Month: December 2022

Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Dato Lim Jock Hoi has affirmed that ASEAN’s strong commitment to regional cooperation and integration will help the region navigate through headwinds and uncertainties such as the global economic slowdown, higher food and energy prices, climate disasters, and continued global trade tensions.

 

In an article titled “ASEAN at the Crossroads: Re-imagining the ASEAN Community”, the official said the region has recorded solid achievements over the last five years.

 

ASEAN’s projected growth of 5.3% in 2022 far exceeds the global growth average of 3.2%, he added.

 

The entry into force of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement, as well as efforts in substantially concluding the upgrade negotiations of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), upgrading the existing ASEAN FTAs, such as that for China and India, and negotiating new ones, such that with Canada, are clear reminders that ASEAN must adhere to a rules-based multilateral trading system if the region’s economic dynamism is to be sustained.

 

Efforts to build back better and secure the contribution of regional integration for the peoples of ASEAN have continued to gain ground, according to the Secretary-General.

 

Various programmes and initiatives have been and are being implemented to empower the youth, women, and other vulnerable groups.

 

Mechanisms are also now in place to deal with future health crises such as the ASEAN Centre for Public Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases and the ASEAN Regional Reserve of Medical Public Health Emergencies, he continued.

 

In external relations, he said, ASEAN lengthened its list of partners with the additions of one dialogue partner (the United Kingdom), two sectoral dialogue partners (Brazil and the United Arab Emirates) and three development partners (Chile, France and Italy).

 

Furthermore, since 2018, 15 new High Contracting Parties, including most recently Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Oman, Qatar, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates, had acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC).

 

Yet, despite the achievements of the last five years, the ASEAN Community continues to remain at the crossroads, he pointed out.

 

This is because of the global and regional “headwinds” that impact the future of the ASEAN Community, including problems like global trade tensions, climate change, digital divide, and even the pandemic.

 

Taken together, these challenges have exposed gaps or weaknesses in the ability of ASEAN to address some of its goals such as participation in global value chains, enhancement of macro-financial coordination, and narrowing the development gaps.

 

Given the multitude of changes that have impacted the underpinnings of the ASEAN Community, the post-2025 ASEAN agenda should adopt a different approach to regional integration, namely the one that is more dynamic and capable to initiate new initiatives and implement measures in response to changing market and economic conditions, the official suggested.

 

For example, pursuing digital transformation is clearly an imperative for a resilient future. Current efforts to accelerate the shift to a digital and knowledge economy in the region are vital.

 

More important, a new mindset is needed to ensure that everyone in ASEAN – from governments to individuals and businesses – fully and holistically embraces the digital transformation, and is ready for a digital era, he stressed.

 

Sustainability is another immense challenge for ASEAN, compounding the region’s problems from climate change to food insecurity, natural disasters, and disruption of supply chains and vital infrastructure, the official said.

 

He emphasised that it is timely for ASEAN to develop a comprehensive framework for sustainable development, an integrated and multi-sector approach that addresses sustainability and circularity issues in ASEAN across all dimensions and community pillars.

 

To overcome such challenges, ASEAN must continue to remain relevant, dynamic and flexible. This means having strong institutions, processes, and mechanisms to sustain the relevance of ASEAN as an important regional player.

 

The ASEAN Community should and must work if ASEAN is to become the fifth largest economy in the world by 2030 as projected. Developing a comprehensive post-2025 agenda for ASEAN Community as well as coordinated strategies among the three community pillars is crucial.

 

ASEAN must ensure that the welfare of the peoples should be at the centre of everything, he added.

 

The narrowing of development gaps should not only be an initiative, instead, it should be an integral part of ASEAN thinking and strategy that is embedded in every country’s political, economic and social systems.

 

Given what the ASEAN Community has accomplished over the last five years, the coming years will see the emergence of a more resilient ASEAN Community, much more integrated, and better prepared to cope with shocks and uncertainties, the official said, reminding that ASEAN must continue to transform and re-imagine itself to achieve the target./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Vietnam’s national football team drew 0-0 against Singapore in their third match of the 2022 AFF Mitsubishi Electric Cup.

 

The Golden Star Warriors had almost 70% of possession and twenty shots per goal but could not find a way to pierce Singapore’s defence.

 

Korean coach Park Hang-seo made eight changes to the starting line-up from the 3-0 win against Malaysia on December 27 in Hanoi.

 

Veterans Dang Van Lam, Que Ngoc Hai and captain Do Hung Dung stayed in the starting 11.

 

On the other side of the pitch, Singapore’s Takayuki Nishigaya started Hassan Sunny in goal, replacing Hafiz Nor, and Shawal Anuar with Ryhan Stewart and Irfan Fandi in defence.

 

The first dangerous chance of the match came to Vietnam in the 11th minute when Nguyen Van Quyet’s shot forced Hassan Sunny to parry. The rebound reached Pham Tuan Hai, but his shot went straight at Sunny.

 

Sunny was troubled again six minutes later when Vu Van Thanh fired a vicious shot outside the box, but the Singaporean keeper made a simple save.

 

Deep in their half, Singapore looked for opportunities on the counter. In the 26th minute, from Shakir Hamzah’s left-wing cross, Ilhan Fandi tried a shot from outside the box, but the ball went wide.

 

Vietnam replied just minutes later when Van Quyet seemed to have capitalised on a Singaporean defender’s mistake. From 25-metres, the Hanoi FC captain’s shot went way over the bar.

 

Just before the break, Van Thanh was freed in the right wing by Hung Dung and crossed inside the box. The powerful cross hit a Singapore defender and rebounded to the side netting.

 

Heavy firepower was brought on by Park after the break, in the form of superstars Nguyen Quang Hai and Phan Van Duc, who replaced a fatigued Hung Dung and a dismal Chau Ngoc Quang.

 

The changes, however, did not work immediately. Nguyen Hoang Duc and Nguyen Tien Linh were brought on in the 58th minute.

 

Just four minutes after Duc and Linh were subbed on, the two combined and found Sunny’s net. However, the goal did not stand because the referee paused the match after Van Thanh was brought down.

 

Seconds later, Vietnam won a free kick near the six-yard box. But from his favourite position, Quang Hai tried a lobbed shot that went just wide.

 

Tien Linh, who Ngoc Hai jokingly compared to Argentina’s Lautaro Martinez for his missed opportunities, had around five clear chances after he was subbed on.

 

In the 65th minute, Linh could have won it with a belter for Vietnam, but his volley outside the box was bravely saved by Hassan Sunny, who went down injured later.

 

Ten minutes later, it was Linh again who had time and space on his side, but the striker’s shot was too rushed and not on target.

 

Luck was not on Vietnam’s side again in the 84th minute, when Hoang Duc’s 30-metre shot beat Hassan Sunny, but the effort hit the post to the agony of the Vietnamese supporters at Jalan Besar Stadium.

 

Vietnam had two more chances to win the game, but Tien Linh squandered both and the match finished 0-0.

 

With this result, Vietnam’s position at the top of Group B still stands, but they are not yet qualified for the knockout stage.

 

In the unlikely event of the Golden Star Warriors losing by seven goals at home to already-eliminated Myanmar on January 3, as well as a draw in the match between Singapore and Malaysia happens, Park’s team will be eliminated.

 

However, a win is needed for Vietnam to avoid trickier opponents in the knockout stage, as well as rebuild confidence for the squad./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Ho Chi Minh City absorbed about 3.94 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2022, up 5.4% year-on-year, according to the municipal People’s Committee.

 

The city’s authorities granted new investment certificates to 893 projects in 2022 with total registered capital of 601.1 million USD, marking a decline of 12.5% compared to last year. Of the projects, 338 were invested in wholesale, retail, and repair of automobiles and motorbikes with registered capital of 176.9 million USD, accounting for 29.4% of the newly registered capital.

 

They were followed by the field of information and communication with 186 projects that posted registered capital of 139.3 million USD, accounting for 23.2%. There were 231 projects in specialised areas, science, and technology with registered capital of 107.5 million USD, accounting for 17.9%.

 

Ho Chi Minh City attracts 3.94 billion USD in FDI in 2022 hinh anh 2

 

Illustrative photo ( Photo: VNA)

 

Among nations and territories pouring capital into the city this year, Singapore ranked first with 167 projects with total registered capital of 235.4 million USD, accounting for 39.2% of the newly registered capital.

 

It was followed by Japan with 86 projects and registered capital of 97.2 million USD, accounting for 16.2%, the Republic of Korea (RoK) with 122 projects and registered capital of 60.3 million USD, accounting for 10%.

 

Regarding the adjustment of registered capital, there were 192 projects with increased capital of 1.6 billion USD, up 42.4% over the previous year.

 

Singapore was the country with the highest adjusted capital in 2022 – over 1.18 billion USD, accounting for 73.7% of the adjusted registered capital.

 

A total of 2,411 investors made capital contributions, share purchase, and redemption of contributed capital. Their capital contributions reached nearly 1.74 billion USD, down 9.8% from last year. Singapore and the RoK saw high proportions of capital contribution, accounting for 47.5% and 16.9% respectively.

 

With the new projects in 2022, the total number of valid projects in the city until December 20, 2022, amounted to 11,273 projects with registered capital of 55.84 billion USD. Thereby, Ho Chi Minh City continues to lead the country in the number of valid projects.

 

To achieve those results, the city’s authorities organised investment promotion activities in and outside the country to attract foreign investors to its key industries and key projects. The city also met with, asked for advice, and talk with investors.

 

The city organised 127 domestic and foreign trade and investment promotion activities, supported businesses to recover, develop markets, and connect businesses to businesses through fairs and exhibitions or programmes that connect businesses with retail groups and distribution systems./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City has seen a surge in travel volume as people travel for the New Year holidays, which take place between December 31, 2022 and January 2, 2023.

 

The airport is expected to serve 720 flights and up to 115,000 passengers on the peak day of December 31. This is the highest daily passenger number since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2021.

 

Of that amount of passengers, international arrivals are expected to increase to more than 37,000 per day.

 

Nguyen Nam Tien, Deputy Director of the Tan Son Nhat International Airport, said the airport has prepared plans to meet the upcoming high demand.

 

All units have been asked to pay attention to monitor the flight schedule, frequency and density of flight operations in each time frame and arrange personnel to ensure airport services.

 

Airlines and ground service units have been required to increase personnel to guide and support passengers in a bid to prevent flight delays.

 

Aviation security will pay special attention to the security area in lobby B in the early morning of December 31, 2022 to avoid congestion.

 

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam said it will enhance aviation security control to Level 1 for the upcoming holidays.

 

Under Level 1 aviation security control, people will not be allowed to enter the restricted area to pick up and see off passengers, and inspections of personal documents and personal interviews when doing aviation security procedures will be strengthened. Passengers will be required to remove their shoes and coats, and put them through the X-ray machine.

 

Airport security will randomly check 15% of passengers who pass through the magnetic gate without triggering the alarm and 15% of hand baggage and checked baggage which have been X-rayed without questionable images.

 

Aviation security surveillance cameras will strengthen monitoring at different areas of the airport and daily reports will be sent to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam.

 

According to Tien, the Tan Son Nhat International Airport will likely receive the highest number of passengers in four years during the peak of Lunar New Year Festival (Tet).

 

Some 820 flights with 130,000 passengers are expected to depart from and arrive at the airport per day.

 

The number of passengers is forecasted to be the most crowded during two days – nearly 123,000 on January 20, 2023 and more than 144,000 people on January 29, 2023 when people return to their hometowns before Tet and head back to HCM City after Tet holiday.

 

As expected, the airport will welcome more than 3.8 million passengers with nearly 27,000 flights during the holiday, an increase of nearly 10% compared to the same period in 2019./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

The 7th National Congress of the Vietnam War Veterans’ Association (VWVA) wrapped up in Hanoi on December 31.

 

The congress was informed that Sen. Lieut. Gen. Be Xuan Truong was elected as Chairman of the association for the 2022-2027 tenure at the first meeting of the 7th VWVA Executive Committee.

 

The congress passed a resolution which defines the overall goals in the next five years, including promoting the virtues of Uncle Ho’s soldiers, the tradition of “Loyalty – Solidarity – Exemplarity – Innovation”, building a strong veterans’ association, and successfully fulfilling assigned tasks.

 

The association will play an active part in building and protecting the Party, State, people and socialism, protecting the ideological foundation of the Party and fight against wrong and hostile views.

 

Veterans will also continue helping each other to do business, and improve living standards. They are to join in nurturing patriotism and revolutionary tradition among younger generations, contributing to building and consolidating the political base, building a strong and transparent Party and political system.

 

Sen. Lieut. Gen. Be Xuan Truong elected Chairman of Vietnam War Veterans’ Association hinh anh 2

 

Sen. Lieut. Gen. Be Xuan Truong, Chairman of the Vietnam War Veterans’ Association for the 2022-2027 tenure, speaks at the event. (Photo: VNA)

 

Addressing the closing ceremony, Sen. Lieut. Gen. Be Xuan Truong said that the congress was a success, with all contents of the agenda completed.

 

He asked the association’s chapters at all levels to promptly popularise important documents agreed at the congress to their members, while drastically building action plans to implement the congress’s resolution./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Under the Party’s leadership and the State’s management, forces in charge of foreign affairs have fulfilled their important tasks of contributing to maintaining a peaceful and stable environment at home and raising the country’s position in the international arena, a senior Party official has said.

 

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency regarding Party diplomacy, Le Hoai Trung, member of the Party Central Committee and head of its Commission for External Relations, affirmed that Vietnam has expanded its partnerships in 2022, not only with political parties but also with States and people’s organisations.

 

Party diplomacy has been conducted through various forms such as phone talks, official visits, theory workshops and experience exchanges, among others, he continued.

 

Vietnam and its partners have enhanced their mutual understanding and consolidated their political trust, the official stressed.

 

Trung highlighted Vietnam’s relations with neighbouring countries, recalling the official visit to China by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in late 2022, which was a success across spheres.

 

Vietnam celebrated the 60th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties and 45 years of the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation with Laos, and the 55th anniversary of diplomatic ties with Cambodia this year, with an array of practical and diverse activities organised.

 

The country has also joined a number of diplomatic activities of political parties in Southeast Asia, including those between them and their international partners, he added.

 

The official also emphasised Vietnam’s relations with countries in Asia, Europe, America and Latin America, which have been fostered through phone talks, meetings, visits and experience exchanges.

 

Party diplomacy contributes to raising Vietnam’s position: senior official hinh anh 2

 

Le Hoai Trung, member of the Party Central Committee and head of its Commission for External Relations. (Photo: VNA)

 

Asked about difficulties and challenges to Party diplomacy in the year, Trung said the biggest obstacle lies with the complex regional and international situation, including the fierce competitions between powers.

 

The problem is how to maintain the policy of independence, self-reliance and multilateralisation and diversification of relations in that context, consolidate an environment of peace and security, mobilise external resources to serve national development, and maintain the country’s development achievements, he pointed out.

 

Trung, however, firmly believed that Vietnam will overcome all the headwinds to reap greater achievements next year.

 

According to the official, priorities of Party diplomacy in 2023 will be given to realising the master plan approved by the Politburo and the Secretariat relating to the implementation of Directive No. 32-CT/TW dated February 18, 2019 on enhancing and improving the efficiency of Party diplomacy in the new situation.

 

He emphasised the significance of improving the forecasting capacity, adopting suitable policies and solutions in a timely manner to respond to changes, and raising the efficiency of coordination between relevant forces.

 

Trung said the leadership plays an important part in all the three pillars of Party diplomacy, State diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy, saying leaders should be well aware of the main viewpoint agreed at the 13th National Party Congress that is to build a comprehensive, modern diplomatic sector with the three pillars./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Nguoi Lao Dong (Labourer) Newspaper and the People’s Committee of the south-central coastal province of Ninh Thuan on December 31 presented 10,000 national flags to local officers, soldiers, and fishermen.

 

To Dinh Tuan, Editor-in-Chief of the Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, said that being inspired by patriotism, the responsibility of journalists and the desire to contribute to the protection of national sovereignty over seas and islands, the newspaper has implemented a flag-giving programme named “Proud of national flags”.

 

The flags from the programme are expected to add motivation and pride to fishermen and soldiers in Ninh Thuan, joining them in protecting the  national sovereignty over seas and islands, he said.

 

According to the provincial People’s Committee, there are four coastal districts and cities in Ninh Thuan with nearly 18,000 fishermen. The province has 2,270 fishing vessels, of which, 1,018 vessels joined 170 united groups.

 

Thanks to the programme, the fishermen’s awareness has been improved and they have been combining marine resource exploitation with national sovereignty protection. Local fishermen are reported to strictly follow laws and regulations on marine resource exploitation and protection as well as regulations against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

 

In recent years, no vessels of the province have violated foreign waters.

 

Also on this occasion, the newspaper gave 50 gifts worth a total 100 million VND (4,230 USD) to disadvantaged students in the province./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Mohamed Berzig, Secretary General of the Algeria-Vietnam Friendship Association, has praised the solidarity and undaunted spirit of the Vietnamese people in the “Dien Bien Phu in the Air” campaign 50 years ago.

 

In December 1972, the US imperialists launched a strategic aerial bombing operation called “Linebacker II” in the capital city of Hanoi and the northern port city of Hai Phong.

 

In this operation, the US military mobilised the greatest force since World War II: 193 of the 400 B-52 bombers that the US had at that time; 1,077 of the 3,043 tactical aircraft (including a squadron of about 50 F-111 fighters); six of the 24 aircraft carriers; more than 50 tanker aircraft, other types of service planes, and 60 warships of all kinds from the US Seventh Fleet in the Pacific.

 

Throughout 12 days and nights, the US planes dropped more than 100,000 tonnes of bombs onto Hanoi, Hai Phong and a number of localities in northern Vietnam.

 

Vietnamese defence forces and people of the North resisted strongly, shooting down 81 aircraft, including 34 B-52s, and killing or catching hundreds of US pilots. The heavy losses forced the US administration to stop bombardments on areas to the north of the 20th parallel, invite Vietnam to return to the negotiations in Paris, and prepare for the signing of the agreement on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam.

 

The Paris Agreement, signed on January 27, 1973, laid the foundation for the complete liberation of the South and reunification of the country.

 

Berzig, a researcher on Vietnam, described the victory as glorious and decisive to the liberation of the South, saying it created a premise for national reunification in 1975.

 

The Vietnamese people proved their resolve and courage in the wars against France and the US, which have been carried forward in the current process of national construction and development, he stressed.

 

Berzig also lauded Vietnam’s rapid development at present and expressed his hope that relations between Vietnam and Algeria will be consolidated in the time ahead./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency