Newly appointed national security advisor

The trip has contributed to promoting the relations between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the U.S., and between Vietnam and the U.N. and the U.S., while affirming Vietnam’s role and prestige in the international arena. During his week-long stay in the U.S., the PM visited the four cities of Washington D.C, Boston, New York, and San Francisco, with more than 50 activities. He attended and delivered speeches at the summit, and met with ASEAN leaders, including his counterparts from Laos, Cambodia and Singapore, and the Indonesian President. Chinh also had meetings with U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russel, President of the U.N. General Assembly Abdulla Shahid and Administrator of the U.N. Development Program (UNDP) Achim Steiner. He met President Joe Biden, and received senior officials of the U.S. government such as Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Secretary of … [Read more...] about Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh concludes U.S. trip

At the conference (Photo: SGGP) The Center for linking production, processing, and consumption of agricultural products in Can Tho City was established with the expectation that by 2050, it will become the central transport node in large metropolitan areas with smart technology. The center will be the focal point of the chain of smart production, processing, and consumption centers in the region. In this link chain, about 50 percent - 70 percent of the production processes are done automatically and intelligently. Speaking at the conference, Chairman of the Can City People's Committee Tran Viet Truong said this is an important conference to get opinions from ministries, sectors, and localities in the region, step by step perfecting the project in the most feasible direction before submitting it to the Government. The Center aims to contribute to the construction of Can Tho City into the central city of the Mekong Delta region, contributing to the development of the region’s … [Read more...] about Center hoped to help link, consume agricultural products in Mekong Delta

President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (HCMA) Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang meets State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Patrick Graichen. (Photo: VNA) Berlin (VNA) – President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (HCMA) Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang has been busy on his visit to Germany from May 14 – 19, with renewable energy and climate action high on his working agenda. Thang co-chaired the seventh theory dialogue between the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SDP), during which the two parties exchanged views on a number of both theoretical and practical matters. Discussions have placed an emphasis on Vietnam’s energy transition strategy to ensure national energy security and fulfil international commitments; developing green agriculture in Vietnam in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution; green growth and climate resilient models in some … [Read more...] about Renewable energy, climate action prioritised in Party official’s visit to Germany

Pham Viet Tuan-Associate, Indochine Counsel Many of the negative risks arise because of the complicated Vietnamese land laws, which prevent not only foreign investors but also local developers from developing projects. This article will give some hints on how they could properly tackle issues related to land in property project development through the contribution of land. In the Vietnamese real estate market, it is common for a property developer to have land but not the budget or experience/resources needed to develop the project. In this case, such developers might seek other ways to conduct their business plan. Some solutions may be to secure a loan facility from a bank; to cooperate with other developers who have experience/resources in the project development; or to call for financial aid from funds, and foreign/local investors or to issue bonds in the capital market. Each solution has its pros and cons. From a foreign perspective, project land is essential to project … [Read more...] about Making better decisions in real estate

Vietnamese Deputy Defense Minister Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien affirmed that while delivering a speech at the ASEAN Defense Senior Officials’ Meeting Plus (ADSOM+) in Phnom Penh on May 18. The Vietnamese deputy defense minister also emphasized that the security and safety of navigation and aviation in the East Sea (or South China Sea) is extremely important for countries in the region and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Therefore, it is essential to observe the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and accelerate the early signing of a practical and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). The head of the Vietnamese delegation expressed his wish that all countries would settle conflicts and disagreements by peaceful means, on the basis of respecting international law and the United Nations Charter as well as ASEAN's basic principles. He added that besides emerging non-traditional security challenges, there have been … [Read more...] about Vietnam affirms consistent stance of settling disputes by peaceful means at ADSOM+

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) last week again warned that the ocean is faced with increasing threats and multiple risks posed by climate change, natural disasters, environmental pollution, over-exploitation of natural resources, and unsustainable economic activities. “Global warming and marine litter are threatening marine resources, including widespread bleaching of coral reefs. Globally, an estimated 8-20 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean every year. In Vietnam, around 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste leaks from the country into the ocean every day. It is estimated that there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050,” said Caitlin Wiesen, resident representative in Vietnam of the UNDP. The global ocean economy contributes an estimated $3 trillion per year, or about 5 per cent of the world’s GDP and comprises industries ranging from oil and gas, shipping and ports to renewable energy, fisheries, marine ecosystems and tourism. The value of the … [Read more...] about Blue economy model gathering pace

EVN workers examine electricity facilities (Photo: VNA) The Vietnamese government’s permission for private companies to invest in and build power plants and transmission systems became a big step forward, bringing competition in the energy sector to a manageable level. The first 500kV super-high voltage power transmission line invested by Trungnam Construction and Investment JSC has been operating stably for more than a year. Trungnam’s project includes a 500kV substation and transmission lines combined with a 450MW solar power plant, promoting its advantages when participating in the power grid of Ninh Thuan province and the south-central coastal region. Pham Nhu Anh, member of the Executive Board of Military Bank, which arranged capital for Trungnam to invest in transmission infrastructure, pointed out that capital is still a bottleneck in Vietnam’s electrical infrastructure development. According to Anh, the fact that Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) still holds a monopoly on … [Read more...] about Transmission boost to remove major power bottlenecks

Thang co-chaired the seventh theory dialogue between the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SDP), during which the two parties exchanged views on a number of both theoretical and practical matters. Discussions have placed an emphasis on Vietnam’s energy transition strategy to ensure national energy security and fulfill international commitments; developing green agriculture in Vietnam in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution; green growth and climate resilient models in some Vietnamese localities; and the path towards an eco-social market economy and advantages and challenges to energy transition and green agriculture development in Germany. The Vietnamese official also had a meeting with SPD Co-leader Lars Klingbeil. He spoke highly of the long-standing friendship between the two parties and the SPD’s efforts in co-hosting the seventh dialogue, and proposed both sides to further expand their relations in the coming time, contributing … [Read more...] about Renewable energy, climate action prioritized in Party official’s visit to Germany

Kenneth Atkinson-Vice chairman, Vietnam Tourism Advisory Board However, there is no separate body of law governing condotels and in most locations where they have been constructed it is clear that such developments cannot be issued with pink books for individual units, so ownership ultimately rests with the developers, with a lease term not extending beyond 50 years (70 years can be permitted). In addition, many buyers have been lured by guaranteed returns of 8-12 per cent for the 10 years. Warnings of potential future problems sounded from 2017, but due to the cyclical nature of tourism and potential disruptions to inbound tourists, these were largely ignored and we have already seen failures of such projects like Cocobay and other developers now unable to meet their guaranteed return commitments and for certain several more to come. Now, we have around 240 tourism real estate projects and over 114,000 condotel units, and Vietnam has the largest pipeline of tourism-related … [Read more...] about Taking the right approach to the condotel legislation conundrum

HÀ NỘI — The tourism sector must apply digital transformation to secure sustainable development, according to dozens of participants at a forum on the topic held in Hà Nội on May 18. Titled "Green Light for Tourism to Take Off Part 2: Digital Transformation: Diving Force for Sustainable Development", the forum gathered dozens of experts from State management agencies, tourism authorities, localities, and IT. The first part of the forum held in March focused on opening doors to international tourists. Hoàng Quang Phòng, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce Industry, said at the end of 2018, the Prime Minister issued Decision No 1671/QĐ-TTg approving the “Master plan on applying informatics technology in the tourism field for 2018-2020, with orientation to 2025.” “Informatics technology has been applied in various tourism companies, especially hotels, resorts and big travel agencies,” Phòng said. A visitor uses a remote guide app on her mobile at the National … [Read more...] about Forum held on digital transformation for sustainable tourism