Malindo airs

New US President Joseph R. Biden was sworn in with his wife Jill Biden by his side, photo: AFP Last Wednesday many Americans breathed a sigh of relief as Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th US President without any further incident from those who believe the election was “stolen” from former President Donald Trump. Instead of attending the ceremony as is tradition, Trump and his family took one last trip on Air Force One to Florida, where he will be based until the former reality TV star decides whether to run for president again in 2024 – or perhaps even endorse a family member for the post. Alongside Biden, Kamala Harris was sworn in as vice-president, becoming the first woman in American history – as well as the first woman of African-American and South Asian descent – to take on the role. “Few people in our nation’s history have been more challenged or found a time more difficult than the time we’re in now,” Biden said in his inauguration speech. He vowed to dedicate his “whole soul” to rebuilding a country battered by disease, economic turmoil, racial inequality, and political division. The 78-year-old certainly has his work cut out for him, but he rushed into action to put his stamp on the presidency by signing a raft of executive orders within hours of entering the White House. Biden signed a letter retracting Trump’s decision to leave the World Health Organization, which would have been effective in July. There was widespread criticism and an almost complete lack of international support last year for Trump’s move in the midst of a pandemic. In the most noteworthy but also most unsurprising move, the US is to be reinstated to the Paris climate agreement. The accord, which looks to curb the heating of the planet, will be much boosted by the return of second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. Biden has previously warned that climate change poses the “greatest threat to the country”, which was battered by record wildfires and …

[Read more...] about Domestic strife dampens US foreign policy

MPI proposes a draft decree on procurement bidding under CPTTP MPI proposes a draft decree on procurement bidding under CPTTP The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has summited to the Government a draft decree on amending Decree 95/2020/ND-CP providing guidelines on procurement bidding under the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTTP). According to the MPI, the draft decree will amend and supplement some articles of Decree No 95. It aims to guide State companies to execute bidding packages under the CPTTP agreement and EU-Việt Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). However, per the Government's Resolution No 190/NQ-CP on the provisional application of the UK-Việt Nam FTA (UKVFTA), Việt Nam agreed to temporarily apply the UKVFTA from January 1, 2021. The agreement was negotiated based on the principle of inheriting commitments in the EVFTA with necessary adjustments to ensure compliance with the bilateral trade framework between Việt Nam and UK. By doing so, the draft decree will avoid amending Decree 95/2020/NĐ-CP many times. The MPI has asked the Government to revise Decree No 95 as follows. The first option aims to implement international treaties on bidding and the second option is to execute the bid for public procurement of goods under the CPTTP, EVFTA and UKVFTA. To boost competitiveness in bidding, the draft decree has stipulated the implementation of bidding related to consultancy services, non-consultancy services and construction services. In the draft decree, bidding packages specified in Appendix II of the Decree No 95 show State companies will decide to allow intra-regional contractors or contractors from member countries of CPTTP to attend only. For bidding packages specified in Appendix III of Decree No 95, State companies can allow intra-regional contractors or contractors from member states of the EU and UK to bid. Regarding the intra-regional procurement bidding for the supply of goods …

[Read more...] about VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS FEB. 27

Of these, 7,881 flights were operated by Vietjet Air, 6,725 by Vietnam Airlines, 4,008 by Bamboo Airways, 1,640 by Jestar Pacific, 518 by VASCO and 172 by Vietravel Airlines. All airlines had punctuality rates of above 90%, a very high figure by global standards. Despite the new developments of the epidemic, the operating results of Vietnamese airlines were also positive with average growth of 7.4% in flight numbers compared to the previous month. Notably, the Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh city route continues to be one of the world's busiest routes. According to OAG global travel data provider, this route is the second-busiest in the world, with 1.085 million passengers in February 2021 alone. …

[Read more...] about Airlines operate nearly 21,000 flights during Tet