Day: March 16, 2023

The Institute for Innovation and Development (IID) on March 15 held a “Drive Innovation for Impact” event to announce three digital innovation platforms boosting sustainable development.

They are iMapVietnam at http://imapvietnam.org, impactUP at https://impactup.site, and V.innovate at http://vinnovate.vn.

Specifically, iMapVietnam is a business authentication and impact measurement platform for businesses doing business for sustainable development in Vietnam.

Meanwhile, impactUP is a platform for training, incubating, and accelerating social entrepreneurship in and among Vietnamese people; and V. innovate is an assessment platform for the innovation-startup ecosystem and social impact for universities and localities. IID is a not-for-profit science and technology organisation under the Asia-Pacific Economic Centre (VAPEC). It is positioned as a leading research institute in the field of innovation for sustainable development, with three pillars of activity: creativity and knowledge sharing; capacity building; and resource connection.

Prof., Dr. Vo Dai Luoc from VAPEC welcomed the platforms announced this time, and stressed the importance of innovation in the current situation.

He also emphasised the need to consider learning from the experience of countries around the world to shorten the application process in practice in Vietnam./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Politburo member and Permanent Vice Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Tran Thanh Man on March 15 arrived in Madrid to start his four-day working visit to Spain.

At a meeting with Secretary General of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE) Enrique Santiago, Man highly valued the positive progress of the Vietnam-Spain relations with a large number of high-level visits.

Noting that the PCE was the first in Western Europe to set up relations with the Communist Party of Vietnam, Man affirmed that Vietnam always remembers the support and solidarity that the party gave to Vietnam during its national struggle for independence.

He underlined that cooperation through the Party channel is an important foundation for the promotion of the political and diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Man asked for Spain’s assistance in calling for the international community’s support to the viewpoints of the ASEAN and Vietnam on the East Sea issues with the aim to ensure aviation and maritime security, safety and freedom in the region, and settling disputes through peaceful measures in line with international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982. He said he hopes the European Commission will soon remove the yellow card on the Vietnamese fisheries sector.

For his part, Enrique Santiago expressed his admiration for the Communist Party of Vietnam and its role in the national struggle for independence in the past and the current national development of Vietnam.

He said that the PCE is always willing to contribute to promoting the Vietnam-Spain relations as well as the ties between the two parties. As a party that supports peace and multilateralism, the PCE will assist Vietnam to foster relations with multilateral organisations, while hastening European parliaments to approve the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) as soon as possible, he pledged.

Regarding inter-parliamentary cooperation, Santiago affirmed that the PCE is willing to connect the Spanish parliament with the Vietnamese NA, initially through the organisation of visits of parliamentarians from different parties to Vietnam. The same day, Man had a meeting with leaders of Acciona Group, and visited a number of wastewater treatment plants run by the firm in Madrid.

Acciona, one of the leading Spanish enterprises in the field of infrastructure development, renewable energy and environment, has engaged in the project to clean up Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe canal in Ho Chi Minh City.

Man lauded the firm’s presence in Vietnam, considering it as a turning point in the expansion of the Vietnam-Spain investment cooperation. He said that the treatment of solid waste, wastewater and domestic waste is an urgent problem in Vietnam, adding he hopes after the project is finished, it will become a model to multiply in other localities, contributing to promoting environmental protection in Vietnam.

Also on March 15, Man visited the Vietnamese Embassy in the European country.

Reporting to the NA Vice Chairman on the relations between the two countries, Ambassador Hoang Xuan Hai said that Spain is the eighth largest trade partner of Vietnam in the EU, while Vietnam is the biggest trade partner of Spain in the ASEAN. Last year, two-way trade reached 4.5 billion EUR (4.76 billion USD), with Vietnam’s exports of 4 billion EUR./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

ASEAN and Norway reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen cooperation under the ASEAN-Norway Sectoral Dialogue Partnership at the 8th Meeting of the ASEAN-Norway Joint Sectoral Cooperation Committee held at the ASEAN Secretariat on March 14.

Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Political-Security Community Michael Tene and Ambassador of Norway to ASEAN Kjell Tormod Pettersen co-chaired the meeting which was attended by members of the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN and their representatives and State Secretary and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway Erling Rimestad.

The meeting took note of the steady progress of the ASEAN-Norway Sectoral Dialogue Partnership: Practical Cooperation Areas (2021-2025) which was adopted in March 2021 and sets out the overall framework for practical cooperation between both sides.The meeting also took note of Indonesia’s 2023 ASEAN Chairmanship priorities, the implementation of the Initiative for ASEAN Integration (IAI) Work Plan IV, progress on the ASEAN Smart Cities Network initiative, and ASEAN’s effort to promote sustainable development.

Both sides exchanged views on ways to further strengthen cooperation in a number of areas including peace and reconciliation, renewable energy and energy transition, climate change, environmental protection, biodiversity, ocean sustainability, blue economy, and people-to-people exchanges.

The meeting touched upon four key economic partnership priorities that ASEAN would like to advance further with Norway through meaningful economic cooperation and integration efforts that are fit-for-purpose for the 21st century, namely market integration; sustainability and decarbonisation; digital transformation; and inclusivity involving micro, small and medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Public-Private sector engagement, and people-to-people contacts.

They also agreed to explore cooperation on smart cities, circular economy, digitalisation, cybersecurity, public health, trade, capacity building for women, human rights including rights of person with disabilities, and education including technical and vocational education and training (TVET).

On the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP), ASEAN encouraged Norway to develop and support cooperation projects and activities which dovetail with the areas of AOIP cooperation such as on maritime cooperation, connectivity, UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030, as well as economic and other areas of cooperation./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

An eight-volume Russian version of “Dai Viet su ky toan thu” (Complete Book of the Historical Records of Dai Viet), a famous chronicle of Vietnam, has been translated from the Han (Chinese) language and debuted.

The Institute of China and Contemporary Asia under the Russian Academy of Sciences held an event on March 15 to introduce the Russian version, a work by a team of five scholars.

In his remarks, Kirill Vladimirovich Babaev, acting Director of the institute, said this scientific work is significant to not only the study of Vietnam in Russia but also the development of the two countries’ relations.

The work is the most important of its kind to the Oriental studies in Russia in recent decades, he noted.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency, senior researcher Andrey Lvovich Fedorin, head of the translation team, said the first ideas and steps of this project was made in the 1990s, and it took 30 years to complete the work.

The translation of such an important history book was a highly difficult task, but his team applied themselves to the work with their passion for the Vietnamese history and the wish to bring the knowledge closer to readers in Russia, he added.

Assoc. Prof. Elena Yakovleva Aleksandrovna from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations said the eight volumes will serve as textbooks at universities of Russia, and that many issues mentioned in the chronicle are still relevant today.

“Dai Viet su ky toan thu” was first compiled by historian Ngo Si Lien as ordered by King Le Thanh Tong in the 15th century. It was later amended and supplemented by other scholars./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Four rare civet species have been found in Xuan Lien Natural Reserve in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa thanks to photo traps.

Director of the Xuan Lien Natural Reserve Management Board Pham Anh Tuan said that a project on the investigation and preservation of species of the civet family (Viverridae) in the natural reserve has been implemented from 2021.

Under the project, photo traps have been installed eight times, which helped discover four rare civet species – Cay Van bac (Chorotogale owstoni), Cay Voi moc (Paguma larvata), Cay Voi huong (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), and Cay Moc cua (Crab eating mongoose).

The project is expected to raise awareness among the residents and local authorities in the conservation of endangered rare mammals, creating ecological balance, thereby contributing to the conservation of endangered species in Xuan Lien Nature Reserve in particular and Vietnam in general.

According to the management board, the civet family (Viverridae) is a typical group of mammals in the tropical forest ecosystem. They nest in caves and tree holes, and eat small animals, rodents, birds, frogs, and insects. In the world, the civet family has 33 species in 23 genera, belonging to four subfamilies and nearly 350 different subspecies./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Overseas Vietnamese Association in the Netherlands recently held a gathering for Vietnamese women living in the country to celebrate the International Women’s Day (March 8).

Participants had a chance to enjoy Vietnam’s traditional dishes, and watch an ‘ao dai’ (traditional Vietnamese gown) show, a dance performance with the country’s typical conical hats, and a short play.

Children from 16 provinces and cities of the Netherlands also brought to the event their paintings featuring the beauty of the Vietnamese land.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Pham Viet Anh encouraged Vietnamese in the European country to always support activities held by organisations and associations to preserve Vietnamese cultural identities./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietbuild Hanoi 2023 exhibition officially kicked off at the National Architectural Planning & Construction Exhibition Centre on March 15, featuring the latest construction materials, technologies, and interior and exterior decor products, and real estate products.

The first event of this kind, the exhibition attracted over 1,500 booths from 350 domestic and international businesses.

On display are property projects, security equipment, electrical equipment, doors and accessories, smart housing systems, internal and external decorative items, LED lighting systems, construction materials, solar energy systems, advanced technology solutions for construction, and architectural products.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Van Sinh said that the real estate market plays a very important role as it affects many industries, including construction materials, and interior and exterior decoration.

The exhibition offers a platform for businesses to seek cooperation opportunities, as well as gain a better understanding about relevant policies, he noted.

Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Duong Duc Tuan said the exhibition contributes to promoting the supply-demand connection, supporting production and business activities, and enhancing partnerships between domestic and foreign enterprises.

He emphasised the importance of the construction industry for the capital city’s industrialisation, modernisation and economic growth, saying that many key tasks have been implemented, including concertedly developing transport and housing infrastructure.

The city is determined to speed up key projects related to transport infrastructure, and industrial parks to better serve the demand of the people, he went on.

Within the framework of the five-day event, a seminar on low emission construction materials and housing construction, a business forum will be organised./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency