Day: December 5, 2022

Posted on

Defence cooperation – pillar in Vietnam-Cuba relations: Senior officers

Divisional General Víctor Rojo Ramos, head of the Political Directorate of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), is leading a delegation to pay an official visit to Vietnam and attend Vietnam International Defence Expo 2022 from December 1-12.

 

On December 5, Chairman of the General Department of Politics under the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) General Luong Cuong hosted an official welcome ceremony for Divisional General Víctor Rojo Ramos.

 

At the talks held after the ceremony, Cuong affirmed that the Vietnamese Party, State, people and army always stand shoulder to shoulder with and support Cuba within their capabilities, just like how Cuba once helped Vietnam during the most difficult times of the struggle for national liberation in the past, as well as in the cause of national construction at present.

 

Ramos emphasised that over the past more than 60 years, despite many ups and downs of history, the two countries’ relations have remained intact as at the beginning, with bilateral cooperation comprehensively implemented in all fields such as agriculture, health care, finance, banking, science – technology, and at multilateral mechanisms and forums.

 

The two sides exchanged views on the situation of the world, the two countries and the two armies, agreeing that defence cooperation is one of the pillars and role model in the Vietnam-Cuba relations.

 

Based on an agreement on defence cooperation development signed in 2011 and a defence cooperation plan for 2020-2022, the two sides have intensified collaboration in human resources training, and stepped up delegation exchanges.

 

In the time to come, they agreed to continue boosting the exchange of delegations, especially high-ranking ones, sharing experience between young soldiers in the Party and political affairs, and educating officers and soldiers on the special traditional friendship of the two Parties, States and armies.

 

After the talks, the two officers signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation and experience sharing in the Party and political affairs in the army.

 

Also on the day, Divisional General Víctor Rojo Ramos met with Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Tan Cuong, Chief of the General Staff of the VPA and Deputy Minister of National Defence.

 

Cuong appreciated the outcomes of the talks between Gen. Cuong and Divisional General Ramos, affirming that the signing of the MoU is an important foundation contributing to protecting the revolutionary achievements of the socialism building cause in each country.

 

He proposed the two sides continue the effective implementation of the signed documents and agreements, and speed up the signing of new ones, particularly a cooperation agreement for 2023-2025.

 

The General Staff of the VPA will create maximum conditions and direct agencies and units to implement practically and effectively the contents agreed by the two sides, he added.

 

Ramos also stressed the need to boost defence collaboration between Vietnam and Cuba for interests of both sides./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

Welcome ceremony held in Seoul for President Nguyen Xuan Phuc

President of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Yoon Suk-yeol hosted an official welcome ceremony for his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc on December 5 afternoon in the capital city.

 

The ceremony was held at the RoK’s highest level for a head of state.

 

After that, the two Presidents held talks to discuss measures aimed at promoting relations between the two countries.

 

During his 3-day stay that will last through December 6, President Phuc is also scheduled to meet the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the National Assembly of the RoK, and attend a business forum.

 

President Phuc is the first foreign high-ranking leader to pay a state visit to the RoK since President Yoon took office in May this year.

 

The visit takes place at a time when the two countries are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their bilateral diplomatic ties and are entering a pivotal period to carry out their own development strategies, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic. It is expected to usher in new chapter in bilateral ties./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Posted on

Education – an important cooperation area between Vietnam and New Zealand

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on December 5 expressed his hope that universities and educational institutions of Vietnam and New Zealand will reach specific, direct cooperation agreements, helping to deepen the collaboration between the two countries in this regard.

 

Addressing an education forum held at the University of Waikato in New Zealand’s city of Hamilton, Hue noted that since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties in 1975, the Vietnam-New Zealand relationship has been developing constantly, adding that the two countries set up a strategic partnership in 2020, making Vietnam the only strategic partner of New Zealand in Asia-Pacific.

 

Briefing participants on Vietnam’s achievements over the past time, including those in education, the leader cited the World Bank’s forecast that about 3.5 million Vietnamese students will have demand for higher education by 2035, doubling the figure in 2019.

 

He affirmed that education is one of the most important cooperation areas in the implementation of the action programme realising the Vietnam-New Zealand strategic partnership for 2021-2024.

 

There are about 2,000 Vietnamese students in New Zealand, and about 25 officials from Vietnamese ministries and agencies are sent to the country each year for training under a cooperation programme between the two nations, Hue said.

 

The top legislator said within the framework of the visit to Vietnam by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern last month, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training and the New Zealand Ministry of Education inked a cooperation agreement, which created a legal basis for the two sides to promote educational collaboration at different levels.

 

He also highlighted the significance of the educational links to cooperation in other spheres.

 

According to the leader, out of more than 435 billion USD in foreign direct investment in Vietnam, some 5 billion USD has been injected into 500 education projects.

 

Many of the world’s leading universities have opened their facilities in the Southeast Asian nation, Hue said, expressing his hope that more New Zealand universities will come to Vietnam.

 

Highlighting Vietnam’s great demand for education and training, Hue said he hoped that the forum would open up a new period for educational cooperation between the two countries.

 

In his remarks, Chancellor of the University of Waikato Anand Satyanand stressed that New Zealand wishes to bolster cooperation with countries in Indo-Pacific in trade, education and culture, and expects to restore and increase the number of Vietnamese students in the country as compared the pre-pandemic level.

 

He viewed educational cooperation as an effective channel to enhance mutual understanding and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

 

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Waikato Professor Neil Quigley, who is also President of the New Zealand-Vietnam Friendship Association, emphasised the constant development of the bilateral educational ties, saying the Vietnamese government has fully supported educational cooperation programmes between the two countries.

 

Sharing Hue’s view, the professor said there remains potential for Vietnam and New Zealand to boost their educational cooperation.

 

Grant McPherson, Chief Executive of Education New Zealand, also affirmed that education has remained a key cooperation area between the two countries, and that New Zealand attaches importance to the exchange of students.

 

Vietnam is the only Southeast Asian country that has established cooperative ties with many major universities of New Zealand, which vividly demonstrates the good relationship between the two countries, he noted.

 

At the forum, Hue and leaders of the University of Waikato witnessed the exchange of 10 memoranda of understanding on educational cooperation between the two countries’ universities, covering the majors of foodstuff, agriculture, construction, economy, business administration, biology, scientific research, climate change and hotel management, among others.

 

On this occasion, the New Zealand-Vietnam Friendship Association announced its re-establishment after a period of interruption./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Posted on

President calls for stronger investment from RoK enterprises

 

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on December 5 received representatives of large enterprises of the Republic of Korea (RoK) operating in Vietnam, as part of his State visit to the Northeast Asian country.

 

Meeting with Chairman and CEO of CJ Group Sohn Kyung-shik in Seoul, President Phuc highly valued the firm’s realisation of its investment commitments in the fields of food and animal feed production, biotechnology, logistics, and culture in Vietnam. It currently has 24 subsidiaries operating in eight main sectors in Vietnam, earning 1.5 billion USD in revenue, rising 10-fold over the last 10 years.

 

He asked CJ to continue expanding investment in Vietnam, turn the country into its global production and business centre, move its Southeast Asia headquarters to Vietnam so as to optimise opportunities generated by the free trade agreements (FTAs) to which Vietnam is a party, and actively distribute Vietnamese goods to global markets.

 

Sohn noted over the past years, his group has implemented the commitments on clean food production and biotechnology, turning Vietnam into the third largest among its 30 markets around the world.

 

In the time ahead, the country will become the production and business centre of CJ in Southeast Asia, he added.

 

Talking to Chairman of Lotte Group Shin Dong-bin, President Phuc affirmed that Vietnam always creates conditions for this enterprise to increase its presence and continue operating successfully in Vietnam.

 

He welcomed Lotte’s launch of a major urban project in Ho Chi Minh City last September and preparation for opening Lotte Mall Tay Ho in Hanoi in August 2023.

 

He asked the group to consider investing in a modern trade centre and residential area in Long An province, adding that agencies and localities of Vietnam will coordinate with Lotte to ensure harmonious interests between the two sides.

 

At the meeting with Vice Chairman and CEO of LG Corp. Kwon Bong-seok, President Phuc applauded the group’s strong investment in Vietnam and creation of jobs for tens of thousands of workers in the country.

 

The State leader expressed his hope that LG will increase investment in Vietnam, especially in the areas it is strong at like automobile and mobile phone components, strengthen cooperation in IT and software training, and place its biggest manufacturing centre in Vietnam.

 

The country will provide the best investment environment and infrastructure for investors, he affirmed.

 

Kwon said LG, present in Vietnam since 1995, has invested 5.3 billion USD in multiple fields so far, including camera, electronics, household appliance, and auto component production, and it is planning to pour another 4 billion USD into the country.

 

It hopes to continue investment cooperation in various areas in Vietnam and develop the country into its centre for manufacturing smartphone cameras in the future, he stated.

 

Receiving Chairman of Daewoo E&C Jung Won-ju, President Phuc spoke highly of the group’s strong investment in Vietnam, which he described as an appropriate move amid flourishing relations between the two countries.

 

He asked Daewoo E&C to build a big hospital in Vietnam, which has a population of 100 million with high demand for medical examination and treatment, and invest in the development of infrastructure, oil and gas, smart cities, and services for the RoK’s investment ecosystem in the Southeast Asian country.

 

Jung noted his firm wishes to invest more in Vietnam, particularly in oil and gas, green growth, environment, and community development, adding that it is about to hold a Vietnam – RoK investment cooperation forum in mid-December so as to enhance partnerships between leading enterprises of the two countries.

 

Meeting CEO of Hyundai Motor Chang Jae-hoon, the Vietnamese leader lauded its successful investment in the country and called on the firm to keep working with businesses of Vietnam to invest in supporting industries, especially automobile spare part production.

 

He welcomed its investment in electric vehicle manufacturing in Vietnam, saying that he will assign ministries and sectors to consider tax and infrastructure support policies and encourage the use of e-vehicles in the country. The President also called on Hyundai Motor to make strong investment to turn Vietnam into its regional and global centre in the auto industry.

 

Chang expressed the firm’s intention to expand investment in e-vehicle production to serve not only the Vietnamese market but also Asia.

 

Meanwhile, President highly valued GS E&C Corp.’s practical and effective contributions to infrastructure development in Vietnam, asking it to continue expanding cooperation and investment in green energy, environmental protection, climate change adaptation, and infrastructure, especially transport, urban, healthcare, energy, and digital infrastructure.

 

Vice Chairman and CEO of GS E&C Lim Byeong-yong informed the leader of some important projects his company is implementing in Vietnam, noting that it is working hard to carry out some new residential areas in Vietnam and develop a system of international schools to improve educational infrastructure in the south of Ho Chi Minh City.

 

Talking to President and CEO of Doosan Heavy Yeonin Jung, President Phuc highly valued the enterprises’ manufacturing of heavy-duty equipment in Vietnam and asked it to join the country in creating green and clean energy solutions and realising the sutainable development goals.

 

Vietnam welcomes Korean businesses, including Doosan, stepping up renewable energy development in the country, he added.

 

Jung said his firm is shifting its investment from coal-fired thermal power to renewable energy to produce electricity. It is applying the RoK’s advanced wind power model to Vietnam, cooperating with Vietnamese partners to develop green energy sources, and sharing experience with the Vietnamese side so as to obtain the best interests together.

 

Also on December 5, President Phuc received a group of Saigontel’s partners led by Lee Kang-hoon – President of the Korea Overseas Infrastructure and Urban Development Corporation (KIND) under the RoK’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, along with a group of Dat Viet/Kocham partners./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

HCYU’s 7th National Congress to be held next week

The 7th National Congress of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) will take place in Hanoi from December 14-16, the HCYU Central Committee announced at a press briefing on December 5.

 

Themed “Aspirations – Solidarity – Mettle – Pioneering – Creativity”, the congress is expected to saw the participation of 980 delegates representing 22 million HCYU members inside and outside the country, along with about 200 guests.

 

The two day-and-a-half congress will have five major sessions, focusing on youngsters’ desire to devote to the country, measures to strengthen the organisation of the Youth Union and Children’s Union and promote Vietnamese youth’s international integration.

 

Participants will also discuss a political report by the HCYU Central Committee in the 2017-2022, and elect members of the new HCYU Central Committee for the 2022-2027 tenure.

 

Prior to the opening of the congress, the delegates will pay tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum and offer incense to martyrs at the Monument for Heroic Martyrs in Hanoi.

 

They will also visit a photo exhibition and a number of historical relic sites in the capital city.

 

Right after the congress, a Youth Day will be launched in the HCYU in all 63 provinces and cities across the country, and Laos, with various activities including a fund-raising race, activities to assist people in registering for ID codes, ID cards and passports, tree planting, and other voluntary activities./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Posted on

HCM City Tourism Week in full swing

 

The 2nd Ho Chi Minh City Tourism Week, a series of tourism-sport-music events serving domestic and foreign visitors, kicked off at a ceremony in the southern metropolis on December 5.

 

According to Vice Chairwoman of the municipal People’s Committee Phan Thi Thang, the 2022 edition has a larger scale and more diverse activities than those of the previous year.

 

It is set to feature a hot air balloon festival, an international marathon, and a music festival. Visitors also will be treated to performances of traditional music and modern dances, folk games, and calligraphy art, among others.

 

In addition, a host of talk-shows are scheduled, focusing on green tourism. Meanwhile, an exhibition of paintings and urban sketches about the economic hub’s symbols and tourist attractions by the Urban Sketcher – a group of professional architects – will take place for the first time.

 

For the festive week that last until December 11, tourism companies and providers of accommodation, shopping, and dining services have launched hundreds of discount programmes serving both locals and tourists./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Posted on

Ukrainian Singer Shares Her Powerful Performance of a Holiday Classic

Watch the video that captures the wonder of the season and the reality of war in her country.

Usanova

Usanova

TORONTO, Dec. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Undoubtedly you’ve heard carolers sing “Carol Of The Bells” every holiday season. You may also remember this song from the cult classic film “Home Alone”, but most will not be aware that this tune is an Americanized re-write of a 100+ year old Ukrainian folk song called “Schedryk”. Castlehill Entertainment artist Usanova, a young female singer from Ukraine, passionately offers the original version in her native tongue along with a powerful visual performance.

Amidst the ongoing war and devastation in Ukraine, Usanova is one of the lucky ones. In the pursuit of her music career she was in Zurich, Switzerland when the war broke out, making it impossible to return home to her family. Wanting to deliver a message of her and her country’s distress to the world, she put a new spin on the holiday classic.

Usanova states her reason for creating and sharing this piece is “to put focus on the plight of my people during this holiday season. My intention was not to take the joy out of the season, but to remind the world that many are suffering in Ukraine and other parts of the world.” She will be donating any proceeds from the song and video to UNICEF, which is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide.

The 25 year-old-singer, who is also a proficient piano player and yoga Gurudevi, has been focused on traveling to new places in order to experience new people and cultures. She speaks several languages including English, Japanese, and of course Ukrainian. Usanova describes her sound as “world music” bringing together multiple influences with a contemporary twist.

For “Schedryk” she enlisted the help of Hollywood music producer/composer Fingazz to modernize the holiday classic and deliver her compelling message. Recorded and filmed in Zurich, composed, mixed, and edited in Los Angeles, then managed and released by Toronto’s Tom Stephen from Castlehill Entertainment – the end product has truly been an international affair.

Contact Information:
Tom Stephen
Manager
tom@castlehillent.com
(323) 841-6860



Related Images

Image 1: Usanova

Image from her Schedryk video.

Image 2: Usanova 2

Ukrainian singer and her piano.

This content was issued through the press release distribution service at Newswire.com.

Attachment

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8708035

Posted on

STACK Infrastructure and ESR expand their APAC partnership into Japan with a 72MW data center development in Osaka

STACK Expands into Osaka

STACK Infrastructure and ESR will jointly develop a 72MW data center campus in Osaka, Japan.

SINGAPORE, Dec. 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — STACK Infrastructure (“STACK”), the digital infrastructure partner to the world’s most innovative companies and a leading global developer and operator of data centers, and ESR Group Limited (“ESR” or the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries as the “Group”; SEHK Stock Code: 1821), APAC’s largest real asset manager powered by the New Economy, today announced a joint venture to develop a 72MW data center campus in Osaka.

STACK and ESR will jointly develop and deliver 72MW of data center capacity in Osaka’s eastern suburb of Keihanna. Construction of the first of three buildings will commence in Q4 2023 and will be ready for service in Q2 2025. The facility will be operated under the STACK brand and further expands STACK and ESR’s APAC partnership, which currently includes a 48MW data center development in Incheon, Korea.

The strategically located campus will feature robust access to power and network to ensure strong reliability. Available solution options, from colocation to custom build-to-suit, provide hyperscale, cloud, and large enterprise clients with the scalability to meet future growth demands. Higher rack densities and industry-leading PUE, WUE, and building standards support evolving workloads while achieving sustainability targets.

“Osaka is STACK’s sixth APAC market in 12 months since our entrance into the region, including the expansion of our footprint in both Japan and Australia to over 100MW each,” said Pithambar (Preet) Gona, Chief Executive Officer of STACK APAC. “This campus further deepens our partnership with ESR, allowing us to combine our capabilities to meet our clients’ strategic requirements in existing and emerging Tier 1 data center markets.”

“ESR’s strong regional development capability in Tier 1 data center markets ensures we are well-positioned to continue to aggressively develop data center facilities across Asia Pacific,” said Diarmid Massey, CEO of ESR Data Centres. “Our partnership with STACK enables us to leverage our respective strengths to target hyperscale customer growth in key markets.”

This milestone follows the recent announcements of STACK’s entrance to the APAC market with the opening of its Singapore regional headquarters and its expansion into multiple markets with a 36MW campus in Inzai, Japan, 124MW across Melbourne, Canberra, and Perth in Australia, and a 48MW data center in Seoul, Korea.

ESR is currently developing a portfolio of environmentally friendly and industry leading data center solutions in Hong Kong, Osaka, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, Mumbai, and Singapore, funded by ESR’s recently announced inaugural data center investment fund (ESR DC Fund 1), with over US$1 billion of equity commitments for digital infrastructure investment.

ABOUT STACK INFRASTRUCTURE
STACK provides digital infrastructure to scale the world’s most innovative companies. With a client-first approach, STACK delivers a comprehensive suite of campus, build-to-suit, colocation, and powered shell solutions in the Americas, EMEA and APAC regions. With robust existing and flexible expansion capacity in the leading availability zones, STACK offers the scale and geographic reach that rapidly growing hyperscale and enterprise companies need. The world runs on data. And data runs on STACK.

For more information about STACK, please visit: https://www.stackinfra.com.

Media Contact
STACK Infrastructure
Sammer Khalaf
press@stackinfra.com

About ESR

ESR is APAC’s largest real asset manager powered by the New Economy and the third largest listed real estate investment manager globally. With over US$140 billion in total assets under management (AUM), ESR’s fully integrated development and investment management platform extends across key APAC markets, including China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, India, New Zealand and Southeast Asia, representing over 95% of GDP in APAC, and also includes an expanding presence in Europe and the U.S. We provide a diverse range of real asset investment solutions and New Economy real estate development opportunities across our private funds business, which allow capital partners and customers to capitalise on the most significant secular trends in APAC. ESR is the largest sponsor and manager of REITs in APAC with a total AUM of US$45 billion. Our purpose – Space and Investment Solutions for a Sustainable Future – drives us to manage sustainably and impactfully and we consider the environment and the communities in which we operate as key stakeholders of our business. Listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, ESR is a constituent of the FTSE Global Equity Index Series (Large Cap), Hang Seng Composite Index and MSCI Hong Kong Index.

For more information on ESR, please visit www.esr.com.

Investor Relations
Chang Rui Hua
Group Head of Capital Markets and Investor Relations – Managing Director
+852 2376 9623 / +852 5506 7719
rh.chang@esr.com		 Media Contact
Kathleen Goh
Senior Director, Group Corporate Affairs
Tel: +65 6972 2192
kathleen.goh@esr.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/635ef97d-7ae2-48be-991f-45a8e7f90ee5

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8707883