Day: February 7, 2023

With a better understanding of the fishery law and regulations, fishermen in the central province of Quang Nam are contributing to developing a sustainable modern fishing industry and removing the “yellow card” for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing imposed by the European Commission (EC).

Captain and vessel owner Le Quang Anh of Tam Hai commune, the province’s Nui Thanh district, said that before any fishing trip, he brings documents to Ky Ha port border guard station for registration.

The documents include the list of crewmembers, their working positions, hull insurance contract, crew insurance, and the vehicle’s license plate.

He said that in addition to bringing along fishing equipment and tools, fishermen must fully comply with regulations on the at-sea fishing process following the Law on Fisheries.

For offshore fishing vessels, these requirements are much stricter to restrict their operation in other countries’ fishing grounds.

Local authorities, border guards, coast guards, and fisheries surveillance forces regularly tell fishermen about the legal process of sea fishing, and this make them better aware of obeying relevant regulations.

Anh said that offshore fishing vessels in the district are required to install kinds of necessary equipment including locators, radar, short-term/medium-term/long-term Icom, and GPS satellite navigation equipment that help fishermen support each other when working at sea.

Vice Chairman of the province’s Hoi An City People’s Committee Nguyen The Hung said that to develop a modern and sustainable marine fishing industry, over recent years, the city authorities and agencies have taken activities to increase public awareness of the fishery law and the fight against IUU fishing.

The city currently has more than 700 fishing vessels of all kinds. Right after the Lunar New Year late last month, local fishermen rushed to the sea.

All the vessels, especially those with high capacity, are fully equipped with the required communication devices.

Director of Quang Nam province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Pham Viet Tich said that this year, the province will keep strengthening communication activities besides efforts to improve fishing infrastructure, on-sea services, storage, and post-harvest processing./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s upcoming Singapore visit holds great significance, since this is an occasion for him and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong enhance relations between the two Governments and States, thereby contributing to cooperation within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and ASEAN Plus.

So said Prof. Bilveer Singh from the Department of Political Science at the National University of Singapore in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency ahead of PM Chinh’s official visit to the city state from February 8 to 10.

He held that the way in which Vietnam and Singapore view and understand each other, and together move forward amid numerous fast-changing external challenges is highly important.

Assessing their strategic partnership, he highlighted the development of bilateral connections in economy, politics, diplomacy, culture, and defence, adding that the two countries’ relationship have established itself as a special one.

Vietnam – Singapore ties contribute to cohesion in ASEAN: expert hinh anh 2

Prof. Bilveer Singh from the Department of Political Science at the National University of Singapore. (Photo: VNA)

The expert described Vietnam and Singapore as pillars of ASEAN over the last 10 – 15 years, saying the development of their ties within the bloc’s is crucial.

The countries are moving in the right roadmap and should work harder to become the cohesion of ASEAN, he went on, noting that they are the most stable nations in Southeast Asia at present, so they are in advantageous positions to push the bloc forward.

Talking about defence and security cooperation, Singh said the two sides have maintained an annual defence policy dialogue, but they should further strengthen links between their naval, land, air, and civil defence forces. They also need step up officer exchanges to help boost mutual understanding and military ties.

Besides, he also suggested Vietnam and Singapore identify potential cooperation fields of which cyber security is a major area that Singapore is very strong at.

The professor expected that both will together lead ASEAN on the path to sustainable development. As long as they can promote and maintain the bloc’s unity and cooperation with major powers, it will be crucial to safeguarding security in the Indo-Pacific region or the Asia-Pacific region./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

After the Lunar New Year holiday, many cooperatives, especially those in the food and beverage (F&B) sector, have accelerated their production to fulfil domestic and export orders.

Ly Hong Tien, Director of Hau Giang Xanh Cooperative in Hau Giang province, told vnbusiness.vn that thanks to the links her cooperative has established with distributors, it was completing many orders of processed that lat fish to serve local demand and that for exports.

According to experts, though economic difficulties would continue in 2023, there remained untapped business opportunities for small firms and cooperatives in the F&B industry.

Experts said that when an economy was unstable, investors intended to return to industries with high demand as the F&B sector is an essential industry.

A recent report by iPOS.vn said that Vietnam had around 338,600 restaurants and coffee shops by the end of last year. Last year, the F&B market was worth around 610 trillion VND (26 billion USD).

It also showed that domestic people still favoured independent shops and restaurants. This was also the primary model that cooperatives and small businesses in the industry were developing.

According to representatives of cooperatives with food and beverage outlets, many consumers preferred this model because the prices of services, food and drinks here were affordable for most Vietnamese people.

They said that many cooperatives in rural areas had also invested in beverage shops and restaurants to meet people’s needs instead of high-priced chain stores, which were concentrated mainly in first-class urban areas.

Large enterprises with facilities and factories in urban areas might face difficulties opening food and beverage shops in the countryside because of the high cost of transporting goods. However, this is an advantage for cooperatives as most of them have raw materials available. Experts said that with a focus on investing in machinery and promoting links with others, cooperatives could diversify their products and reduce costs.

Do Duy Thanh, F&B director of Horeca Business School, was quoted by vnbusiness.vn as saying that customers became pickier in choosing restaurants to suit their tastes. Currently, the newly-established food and beverage stores opened by cooperatives have also tended to develop and shape in their way, creating a distinctive feature.

For example, many cooperatives have opened coffee shops that provide customers with coffee produced by themselves. Besides enjoying coffee, customers could also experience the roasting and grinding coffee stages meeting OCOP standards, Thanh said, outlining a cooperative that had opened a coffee shop associated with a factory producing brocade goods.

Despite their efforts in gradually identifying the needs of the market, in order for these cooperatives to effectively grasp business opportunities amid the difficult economic conditions, experts said they still needed more support from the State management agency.

Ngo Van Phi, Director of Dai Minh Agricultural Cooperative in the central province of Quang Nam, outlined insufficient capital as the major challenge for many cooperatives to expand their production, seek sources of goods and invest in processing and marketing. However, it was difficult for cooperatives to access loans with preferential interest rates, which required them to have collateral.

Phi suggested that loans for the collective economic sector should be flexible and diversifying. He also petitioned the authorities to be clear about the rules, regulations and administrative procedures so that cooperatives could access capital sources to speed up production and meet market demand.

Meanwhile, experts said most cooperatives in the F&B field had not yet paid attention to applying labour standards that were described as a must for cooperatives besides environmental protection if they wanted to meet the demand of markets, especially strict export outlets.

Cooperatives must make long-term plans to gradually improve labour standards and be ready for more stringent and specific requirements in the future. For example, experts suggested that they should invest in human resource management technology, paying insurance and bonuses for employees to create stability in work and affirm the

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Thailand’s Commerce Industry has warned the strengthening baht will affect high-value industrial products with few imported raw materials such as rubber products, canned and processed seafood, gems and jewelry.

Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, director general of the Trade Policy and Strategy Office (TPSO), affirmed the baht surged to 32-33 baht per USD compared with 35-36 baht per USD last December.

Poonpong said although the extent of the impact of the baht appreciation on export performance is not on par with the effect of a weakening global economy and economic slowdown in key trading partners, a strong baht directly affects the competitiveness of Thai products, making them more expensive than those of other exporting countries.

The export value is also subject to a reduction once converted from the US dollar, resulting in a decline in revenue or profits for exporters.

However, the baht’s gain positively affects imports, particularly of energy, capital goods, raw materials and semi-finished goods. Semi-finished goods account for 83.8% of total imports and a more robust baht reduces the costs of such imported products to make finished products for re-export.

The office estimated the domestic market for colour cosmetics at 811 million USD (26 billion baht) in 2022, up 12.1% from the year before, with an outlook for 896 million USD this year.

Outbound shipments of beauty and personal care products tallied 3.25 billion USD in 2022, up 6.6% from a year earlier. Key export markets include Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Australia and China./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The coming visit to Singapore by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will be a key platform for both countries to reaffirm their excellent ties, said Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan in his written interview with the Vietnam News Agency.

The following is the full text of the interview.

Reporter: This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations and 10th anniversary of strategic partnership between Singapore and Vietnam. How do you evaluate the Singapore-Vietnam relations in the past half century, especially in the last decade? What should the two countries do to further our bilateral cooperation and to advance the development of each country?

FM Vivian Balakrishnan: The ties between Singapore and Vietnam have grown from strength to strength since we established diplomatic relations 50 years ago. We are longstanding friends and close partners that enjoy wide-ranging cooperation in many areas, both bilaterally and at multilateral fora. I am heartened that the bilateral relationship has continued to expand and evolve to tackle new challenges over the past decade. Our linkages are particularly strong in trade and investment. The 12 Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) across Northern, Central, and Southern Vietnam have attracted 17 billion USD in investments and created over 300,000 jobs. The VSIP is an enduring icon of our bilateral partnership which is built on the close friendship and consultations between the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew and former Vietnamese Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet, who had asked Mr Lee to advise Vietnam on its economic opening in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Even as we strengthen cooperation in traditional areas such as trade and investment, there remain many opportunities to work together in new growth areas like the digital economy, renewable energy, carbon credits, green financing, cybersecurity, and sustainable infrastructure. I would encourage interested parties to explore collaboration in these areas, to establish mutually beneficial partnerships that advance the interests of both countries.

Reporter: What is the significance of the upcoming visit to Singapore by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh? What do you vision about the prospect of Vietnam-Singapore cooperation in the coming decade?

PM Chinh’s visit to enhance Singapore-Vietnam relations: Singaporean FM hinh anh 2

PM Pham Minh Chinh (L) and his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong meet on the sidelines of the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and related meetings in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in November 2022. (Photo: VNA)

FM Vivian Balakrishnan: We warmly welcome Prime Minister Chinh, who is making his first Official Visit to Singapore. Prime Minister Chinh’s visit has an added significance as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Singapore and Vietnam and the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam-Singapore Strategic Partnership this year. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has also accepted Prime Minister Chinh’s invitation to visit Vietnam. We are confident that Prime Minister Chinh will have a fruitful and productive visit to Singapore.

Looking ahead, I would like to highlight two areas in which there is much scope for closer collaboration between Singapore and Vietnam. First, we need to accelerate our cooperation in the digital economy. This is a priority for both Singapore and Vietnam, and encompasses many new areas such as cybersecurity, cross-border data flows, smart cities, innovation, artificial intelligence, and digital payments. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the crucial role of digital trade and e-commerce in ensuring supply chain resilience and business continuity. During the series of high-level exchanges last year, leaders on both sides also agreed on the importance of accelerating cooperation in digital transformation. Second, sustainable development. Like COVID-19, climate change is a global issue that can only be tackled through the collective effort of governments and people worldwide. Singapore is keen to work with Vietnam in renewable energy, carbon credits, and sustainable infrastructure with the ambitious goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Reporter: In their bilateral meeting on the occasion of the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits in Cambodia in November 2022, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong agreed to direct the ministries and relevant agencies of the two countries to study a possible framework of a digital economy – green economy partnership between the two countries. How do you assess the prospects for bilateral cooperation in these fields?

FM Vivian Balakrishnan: As mentioned earlier, there is great potential for both our countries to work together in these two fields. I recall that during my last visit to Vietnam in June 2021, both sides had agreed to establish a Digital Economy Working Group to identify useful areas of cooperation. We have since put in place the foundations for working together. First, in February 2022 the Singapore Ministry of Communications and Information concluded an MOU on Digital Economy. This was followed up in October 2022, an MOU on Cybersecurity, Cybercrime, Data Flows and Personal Data Protection Cooperation was signed between the Singapore Ministry of Communications and Information and the Vietnam Ministry of Public Security. I am certain that these collaborations will produce concrete outcomes, given our common interest in harnessing the potential of the digital economy to improve our people’s lives.

PM Chinh’s visit to enhance Singapore-Vietnam relations: Singaporean FM hinh anh 3

The 12 Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIPs) across Northern, Central, and Southern Vietnam have attracted 17 billion USD in investments and created over 300,000 jobs. (Photo: VNA)

I understand that Prime Minister Chinh himself plays an active role as Chair of the National Steering Committees for both Digitalisation and Climate Change, and that the target is for Vietnam’s digital economy to contribute to 20% of GDP by 2025. Vietnam is keen to build up an e-government, e-society, and digital population. Similarly, Singapore’s Smart Nation strategy aims to build a digital economy, digital government and digital society, with every industry, business and government agency driving whole-of-nation digitalisation. As for the green economy, both Singapore and Vietnam have set the same target of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Both countries are also keen to work together to harness renewable energy for a more sustainable future. Vietnam enjoys an abundance of wind and sunlight, which it could harness to generate renewable energy for both domestic consumption and export to other countries. Within the region, there is already the Lao PDR-Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore Power Integration Project (LTMS PIP), and there is much scope for countries in the region to work together to realise an ASEAN power grid. There are many areas of complementarity between Singapore and Vietnam in the fields of digital economy and green economy, and much more that our countries can do together.

We look forward to welcoming Prime Minister Chinh to Singapore. This will be a key platform for both countries to reaffirm our excellent ties, take stock of our cooperation and discuss ways to advance our Strategic Partnership as we work together to create a more resilient and green future as well as a peaceful and prosperous Southeast Asia.

Source: Vietnam News Agency