P 10s

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh attended the 27th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Retreat held via videoconference on March 2 and 3, during which he and other delegates approved 10 initiatives and priorities for economic cooperation in 2021. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh attends the 27th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Retreat (Photo: VNA) The initiatives and priorities have been built with three main orientations - recovery, digitalisation, and sustainability - with a focus on such important fields as trade facilitation, tourism, energy, information technology, minerals, and sustainable development. Of note, several initiatives inherit cooperation contents from 2020 when Vietnam assumed the role of ASEAN Chair. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to have a serious impact, delegates discussed ASEAN’s efforts to recover economies so as to not only fight the pandemic but also boost economic development, particularly the expansion of the ASEAN List of Essential Goods. In particular, the retreat also reached consensus on 2021 agenda priorities in economy with 68 different contents, such as trade in goods, trade in services, investment, intellectual property, e-commerce, and consumer protection, among others. At the event, Khanh expressed his support for Brunei’s initiatives during its ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2021, and affirmed that Vietnam will continue cooperating closely with other ASEAN countries to realise the common targets of the ASEAN Economic Community. Vietnam also shared its experience and efforts to control the pandemic and ensure economic development while implementing its commitments within ASEAN and the ASEAN Plus frameworks. Together with discussions on intra-bloc economic cooperation, the participants also exchanged views on extra-bloc economic cooperation, such as reviewing the implementation of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) and …

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The Hanoitimes - PetroVietnam (PVN) and the Japan Bank International Cooperation (JBIC) are discussing financial arrangements for the Block B gas project and 52/97 field development project, announced PVN on its website. Following the discussion, JBIC will consider providing funding for the Block B and 52/97 projects without a guarantee from the government. PVN to seek Japanese funding for US$10-billion petroleum project. Block B gas project is one of the largest of its kind in Vietnam, with a total investment of US$10 billion. With such large investment, stated PVN, the search for an appropriate financial arrangement has been a major concern for foreign partners taking part in the project. Following the schedule, the project will award the contract and sign the first engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract in June, while the second EPCI will be inked in July. Block B gas project includes 2 components. The first component is to develop the Block B gas field worth US$6.8 billion, which will be financed and operated by PVN (42.896%) in partnership with PVEP (26.788%), Mitsui Oil Exploration Co. Ltd. (22.575%) and PTTEP (7.741%). The Block B field development will include one central technology platform, 46 operations platforms, a housing platform, one condensate vessel and drilling of 750 production wells. The second component is the US$1.2-billion 431km-long Block B – O Mon gas pipeline, with PVN, PVGas, Mitsui Oil Exploration Co. Ltd. and PTTEP forming a joint collaboration for the pipeline development. The project will produce and transport gas from the three fields to the power plants located in Kien Giang and O Mon regions. It is estimated that approximately 5.06 billion cubic meters of gas per year will be transported onshore from the total estimated reserves of 3.78 billion cubic feet for a period of 20 years starting in 2020. The project is expected to assist Vietnam in achieving its …

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On the way home from her office, Tran Thi My Hanh, a resident in ward 22 in Binh Thanh District , came over the headquarter of the administration police at 8 PM to make a new electronic chip-based ID card. After she was undergoing a Covid-19 temperature check and filling a form attached with necessary papers including her Ho khau (certification of her legal permanent residence) and her old ID. Soon she was guided to finish other steps before receiving an appointment letter. She said since police officers in the district have extended working hour, those who work in office hours have been facilitated in exchange for new IDs. Similarly, resident Le Thi Mai Huong living in District 1 went to the police station in the district with her younger sister to exchange old ID cards for the new chip-based ones. She was excited because it took only 10 minutes to finish all procedures. Simplified procedures plus police officers’ good behavior have satisfied people. Additionally, people can register to receive new IDs through post office. Due to increased demand of exchanging new electronic chip-based IDs, police officers in all districts citywide have extended working hours until evenings to help people; police officers in Go Vap District even work at nights and weekends to promote the issuance of new chip-based ID cards. Police officers in Binh Thanh District followed suit when they work from 7.30 AM till 10 PM including Saturdays and Sundays. So far, Binh Thanh police have received more than 4,000 documents for the new chip-based ID cards issuing more than 600 e-chip-based ID cards to residents. Police in District 1 said the implementation of the new chip-based ID cards began in the end of January, 2021 until now. The police stations have admitted 4,872 registration papers for the new chip-based ID cards meanwhile they have issued 1,313 cards to city dwellers. They receive registration papers to 8PM and work to 10 PM every weekday. Apart from that, police …

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