Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc attended and delivered remarks at an open debate of the UN Security Council (UNSC) on addressing climate-related risks to international peace and security, which was held in the form of video conferencing on February 23. Following is the full text of the Prime Minister’s remarks. Mr. President, I applaud the initiative of the UK Government and yourself, Mr. President, to host this important UNSC open debate on “Addressing climate-related risks to international peace and security”. I would like to thank UN Secretary General António Guterres and Chair of the UN Youth Advisory Group Nisreen Elsaim for your insightful and substantive information and recommendations. Mr. President, Earth – our blue planet, and our shared home – is suffering from grievous impacts of climate change. 2020 was one of the three hottest years in modern history, and was faced with the constant and severe aftermaths of floods, droughts, bushfires, rising sea level, and the unprecedented COVID-19 outbreak. Such calamities have placed great burdens on the political and socio-economic life of many countries. They have caused unemployment and poverty, affected the livelihood of hundreds of millions of people, and risked creating instabilities or exacerbating present conflicts in many countries and regions, thus threatening international peace and security. In addition, conflicts and instabilities would further erode countries’ resilience, and rob them of valuable resources that could have been utilised to overcome the challenges of climate change. Therefore, I propose that the UNSC, with its foremost mission being the maintenance of international peace and security, needs to galvanize collective and persevering efforts of the international community via the following measures: First, a comprehensive and balanced approach is necessary in handling the connections between traditional …
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Prolonged pandemic issues cloud recovery
Dinh Quang Hinh, analyst at VNDIRECT Securities JSC, noted that the local economy’s recovery “will slow down”, especially in the next two months. According to Hinh, the tourism industry may still be the most affected by the new COVID-19 wave. Reports from travel and airline businesses showed that many travellers cancelled flights and hotel reservations, and postponed their plans. In addition, the blockade in some localities such as Hai Duong province and the closure of a number of non-essential services in other cities and provinces may reduce the growth rate of several service sub-sectors, especially accommodation, catering, tourism, and entertainment. At a cocentrated quarantine area. Photo: VNA Unfeasible policies Facing the serious impact of COVID-19 on the economy, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham The Anh, chief economist of the Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR), said that the country could not pursue macro policies in the same way other countries would do, for example through large-scale monetary easing, due to limited financial resources after years of deficits, coupled with constraints to inflation and exchange rate targets. Vietnam was one of the few countries in the world with positive economic growth in 2020. But this year, according to Anh’s observation, “the policy space is no longer wide” to support economic growth and social security. Last year, the State Bank of Vietnam lowered interest rates three times and supported commercial banks with a VND250-trillion package ($10.87 billion), which is still being deployed. In addition, pandemic prevention and social backup subsidies to ease the impacts of the crisis are also putting great pressure on the budget balance. In 2021, monetary policy, particularly interest rate tools, will see a significantly reduced effectiveness, according to the VEPR’s chief economist. Anh also warned about an asset bubble that is forming in the stock and real estate markets. Last year, property …
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Dedicated efforts justify BIDV MetLife successes
BIDV MetLife representatives received an AmCham CSR Recognition Award 2020 In the social distancing period of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, BIDV MetLife received a number of claims for insurance benefits under the circumstances of limited travel and difficulties in the verification process. However, with responsibility and the spirit of always putting clients’ interest first, BIDV MetLife overcame such limitations, quickly collected documents, made claim decisions, and paid for the clients’ families as soon as the paperwork had been completed. One particular client had an accident and died in May, leaving behind their life partner and two school-aged children. BIDV MetLife had its staff quickly verify the information. After collating the results, the company decided to pay accidental death benefit as in the contract terms with the aim to promptly help the family stablilise after the unexpected event, and ensure future education for the children. Another client suddenly died while travelling abroad last year. The customer’s insurance contract did not specify the beneficiary – luckily, the client purchased life insurance from BIDV MetLife. After receiving the case, BIDV MetLife’s Benefit Department helped the client’s family complete the estate division agreement so that they could take advantage of the benefits as claimed in the contract. Over the last six years, BIDV MetLife has paid almost VND36 billion ($1.56 million) in insurance benefits. In 2020 alone, BIDV MetLife successfully resolved 5,790 cases, paying around VND25.2 billion ($1.1 million). Since its establishment in 2014, the top priority and mission that BIDV MetLife has pursued is to strive to bring the best for customers, and ensure customer service quality in any and all circumstances. Not only focusing on taking care of and ensuring customer benefits, since entering the Vietnamese market BIDV MetLife has utilised corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes to contribute to the …
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