Day: May 20, 2022

Archers participating in the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31) began their performances at the Hanoi National Sports Training Centre in Nam Tu Liem district on May 15 morning.

Following the opening ceremony, the athletes competed in the one-string and three-string bow events for both men and women.

Vietnam has sent 16 archers to the Games, including eight men and eight women, with outstanding athletes like Do Thi Anh Nguyet who participated in the Olympic Tokyo 2020, and Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhi who grabbed top positions in the five categories of 30m, 50m, 60m, 70m, and all-round recurve, and two silvers in other classes at the National Top Archery Champions last March.

SEA Games 31’s archery, with matches to last until May 19, has brought together athletes from eight countries in the region, who will show off their skills in 10 categories.

Vietnam aims to win from two to four gold medals. The Vietnamese archers are scheduled to face rivals from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

At SEA Games 30 in the Philippines two years ago, they brought home three golds, two silvers and one bronze./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) helps promote Vietnam-Australia cooperation in terms of trade and investment, the Cong Thuong (Industry and Trade) newspaper said, citing Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Nguyen Tat Thanh.

Vietnam and Australia are both members of at least three free trade agreements, namely ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), CPTPP and the Regional Economic Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

According to data of the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, last year, two-way trade between Vietnam and Australia hit 12.4 billion USD for the first time, up more than 49 percent compared with that of 2020. The value of shipments to Australia reached more than 4.45 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 23 percent. Vietnam spent nearly 8 billion USD in importing goods from Australia, up nearly 70 percent against 2020’s figure.

Vietnam’s exports to Australia are growing strongly, reaching 1.38 billion USD in the first quarter of 2022, a surge of 32.36 percent against the same period last year.

Sharp increases were seen in Vietnam’s export of various agricultural and industrial products to Australia, for example 84 percent in coffee, 51 percent in aquatic products, 41 percent in rubber, and 26 percent in electric cable. Notably, the shipments of iron and steel skyrocketed by more than 500 percent year on year.

Meanwhile, the country is buying more and more essential materials from Australia, such as coal, iron ore, metals, cotton, wheat, and animal feed. In particular, Vietnam’s import value of coal from Australia in Q1 surged 176 percent year on year and that of cotton shot up 333 percent.

The CPTPP also serves as momentum for bilateral cooperation in terms of investment. By the end of last year, there were about 550 Australian investment projects in Vietnam with a total value of nearly 2 billion USD, ranking 19th among foreign investors in the country.

Graham Kinder, Vice Chairman of the Australia-Vietnam Business Council, was quoted by the newspaper as saying that Australian companies see many investment opportunities in Vietnam in the fields of trade, investment, education and transport that are Australia’s strengths, thus they are keen to promote their investments in Vietnam. Similarly, Vietnamese enterprises can expand their investment and business operation in areas of their strength in Australian states and localities.

It is now the right time for businesses of both countries to take advantage of opportunities for cooperation in the post-pandemic period as borders have been reopened and both governments seek to promote investment activities, he said./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Hanoi People’s Council for the term 2021 – 2026 on May 20 agreed to spend 23.5 trillion VND (over 1 billion USD) from the city budget for the Ring Road No. 4 project.

The council also discussed the allocation and adjustment of the project’s fund, which would be submitted to the National Assembly for consideration, said the chairman of Hanoi People’s Council Nguyen Ngoc Tuan.

Duong Duc Tuan, vice chairman of Hanoi’s People’s Committee, said that the Ring Road No. 4 was a key national project, combining the public investment model and the public-private partnership (PPP) with a Build – Operate – Transfer (BOT) contract.

The road will measure 112.8 kilometres in total, running through Hanoi City and Hung Yen, Bac Ninh provinces, with a connecting route 9.7-kilometres long.

It will begin at the start of the Noi Bai – Lao Cai Expressway in Hanoi, and end on the Noi Bai – Ha Long Expressway in Bac Ninh province.

The project is divided into three smaller groups of sub-projects, focusing on site clearance, building parallel roads, and constructing the expressway.

The capital city’s Ring Road No. 4 will have a total of 85.8 trillion VND (3.7 billion USD) in investment and is expected to be completed in 2027.

Of this amount, 23.5 trillion VND (more than 1 billion USD) comes from the city’s budget, with 19.5 trillion VND (841.6 million USD) for 2021 – 2025 and 4 trillion VND (172.6 million USD) for 2026 – 2030.

The Hanoi People’s Committee will decide on the annual funding allocation plan according to the current procedures and progress of the project, with the approval of authorities.

Ho Van Nga, head of the Finance and Budget Committee of the municipal People’s Council, emphasised the need to accelerate the preparation process for investment and the annual funding allocation according to the project’s progress and contingency plan.

The committee also said that if the project’s investment needs to be increased, adjustments will be made in the medium-term public investment plan after the 2026 – 2030 period and shall not exceed the city’s budget.

The Hanoi People’s Council also required that the People’s Committee balance the city’s budget to ensure funding for the Ring Road No. 4 project, following the schedule approved by the National Assembly and the laws on public investment, State budget, public debt management, as well as other regulations.

If it is necessary to mobilise funding from sources other than the city’s budget, a specific plan will be created and submitted to the People’s Council.

In September last year, the Ring Road No. 4 project was approved for Hanoi’s medium-term public investment plan for 2021-2025. It was subsequently made a project of focus in December.

The project’s investment plan will be submitted to the National Assembly for approval in its next session, which opens on May 23./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A seminar held in Hanoi on May 20 highlighted energy transition as an important tool to help Vietnam achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

In his opening remarks, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan said the ministry recently finalised a draft national strategy on climate change for 2050 so as to devise a roadmap for realising Vietnam’s commitments made at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), including achieving net zero emissions by 2050, reducing methane emissions, conducting energy transition, and gradually eliminating fossil fuel. This draft has been submitted to the Prime Minister.

To cut net emissions down to zero, it is necessary to strongly carry out energy transition and boost low-carbon development, he said, noting that to Vietnam, apart from the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning from fossil fuel to clean and renewable energy is also meant to step up sustainable economic restructuring and grasp opportunities to improve the economy’s competitiveness and development.

Vietnam views energy transition as both a chance and a challenge. It is a need to strongly transition from fossil to clean energy to match the global trend. On the other hand, it is also important to guarantee energy security, change jobs for the affected workers, especially those in the coal industry, ensure power prices are affordable for low-income earners, and equip the country’s manpower with necessary skills to operate advanced low-emission technologies, according to Nhan.

Andrew Jeffries, Country Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), spoke highly of Vietnam’s strong commitment to net zero emissions by 2050.

The commitment implementation requires efforts and considerable financing for promoting renewable energy, upgrading the power grid, and applying new energy saving technologies and solutions, he pointed out, adding that ADB pledges to assist its developing members to resolve climate change challenges.

At the seminar, participants suggested several energy transition solutions to work out financial and policy mechanisms for facilitating clean energy use./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnamese judo fighters had a successful day on May 20 as the team bagged two gold and one silver medals on the third day of SEA Games 31.

Chu Duc Thang Dat championed the men’s 60kg after convincingly defeating Lao opponent Sithisane Soukphaxay in the final held at Hanoi’s Hoai Duc Gymnasium.

Dat told reporters after the competition that he is happy to bring glory to his nation, for the coaching board, his team and family.

It is the first gold medal he has ever won, he said, adding that SEA Games 31 is also the first international tournament he has competed in.

The other gold went to Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy who claimed a victory over the Philippines’ Pabulayan Khrizzie in the final of the women’s 52kg. Thuy cried tears of joy as she was declared the winner.

Truong Hoang Phuc was outlasted by Nakano Shugen from the Philippines in the men’s 66kg, receiving a silver.

Head coach Nguyen Duy Khanh said his team is pinning higher hopes on the May 21 bouts.

The men’s 55kg, and women’s 45kg and 48kg events will be held on May 21./

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam considers food security as the foundation of peace, stability and development, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations stated at an open debate on conflict and food security held by the UN Security Council (UNSC) in New York on May 19.

During the debate, the Vietnamese diplomat said Vietnam shares the international community’s common concern about increasing challenges facing the global food system due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and natural disasters.

This seriously affects the food security of countries, especially developing countries and countries with conflicts, he said.

Besides humanitarian efforts, sustainable measures are needed to strengthen the capacity of developing and conflict-affected countries to secure food supplies and improve living standards for people, as well as promote the settlement of root causes of conflicts, peace building, and conflict prevention, Giang stressed.

He spoke highly of efforts made by the UN, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and international donors in responding to hunger, and suggested the UN and its partners promptly share information on food insecurity caused or aggravated by conflicts, thus timely responses can be made.

The diplomat also underlined the responsibility of parties involved in conflicts for respecting international humanitarian law and not to use starvation of civilians as a method of warfare which are stated in Resolutions 2417 and 2573 of the UNSC.

While highlighting Vietnam’s efforts in ensuring food security, Giang said Vietnam aspires to become a regional “food innovation hub” and continue to contribute to joint efforts in addressing global food security challenges.

Participants expressed deep concern about the unprecedented increase in food insecurity today with more than 811 million people suffering from food shortage.

The international community urgently needs to strengthen coordination to deal with food shortages and related challenges, they said./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency