Day: June 4, 2023

A teleconference was held on June 2 to explore chances for investment and business partnerships between the northeastern region of India and Vietnam.

The event was held by the Vietnamese Trade Office in India, the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency (Invest India) under the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the Indian Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER). It also saw the participation of over 70 businesses of both countries.

Vietnamese Ambassador to India Nguyen Thanh Hai said India is an important trading partner of Vietnam, which in turn is also a pillar in the South Asian country’s Act East Policy. The northeastern region is also the starting point of this Act East Policy, so it has received the greatest number of preferential policies from the Indian Government. This region also shares many culinary, customs, and cultural similarities with Vietnam.

Le Thanh Hoa, Deputy Director of the Agro Processing and Market Development Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the two countries have been enjoying growth in the trade of agro-forestry-fishery products.

Vietnam exports fishery products, coffee, peppercorn, cashew nut, tea, rubber, timber, rattan and bamboo handicrafts, among others to India. Meanwhile, India ships such items as fishery products, fruits, vegetables, wheat, corn, plant oil, animal fat, and rubber to the Southeast Asian country. Vietnam is running a deficit in agro-forestry-fishery trade with India, with a value of 473.8 million USD in 2021 and 687.73 million USD in 2022, he noted.

Harpreet Singh, Joint Secretary at the MDoNER, said the northeastern region of India, with over 60% of its area covered with forest, holds potential for developing agricultural, bamboo, and handicraft products. It is also home to 17 airports as well as river and sea route systems favourable for goods transportation. These are drivers for economic growth and regional connectivity.

He suggested several areas the two sides can cooperate in, noting that transportation costs in India are declining, so Vietnamese firms can make use of this opportunity.

Geetima Krishna, head of the North East division at Invest India, said the region boasts many demographic advantages, including a young workforce with good knowledge, capability and skills, which is an important impulse for economic partnerships with Vietnam.

Dang Viet Phuong, Deputy Director of the Industry and Trade Department of Vietnam’s Phu Tho province, highlighted his locality’s economic potential and the possibility of cooperation with India in agro-forestry processing and tea export.

He called on Indian enterprises and investors to consider cooperation in tea production and transfer technology to Phu Tho to help improve tea value. He expressed his hope that tea products from his province will be sold in the northeastern region of India in the near future.

For his part, Bui Trung Thuong, Trade Counsellor of Vietnam in India, held that as the northeastern region of India and Vietnam share similarities in terms of geography, climate, and culture, they can further explore cooperation opportunities in agriculture, handicraft production, tourism, and cultural exchange./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A workshop held in Japan’s Fukuoka prefecture on June 3 highlighted the importance of teaching the Vietnamese language and culture to Vietnamese children in Kyushu, the third largest island of the Northeast Asian country.

Addressing over 120 participants in the hybrid event, Vu Chi Mai, Consul General of Vietnam in Fukuoka, said the workshop was part of activities the Consulate General has carried out under the Prime Minister-approved plan on the Day for honouring the Vietnamese language in overseas Vietnamese (OV) communities in the 2023 - 2030 period. Promoting the language is also part of the Consulate General’s efforts to help develop OV communities and maintain and popularise the Vietnamese culture.

She said teaching the Vietnamese language and culture to OV children will bring about many substantial benefits, including enhancing their patriotism, awareness of the homeland, and understanding of society and also strengthening their bonds with families.

Encouraging the use of the Vietnamese language in second- and third-generation Vietnamese families in Japan will also help the community develop strongly and create an important source of manpower for both countries, Mai went on.

Mai Phan Dung, Vice Chairman of the State Committee for OV Affairs, said the Vietnamese community in Japan as well as others around the world have shown their sense of responsibility towards younger generations as seen in the organisation of numerous practical activities to maintain and popularise the homeland’s language, including opening Vietnamese language schools, classes, and centres.

He hailed the opening of a class giving guidance in how to teach the Vietnamese language and culture to Vietnamese children in Kyushu, voicing his hope that similar initiatives will be implemented in not only Northeast Asia but also around the world.

At the workshop, experts presented their opinions on issues related to the maintenance and teaching of the Vietnamese language and culture in foreign countries.

On this occasion, the Vietnamese People Association in Fukuoka officially debuted a board for the Vietnamese language to honour and maintain the language and culture in the local OV community./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on June 4 sent a message of sympathy to Vice President of India and Chairman of the Council of States (upper house of the Indian parliament) Jagdeep Dhankhar, and Speaker of the House of the People (lower house) Om Birla over the loss of lives in the railway accident in Odisha on June 2./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong received leader of the Australian Labour Party and Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese in Hanoi on June 4.

Welcoming Albanese on his official visit to Vietnam when the two countries are marking the 50th anniversary of their diplomatic ties, Trong affirmed the importance Vietnam attaches to the relations with Australia and highly valued the strong, substantive, and comprehensive development of bilateral cooperation over the past years.

He stressed that both countries, located in the Asia-Pacific and sharing many similarities, have enjoyed thriving relations over the last 50 years which have been expanded and become substantive in terms of politics, economy, science, technology, education - training and defence - security. In particular, people-to-people links are close with more than 300,000 Vietnamese people, including tens of thousands of students, in Australia.

Based on those conditions and the huge cooperation potential, there are bright prospect for relations between the two countries to grow further in the coming time, he opined.

General Secretary Trong highly valued the outcomes of Albanese’s visit, especially the talks and meetings with Vietnamese leaders and the important agreements reached during the trip. He described the successes of this visit and the recent trip of Vietnam by Australian Governor-General David Hurley as milestones in bilateral relations.

The Vietnamese Party leader voiced his support for the orientations for developing the countries’ ties, including lifting their relations to a new level, cooperating more fruitfully, and promoting the implementation effectiveness of agreements for the sake of the two peoples as well as for peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world at large.

For his part, PM Albanese stated his country respects Vietnam’s role and stature along with bilateral connections, expressing his delight at the impressive achievements of their relations, which are currently a strategic partnership.

He also informed his host about the outcomes of his talks with PM Pham Minh Chinh and other Vietnamese leaders, and the agreements reached between the two sides.

He noted that he believes in the development prospects of bilateral relations and hopes to elevate those ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

The PM affirmed Australia’s viewpoint on the importance of consolidating a peaceful and stable environment in the region; respecting international law, independence and sovereignty of countries, and equal relations; supporting ASEAN’s centrality, as well as the Australian Government’s policy and the Australian Labour Party’s policy of promoting relations with Southeast Asian nations.

At the meeting, PM Albanese invited General Secretary Trong to pay an official visit to Australia as a guest of his country’s Government. The Party leader of Vietnam thanked and accepted the invitation with pleasure./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

President Vo Van Thuong on June 4 received Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is on a two-day official visit to Vietnam starting June 3.

The state leader appreciated Australia's provision of stable official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam and its support in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic through timely grant of vaccines in large quantities.

For his part, Albanese affirmed that Vietnam has always been Australia's top priority partner in the region and wished to constantly develop cooperative relations with the Southeast Asian nation.

Vietnam will have a priority position in a Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 that the Australian Government is developing, he noted.

The leaders expressed their delight at the outstanding achievements of the bilateral ties across various fields, especially politics-foreign affairs, security-defence, economy-trade-investment, education-training, culture, tourism, sports, labour, science-technology, and people-to-people and locality-to-locality exchanges.

They agreed to further strengthen political trust, considering it an important basis for the elevation of the bilateral relations to new heights in the time to come.

Albanese informed his host on Australia’s decision to grant 105 million AUD (69.51 million USD) for Vietnam serving cooperation in climate change response and energy transition; the RMIT University’s increase of investment in Vietnam to 250 million AUD; and the Western Sydney University’s granting of scholarships for Vietnamese and regional students.

The Australian PM said he welcomes the opening of more direct routes to major Australian cities by Vietnamese carriers Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet, which he said contributes to promoting economic and tourism cooperation, and exchange activities between the two peoples.

President Thuong, in turn, proposed Australia create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Australia to preserve the language, traditions, and culture of their home country, and for Vietnamese students to complete visa procedures and study.

He also suggested Australia establish more branches of its major universities in Vietnam; and soon implement the revised memorandum of understanding on the Australian Agriculture Visa programme.

Vietnam is ready to provide skilled workers in the industrial, agricultural and service sectors for Australia, and welcomes Australian citizens to participate in the Vietnamese work and holiday programme, he stated.

Discussing regional and international issues, the two sides concurred to continue to support each other and work closely at regional and international forums, especially the UN, APEC, ASEAN and other ASEAN-led mechanisms. Albanese reaffirmed Australia's stance of respecting the rule of law in the region and settling disputes in the East Sea by peaceful means in conformity with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency