces 370,000 tonnes equivalent to 444 million coconuts a year.

With support from the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Project in Tra Vinh province, the department developed a plan to enhance the coconut value chain productivity in 2018.

It focuses on developing concentrated organic farming areas and linkages between coconut farmers and companies.

In the five years since, the organic coconut growing area has increased to 5,000ha, up nearly 4,600ha from 2018, with an annual output of 78,500 tonnes of nuts.

Farmers have contracts with companies, who buy their coconuts at 10-15% above market prices.

Duong Van Tho, Chairman of the Ngãi Hùng Agriculture Co-operative in Tieu Can district, said his co-operative was assisted with developing a 392ha coconut growing area in 2019.

The department should regularly organise courses to train farmers in organic growing techniques, he said.

Farmers, co-operatives and companies should be helped with the development of value chains, he added.

Farmers, co-operatives and companies are developing more organic coconut growing areas.

The Thuan Phong Agricultural Product Processing Co., Ltd. in Ben Tre province has developed a 906ha organic coconut plantation in Chau Thanh district.

The company is expected to expand it by 3,000ha by September.

Tra Vinh plans to increase its coconut growing area to 30,000ha by 2030 from more than 26,000ha now.

It has more than 50 companies, co-operatives and households which make products such as dried coconut flesh, coconut milk, oil, coal, cosmetic products, and others for both domestic consumption and exports./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The GreenViet Biodiversity Conservation Centre in collaboration with the Gustav-Stresemann Institute of Germany organised a programme in the central city of Da Nang on March 25 to discuss enterprises’ social responsibility for biodiversity conservation and environmental protection.

At the event, experts and delegates proposed ideas for enterprises to carry out their social responsibility for environmental protection, and underlined the benefits that it brings.

Nguyen Dinh Phuc, Vice Chairman of the municipal Union of Science and Technology Associations, said more enterprises are willing to use their corporate social responsibility (CSR) fund to finance environmental projects carried out by social organisations. However, the coordination between the two sides still faces certain issues, he said, adding that events like this programme will help the sides find shared values and enhance their cooperation in the future.

The activity was part of a project on pooling financial resources for sustainable biodiversity conservation and environmental protection in Da Nang city, or known as Vietnam Wildlife Conservation Fund project, which is funded by the European Union Delegation to Vietnam.

The project aims to establish a fund for the conservation of wild flora and fauna in Vietnam, mobilise resources and enhance the capacity of local social organisations operating in the field of biodiversity conservation, environmental protection, and climate change response in Central and Central Highlands regions of the country.

Carried out by GreenViet Centre since 2020, the project has so far achieved goals as scheduled. 2023 is the final year of the project and many important activities will be held./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A fisherman suffering from decompression sickness due to deep diving was brought ashore from Truong Sa township’s medical centre in Truong Sa district, the south-central province of Khanh Hoa for further treatment in HCM City’s Military Hospital 175 in the early morning of March 25.

The 51-year-old patient, residing in the central province of Ha Tinh, is a crew member of fishing boat QNg 96-293 TS.

After diving at a depth of 35 metres and coming to the surface suddenly, the man had left chest pain, mild shortness of breath and weak legs. He was took to Truong Sa township’s medical centre for treatment at 12:00 on March 23.

Through blood tests and X-rays scanning, the patient was diagnosed with decompression sickness due to deep diving in the 23rd hour. He was placed under intensive treatment but his health condition did not improve.

After consulting doctors of the Military Hospital 175 via Telemedicine, doctors here urgently proposed the Ministry of Defence bring the patient ashore for further treatment.

During the process of transporting the patient to the mainland, the air emergency team of the Military Hospital 175 always closely monitored the patient’s vital signs, and cooperated with the flight crew of the ministry’s Army Corps 18 to ensure safety for the flight and the patient.

On March 25 morning, after receiving intensive treatment at the Military Hospital 175 in HCM City, the patient showed signs of improvement./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The First ASEAN Digital Senior Officials’ Meeting and ASEAN Telecommunications Regulators’ Council (ADGSOM – ATRC) Leaders’ Retreat in 2023 took place on March 20-21 at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The event was chaired by the Philippines as ADGSOM Chair for 2023. The meeting discussed the outcomes and follow-up actions from the 3rd ASEAN Digital Ministers’ Meeting (ADGMIN) held from February 6-10 in Boracay, the Philippines.

Taking a multi-faceted approach that considers the economic, social, and environmental dimension of digitalisation and digital technologies, the meeting recognised the urgent need for collaboration and synergy among the ASEAN member states to achieve a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient digital future.

With the ASEAN Digital Masterplan 2025 reaching its halfway mark in 2023, the meeting assessed current achievements and examined whether there is a need to refine desired outcomes and enabling actions to achieve the goals set out in the Masterplan./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Tran Tuan Anh has affirmed the Vietnamese Party and State’s consistent policy of always considering the US one of the top important partners.

During a working session with a delegation from the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) in Hanoi on March 23, Anh expressed his delight at the strong and substantial development of cooperation between Vietnamese and US firms.

He highly valued the US businesses’ positive contributions to the transformation and growth of Vietnam’s economy, and expressed the readiness to engage in dialogues with US enterprises to address obstacles in bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation.

Hailing the US firms for expanding operations, research and development and innovation, he suggested the USABC further enhance its role as a bridge promoting Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership effectively and substantially that are aligned with needs and interests of both sides; step up collaboration in diversifying and ensuring supply chains, and further expand business operations.

The USABC delegation vowed to continue partnering closely with Vietnam and nourish Vietnam-US economic, trade and investment ties extensively, effectively and substantially that match their interests.

Both sides looked into Vietnam’s development strategy, several priority issues to bolster bilateral ties and proposed joint work in fields of the US’s strength and Vietnam’s demand such as health care, green energy, renewable energy, financial services, digital economy, science and technology./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries continues to boost tilapia production to meet the high global demand for the commodity.

In his remarks at the launching of the Quarantine Quality Month recently, Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Sakti Wahyu Trenggono said that the international demand for tilapia is huge, with the market in 2023 alone valued at 13.9 billion USD.

He said the ministry seeks to develop tilapia cultivation centres along Central Java’s north coast to replace shrimp, which was once its main commodity.

According to Trenggono, the fish export market remains stable and is not affected by the global recession, while the global demand for protein from fish continues to increase.

Indonesia’s main aquatic export commodities include shrimp, tuna, skipjack, cuttlefish, octopus, and crabs, he said, adding that the country is keen to grab a share in the market of five main fishery commodities at the global level, namely shrimp, lobster, crab, tilapia, and seaweeds./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Indonesia may procure another 500,000 tonnes of rice from abroad this year to fill up the diminishing government rice reserves, the Trade Ministry has said.

The announcement came despite the government having imported 500,000 tonnes of rice from countries including Vietnam, Thailand, and Pakistan starting last December.

Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said the government had agreed to offer the option, arguing that the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) only had around a quarter of the required minimum reserves of 1.2 million tonnes.

They decided at a meeting with the President that whenever necessary, they can import again as many as 500,000 tonnes, the minister told a recent session with Commission VI of the Indonesian House of Representatives.

However, he noted, the government will not import rice in the near future as the harvest season is coming and the import of foreign rice may affect domestic prices.

Rice prices has kept rising in Indonesia since the year’s beginning despite the rice import since late 2022 and recent market interventions by Bulog.

Head of Bulog Budi Waseso said this agency has distributed about 230,000 tonnes, or nearly half of the imported 500,000 tonnes to stabilise prices.

He pledged continued distribution to meet demand of retailers and traditional markets, affirming that import is licensed only in emergency cases./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency