Day: December 9, 2022

The EU and ASEAN have maintained good relations so far, but the EU has begun to pay more attention to promoting relations with ASEAN amidst the current geo-political context, said Axel Goethals, CEO of the European Institute of Asian Studies (EIAS).

 

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the upcoming summit to commemorate the 45th founding anniversary of the EU – ASEAN ties, Goethals said ASEAN has demonstrated that it is a dynamic region, and the EU has signed two free trade agreements (FTAs) with two of its members, Singapore and Vietnam.

 

The impact of the recent disruption of the global supply chain has made the EU concentrate on strengthening its relationship with Asia, he stressed.

 

Moreover, the tension between the US and China, and between the US and Russia, has affected global trade, forcing the EU to diversify its supply sources and expand trade ties with ASEAN through negotiating FTAs with other ASEAN member nations.

 

According to the scholar, the relationship between the EU and ASEAN is an essential partnership. The two sides steadfastly support multilateralism and a rules-based international order, and they are working to jointly protect shared values.

 

Goethals said that the two organisations share many similarities in terms of regional function. The EU’s economic structure is also similar with that in ASEAN countries and especially in Vietnam.

 

The Indo-Pacific strategy announced by the EU in September 2021 shows that the region, where ASEAN is the centre, is increasingly important to the EU, he said, adding that ASEAN is a key partner of the EU in implementing this strategy.

 

Goethals also spotlighted the significance of the summit, noting that several agreements will be signed between the EU and ASEAN, as well as between the union and ASEAN member states, on the occasion.

 

Regarding Vietnam’s role in the EU’s cooperation relationship, Goethals said the signing of the EU – Vietnam FTA (EVFTA) has shown Vietnam’s dynamism in ASEAN, adding that this can be a reference model for other ASEAN member nations in FTA negotiations with the EU.

 

The business environment in Vietnam is attractive to European investors thanks to the Vietnamese government’s governance role and increasingly invested-infrastructure, he went on./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

A conference was held in Hanoi on December 8 to update the implementation of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) third cycle recommendations in the fields of labour and society.

 

Addressing the event, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha said that to date, despite adverse impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, Vietnam has completed 82.6% of recommendations with many positive results in terms of ensuring and promoting human rights in the fields of labout, society, gender equality and human trafficking combat.

 

At the conference, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs’ agencies reported on the attainments, difficulties and challenges in the implementation of the UPR third cycle recommendations.

 

Participants noted that over the past 13 years, Vietnam has shown positive and responsible engagement in the UPR mechanism with a high rate of recommendation acceptance and implementation, reflecting the country’s rising and expanding capacity in institution, resources and finance.

 

They agreed that the implementation of the UPR recommendations has contributed to further enhancing the rights of disadvantaged groups and labourers, improving social welfare and contributing to ensuring political-economic and social stability of the country, as well as the quality of human rights in Vietnam.

 

They highlighted difficulties and challenges, and proposed solutions for the better implementation of the recommendations in the time to come, especially the preparations for the building of the national report on the UPR fourth cycle./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

As many as 60% of the electric vehicles (EVs) in the world will depend on the battery ecosystem that is being built in an integrated manner in Indonesia, the country’s President Joko Widodo has said.

 

Speaking at a business forum in Jakarta on December 2, Widodo said Indonesia has abundant resources, such as nickel, copper, bauxite, and tin, that are needed to create an EV battery ecosystem.

 

According to him, Indonesia only lacks lithium. However, the country has expressed interest in cooperating with Australia for obtaining lithium supplies to support its EV battery ecosystem.

 

If the EV battery ecosystem is built in Indonesia, investment will also come in abundance because electric motorcycles and cars will replace conventional vehicles in the future, he said.

 

Previously, a researcher from the National Research and Innovation Agency’s (BRIN) said research and exploration of lithium need to be undertaken to support the development and production of batteries for domestic EVs./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam arrived at Luxembourg-Findel International Airport on December 9 morning (local time), starting an official visit to Luxembourg at the invitation of PM Xavier Bettel.

 

PM Chinh and the delegation were welcomed at the airport by Luxembourg Ambassador to Vietnam Patrich Hammer, Chief of Protocol of the Luxembourg Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs Olivier Baldauff, and Vietnamese Ambassador to Luxembourg Nguyen Van Thao, among others.

 

During the trip, PM Chinh is scheduled to have talks with his counterpart Bettel, meet with the speaker of the parliament and the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, visit some economic establishments, attend a business forum between the two countries, and meet with representatives of the Vietnamese community in the European country.

 

The official visit takes place at a time when the bilateral relations are flourishing, especially in investment and development.

 

Having invested 2.6 billion USD in Vietnam, Luxembourg is the third largest EU investor in the Southeast Asian nation and also one of the EU countries that have ratified the EU – Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) early. It views Vietnam as one of the priority partners in development assistance, with total aid reaching 129 million EUR (136.4 million USD).

 

PM Chinh’s trip is expected to further intensify the friendship and cooperation with Luxembourg and expand cooperation in the fields where each country has strengths and Vietnam has demand such as pharmaceutical technology and logistics./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency