Day: November 12, 2022

Over the years, ensuring rights for people with disabilities has received great attention from the Party and State. There are now numerous policies and legal regulations providing favourable conditions for them to enjoy equal rights to politic, economic, cultural and social activities, stablise their lives, and integrate into the community.

Perfecting legal system

According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Vietnam is home to about 6.4 million persons with disabilities (PwDs), accounting for more than 7% of the country’s population. About 10% of the total are from poor households.

The approach to PwDs has been switched from a matter of humanity to humanity combined with human rights.

In 2007, Vietnam signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities with an aim to protect and promote their rights, ensuring that PwDs enjoy all fundamental rights of humans in an equal and full manner, and their dignity is respected.

The 2013 Constitution expanded the subject of PwDs receiving State support regardless of their conditions. Meanwhile, many legal documents have been issued to protect PwDs rights, including the Law of PwDs in 2010.

Under the law, along with fundamental rights of citizens, the PwDs are guaranteed to rights to participate on an equal basis in social activities, live independently, and integrate into the community. They can enjoy exemption from or reduction of certain contributions to social activities. PwDs can also be provided with health care, functional rehabilitation, education, vocational training, employment, legal assistance, access to public facilities, means of transport, information technology, and other services suitable to their forms and degrees of disability as provided by law.

In 2019, Vietnam ratified the International Labor Organisation (ILO)’s Convention 159 on Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of persons with disabilities. This further affirmed Vietnam‘s commitment to ensuring that workers with disabilities are not discriminated against in terms of work and employment. This convention is in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Incheon Strategy on realising the rights of people with disabilities effectively.

Also in 2019, the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat issued Directive No. 39 on strengthening the Party leadership over PwDs affairs, asking organisations, agencies and individuals to enhance the awareness and responsibility to PwDs, and stressing the requirements to ensure their rights.

A programme to support PwDs in the 2021-2030 period was also issued by the Prime Minister, along with a plan to realise the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Expansion of support centres

In order to further support PwDs, Vietnam has developed a system of support centres for rehabilitation education with more than 100 special establishments in many cities and provinces. Assistance to PwDs has also been diversified to match their demand.

 

Currently, the country has nearly 1.1 million people with severe and extremely severe disabilities, about 100,000 families and individuals taking care of them in the community and receiving monthly social allowances in the community, and millions of people with disabilities and children with disabilities who are living in nursing centres.

PwDs who have working ability have received vocational training and employment opportunities.

Meanwhile, there are currently 1,900 vocational education institutions nationwide engaged in vocational training for people with disabilities, with 3,000 teachers who directly provide vocational training for this particular group of workers. Vocational training and job creation for PwDs have been clearly specified in the programme to assist PwDs in the 2021-2030 period.

Thanks to the support, the living conditions of PwDs have been greatly improved. To date, more than 90% of the families with members being PwDs have escaped from poverty, while nearly 90% of the children with disabilities have accessed schooling./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a meeting with the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s President Yoon Suk-yeol in Phnom Penh on November 12.

At the meeting, held on the sidelines of the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and related meetings, PM Chinh welcomed the RoK leader’s first participation in an ASEAN summit, and extended Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s invitation to visit Vietnam to President Yoon.

He expressed sympathy to the RoK over the tragic incident that happened in Itaewon, Yongsan district of Seoul, on October 29, and thanked the RoK Government for coordinating closely with Vietnam in supporting the family of the Vietnamese victim in the incident.

The two sides shared pleasure at the development of the bilateral relationship, and agreed to strengthen political trust, increase the exchange of delegations at all levels, and promote cooperation in digital transformation and green growth.

PM Chinh proposed that the two sides continue to bolster their collaboration in economy, investment, trade, and official development assistance (ODA).

He asked for the RoK’s support in industrialisation and modernisation as well as cultural industry development, and continuous assistance for Vietnamese citizens and Vietnamese-origin Koreans in the RoK to settle down and make more contributions to the socio-economic growth of both the RoK and Vietnam.

For his part, President Yoon affirmed that his country attaches great importance to the relations with the ASEAN, including the strategic partnership with Vietnam in its overall Indo-Pacific Strategy.

The RoK is willing to work with Vietnam in areas of its strength and Vietnam’s demand such as digital transformation, cyber security, and biotechnology, he stated./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Vietnam always makes positive contributions to the ASEAN cooperation, according to an expert.

Not a member right after the establishment of the regional grouping, yet Vietnam is always fully aware the important role of ASEAN, and strives to cement solidarity in the bloc as well as its centrality, said Collins Chong Yew Keat, lecturer of the University of Malaysia, to the Vietnam News Agency.

The expert also spoke highly of Vietnam’s viewpoint on pushing ASEAN cooperation, making it a regional platform in building on trust, helping maintain peace and prevent threats in the region.

Vietnam has proved itself a member with responsible and effective contributions to the region, not only in the field of developing economic power but also settling both traditional and non-traditional challenges, he stressed.

Vietnam has also taken an active part in intra-bloc and trans-border economic and trade initiatives, thereby helping those countries achieve economic benefits and boosting the trade of the bloc with partners, the expert highlighted./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that Vietnam hopes for more support from the global organisation in the process of monetary and financial policy design, during their meeting in Phnom Penh on November 11.

The two sides showed delight to meet again on the sidelines of the ongoing 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and related meetings after the Vietnam visit by the UN leader in October.

PM Chinh pledged that Vietnam will continue to implement agreements reached during the visit.

The two leaders held that 2023 will continue to be a difficult year for the world, with many macroeconomic issues such as inflation rise and the raising of the exchange rate and interest rate by central banks of many major countries, which will negatively affect the economies of developing countries.

Along with that, energy and food crises will remain global issues, requiring coordination among all countries, especially world powers, they noted, stressing that developing countries must make greater efforts to prevent external shocks and improve self-reliance, especially in terms of financial security, energy security, and food security.

Guterres expressed pleasure at the contributions that Vietnam has made to the UN as well as the outcomes of his recent Vietnam visit.

He highly valued Vietnam’s efforts in post-pandemic economic recovery, and showed his belief in the bright future of the nation with great potentials and friendly and dynamic people./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

ASEAN’s dialogue and partnership mechanisms will continue to be promoted in the coming time as dialogue is the key to peaceful settlement of international issues and disputes, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Nguyen Huy Tang has stated.

In an interview granted to Vietnam News Agency’s correspondent in Cambodia, the diplomat said, in 2022, as the ASEAN Chair, Cambodia has strongly promoted these mechanisms to consolidate ASEAN consensus in dealing with regional problems such as the Myanmar issue, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and East Sea-related issues.

For the Myanmar issue, ASEAN should continue to promote dialogue mechanisms, uphold its principles, including respect for independence, sovereignty and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs; and serve as the focal point for gathering and coordinating international efforts to support Myanmar, Tang said.

Regarding the negotiations of the draft Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea, the ambassdor said that dialogue is the best solution.

ASEAN’s meetings in 2022, as well as the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and related meetings, are taking place in the context of unpredictable and complicated situations in the region and the world, posing many challenges to peace, stability and development, he said.

 

In the spirit of goodwill, responsibility and initiative, Vietnam wishes to contribute to strengthening intra-bloc cooperation and that between ASEAN and its partner countries, especially in economy, trade, investment, climate change response, economic connectivity, digital transformation, green and sustainable growth, stablising supply, production and labour chains, and speeding up post-pandemic economic recovery, the diplomat stressed.

In terms of security, Vietnam wisshes to promote dialogue and cooperation to narrow differences and increase similarities among the ASEAN member countries, contributing to strengthening solidarity, unity and the central role of ASEAN and accelerating the building process of ASEAN Community, he noted

Vietnam, ASEAN and its partner countries will discuss substantively and have frank dialogues to upgrade and deepen relations with partners, and find satisfactory peaceful solutions to international and regional issues in accordance with international law, Tang said.

He added that Vietnam will actively join and promote the dialogue and cooperation value of ASEAN-led mechanisms, respect the central role of ASEAN, thus responsibly contributing to peace, security, stability and development in the region and the world.

Regarding Cambodia’s role as the rotating ASEAN Chair in 2022, Tang said that Cambodia has actively mobilised other ASEAN countries to find an appropriate solution to the Myanmar issue, and  promote the implementation of ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus on handling the Myanmar issue.

Cambodia has made every effort to ensure the success of the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and related meetings, he added./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

German media has spotlighted Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s upcoming visit to Vietnam from November 13-14, affirming that this will be  a good opportunity for the two countries to further strengthen their strategic partnership.

According to an article published on the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung  (KAS) institute’s website, the visit aims to promote strategic partnership between the two countries, and create an opportunity to deepen the bilateral relations.

Chancellor Scholz will hold talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and meet Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in Hanoi, the article said, adding that letters of intent to deepen strategic partnership in policy areas such as climate, energy transition, and security – defence are ready for signing.

In Asia, the Chancellor’s visit to Vietnam after Japan and China has demonstrated Vietnam’s increasingly important position, KAS said.

With nearly 100 million people, Vietnam is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and Germany’s most important trading partner in Southeast Asia, KAS said, adding that the country also joins many regional or bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) and is an attractive investment destination for many foreign businesses.

Scholz’s Vietnam visit can create more important impetus for economic, trade and investment cooperation, and partnership in energy conversion and environmental and climate protection, between the two countries, the article noted.

Meanwhile, Neues Deutschland newspaper said Vietnam is now an attractive investment destination for German businesses.

The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry highly valued the Vietnamese Government’s great efforts in integrating the country into the global economic community, the newspaper said, adding that the renewal (Doi moi) process Vietnam implemented since 1986 has started considerable development of the Southeast Asian nation.

According to the newspaper, as early as 2007, German businesses saw Vietnam as a developing country on its way to becoming an industrial nation.

Vietnam’s socialist-oriented market economy became attractive to international investors, it said, noting that many German businesses are looking for new investment destinations and Vietnam is a preferred country./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern’s official visit to Vietnam from November 14-17 at the invitation of Prime Minister Pham Minh is expected to further deepen Strategic Partnership between the two countries.

The visit will contribute to strengthening political trust and promoting multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and New Zealand, including politics-diplomacy, defence-security, economy, investment, labour, education, technology, climate change, and digital transformation.

The two countries established bilateral diplomatic relations on June 19, 1975, lifted them to a Comprehensive Partnership in 2009, and issued a Joint Statement on strengthening and deepening the Comprehensive Partnership towards a Strategic Partnership in March 2015.

They officially upgraded their relations to a Strategic Partnership on the occasion of the online high-level talks between Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his New Zealand couterpart Jacinda Ardern  in 2020, and signed an action plan for the 2021-2024 period to deploy the bilateral strategic partnership.

In its foreign policy, New Zealand always affirms its importance to relations with Vietnam, considering the country an important factor in its policy for the Asia-Pacific region.

The two countries have maintained the exchange of high-level delegations, and bilateral cooperation mechanisms in recent years.

In security and defence cooperation, New Zealand has supported Vietnam in organising training courses on counter-terrorism, techniques of criminal investigation, prevention of money laundering and  high-tech crime, and tactical first aid.

The two sides have cooperated closely within the framework of Interpol as well as the ASEAN-New Zealand Joint Declaration for Cooperation to Combat International Terrorism in 2005. They have also implemented training suport programmes, especially in English for peacekeeping forces, and maintained visits of naval ships and bilateral defence dialogue mechanisms.

 

Vietnam and New Zealand are members of important regional and international organisations and multilateral forums, including the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the  Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), and cooperation mechanisms within ASEAN. The two countries have always supported and closely coordinated with each other in the implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) agremeent and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.

Regarding economic cooperation, Vietnam is New Zealand’s 16th largest trading partner, with two-way trade increasing steadily through years, hitting 1.3 billion USD in 2021 and 1.1 billion USD in the first nine months of 2022, up 26.7% and 13.6% year-on-year, respectively.

The two sides successfully organised the 7th meeting of the Vietnam – New Zealand Joint Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation via video conference on Octover 2020.

As of October 2022, New Zealand had 49 investment projects worth over 210 million USD, ranking 39th out of the 139 countries and territories investing in Vietnam. Meanwhile, Vietnamese firms are operating 11 projects in New Zealand with a total registered capital of 38.4 million USD.

 

Regarding development cooperation, New Zealand has frequently provided stable and gradually increasing official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam, from  3.2 million NZD (2.3 million USD) in  the fiscal year 2003 – 2004 to 26.66 million NZD (18.6 million USD) for the  2015 – 2018 period, focusing on  human resources development, education – training, sustainable agricultural and rural development. New Zealand committed 26.7 million NZD in non-refundable ODA for Vietnam from July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2024.

In the agricultural sector, the two sides agreed to prioritise the consideration of market access requirements for a number of agricultural products of both sides. So far, Vietnamese mango, dragon fruit, rambutan, and tra/basa fish products have been exported to New Zealand.

 

In addition, the two countries have also paid special attention to promoting cooperation across other fields, including education, labour, vocational education and training and skills development, and transport.

In 2020, the two sides signed a strategic cooperation plan on education for the period of 2020-2023. There are about 2,700 Vietnamese students studying in New Zealand. Every year, about 25 Vietnamese officials from ministries and sectors receive ELTO, ELTSO and ASEAN scholarships funded by the New Zealand government.

Regarding transportation, the two countries signed a bilateral air services agreement in 2003, which was revised in 2015 to enhance aviation security and safety and create favourable conditions for aviation cooperation between the two countries.

For health cooperation, Vietnam and New Zealand have closely cooperated in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years. New Zealand provided 30,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine for Vietnam in September 2021. In May 2022, New Zealand supported the recovery of Vietnam from the pandemic with 2 million NZD.

According to New Zealand’s Ambassador to Vietnam Tredene Dobson, PM Ardern’s visit shows the growing relations between the two countries, and reflects both sides’ commitment to fully tapping opportunities created when they agreed to upgrade their relations to the Strategic Partnership./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

 

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh joined leaders of other ASEAN countries and partners at the 25th ASEAN+3 (China, the Republic of Korea, Japan) Summit and other summits with India and Australia in Phnom Penh on November 12.

At the ASEAN+3 Summit, PM Chinh underscored that in the current context, the ASEAN and the three partners should take the leading role and stay persistent to multilateralism, trade facilitation and the opening of doors for all chances.

He lauded the cooperation of the ASEAN and partners in the pandemic fight over the past two years, especially the provision of vaccines and medical equipment by China, Japan and the RoK to ASEAN countries.

Regarding future cooperation orientations, PM Chinh stressed the need to give top priority to safe trade resumption and the reopening of economies, and showed support to the establishment of an ASEAN+3 green growth cooperation mechanism.

He pledged that Vietnam will do its best for peace, stability and prosperity of ASEAN+3 countries, and proposed the countries to continue to promote the spirit of straightforward dialogue, friendly neighbourliness, harmonised interest and shared risk, contributing to creating healthy, rules-based competition, minimising conflicts, and preventing conflicts.

At the summit, participants underlined the need to continue to work closely together to effectively control the COVID-19. They agreed on the necessity to promote the opening of markets and the resumption of trade activities as well as trade facilitation.

 

At the 19th ASEAN-India Summit, the leaders agreed to ensure the continuity of trade and investment flows, give priority to speeding up recovery, support each other to improve healthcare capacity, and promote sustainable maritime cooperation.

In his remarks, PM Chinh underlined that the ASEAN always attaches great importance to promoting relations with India in all fields, suggesting that ASEAN and India coordinate and contribute more responsibly and effectively to peace, security, stability and prosperity in the region, ensuring regional law-based order, equal behaviors, mutual respect and cooperation for common development.

The Vietnamese leader emphasised that the two sides should give high priority to sustainable maritime cooperation, and suggested that India continue to open its door wider for agricultural products of Vietnam and other ASEAN countries.

At the second ASEAN-Australia Summit, the leaders of ASEAN and Australian PM Anthony Albanese highlighted the significance of the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership that was set up in late 2021, and highly valued progress in the ties over the years.

 

ASEAN countries highly appreciated Australia’s active contributions and effective support to the ASEAN Community building process. They thanked Australia for its helpful assistance in controlling and stamping out the COVID-19, as well as the recent 124-million-AUD “Australia for ASEAN Futures” initiative to help regional countries in responding to challenges and boosting recovery development in a sustainable manner.

Leaders of both sides agreed on the need to continue to strengthen the exchange of trade and investment, market access support and the fostering of economic connections as well as the promotion of trade facilitation in the region.

Addressing the event, PM Chinh thanked Australia for the effective cooperation and support that the country has given to ASEAN members in the COVID-19 response over the past time. He affirmed Vietnam’s support for Australia’s proposal to hold the ASEAN-Australia Summit to commemorate the 50th anniversary of bilateral relations in 2024 in Australia.

He held that in the coming time, the two sides need to work closely together to fully restore and promote trade and investment soon.

The Vietnamese leader suggested that Australia provide technical support and open up its market for ASEAN’s agricultural products. He asked for Australia’s assistance in boosting strategic infrastructure development, and active implementation of the Mekong-Australia Partnership framework, and support to efforts to promote the growth of the Mekong sub-region, including Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region.

Concluding the summit, leaders of ASEAN and Australia adopted a cooperation declaration on the basis of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).

Regarding regional and international issues of shared concern, at the summits, leaders of the ASEAN and partners stressed that all states should show the responsibility and share common interest in efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region.

Staying persistent to its stance on the East Sea, ASEAN asked the partners to continue to support efforts to build an effective and substantial Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in line with international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, heading to the building of an East Sea of peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development.

The partners affirmed their support to the role and efforts by the ASEAN in promoting the effective implementation of the Five-Point Consensus as well as support to Myanmar to seek sustainable and feasible solutions to overcome difficulties and stabilise its situation.

They showed deep concern over the recent developments in the Korean Peninsula and supported efforts to promote peace, stability and complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency