Day: April 2, 2022

Biodegradable plastic materials meeting strict international standards produced by An Phat Holdings (APH) of Vietnam will be distributed throughout North America in the coming time.

AFC Ecoplastics, a new member of An Phat Holdings (APH) based in Texas, the US, will cooperate with Nexeo Plastics – a global thermoplastics resin distributor – to sell the bioplastics in Canada, Mexico and the US.

These bio-compounds meet ASTM D6400 – the standard specification for solid material biodegradation (by composting). They are ideal options for producing cutlery, straws, and bottle caps.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of APH Pham Anh Duong said North America, especially the US, has always been a strategic international market of the firm.

Biodegradable plastic materials and products have been the strength of the company for more than a decade, he said, adding that with its new investment activities, the company will generate different values in the global green material supply chain.

It has successfully registered a trademark for the AnEco – the first Vietnam’s compostable product brand in the US. This is hoped to pave the way for APH to expand business cooperation projects and promote its products in the US in particular and the Northern America in general.

The partnership with Nexeo Plastics marks an important development in APH’s efforts to make inroads into the American market, Duong said.

An Phat Holdings is the leading company in the field of advanced plastic production technology and environment-friendly plastic products, serving a diverse customer base across North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Early this year, the firm commenced the construction of a PBAT biodegradable resin factory with designed capacity of 30,000 tonnes per year in the northern city of Hai Phong./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A workshop seeking ways to further promote golf tourism development in Vietnam was held on April 1 in the framework of the Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) 2022.

According to deputy general director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) Nguyen Le Phuc, many experts said that Vietnam has great potential and opportunities to become a golf paradise of Asia, but the country has few golf tourism products and the number of international visitors taking golf tours remains small.

He said the tourism sector has a policy to fully tap advantages in order to develop sustainably golf tourism.

Participants proposed measures to develop golf tourism more effectively in the coming time, expressing their belief that this will be a breakthrough in the development of tourism products.

According to the Vietnam Golf Tourism Association (VIGTA), Vietnam served 3 million golf visitors in 2019, including 1.5 million foreigners, earning about 4.5 trillion VND (over 197 million USD) in revenue. In the first quarter of 2020, the number of visitors and revenue still increased by about 10 percent year-on-year .

Golf tourists to Vietnam are mainly from the Republic of Korea, Japan, and a number of Southeast Asian nations.

Statistics show that more than 50,000 Vietnamese and 20,000 foreigners living in Vietnam play golf. The total number of golfers in the country is expected to rise to 300,000 by 2025./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A delegation of the level-2 field hospital No.3 of Vietnam engaging in the UN Peacekeeping Mission in South Sudan has paid a working visit to India’s level-2 field hospital in Malakal state to enhance exchange and cooperation in peacekeeping operations in the African country, according to the Ministry of National Defence’s Vietnam Department of Peacekeeping Operations.

During the visit, members of Vietnam’s level-2 field hospital No. 3 learned about SOP standard procedures in hospital operation, which been painstakingly developed and updated by Indian colleagues during the Indian field hospital’s 12 years of operation.

Doctors and nurses of the two hospitals also shared expertise and experience in handling real situations in order to improve the quality of medical examination and treatment services in the Mission.

In addition, they joined sports, cultural and culinary exchange activities.

The Vietnamese delegation also visited and presented gifts to the Cambodian Military Police unit and the level-1 field hospital of the Bangladeshi navy.

Although their term at the UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan is about to finish, members of the level-2 field hospital No. 3 of Vietnam still regularly maintain professional coordination activities, contributing to promoting country, people and culture of Vietnam to international friends.

Previously, Colonel Rishi Raj, Commander of the level-2 field hospital of India led a delegation to visit the Vietnamese field hospital, during which Vietnamese military doctors shared hands-on experience.

In July last year, for the first time the two hospitals coordinated to organise an online training on how to improve medical capacity in preventing and controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. /.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Indonesian Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah and Malaysian Minister of Human Resources Saravanan Murugan in Jakarta on April 1 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Indonesian migrant workers’ placement and protection in Malaysia.

The signing was witnessed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo and visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The agreement encompasses several matters, including the establishment of the one-channel system for the entire process of placement, monitoring, and repatriation of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia.

According to the Indonesian President, Indonesian migrant workers have made a significant contribution to economic development in Malaysia and will have maximum protection and rights from the countries.

For his part, Yaakob stated that the MoU would be implemented through comprehensive means by both countries, adding that the one-channel system will be the only legal means for the entry of Indonesian migrant workers into Malaysia and to select eligible employers for them.

Malaysia has also ratified protocols of the International Labour Organization (ILO) that demonstrates its commitment to addressing forced labour issues and protecting Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia, he said./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The High-Level Task Force (HLTF) on ASEAN Community’s Post-2025 Vision discussed core elements of the Post-2025 Vision at its first meeting at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta on March 31 and April 1.

The meeting also examined the Work Plan in 2022 and Rules of Procedures (RoP) of the HLT under the co-chair of Cambodia, as the ASEAN Chair, and Malaysia, as the Permanent Shepherd of the HTLF.

Cambodia as co-chair emphasised that addressing traditional and non-traditional threats necessitate joint action and response, especially in the context of megatrends and a rapidly changing geopolitical and economic landscape.

Malaysia as co-chair noted that there is a “strong and genuine desire among all ASEAN Member States to harness opportunities and address the challenges in the most collaborative, accommodating and constructive way possible.”

Composed of Eminent Persons (EPs), High-Level Representatives (HLRs) from each ASEAN Member State and the Secretary-General of ASEAN, the HLTF is mandated to develop the ASEAN Community’s Vision beyond 2025.

The HLTF has officially commenced its work with the adoption of its RoP and its work plan for 2022./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Council gathered on March 30 to discuss strategic issues and directions for the Socio-Cultural pillar.

The Council expressed support of priorities under Cambodia’s ASEAN Chairmanship 2022 theme, “ASEAN A.C.T.: Addressing Challenges Together”, which underscores ASEAN’s spirit of “Togetherness” as one community and common will in collective endeavour to address and overcome challenges facing the region.

The Council also commended ASCC sectoral bodies for the timeliness and significant initiatives, and outcome documents for adoption and notation by the Leaders in the upcoming 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits this November.

The meeting noted ASCC Pillar’s endeavour in enhancing the ASEAN peoples’ quality of life amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, and recognised the development of the ASEAN Regional Guidelines on Safe School Reopening, Learning Recovery and Continuity, as part of the efforts to recover education services for children that were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

They also discussed strategic issues under the pillar, highlighting the importance of continued empowerment of youth and sports, human resource development, women development and gender mainstreaming, building future resilience towards green recovery, equal access to digitalisation, poverty reduction, among others, to support sustainable development in the ASEAN region./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

High-altitude fireworks will be set off in the northern province of Phu Tho on April 9 night ( the 9th day of the third lunar month) as part of the Hung Kings Temple Festival 2022.

According to Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Bui Van Quang, the 15-minute fireworks show will be preceded by an art performance programme.

This year, the festival themed “Linh thieng nguon coi, Dat to Hung Vuong” (Hung Kings Land – Sacred Root), will mark 10 years since UNESCO recognised the worshiping rituals of the Hung Kings in Phu Tho as part of the world’s intangible cultural heritage.

Preparations for rituals and events during the festival have been carried out in accordance with the set plan, Quang said, adding that members of the organizing board have closely coordinated to ensure safety.

The Hung King Temple Festival is held annually from the 8th to the 11th days in the third lunar month to commemorate the Hung Kings – the legendary founders of the nation.

The Hung Temple Festival is one of the most important and sacred festivals of the Vietnamese people and is deeply embedded in the minds of every Vietnamese citizen, regardless of what province they come from.

This year, events held on April 10 or the 10th day of the third lunar month in the framework of the festival, including rituals, art performances and a ceremony to honour outstanding Vietnamese abroad, will be connected online to more than 40 countries and territories.

The events can be watched at https://www.facebook.com/quoctovietnamtoancau, and will be broadcast on such TV channels like Hung King TV Global, HITV and Future Now.

Hung King is the title given to the ancient Vietnamese rulers of the Hong Bang period (2879–258 BC). They were the Kings of Van Lang. The worshiping rituals of the Hung Kings was recognised as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2012./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency