Category: General

Dien made the statement at a working session with leaders of the US’s AES Corporation in New York on September 21 (local time) to discuss the group’s invesment and business activities in Vietnam.

At the meeting, the leaders of AES Corporation informed that a joint venture agreement has been completed for the Son My LNG port warehouse project on the basis of the main terms of the joint venture contract of Son My LNG (liquefied gas) port warehouse project signed in October 2020.

This is an important milestone in the development of the entire project, obtained thanks to the approval and direction of the Government, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises, the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and relevant agencies of Vietnam.

Minister Dien said leading US firms’ success in Vietnam not only holds economic significance but also promotes Vietnam as a trustworthy investment destination for US investors in the future, thus gradually contributing to building bilateral strategic trust.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade will continue making efforts to improve the business and investment environment and actively deal with the US’s proposals, he said.

Then the minister and leaders of Petrovietnam, the Petrovietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation (PV GAS) and the AES witnessed a signing ceremony to establish the firms’ joint venture – the Son My LNG Port Warehouse Co., Ltd.

The establishment, which aims to invest in the construction of the Son My LNG port warehouse, will contribute to ensuring the supply of liquefied gas for power generation demand of the key economic region in the South in particular and Vietnam in general, helping to ensure the national energy security.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The northern coastal province of Quang Ninh set a target of welcoming 1.9-2 million tourists and earning 4-4.5 trillion VND (175.6 – 197.5 million USD) from tourism services in the last quarter of 2021.

Accordingly, from now until the end of October, the province will focus on attracting local tourists in association with strict pandemic control.

Meanwhile, in the last two months of the year, it will exert efforts to draw visitors both inside and outside the province.

Quang Ninh plans to give priority to the application of tourism models that do not pose risks of disease infections, and high value-added tourism products, and encourage long-stay tours.

Quang Ninh is endowed with natural advantages for sea and island tourism. It has a coastline of more than 250 kilometres and more than 2,000 islands and islets which account for two-thirds of the total number in Vietnam.

It is home to popular destinations such as Ha Long Bay, Bai Tu Long, Ha Long Bay National Park and some islands.

In particular, Ha Long Bay was recognised twice as a World Natural Heritage site by UNESCO, in 1994 and 2000.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Embassy of Vietnam in South Africa recently held a Mid-Autumn festival celebration for children of the Vietnamese community in the country.

In South Africa, the event at the embassy attracted children from Pretoria and neighbouring areas amid a decline in COVID-19 caseload and social distancing measures have been eased.

Spouse of the Vietnamese Ambassador to South Africa Luong Thi Thu Ha said the annual celebration arranged by the embassy aims to maintain a traditional cultural trait of the Vietnamese people, as well as bolster the bonds amongst the children in the Vietnamese community.

Folk dances and games were held at the event, along with a contest for children to decorate face masks.

Annie Le, a nine-year-old participant, said that the annual Mid-Autumn Festival celebration offers her a chance to explore culture and traditional traits of the motherland.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese community in Bratislavsk street, Moscow, Russia on September 20 organised a similar event which saw the participation of more than 100 families and 80 children.

At the event, participants joined traditional games of Vietnam and Russia, along with a film screening on the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Supervision is considered an essential task to improve the quality of National Assembly’s activities and it must be linked to the accountability of individuals and organisations, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said on September 22.

He made the remarks at the third session of the 15th NA Standing Committee on September 22 which focused on reviewing a detailed plan on thematic supervision of planning work since the Law on Planning took effect.

Supervisory delegations should make suggestions on how to handle wrongdoings by organisations and individuals or problems that delay or obstruct law enforcement, Hue said.

Presenting the report on the plan by the NA’s Economic Committee, the committee’s chairman Vu Hong Thanh said that the purpose of thematic supervision is to comprehensively and objectively evaluate the execution of the Law on Planning, resolutions of the National Assembly and the NA Standing Committee, laws and ordinances amending and supplementing a number of articles related to the planning of the Government, ministries, localities and agencies.

The delegates at the meeting agreed with the committee’s report, saying the draft supervision plan was carefully prepared, closely following the requirements in NA’s Resolution No 19/2021/QH15, as well as those on the content and implementation roadmap.

Concluding the session, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Quang Phuong said that through discussion, the NA Standing Committee basically agreed with the content of the report.

The supervisory delegation should choose an appropriate time to carry out the supervision, avoiding overlapping with major conferences and events of the Government and of localities, ministries, and branches, he said, adding that it is essential for the delegation to carefully set forth a detailed plan for supervision activities as well as inform the subjects of the supervision in line with their functions and tasks.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam ranked 44th out of 132 countries and economies in the Global Innovation Index 2021 (GII 2021) which was announced by the United Nations’ World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) on September 20.

The country kept its first position among the 34 lower-middle income economies in the index.

The GII 2021 report released on September 20 mentioned Vietnam as one of four middle-income economies (the others being Turkey, India and the Philippines) with the potential to change the global innovation landscape, systematically catching up with other economies like China.

Vietnam, along with India, Kenya and the Republic of Moldova, holds the record for overperforming on innovation relative to their level of development for the 11th year in a row, according to the report.

This year’s GII data shows that Northern America and Europe continue to lead far in front of other regions for innovation, but the innovation performance of South East Asia, East Asia, and Oceania (SEAO) has been the most dynamic in the past decade, and is the only region closing the gap.

The 2021 Global Innovation Index, issued by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), ranks the innovative performance of world economies based on seven factors: human capital and research, knowledge and technology output, infrastructure, market sophistication, business sophistication, creative outputs and institutions.

Vietnam has been part of the index since its debut in 2007, climbing up steadily since 2013, after several years of hovering just above the 70th place. The country ranked 42nd in the index in 2019 and 2020, which is explained by the change in Vietnam’s calculation of its GDP.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang is striving to end illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) in 2021, as part of the country’s common efforts for the European Commission’s removal of the “yellow card” on Vietnamese fisheries sector.

According to Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Lam Minh Thanh, who is also head of the Kien Giang Steering Committee for IUU fight, the locality has defined major tasks and solutions in the field, including the installation of Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) on 100 percent of fishing boats having length from 15m and more to supervise their operations at sea.

The province is trying to complete procedures early to give support for VMS users in paying fees for satellite communication services, he said.

Local authorised agencies have kept close supervision of the volume of aquatic products transported through ports, while reviewing the fishing port system to ensure that they meet requirements for operation in line with the regulations, and informing fishing boats’ owners about support policies for fishermen who unload seafood in the designated port along with accompanied benefits when they do so.

At the same time, the province has allocated resources, including personnel and capital to IUU prevention and combat, while strengthening sea patrol and strictly handing violations.

The provincial Department of Information and Communications has been assigned to coordinate with relevant organisations, agencies and localities to conduct communication campaigns on the IUU combat through diverse forms, said Thanh.

At the same time, the Kien Giang Border Guard High Command has swiftly acted to handle violations by fishing vessels in foreign waters. The public security force has investigated and settled cases involving the organisation for fishermen to conduct illegal fishing in foreign waters.

Kien Giang is one of the 28 coastal localities of Vietnam. So far, the province has installed VMS on 99 percent of local fishing vessels.

In 2019 and 2020, Kien Giang handled 41 violation cases with fine of more than 31 billion VND (over 1.36 million USD), seizing 45 fishing boats and removing the status of captains of fishing ships committing IUU. In the first months of 2021, 22 violation cases involving 30 fishing boats were discovered and handled.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son met with his counterparts from Cuba, Thailand, India, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, and Algeria in New York city on September 22.

He is accompanying President Nguyen Xuan Phuc during a trip to attend the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

At the meetings, the ministers informed about their respective countries’ socio-economic situation and pledged to enhance cooperation in politics – diplomacy, economy, trade, investment, tourism, and the COVID-19 fight, especially in terms of vaccine.

They also affirmed coordination and mutual support at important international forums. In particular, the countries said they will advocate Vietnam’s candidacy for a seat in the UN Human Rights Council in the 2023 – 2025 tenure.

Talking to Cuban FM Bruno Parrilla, Son thanked Cuba for its coordination to successfully organise President Phuc’s official visit, highly valuing the country’s collaboration with Vietnam in COVID-19 prevention and control, especially the presentation of its Abdala vaccine right in the freshly finished tour.

Parrilla appreciated Vietnam’s solidarity and strong and timely support for Cuba in the current trying time.

Meanwhile, the FMs of Vietnam and Thailand emphasised that their countries will augment vaccine cooperation and share experience in recovering socio-economic development in the “new normal”.

The two sides also agreed to hold a meeting of the joint committee for bilateral cooperation via teleconference early so as to foster relations.

Meeting with Indian FM Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the Vietnamese official spoke highly of India’s provision of medical equipment and COVID-19 drugs for Vietnam, asking the two countries to work closely together to mark the 50th founding anniversary of bilateral ties. He also called on India to facilitate Vietnamese goods’ access to its market.

The Indian FM affirmed continued cooperation with and assistance for Vietnam in terms of COVID-19 vaccine, drugs, and medical supplies. He also expressed his hope for stronger trade, investment, and energy partnerships. Speaking to FM Son, Hungarian FM Peter Szijjarto noted his country has basically completed procedures for handing over 400,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Vietnam. It will continue to prioritise selling COVID-19 vaccine to Vietnam if the latter has demand.

He also voiced his hope for cooperation in trade, healthcare, and education – training to be promoted.

At the meeting with Algerian FM Ramtane Lamamra, Son underlined the traditional friendship between the two nations, asking both to increase all-level mutual visits, organise a teleconference of the inter-governmental committee soon, and boost ties in the trade, investment, and oil and gas sectors.

The official called on Algeria to support Vietnam to strengthen cooperation with the African Union. FM Son also met with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian, recommending the two countries maintain contact, hold a meeting of their joint committee soon to bolster bilateral ties, and coordinate with each other to promote trade, investment, and tourism. He asked Iran to import more agricultural products from Vietnam, and continue completing the legal framework for bilateral cooperation.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Ho Chi Minh City has set a target of meeting 65 percent of its demand for supporting industry products by 2025.

To realise the goal, the city will focus on honouring typical supporting industry products and assisting the business that invests in supporting industries.

The nomination and honouring of industrial products and supporting industrial products has been conducted by HCM City every two years since 2016. The number of products and businesses taking part in the event has been increasing. Last year, 65 businesses registered to participate with 110 applications compared to 46 in 2016 and 65 in 2018.

Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade Nguyen Phuong Dong said that the nomination aims to honour typical industrial products and supporting industries, creating motivation for businesses to continue innovation in their production, contributing to the industrial development of the city.

This was also a promotion activity, calling for investment in the industrial sector to attract large investors, especially in the field of supporting industries, he said.

To facilitate the development of supporting industries, the city authorities have issued the Supporting Industry Development Programme for the 2019 – 2025 period. The overall goal of the programme is to focus on carrying out synchronised solutions to improve the capacity and competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the field of supporting industries.

Dong said the city will develop a database of supporting industries, connecting supporting industry enterprises with those producing finished products in the future. Ten enterprises will be assisted to improve technology, supply capacity, and ability to meet international and standards each year.

In addition, the city also promulgated many policies and solutions to support and create favourable conditions for enterprises engage in supporting industries to develop, improve their competitiveness, and join the global supply chain, he said.

Source: Vietnam News Agency