An overview of the seminar (Photo: VNA) Vientiane (VNA) – The Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Laos and Vietnam co-organised a seminar on economic diplomacy in Vientiane on August 17. Speaking at the event, Nguyen Minh Hang, Assistant to the Minister, Director of the economic affairs department, said that the Vietnam ese Foreign Ministry identifies economic diplomacy as one of the basic and central tasks of a comprehensive and modern diplomacy, and a driving force for the development of the country. The ministry is willing to share assessments and opinions on the world economic situation and emerging issues, as well as experience in developing economic diplomacy with Laos. At the seminar, both sides agreed on the importance and role of economic diplomacy in contributing to national development, affirming the necessity for the two ministries’ cooperation and sharing of experience in this field in the context of an extremely complicated world situation. … [Read more...] about Vietnam, Laos enhance cooperation in economic diplomacy
Vietnam cambodia laos itinerary 4 weeks
Cambodia eyes to serve 1.3 million foreign tourists in 2022
Angkor Wat, a UNESCO world heritage site, is the tourist icon of Cambodia. (Photo: Khmer Times) Phnom Penh (VNA) - Cambodia expects to welcome 1.2-1.3 million international tourists in 2022, said Director General of Tourism Development and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Tourism Thong Rathasak. Recovering fast from the COVID-19 downfall, Cambodia is banking on increased arrival of foreign tourists this year, compared to the last two years. According to Rathasak, the Southeast Asian nation served over 500,000 foreign visitors in the first half of this year, and this was a good comeback compared to the number of 200,000 tourist arrivals last year.. COVID-19 was a big lesson as Cambodia n people learned to coexist with a pandemic, he said, hoping that people who left the tourism sector would come back and rebuild their businesses or careers. For Cambodia, 2022 started well as it got the chance to organise the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF), which was … [Read more...] about Cambodia eyes to serve 1.3 million foreign tourists in 2022
Vietnam visa policy rebuffs foreign retirees’ love
Peter Zimmermann from Germany said he and his wife have been coming to Vietnam for 5-6 months every winter since 2013 and they always rented a house or a large apartment in the beach town of Nha Trang. "Vietnam is really an excellent place to live as a retiree as local people are open and very friendly. There are good hotels, resorts, restaurants, cafes and apartments. Great beaches by the sea and lots of culture and history to discover," he told VnExpress International . However, current visa policies remain a major barrier for pensioners looking to settle down in Vietnam because the country has not resumed its pre-pandemic visa policies. Apart from granting visa exemption to 24 tourism markets for stays of 15-30 days, Vietnam only issues a one-month single-entry e-visa to visitors from other countries, instead of the three-month multi-entry visas it used to issue. "It is not reasonable for pensioners like us to leave the country every 30 days and return with a new … [Read more...] about Vietnam visa policy rebuffs foreign retirees’ love
Thailand eyes to own regional land transport centre
Dry port in Udon Thani (Source: Bangkokpost) Bangkok (VNA) - The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) has said that it is planning to develop a dry port in Udon Thani, with the aim of developing the northeast province into a centre for regional land transport, linked with the Chinese-Lao high-speed train system. According to the IEAT’s leader Veeris Ammarapala, the new inland transport facility will support trade among provinces in the northeast and the Thai economy. This port will also improve the efficiency of Thai logistics and land transport via roads and railways, he said. The IEAT is also confident the dry port in Udon Thani has the potential to serve ASEAN as a new transport hub in the future because Thailand is located in mainland Southeast Asia, surrounded by Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia, with southern China nearby. The IEAT said the new dry port can be linked with Laemchabang deep-sea port in Chon Buri and Map Ta Phut deep-sea port in … [Read more...] about Thailand eyes to own regional land transport centre
Big data can support over 100 billion USD worth of opportunities in Southeast Asia: ADB
Ilustrative image (Photo: https://www.theedgemarkets.com/) Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - Big data can support over 100 billion USD worth of opportunities in Southeast Asia, particularly across the five focus countries, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand, according to an report released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on August 17. The report “Harnessing the Potential of Big Data in Post-Pandemic Southeast Asia” said big data holds immense potential in fast-tracking post-COVID-19 economic recovery in Southeast Asia, with benefits in public health, social welfare and protection, and education. It finds that that the use of digital technologies to provide personalised and remote learning and job matching can contribute an estimated 77.1 billion USD annually to the gross domestic produc (GDP) of Southeast Asian countries by 2030. According to the report , the use of analytics to direct highly targeted health interventions for at-risk … [Read more...] about Big data can support over 100 billion USD worth of opportunities in Southeast Asia: ADB
☕ Afternoon briefing on August 17
Hanoi, (VNA) – The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency on August 17. – Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh reaffirmed the importance of developing high-quality human resources for agriculture, while attending an innovation event and job fair of the Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA) in Hanoi on August 17. The Government leader and others visited an exhibition of scientific and technological models and products by the VNUA’s businesses and partners. Read full story – Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam on August 17 asked the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) to review the operation of household businesses in the tourism sector affected by the COVID-19. The ministry should coordinate with core travel firms to form key routes connecting localities, the official said at a meeting of the State Steering Committee for Tourism in Hanoi which assessed the implementation of tourism recovery solutions. Read full … [Read more...] about ☕ Afternoon briefing on August 17
Will the sorting of waste at source become a non-starter?
That worries me. Seven years ago, I got to spend nine months living and studying in Ghent, a small, beautiful ancient city in Belgium with many well-preserved medieval castles and churches. I rented a cheap room for students. On the first day, the landlord gave me a tour of the house, showed me how to use the heater and kitchen utensils. In the kitchen, there was a corner with two steel frames holding a blue plastic bag and a yellow plastic bag with "IVAGO" printed on them, as well as a cardboard box next to the bags. The landlord told us that our waste must be sorted thus: the yellow bag for daily household waste; the blue for plastic waste, aluminum cans and milk cartons; and the big box for cardboard, pizza boxes and glass bottles, especially beer bottles. Then, after posting a waste collection calendar on the kitchen wall, he asked us to check the dates then decide among ourselves who would take out the garbage on which day. The calendar was colored yellow, blue and … [Read more...] about Will the sorting of waste at source become a non-starter?
Cultural industry to be source of sustainable development in Hanoi
Cultural industry development will be based on the principle of ensuring harmony between preservation and development (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - The Hanoi municipal Party Committee has issued a Resolution on "Developing the cultural industry in the capital in 2021-2025, with orientations to 2030 and a vision to 2045,” to promote the development of Hanoi’s culture and people in a sustainable way and meet international integration’s requirement . Culture contributes to GDP growth Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung said that the Hanoi Party Committee determines that the development of the cultural industry will be based on the development of Vietnam ese culture and people in general and the capital city in particular. This will maximise cultural and human resource s, creating endogenous strength - an important driving force - for the sustainable development of the capital. Developing the cultural industry is a priority of the socio-economic … [Read more...] about Cultural industry to be source of sustainable development in Hanoi
Restaurants should be held accountable for drunk drivers
The surprise came to mind again last week when I heard news about a drunk driver ramming his car into a gas station in Hanoi, injuring eight people. Vietnam has an issue with drinking and driving. This isn't a new conversation, but it remains relevant because the issue has never been resolved. There have been many takes on why this has happened. It was said that fines and other punishment for drunk driving were too low to be a deterrent. Then businesses saw their business fall drastically, at least for a while, when the fines were doubled some time ago. There have been calls for driving licenses to be permanently revoked for drunk driving and that it is made a criminal offense. Under current laws, drivers with any amount of alcohol in their system can be fined up to VND40 million ($1,708) and have their licenses revoked for up to 24 months depending on alcohol levels and types of vehicles, among other factors. If drunk driving leads to a major accident, drivers can be fined … [Read more...] about Restaurants should be held accountable for drunk drivers
Climate change driving unprecedented forest fire loss
Forest fires supercharged by climate change are burning twice as much global tree cover as 20 years ago, according to a data Wednesday showing the equivalent of 16 football pitches are now lost every minute. The research showed in unprecedented detail how wildfires have progressed over the past two decades, with the blazes claiming an estimated three more million hectares each year -- an area the size of Belgium -- compared with 2001. The study showed that the majority of tree cover loss is occurring in the boreal forests that blanket much of Russia, Canada and Alaska, which are among the largest storers of carbon on Earth. Researchers from the University of Maryland used satellite imagery to map areas of tree cover lost, including that burned by what are known as stand-replacing forest fires. These are fires that kill all or most of the forest's canopy and which cause long-term changes to forest structure and soil chemistry. The data showed 2021 to be one of the worst years … [Read more...] about Climate change driving unprecedented forest fire loss