Day: November 28, 2022

Vietnam should speed up innovation to take advantage of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) agreement and promote trade with Malaysia, a Malaysian expert has recommended.

 

In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency’s resident correspondent in Kuala Lumpur, Dr. Carmelo Ferlito, CEO of the Centre for Market Education (CME), said Vietnam and Malaysia have joined many multilateral cooperation frameworks including the CPTPP, but they are also competitors in many fields.

 

On the basis of trade turnover data, many strategic exports of Malaysia and Vietnam are similar, he noted.

 

In its efforts to accelerate post-COVID-19 economic recovery and respond to geopolitical effects, Vietnam should focus on promoting innovation and creativity, he said, adding that this will help Vietnam’s economy in general and its products and services improve their competitiveness and penetrate more markets, including Malaysia.

 

Besides taking advantage of its abundant and cheap workforce, Vietnam needs to focus on increasing intellectual and technological rates to improve the competitiveness of Vietnamese goods and services, Ferlito said.

 

According to the expert, Vietnam and Malaysia should expand cooperation in the food industry, in which Vietnam can assist the neighboring country in ensuring food security, he said.

 

With its strength in rice production, Vietnam is one of the main providers of this essential food item for the Malaysian market, and this is an advantage that can open up opportunities for Vietnam to promote exports of other agricultural and food products, he added.

 

The CEO also encouraged Malaysian businesses to invest capital and technology in the food industry in Vietnam to re-export to Malaysia and other Muslim markets./

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung has congratulated the Lao Party, Government and people on their great and historic achievements over the past 47 years, especially those during 36 years of renovation.

 

Leading a delegation to the Lao Foreign Ministry and Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations in Vientiane on November 28 on the occasion of the 47th National Day of Laos (December 2, 1975), Hung stressed that under the sound leadership of the LPRP, Laos has maintained stable political security, social safety and order, and economic growth with improving people’s lives and increasingly higher position in the region and the world.

 

Such achievements are partly attributed by the Lao Foreign Ministry and the commission, he said.

 

He added that the two countries have worked closely together to realise cooperation agreements this year. Meanwhile, commitments reached at the 44th meeting of the Vietnam-Laos Inter-Governmental Committee have developed bilateral ties in an intensive, substantive and effective manner, evidenced by the regular exchange of delegations at all levels, activities during the Vietnam-Laos Solidarity and Friendship Year 2022 and progress seen in strategic joint projects. Two-way trade this year is estimated at 1.63 billion USD, up nearly 20% from last year.

 

On the occasion, Hung thanked the ministry and commission for offering effective support to the Vietnamese embassy to fulfill its tasks assigned by the Vietnamese Party and State.

 

He wished that the two sides will continue with joint work for important bilateral activities in the near future.

 

Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Saleumsay Kommasith and head of the commission Thongsavanh Phomvihane affirmed that Laos’ achievements could not be made without help of the world friends, especially the fraternal Vietnamese Party, State, army and people.

 

The Party, State and people of Laos always remember and thank the Vietnamese counterparts for their sincere, timely, great and invaluable support to Laos during years of struggle for national liberation as well as in the current national construction and development, they said.

 

They also committed to preserving and fostering this special relationship, which was described as “unique in this world”.

 

The hosts also affirmed that the two countries’ organisation of a series of events to celebrate the Laos-Vietnam Solidarity and Friendship Year 2022 has not only demonstrated the special relationship between the two Parties, States and peoples but also helped their people, especially young generations, better understand bilateral ties, thereby continuing to develop this special relationship.

 

They pledged to keep working closely with the Vietnamese counterparts to well prepare for bilateral activities in the coming time, firstly the 45th meeting of the Vietnam-Laos Inter-Governmental Committee./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Vietnam reported 333 new COVID-19 cases on November 28, according to the Ministry of Health.

 

The new infections brought the country’s total number of COVID-19 cases to 11,514,174.

 

Meanwhile, 208 patients were declared to be free from the disease on the same day, raising the total number of recoveries to 10,608,059.

 

The death toll was still kept at 43,170, accounting for 0.4% of the total infections, as no fatality was logged on the day.

 

To date, nearly 263.98 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the country./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

 

Seven outstanding software projects by Vietnamese students are in the finale of the 2022 Coolest Project Malaysia in December along.

 

It is an international competition for people aged 18 or less to showcase ideas they have created using technology, and attracts hundreds of programming projects from all over the world every year.

 

This is the third edition of the competition and public voting will be held on December 4 to determine the winner of the Most Popular Project Award.

 

The seven include the Micobit IOT-based system for Disease Detection in Rice by a group of six students from the Code Club at the Hieu Phung Secondary School in Vinh Long province. The system not only automatically detects and alerts against harmful rice diseases, but also enables farmers to remotely control irrigation equipment to ensure timely supply of water to their crops.

 

To create the system, the team used 40 types of integrated sensors, artificial intelligence and the internet of things (IoT).

 

The Artificial Intelligence in Forest Management and Protection system created by two students from the Dong Da Secondary and High school to protect from wildfires detects smoke, unauthorised people and unique sounds and measures temperature and humidity.

 

It provides various levels of warning against forest fires.

 

These projects were incubated by the Dariu Foundation, a Swiss non-governmental organisation that came to Vietnam in 2007 to enhance the capacity and living standards of low-income households by providing microfinance and educational support.

 

It has helped 50,000 low-income households in rural areas access loans worth a total of 1.2 trillion VND to create sustainable livelihoods, trained more than 11,000 informatics teachers and one million students in rural and mountainous areas in digital skills, awarded scholarships to 21,000 students, built 33 kindergartens, and other supports./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

 

The southern industrial hub of Binh Duong is likely to attract 2.8 billion USD of foreign direct investment (FDI) this year, exceeding the target by 1.6 times, according to Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Vo Van Minh.

 

Minh said that the amount will be poured into 60 new and 20 existing projects.

 

Total domestically-invested capital in the province this year is estimated at 84.81 trillion VND (3.42 billion USD), up 17.1% year-on-year.

 

This year, Binh Duong has estimated its gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth at 8.29%, a rise of 2.79% year-on-year, with the majority coming from the industrial sector.

 

The locality’s index of industrial production is expected to grow 8.9%, higher than the 4.5% recorded last year.

 

Minh said that the province has seen strong post-pandemic recovery with high growth in FDI attraction. Notably, Danish toy maker Lego Group has invested in a 1.3 billion USD factory in the province.

 

The provincial leader said that Binh Duong will focus on enhancing the quality of investment projects with priority given to those that use high technology, generate high value and are environmentally friendly.

 

Currently, Binh Duong is home to 28 industrial parks with more than 4,000 projects worth 40 billion USD.

 

In 2023, Binh Duong aims to lure at least 1.8 billion USD of FDI./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The first Thailand-Vietnam-Laos Business Forum took place in Udon Thani province of Thailand on November 28, attracting 300 management officials and Vietnamese businesses from the three countries.

 

Addressing the event, Udon Thani Governor Wanchai Kongkasem spoke highly of the efforts of Vietnamese and Vietnamese-origin entrepreneurs in Laos and Thailand in the promotion of trade, investment and tourism activities.

 

He said that Udon Thani, which plays an important role in connecting Mekong Sub-region countries, including Vietnam and Laos, is willing to host activities to connect Vietnamese firms and Vietnamese-origin enterprises in Thailand.

 

For his part, Ambassador Ngo Huong Nam, Vice Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, underlined that the Vietnamese Party and State have paid special attention to the Vietnamese communities abroad and overseas Vietnamese-related affairs.

 

He hailed the effective operations of the Thailand-Vietnam Business Association in connecting overseas Vietnamese enterprises in Thailand and their peers in Vietnam and Laos, contributing to promoting socio-economic development in the host country and mobilising resources for the growth of the homeland.

 

Peter Hong, Permanent Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Business Association of Overseas Vietnamese, said the forum was a chance for enterprises of the three countries to meet and seek partnerships in trade, agriculture, high technology, culture, tourism, services and import-export activities, while helping to step up the export of Vietnamese products.

 

Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh said that the forum was a good opportunity to foster partnerships between Vietnamese enterprises in Thailand and Laos and their peers at home.

 

Thailand is a big economic partner of Vietnam and the ninth largest foreign investor with more than 600 projects worth more than 13 billion USD. Two-way trade reached 19.5 billion USD in 2021 and 10.6 billion USD in the first six months of 2022. The two countries aim to raise the figure to 25 billion USD in 2025.

 

At the event, participants discussed the strengths, demands and measures to promote their cooperation in investment, trade and tourism.

 

They signed dozens of deals in trade, hi-tech agriculture, culture, tourism, service and import-export./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Chairman of the People’s Committee of Bac Lieu province Pham Van Thieu has committed to creating the most transparent and fair investment environment for investors with the best incentives and the highest sense of responsibility.

 

Addressing the 2022 investment promotion conference in the Mekong Delta province on November 28, Thieu said with shrimp farming land accounting for nearly half of the total area, Bac Lieu has set aquaculture as a development spearhead and the high-tech agricultural park for shrimp development as a nucleus, thus becoming a hub for shrimp farming and processing.

 

The province will also give priority to forming linkages in rice production and trade and improving farm produce quality in an effort to promote agriculture and rural development and better farmers’ lives.

 

With favourable natural advantages like flat land, few natural disasters, sunny and windy weather almost all year round, especially in coastal regions, Bac Lieu is well-positioned to develop wind and solar power, he said.

 

The locality has so far drawn liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects with a total capacity of 3,200MW and eight wind power projects with a capacity of nearly 470MW, ranking third nationwide. By 2030, it targets becoming one of the country’s clean energy hubs, focusing on wind, solar and gas power.

 

Blessed with cultural and relic sites peculiar to Kinh, Khmer and Hoa ethnic groups, Bac Lieu is also on its way to becoming a tourism hub in the Mekong Delta.

 

To date, the province has attracted 184 projects, including 167 domestic ones worth over 53 trillion VND (2.3 billion USD), and 17 foreign-invested valued at over 4.5 billion USD.

 

It has set a goal of becoming an upper middle income province in the Mekong Delta by 2025 and in the country by 2030.

 

At the event, Bac Lieu invited investment in 195 projects in industry, agriculture, trade-housing, culture-sport-tourism, infrastructure, healthcare, education and environment. It also granted investment certificates to 13 projects with total capital of nearly 17 trillion VND and signed memoranda of understanding on investment cooperation.

 

Speaking at the event, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam agreed with the province’s policy of focusing on five pillars for socio-economic development.

 

He asked for difficulties faced by investors to be removed to create a new driving force for the development of Bac Lieu, Ca Mau peninsula and the Mekong Delta as a whole./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency