Day: August 5, 2022

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MoNRE) must further accelerate digital transformation and develop digital database using big data technologies, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said on August 5.

The PM made the statement while addressing a Hanoi ceremony to celebrate MoNRE’s 20th anniversary (August 5, 2002 – 2022) where he presented the ministry with a first-class Labour Order.

He urged the ministry to complete and put into use a centralised, multi-purpose, integrated and interconnected national database on land by 2025 at the latest.

The ministry must also enhance the efficiency of the management and use of natural resources while addressing issues related to land and mining management and effectively responding to decline and depletion of water resources to maintain water security, he added. It must also develop a mechanism for sharing resources and resolving disputes in trans-boundary water management and use, particularly along Mekong and Red Rivers, the PM said.

He called on MoNRE to unleash potential of coastal areas and bring their advantages into full play, and to build a world-standard ocean and coastline governing system, referring to the fact that Vietnam is aiming to have a blue economy, with sustainable growth of the marine-based economy, improvement of the marine environment, and restoration and preservation of critical marine ecosystems, by 2030.

PM Chinh asked the ministry to translate the Law on Environmental Protection into reality, saying it must relocate polluting industrial facilities out of urban and residential zones and improve the environment around industrial clusters, craft villages and river basins. The PM added that MoNRE should bolster the development of the environment industry as well as promote re-use and recycling of waste to turn them into new products or resources.

The PM also highlighted Vietnam’s commitments in the Paris Agreement and to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, the UK, which would give the country not only broader access to know-hows, technologies and finance to restructure the economy towards green and circular models, but also ability to actively respond to climate change. On the same day, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong sent a letter of congratulations and a basket of flowers to MoNRE. President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue also sent baskets of flowers to the ministry./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Malaysian government will stop building coal power plants starting in 2040, and shift its focus toward clean and renewable energy, according to Minister in the Prime Minister’s department in charge of economy Mustapa Mohamed.

Speaking at a question and answer session of the Malaysian Parliament’s second meeting, Mustapa said the ongoing global energy crisis will accelerate the transition to cleaner energy, adding that Malaysia will improve its renewable energy capacity to fulfill the set targets.

A number of renewable energy sources identified for development include hydroelectricity, solar energy, biogas and biomass, he said, noting that battery energy storage technology will also be introduced to ensure quality and guaranteed power supply.

The government will also expand the use of hydrogen, and develop technology related to carbon capture and storage, he went on.

According to Mustapa, the Economic Planning Unit is finalising a national energy policy, which is in line with Malaysia’s commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) of the UN to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. The policy is expected to be released this year./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietnamese women’s national football team has dropped one place in the world rankings, according to the latest FIFA rankings released on August 5.

Due to the team’s poor performance at the recent 2022 AFF Women’s Championship, the team was relegated to 33rd spot scoring 1,644 points, Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) cited the source as saying.

Despite this drop, the Vietnamese women’s national side maintains their top position in Southeast Asia, followed by Thailand with 1,555 points and Myanmar with 1,518 points.

In Asia as a whole, Vietnam finished sixth, trailing behind powerhouses such as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Japan, Australia, and China.

Elsewhere, the United States retained top spot globally, followed by Germany in second and Sweden in third. England moved into fourth, while France dropped to fifth to complete the top five.

The next rankings are set to be announced on October 13, with these rankings determining the seeding categories for the upcoming 2023 World Cup./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh has signed a decision approving a plan of action on reducing methane emissions to 2030 with the goal of cutting methane emissions by at least 30% from 2020.

The action plan targets methane emissions in cultivation, animal husbandry, solid waste management, waste water treatment, oil and gas exploitation, coal mining and fossil fuel consumption.

Total methane emission volume should not exceed 96.4 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2025, down 13.34% from 2020.

Specifically, methane emissions in cultivation should be kept under 42.2 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, under 16.8 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in animal husbandry, under 21.9 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in solid waste management and waste water treatment, under 10.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in oil and gas exploitation, under 3.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in coal mining, and under 1.3 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in fossil fuel consumption.

Among measures outlined in the action plan is adjusting crop structure and cultivation techniques, ending the burning of agricultural waste and side products, and recovering methane emissions from husbandry waste treatment for electricity generation.

Modern technology will be applied widely in solid waste and waste water treatment is another solution, among others./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The central city of Da Nang always attaches great importance to developing ties with Japan and its localities, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Van Quang told Governor of Japan’s Gunma prefecture Yamamoto Ichita at a meeting on August 5.

During the reception for the visiting Japanese official, Quang highlighted Da Nang’s potential and strengths in developing high technology; information technology; and tourism, expressing the hope that Da Nang and Gunma will have more cooperation and exchange activities in the near future.

As one of the five centrally-run cities of Vietnam and one of localities attracting the most Japanese investors, Da Nang is ready to welcome more Japanese businesses, he said.

Quang hoped the Gunma governor will help further promote the relations between Da Nang and his prefecture, and encourage companies from the Japanese locality to invest in Da Nang.

The municipal authority will create the best conditions for Japanese businesses to invest in the locality, he affirmed.

For his part, Yamamoto said his visit aims to strengthen economic ties between Gunma and Da Nang, noting that the prefecture will arrange for a delegation of businesses to visit Vietnam in order to promote investment in the Southeast Asian nation, including Da Nang.

Gunma is interested in cooperation in tourism, manufacturing industry, and digital and information technology with Da Nang, he said, expressing the hope that the two sides will form an official cooperation relations in the coming time.

Da Nang City has established official friendship and cooperative relations with four Japanese cities, including Kawasaki (in 2012), Yokohama (2013), Sakai (2019) and Kisarazu (July 2019). It also has cooperative relations with 15 other Japanese localities such as Nagasaki, Shizuoka, Fukuoka, Mitsuke, Ichihara, Narita, Kushiro, Mimasaka, and Goto.

Japanese localities and Da Nang have implemented cooperation programmes in many fields, contributing to tightening the Vietnam – Japan cooperation and friendship.

By the end of 2021, Japanese firms poured a total of 932 million USD in Da Nang, raking first among over 40 countries and territories investing in the central locality. Japan’s FDI firms mainly operate in manufacturing, processing, information technology, services and tourism./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has asked Samsung Electronics of the Republic of Korea to expand its operations in Vietnam during a reception for the group’s CEO Roh Tae-Moon in Hanoi on August 5.

He suggested that Samsung continue to play a leading role in supporting personnel training and capacity building for Vietnamese enterprises so that more of them will be able to join Samsung’s supply chain and development ecosystem.

The Government leader highlighted the outstanding development of the strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and the RoK in all fields. He noted that the RoK is now the third largest trade partner of Vietnam, with bilateral trade value reaching 78 billion USD in 2021, accounting for 11.6% of Vietnam’s total foreign trade.

The RoK is the largest foreign investor in Vietnam with 9,383 valid investment projects worth nearly 80 billion USD, he said, describing Samsung’s investment in Vietnam as a bright example.

“The Vietnamese government is committed to creating the best possible conditions for foreign investors in general and Samsung in particular,” Chinh said, pledging to seriously consider and actively handle Samsung’s proposals, including the training of human resources to meet the requirements of enterprises and investors.

He also called on Samsung to continue giving feedback on Vietnam’s policies, institutions and mechanisms, and act as a bridge to bring more investors from the RoK and over the world to Vietnam, thus diversifying supply chains.

The Samsung executive appreciated Vietnam’s efforts and measures to put the pandemic under control and restore socio-economic development.

He thanked the Government and agencies of Vietnam for their support which he said helped Samsung overcome pandemic-caused difficulties and created a favourable environment for the group’s operations amidst a changing world.

He informed PM Chinh that Samsung Vietnam earned 34.3 billion USD from exports in the first six months of 2022, up 18% from the same period last year, adding that the company aims for 69 billion USD in export turnover this year and plans to invest an additional 3.3 billion USD in Vietnam.

According to Roh, Samsung Electronics is preparing for the trial production of Flip-chip Ball Grid Array in Vietnam and commercial production is slated to begin in July next year at its factory in Thai Nguyen province, northern Vietnam.

The group also plans to launch a R&D centre in Hanoi in late 2022 or early 2023, which will serve not only Vietnam but also the entire Southeast Asian region.

The Samsung CEO added that the group will help improve competitive capacity for 50 Vietnamese suppliers, and promote cooperation with Vietnamese universities and research establishments./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Indian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Madan Mohan Sethi has called on Indian universities to create chances for educational cooperation, including exchanging students and lecturers, with Vietnam.

Addressing leaders of the Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University in Bhubaneswar city of India’s eastern state of Odisha on August 4, he said universities of the two countries have a huge scope of cooperation in various fields, including education and research.

There are about 50 universities and a similar number of higher education establishments in HCM City alone. Therefore, there is much room for connections with famous universities to exchange students and lecturers and boost research partnerships, he noted.

Sethi held that Vietnam holds considerable economic potential, and its booming hospitality – service industry is attracting about 30 million foreign visitors each year, higher than the number of arrivals in India.

He also highlighted the two countries boast long-standing relations, including cultural links.

Vietnam has made great strides in agriculture and food processing. Meanwhile, its electronics industry is operating fruitfully, he diplomat said, adding that about 70% of mobile phones in India are produced in Vietnam./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Indonesia’s economy expanded 5.44 % in the second quarter of 2022, up slightly from the 5.01% growth recorded in the first quarter according to Statistics Indonesia.

Exports, which contribute 25% of the country’s GDP, saw a 19.74% increase, as the disruption in global supply chains pushed up the prices of Indonesia’s key products.

Besides, the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and rising spending on the occasion of the Eid al-Fitr holiday also stimulated domestic consumption.

The Government’s social assistance for low-income households contributed a 5.51% increase in domestic consumption./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency