Day: October 29, 2021

Vietnam is named the World’s and Asia’s Best Golf Destination 2021 at the eighth annual World Golf Awards held in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

It is the second year that Vietnam has been honoured with the world title and the fifth consecutive year with the Asian title since 2017.

Despite the impacts of COVID-19, a record amount of votes was collected this year.

The World Golf Awards celebrate and reward excellence in golf tourism through the annual awards programme. It is part of World Travel Awards.

Earlier, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism was honoured as Asia’s Leading Tourist Board 2021 of the 28th World Travel Awards, after the first time it received the title in 2017.

The WTA also honoured Vietnam as Asia’s Leading Sustainable Tourism Destination, and Hoi An was named Asia’s Leading Cultural City Destination, Ha Long Bay as Asia’s Leading Tourist Attraction, and Cuc Phuong National Park as Asia’s Leading National Park.

Notably, Vietnam Airlines won the award Asia’s Leading Airline for Economic Class, while Vietravel was awarded the Asia’s Leading Tour Operator title.

Data of the General Statistics Office showed that Vietnam welcomed 10,600 foreign visitors in October, a year-on-year decline of 28.8 percent.

The GSO attributed the nosedive to the continuation of COVID-19 preventive measures, including the closure of borders to international tourism, noting that most of the foreign arrivals were experts and technical workers performing duties at projects in Vietnam.

The figure hit more than 125,000 in ten months, slipping 96.7 percent compared to the same period last year.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Veil-White Palace Event and Exhibition Centre in Ho Chi Minh City is among the shortlisted projects of the upcoming World Architecture Festival (WAF) 2021, dubbed the “Oscars of architecture”.

The building will also be the only representative of Vietnamese architecture to attend the prestigious architecture event that will take place in Lisbon, Portugal on December 1-3. It will be presented in the Display – Completed Buildings category.

Now in its 13th year, the WAF is the world’s largest annual festival and live awards competition dedicated to celebrating and sharing architectural excellence from across the globe. It serves as a platform for the architecture community to share expertise and learn from each other. It is also the only global architecture festival that combines awards, seminars and networking.

Due to continuing COVID-19 travel restrictions, WAF is to migrate its 2021 event to a live and interactive digital format, along with sister event INSIDE World Festival of Interiors.

The Veil was designed by architect Nghiem Dinh Toan from me Architect Company and completed within 11 months.

“Being shortlisted for WAF is really our great pleasure,” said Toan. “This is an important milestone in the development of me Architect as well as mine personally.”

The architect also expressed his hope that The Veil will become an interesting highlight for Vietnamese architecture at this year’s WAF.

On a total area of 20,000sq.m, the event and exhibition centre is conceived from architectural inspiration drawn from a bride’s veil on her wedding day. Seen from the outside, The Veil with its translucent design embraces the walkways and creates folds for the building. It can accomdate up to 6,500 people.

This idea has contributed to the visualisation of the building while creating depth, mystery and privacy for the interior space.

It also helps to create open spaces for the building, bringing in light and natural air to its functional areas in a harmonious manner. Such natural elements deliver an additional touch of delicacy to the existing structure, generating shifting movements across architectural environments while creating a positive impact on visitors’ emotions when they are inside.

According to Toan, The Veil is expected to become a place in which meetings among people, whether accidental or intentional, are nurtured not only in comfort but also in beauty, romance, and thereby creating cohesive communities

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai affirmed Vietnam always attaches importance to promoting sound relations with Kuwait while receiving visiting Kuwaiti Minister of Oil Mohammad Abdullateef M A Alfares in Hanoi on October 29.

Lauding Kuwait’s role and position in the region, Khai thanked Kuwait for creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese workers and expatriates in Kuwait, particularly amid COVID-19.

He hoped the two countries’ cooperation will grow across fields in the time to come, apart from oil and gas. Two-way trade between Vietnam and Kuwait surpassed 3.2 billion USD in 2020 and hit over 3.25 billion USD in the first nine months of 2021.

The Kuwaiti minister stated Vietnam is an important partner of his nation and expressed his hope for the bilateral relations to further develop across economy, trade and investment.

Labour is also a successful cooperation area between the countries, he added, wishing such collaboration will be boosted and more Vietnamese students will come to study in Kuwait.

The minister informed that the Prime Minister of Kuwait has decided to aid Vietnam 500,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and that the Government of Kuwait would consider offering more assistance to Vietnam in pandemic prevention and control.

Regarding oil and gas cooperation, he said that the Nghi Son refinery and petrochemical complex project, a joint work between Vietnam, Kuwait and Japan, has been successful in terms of technical aspect. He hoped that the Government of Vietnam will continue to support the success of the project.

In reply, Khai said that this is the largest petrochemical refinery project in Vietnam with capital from large oil and gas corporations. Considering it an important one, the Vietnamese Government has so far granted the project many preferential policies, he added.

Once operational, the complex will supply the Vietnamese market about 5-6 million tonnes of gasoline and oil annually, contributing to ensuring energy security.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on October 29 co-chaired the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Country Strategic Dialogue on Vietnam 2021 for the first time via videoconference at the invitation of WEF Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab.

Themed “Public Private Partnership – The Key Driver for Comprehensive Recovery and Sustainable, Resilient and Innovative Growth”, the dialogue saw the participation of WEF President Borge Brende, ministers and leaders of Vietnamese agencies along with 70 global and regional leaders of the world’s leading groups and businesses.

Opening the event, Schwab spoke highly of Vietnam’s quick implementation of vaccinations, while expressing his belief that the country will defeat the pandemic and continue maintaining its impressive growth momentum in the coming decades.

In his speech, PM Chinh affirmed Vietnam’s determination to recover and develop the economy, while emphasising that the government and businesses need to strengthen the public-private partnership to overcome difficulties in the context of the pandemic.

He highlighted the country’s socio-economic situation with improvements in October as the pandemic has been basically controlled and the economy has been re-opened step by step.

In ten months of this year, newly-registered FDI rose by 11.6 percent and over 15 billion USD were disbursed. Exports went up 16.6 percent annually while the consumer price index inched up 1.81 percent, showing that the existing difficulties are only temporary. Vietnam’s potential, advantages, new driving force for long-term development and macro-economic foundations as well as major balances remain stable and solid, he said.

The PM stressed that Vietnam gives priority to restructuring its economy in combination with renewing growth model, improving productivity, quality, efficiency and self-resilience of the economy following the pandemic.

Based on Vietnam’s development orientations, he called on investors to restore safe production in industrial, economic, hi-tech and processing zones to maintain orders and supply chains, as well as invest in fields of Vietnam’s priority with special incentives such as hi-tech, information technology and support industry.

The Prime Minister’s speech received special and response from business leaders. Many regional and global business heads highly valued the Vietnamese Government’s decision to shift to safe adaptation to the epidemic. They acknowledged Vietnam’s efforts in universal vaccination and disease control as well as its support packages for firms and workers.

The foreign business community made numerous policy recommendations to revive and stimulate the economy, promote foreign direct investment, and improve domestic and cross-border goods transport connections.

Major technology corporations proposed policies for the promotion of public-private partnership to develop digital infrastructure, and encourage investment in digital transformation, and strategies to take advantage of the 4th industrial revolution technology in COVID-19 response and post-pandemic recovery.

In the field of renewable energy, an enterprise proposed that Vietnam set up a consultative energy forum with the participation of the private sector and the Government to strengthen cooperation in this area.

Closing the dialogue, Schwab once again expressed his belief in the potential and position of Vietnam. He pledged that the WEF will continue to give maximum cooperation and support to the Government of Vietnam.

The Country Strategic Dialogue on Vietnam is one of the most important events in the WEF agenda in 2021 to support global corporations to expand their investment and business, and anticipate new trends in the context of the global ecpnomy on the way to recovery.

It is also an important event for the Vietnamese Prime Minister to discuss directly with global business leaders in order to mobilise all resources for the implementation of the country’s socio-economic recovery and development plans.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

French Ambassador to Vietnam Nicolas Warnery has affirmed that Vietnam is a true strategic partner of France.

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency on October 29 ahead of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s France visit from November 3-5, Warnery wished that the visit would help materialise commitments by the two countires, as well as further promote bilateral strategic partnership.

According to him, Vietnam and France worked closely together within the framework of the United Nations Security Council. He thanked Vietnam for backing France’s bid to become a development partner of ASEAN and hailed ASEAN’s key role in the Indo-Pacific in external policies of the European Union member states, including France.

He also spoke highly of close collaboration between the two countries in dealing with global issues.

On the significance of the PM’s visit, Warnery said it demonstrates the importance of bilateral friendship and cooperation in various areas.

On environment field, he said the French Development Agency (AFD) is assisting Vietnam in mitigating the negative impacts of climate change. During the visit, the AFD will sign deals to provide financial assistance for Vietnam to expand Hoa Binh hydropower dam, prevent flooding in Dien Bien Phu, and connect renewable energies, including solar power, with the national grid.

About bilateral medical ties, he applauded the two countries’ efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic via Vietnam’s presentation of masks to France last year and France’s delivery of vaccines to Vietnam this year.

The diplomat also wished for breakthroughs in aerospace cooperation, especially via the signing of a cooperation agreement among the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, the National Centre for Space Studies of France, and Airbus Group.

The French Government is stepping up the teaching of French language to Vietnam via different channels and for those of all ages. At present, two schools in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are working as those in France. Up to 40 percent of their students are Vietnamese, thus creating a close bond between young people and French culture, he said.

The ambassador wished that flights between the two nations would be resumed to welcome Vietnamese students back to France in the near future.

As part of the visit, he said both sides will also sign a document recognising each other’s certificates, thus creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese students to study in France.

France is ready to help Vietnam improve the operations of public agencies, digitalise administrative procedures and build electronic portals for public services, he stated.

The Vietnamese PM’s visit will take place following his attendance at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) and visit to the UK from October 31 – November 3.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The national strategy on green growth for 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050 plays a crucial role in promoting economic restructuring alongside growth model renovation, said Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung.

“It is an important approach to pursue sustainable development, thus contributing to post-COVID-19 economic recovery, transitioning to green economic development, and at the same time creating a premise to realise the long-term targets of low-carbon emissions and carbon neutrality so as to contribute to limiting global temperature rise,” he said.

Minister Dung made the statement at a conference to implement the strategy chaired by the Ministry of Planning and Investment in Hanoi on October 29.

Attendees at the conference included representatives from ministries, sectors, localities, embassies of the UK, Germany, the Republic of Korea, international organisations, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, UNDP, UNIDO, UNICEF, GIZ, KOICA, AFD, USAID, as well as representatives from businesses, academia, and researchers.

In light of the approved orientation, the strategy was developed on the basis of extensive consultations with stakeholders in ways consistent with recent COVID-19-pandemic prevention regulations, the minister said.

The development process of the strategy received strong support, cooperation and input from ministries, sectors, localities, relevant industry associations, embassies, international organisations, and development partners, he said.

By acknowledging and taking into consideration the inputs from stakeholders, the Ministry of Planning and Investment has completed the strategy and submitted it to the Prime Minister for promulgation under Decision No 1658/QDTTg dated October 1, 2021.

The Prime Minister’s approval of the strategy on the threshold of the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow, UK, which will take place in the next few days, has demonstrated Vietnam’s strong commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions through practical and concrete actions.

“The strategy sets four important goals, namely reducing greenhouse gas emissions, greening economic sectors; greening lifestyles and promoting sustainable consumption, and greening the transition,” said Le Viet Anh, Director of the Department of Science, Education, Natural Resources and Environment under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

“The first objective of the strategy is to reduce the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions per GDP, which was also the objective of the previous strategy. This aims to assess comparative greenhouse gases (GHG) emission mitigation potential per unit of economic output, helping to determine the extent of environmentally-friendliness of the economy as its size is increasing, contributing to realising the dual goal of protecting the environment and developing “rapidly and sustainably,” he said.

Under the strategy, by 2030, the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions per GDP will decrease by at least 15 percent compared to that of 2014. By 2050, the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions per GDP will reduce at least 30 percent compared to that of 2014.

Hai Phong was the first locality to develop and implement a green growth plan for the 2014-2020 period. The city has succeeded in attracting a number of sustainable investment projects in accordance with the local economic development conditions.

Vice Chairman of the Hai Phong municipal People’s Committee Le Khac Nam said that the city had implemented a number of outstanding projects in the 2014-2020 period, such as waste treatment projects and an electric bus on Cat Ba island.

International organisations have supported and co-ordinated with Hai Phong to implement green and environmentally friendly projects. The city will move towards applying digital technology, digital transformation, transforming the economic model towards greening, comprehensively implementing green economic development models including green ports, green islands, environmentally-friendly production model, reducing energy consumption in production activities, and applying renewable energy sources such as wind and wave energy.

Representatives from ministries, sectors, localities, embassies, international organisations, development partners, and businesses spoke highly of the new approach which was employed to determine the feasibility of the goals set forth in the strategy.

They also agreed with the plan and roadmap for the implementation of the strategy and believe that the Strategy will help realise the goals that Vietnam had set for 2030 and 2045. Ministries, sectors, localities, agencies and relevant organisations agreed to work together immediately to devise a National Green Growth Action Plan and Action Plans on sectoral and local levels. Development partners and international organisations are committed to accompanying and supporting Vietnam to implement the strategy.

To conclude the meeting, Minister Dung emphasised the importance of collaboration during the implementation process, saying the support and close coordination of ministries, sectors, domestic and international organisations, the business community and experts play a fundamental role to ensure that the implementation of the strategy adheres to the views and orientations of the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress, the 10-year socio-economic development strategy 2021-2030, and the 5-year socio-economic development plan 2021-2025.

Following the conference, the Ministry of Planning and Investment will preside over and coordinate with ministries, sectors and localities to research and propose to the Prime Minister to establish a national steering committee on green growth, make arrangements to devise a national green growth action plan, and implement other important contents.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong hosted a reception in Hanoi on October 29 for new Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Orlando Nicolás Hernández Guillén, on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the historic meeting between President Ho Chi Minh and leader of the Cuban revolution Raul Castro.

General Secretary Trong expressed his belief that with his wealth of experience, the ambassador will make active and effective contributions to consolidating and deepening the special friendship between the two Parties and nations.

He suggested both sides continue with high-level exchanges among ministries and agencies, uphold existing cooperation mechanisms, carry out agreed plans and projects, and consider new fields of their strength.

The host also took the occasion to thank the Cuban Party, State and people for staying ready to help Vietnam, especially in COVID-19 vaccine cooperation. He expressed his belief that under the leadership of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), the Cuban people will overcome difficulties and successfully build a prosperous and sustainable communist nation.

Ambassador Guillén, for his part, spoke highly of bilateral collaboration in various fields and timely support that the fraternal Vietnamese Party, State and people provided for their Cuban counterparts amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

He vowed to do his best to make active and effective contributions to the special friendship between the two Parties and countries during his tenure.

The diplomat informed the host about achievements in the implementation of the Resolution adopted by the PCC’s eighth Congress in April, adding that Cuba is striving to complete vaccination for the entire population this year and gradually embark on the post-pandemic economic development strategy.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Sixteen banks in Vietnam reduced a total of 12.23 trillion VND (536.2 million USD) in interest rates for borrowers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic from July 15 to September 30, equivalent to 59.36 percent of their commitments, according to the State Bank of Vietnam.

Accordingly, the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam (Agribank) cut the largest amount, of 4.88 trillion VND. Loans worth 1.27 quadrillion VND enjoyed interest rate reductions, benefiting over 3.18 million customers.

It was followed by the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) and the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), with 1.97 trillion VND and 1.9 trillion VND cut down, respectively.

Earlier in early July, following the Government’s Resolution 63/NQ-CP and directions of the SBV, through the Vietnam Banks’ Association, 16 commercial banks agreed to cut the lending rates for enterprises hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic from July 15 until the end of this year, with the total amount of reduced interest of 20.6 trillion VND.

Four State-owned commercial banks committed to provide a support package worth 4 trillion VND to reduce interest rates and 100 percent of service fees for customers in localities imposing social distancing under the Prime Minister’s Directive 16.

Source: Vietnam News Agency