Day: December 3, 2022

 

Thai Vietjet on December 2 resumed the only direct service between Da Lat, the city of flowers, and Thailand’s Bangkok capital after nearly three years of suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Flight VZ940 from Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) was welcomed by Lam Dong province’s leaders and Lien Khuong International Airport’s authorities, along with water salute, lion dance, lively performances and flower wreaths upon arrival at Lien Khuong International Airport. Passengers onboard the resumed flight to Da Lat also enjoyed lucky draws for air tickets and complimentary moon cakes.

 

Woranate Laprabang, Chief Executive Officer of Thai Vietjet, said: “We are delighted to reconnect Thailand with one of the top travel destinations of Vietnam – Da Lat, the city of flowers and beautiful natural landscapes. To provide Thai travelers with more opportunities and flexible choices to travel to Vietnam, as well as welcome Vietnamese tourists to Thailand, we have decided to resume direct flight service between Bangkok and Da Lat. Since tourism is bouncing back to pre-pandemic levels, we strongly believe that the service between the two destinations would facilitate the region’s growing travel demand and trade recovery of both countries.”

 

The international service between Da Lat and Bangkok operates four flights a week on every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday with the flight time of 1 hour and 45 minutes per leg. More flight frequency could be added subject to market demand.

 

Customers can book flight tickets from Dalat to Bangkok with fares as low as 360,000 VND/one-way (14.5 USD) at www.vietjetair.com, Vietjet Air mobile app and authorised ticket agents worldwide.

 

Vietnam has proven as one of the top tourist destinations in Asia-pacific, with its beautiful landscape and unique culture. Da Lat, in particular, is known as the capital city of Lam Dong province, with a variety in nature; beautiful flowers, lovely French villages, magnificent valleys, waterfalls and lakes, in a refreshing atmosphere.

 

Vietjet, together with Thai Vietjet, is the largest carrier operating between Vietnam and Thailand in terms of capacity, offering direct services from Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City/ Da Nang/Phu Quoc to Bangkok and the only direct route between Ho Chi Minh City and Phuket/Chiang Mai. Both Vietnam and Thailand have lifted all arrival regulations relating to Covid-19. Especially, Thai government has increased the period of visa-free stay to 45 days for tourists from many countries including Vietnam.

 

The new-age carrier Vietjet has not only revolutionised the aviation industry in Vietnam but also been a pioneering airline across the region and around the world. With a focus on cost management ability, effective operations and performance, Vietjet offers flying opportunities with cost-saving and flexible fares as well as diversified services to meet customers’ demands.

 

Vietjet is a fully-fledged member of International Air Transport Association (IATA) with the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate. As Vietnam’s largest private carrier, the airline was awarded the highest ranking for safety with 7 stars in 2018 and 2019 by the world’s only safety and product rating website airlineratings.com and listed as one of the world’s 50 best airlines for healthy financing and operations by Airfinance Journal in 2018 and 2019. The airline has also been named as Best Low-Cost Carrier by renowned organizations such as Skytrax, CAPA, Airline Ratings, and many others./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

 

The New Zealand-Vietnam strategic partnership reflects the excellent state of the bilateral relationship between the two countries, said Emeritus Professor Roberto Rabel at the Centre for Strategic Studies under the Victoria University of Wellington.

 

Prof. Rabel made the comment in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency’s correspondent ahead of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue’s official visit to New Zealand from December 3-7 at the invitation of Speaker of the House of Representatives Adrian Rurawhe.

 

According to the professor, there are already many areas in which New Zealand and Vietnam are cooperating actively such as trade, investment, capacity-building and education. There remains scope, however, to lift the scope and depth of cooperation in all those areas and others. A key way of doing this would be for the two sides to do more to identify and focus on the most “strategic” goals of their partnership and then to institutionalise mechanisms (and resources) for advancing those goals.

 

The development of the strategic partnership can also be enhanced by drawing more explicitly on the reservoir of good will that has been created by the growing people-to-people links that have developed over the past few decades, especially through the thousands of Vietnamese students and officials who have had educational and training experiences in New Zealand, he said.

 

Prof. Rabel said that following closely on New Zealand Prime Minister Ardern’s successful trip to Vietnam, Chairman Hue’s visit serves as an affirmation of the strong partnership between the two countries and the potential for even greater cooperation.  It is especially significant that Chairman Hue leads the Vietnamese National Assembly, because his visit offers an opportunity to forge closer links between the two legislatures and to compare notes about how they work to ensure public accountability for the actions of government in both countries. The broadening of mutual understanding that flows from such visits is invaluable for the deepening of the bilateral relationship. It would be especially useful if the visit leads to more regular exchanges of views between the two legislatures and identifies possible ways in which New Zealand can assist Vietnam’s development, through specific training programmes in English for National Assembly members and their support staff (building on education and training programmes provided for officials in the past). It would also be desirable for Chairman Hue’s visit to be followed up by a visit to Vietnam by a New Zealand parliamentary delegation led by the Speaker of the House.

 

Prof. Rabel noted that New Zealand and Vietnam are already constructive contributors to regional peace and prosperity. In addition to their bilateral relationship, they can best enhance their contributions by working together in multilateral settings to strengthen regional economic, political and security architecture-such as through the CPTPP and the numerous ASEAN-led regional fora such as the East Asia Summit. Above all, both countries share a commitment to a rules-based regional order which allows for peaceful interaction between a diversity of states and enables all those diverse voices to be heard rather than just those of the most powerful states. Ensuring that a rules-based order prevails in the region requires upholding the importance of ASEAN “centrality” as a focal point for bringing together all states in the region in an inclusive way.

 

Through reciprocal visits such as those by Prime Minister Ardern and Chairman Hue, Vietnam and New Zealand can exchange views on how to cooperate more effectively both in bilateral and regional settings in ways which build on our mutual interests in maintaining regional peace and prosperity, while respecting each other’s independent foreign policies, he stressed./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on December 3 inspected major infrastructure projects in the southern province of Binh Duong before his working session with provincial leaders on the locality’s socio-economic development in 2022 and tasks for 2023.

 

These projects are Ho Chi Minh City-Thu Dau Mot-Chon Thanh expressway, Bau Bang-Thi Vai-Cai Mep railway, and HCM City’s belt roads No. 3 and No. 4 running through Binh Duong province.

 

The Ho Chi Minh City-Thu Dau Mot-Chon Thanh expressway has a length of 69 kilometres. The first phase of the project will be carried out in 2023-2025 and cost more than 12 trillion VND (492 million USD). The capital for the second phase of the project will be about 13.5 billion VND. It is implemented under a public-private partnership model and expected to be completed in 2026.

 

Once finished, the expressway will boost connectivity among provinces and cities that are part of the southern key economic zone.

 

The Government leader requested Binh Duong province to coordinate with the Ministry of Transport, relevant ministries, agencies and localities to speed up the progress of the projects because they are all important infrastructure projects connecting Binh Duong with the Southeastern region, neighbouring areas, the whole country and with the gateway to the world.

 

The PM suggested that there should be a mechanism to attract resources, especially investment in the form of public-private partnership, to ensure the harmony between the interests of the State, people and businesses.

 

In order to accelerate the progress of the projects, it is essential for the province to hasten site clearance, prepare resettlement infrastructure, and ensure adequate livelihoods for those who are relocated.

 

The PM then made a field trip to the construction sites of the second factory of Paihong Vietnam Co. Ltd. at Bau Bang Industrial Zone, and Binh Duong General Hospital./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The People’s Committees of northern Vinh Phuc province and Tam Dao district held a ceremony on December 2 to announce the award honouring Tam Dao as the world’s leading town destination in 2022.

 

The title was previously announced at the 29th World Travel Awards held in Oman in November this year.

 

Addressing the event, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Vu Viet Van said the award is a recognition of the initial success of the district’s tourism sector, helping to improve the position and value of the Tam Dao National Tourist Area, and promoting the development of the tourism industry in Vinh Phuc province.

 

The Tam Dao national tourism site is located on Tam Dao mountain range, at an altitude of 54 to 1,100 metres above sea level. It boasts majestic mountainous scenery that covers a vast area of the northern delta.

 

In Tam Dao, there are three mountains, Thach Ban (1,388m), Thien Thi (1,375m), and Phu Nghia (1,400m), rising above the sea of clouds like three islands. That is the source of the Vietnamese name “Tam Dao,” meaning “three islands.”

 

Thanks to its cool climate, the town has long been one of the most attractive destinations in northern Vietnam among both domestic and foreign visitors, especially for a summer vacation.

 

This marks the first time Tam Dao has been awarded the world’s leading town destination.

 

To get the award, Tam Dao overcame many town destinations in the US, Japan, the Czech Republic, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Nepal, and New Zealand.

 

The annual awards are based on votes cast by travel industry professionals and the public.

 

The World Travel Awards, launched in 1993, acknowledge excellence in the tourism industry, and have been described as the “travel industry’s equivalent of the Oscars./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue was busy with a series of activities in Melbourne on December 2-3 as part of his official visit to Australia.

 

Attending a Vietnam-Australia economic cooperation forum on December 2 afternoon (local time), Hue was welcomed by Lord Mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp and Victoria’s Commissioner to Southeast Asia Rebecca Hall.

 

Apart from agricultural cooperation, Hall said Australian enterprises are interested in various fields in Vietnam such as health care, maternal and baby care, and preschool education in Vietnam.

 

As of November 2022, Vietnam attracted 36,109 projects worth 437.52 billion USD from 141 countries and territories, heard the forum.

 

At the event, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Quoc Phuong and Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh called for Australia’s increased investment in Vietnam in workforce training, digital transformation and hi-tech agriculture. They said Vietnam also encourages its firms to expand operations in Australia in line with the two countries’ laws.

 

Khanh said the Vietnamese Government is offering incentives in the spheres of agriculture, education and logistics, especially amid the fourth industrial revolution.

 

Hue hoped that more Australian enterprises will come to Vietnam to seek business opportunities. The two governments and legislatures will create favourable frameworks, policies and mechanisms to support businesses, he asserted.

 

At the event, a number of memoranda of understanding were signed. In particular, a leader of RMIT University – the biggest foreign investor in education in Vietnam, announced to double its investment in the country early next year.

 

Receiving CEO of Asia Society Australia Philipp Ivanov and three businesspeople joining the Vietnam-Australia Business Champions Initiative in Melbourne in the afternoon of December 2, Hue expressed his readiness to listen to feedback from entrepreneurs and business associations to create the best business environment.

 

He suggested holding more trips to Vietnam for businesspeople to learn about the business environment and cooperation opportunities under the Initiative.

 

Stressing that Vietnam is attractive to foreign investors, not just for Australia, the businesspeople vowed to do better to encourage more investment in the country and offer practical recommendations to the two governments to boost bilateral ties.

 

In a reception for Treasurer of Victoria Tim Pallas and representatives of Linfox logistics provider on December 3, the top Vietnamese leader hailed Victoria for opening a trade and investment office in Ho Chi Minh City, contributing to reinforcing economic-trade-investment ties between the two localities and the two countries as well.

 

Speaking highly of Linfox’s investment in aviation logistics services in Vietnam, Hue wished that Linfox would enhance workforce training and cooperate in a direct flight service linking Vietnam and Victoria state.

 

Receiving Callum Fraser, founder of Elenberg Fraser and Phil Burns, President of Sinclair Brook on the same day, Hue highlighted Vietnam’s potential in real estate, tourism, entertainment, services and information technology.

 

With their strengths in design consultancy and real estate management, he asked them to partner with Vietnam in building smart cities.

 

The Australian executives hoped to receive further support to learn about opportunities and seek partners in Vietnam.

 

Before leaving Melbourne for his official visit to New Zealand, Hue visited Swinburne University where he worked with its leaders and talked with Vietnamese students who are studying and conducting research here./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Chairman of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue and a high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese legislature arrived at Auckland International Airport in the late afternoon of December 3 (local time), beginning their official visit to New Zealand at the invitation of Speaker of the House of Representatives Adrian Rurawhe.

 

The delegation was welcomed at the Auckland International Airport by Vietnamese Ambassador to New Zealand Nguyen Van Trung, the Vietnamese Embassy’s staff and representatives of the New Zealand government and Auckland city’s administration.

 

During the visit from December 3-7, Hue is scheduled to hold talks with Adrian; meet with senior leaders of New Zealand; attend Vietnam-New Zealand educational and economic cooperation forums; meet with the embassy’s staff and representatives of the Vietnamese community; and have several other activities.

 

New Zealand is a strategic partner of Vietnam in South Pacific, with the bilateral ties growing in different fields. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the exchange of delegations was suspended during 2021-2022 but high-level conversations have been still maintained and bilateral cooperation mechanisms have been deployed in both online and offline forms.

 

The 2021-2024 Action of Plan with New Zealand to realise the bilateral strategic partnership has seen positive results.

 

In economic terms, Vietnam and New Zealand are both members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP). New Zealand is now the 36th largest trading partner of Vietnam. Two-way trade reached 1.3 billion USD last year, up 26.7% year-on-year. The figure increased by 13.6% year on year to 1.1 billion USD in the first nine months of this year.

 

New Zealand also approved the supply of ODA worth 26.7 million NZD for Vietnam during 2021-2024, equivalent to the sum in the 2018-2021 period. The country also supplied 30,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses and 2 million NZD in post-pandemic relief aid to Vietnam.

 

There remains ample room to further boost coordination in national defence, security, education-training, labour and agriculture. In particular, the two countries are interested in new cooperation areas such as climate change response, digital transformation and energy transition.

 

Though few visits were paid due to COVID-19, leaders of the two legislatures still maintained all-level meetings on the sidelines of regional and international conferences.

 

At regional and gblobal inter-parliamentary forums, the two countries’ delegations of lawmakers regularly discussed and supported each other on regional and national issues of mutual concern. The 15th Vietnamese NA continued to establish the Vietnam – New Zealand Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group and maintained information exchange with the New Zealand Embassy in Vietnam.

 

Aiming to deploy the foreign policy of the 13th National Party Congress, the visit is of important significance as it is the first trip to New Zealand by a senior Vietnamese leader since the two countries fully reopened their doors following the pandemic and also the first made by Hue in his capacity as Chairman of the Vietnamese NA./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency