Day: May 4, 2023

In a world riddled with uncertainties and strategic complexities, trust plays a critical role in conflict prevention and solution, and is the bedrock for a multilateral system that can achieve and sustain peace, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations, told the UN Security Council’s open debate on “Futureproofing trust for sustaining peace” on May 3.

Stressing that trust cannot be coerced or manufactured but rests on the principles of fairness and equality, Giang called on all actors in international relations, especially the major powers, to act in good faith and uphold their responsibility, while fully considering the legitimate interests of all parties and stakeholders.

Multilateralism and respect for international law, including the UN Charter, should be the core elements of trust-building, he emphasised.

Regarding post-conflict peace-building, the Vietnamese representative emphasised the importance of enhancing mutual understanding and trust, especially between UN Peacekeeping Missions and authorities, people as well as political and armed forces of the receiving countries. He also called on the international community and the UN Security Council to promote solutions to build confidence in dealing with the root causes of conflicts such as poverty and inequality, on the basis of improving transparency and inclusive in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, while identifying trust-building as one of the key components of the UN Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace.

Vietnam always places great importance on weaving trust and trust-building into its domestic and foreign policies. This helps maintain national unity and enhance international integration. It is clearly reflected in the country’s consistent foreign policy of diversification and a commitment to being a trusted international partner. It is also shown in the country’s contribution to the UN work, UN peacekeeping operations and other multilateral forums, he added.

At the debate, delegates expressed concern about the erosion of trust in international relations and in multilateral mechanisms that results in an increase in the risk of conflicts and challenges for the international community in building and maintaining peace.

Relevant countries and organisations also emphasised the need to restore and strengthen trust at both the global and regional levels as well as at the national scale for the sake of sustainable and long-term peace./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Luxembourg counterpart Xavier Bettel held talks in Hanoi on May 4, affirming both sides’ wish and determination to lift bilateral relations to a new development stage that is more substantive and effective.

PM Chinh stated Vietnam treasures the friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Luxembourg and that his guest’s official visit from May 3 to 5 holds great significance, especially as the two countries are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties and this is the first by a Luxembourg Government leader in over 20 years.

PM Bettel expressed his delight at meeting with PM Chinh again five months after the Vietnamese leader paid an official visit to the European country in December 2022. He also highly valued Vietnam’s recent socio-economic achievements.

Both host and guest agreed on some measures for enhancing the political trust, friendship and multifaceted cooperation between the two countries, especially increasing all-level delegation exchanges, effectively implementing existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms, and considering the establishment of new ones matching the countries’ potential and demand.

PM Chinh applauded the strides in economic and trade links, noting that Luxembourg is now the third biggest European investor in Vietnam with capital totalling 2.6 billion USD.

He also welcomed leading enterprises of Luxembourg in the fields it is strong in like finance, banking, logistics, and energy transition who are accompanying Bettel in the visit and attending a business forum between the two countries on this occasion.

The two sides agreed to step up the building of logistics centres and the establishment of bonded warehouse systems in each country.

Meanwhile, PM Bettle agreed to fully and effectively carry out the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreemet (EVFTA) to bolster bilateral trade, push other EU countries’ ratification of the EU – Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), support stronger cooperation between the EU and Vietnam in sustainably developing the fisheries sector, and persuade the European Commission to soon remove the “yellow card” warning in terms of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

Both leaders welcomed the two finance ministries’ establishment of a strategic partnership in green finance, a new cooperation pillar, to help further enhance relations, especially in personnel training, capacity building, institutional building, technology transfer, and financial assistance for agriculture and climate change response, in order to achieve green growth and sustainable and inclusive development. In terms of development cooperation, PM Chinh suggested Luxembourg continue providing official development assistance (ODA) in finance and banking for Vietnam.

The two leaders also concurred in reinforcing ties in other areas such as culture, science and technology, information and communications, people-to-people exchange, tourism, and climate change response. In particular, PM Bettel voiced support for increasing scholarships for Vietnamese students to learn in his country.

On this occasion, PM Chinh thanked and asked Luxembourg to continue creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to successfully integrate into its society and contribute to the European country’s development.

At the talks, the PMs also exchanged views on regional and international issues of common concern.

They affirmed that Vietnam and Luxembourg will maintain mutual support at multilateral forums and international organisations such as the cooperation framework between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the EU, the Asia – Europe Meeting (ASEM), and the United Nations, especially during the time both serve as members of the UN Human Rights Council, so as to contribute to regional and global peace, stability, cooperation, and development.

Regarding the East Sea issue, both sides reaffirmed the importance of guaranteeing peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea; not using or threatening to use force; and resolving disputes by peaceful means in line with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). They also voiced support for the early finalisation of a code of conduct (COC) in the East Sea that is substantive, efficient, and in conformity with international law.

Following the talks, PMs Chinh and Bettel witnessed the signing of a protocol amending the two Governments’ agreement on double taxation avoidance and the prevention of income and asset tax evasion, along with an agreement on the strategic partnership in green finance between the two finance ministries.

They also had a meeting with the press to inform about the outcomes of their talks.

Later the same day, the two PMs toured Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam, Vietnam’s first university built nearly a millennium ago, and the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Airports in Vietnam served nearly 37 million passengers in the first four months of this year, up 55% compared to the same period of last year, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).

Of the total, there were 9.7 million foreign and 27.2 million local passengers, marking a year-on-year increase of 976% and 18% respectively.

In April, airports across the country served 9.17 million passengers including 2.65 million foreign ones.

Vietnamese airlines carried 18.2 million passengers in the first four months of 2023, an increase of 56% compared to the same period last year. according to the CAAV.

Meanwhile, the volume of goods through airports decreased by 24.3% compared to the same period in 2022 with only 378,400 tonnes.

Particularly, the airports dealt with only 272,000 tonnes of international cargo, down 32.1% from the same period in 2022./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

While President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. called for the renewal of the United States Generalized System of Preference (US GSP) in a meeting with business executives in Washington D.C., the country’s top trade official has reiterated the request of the Philippines to include garments and shoes in the tariff privileges. In a virtual briefing with trade reporters late Wednesday evening, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual said he conveyed to US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo during their side meetings the request of the Philippine government to extend the zero-tariff to Philippine-made garments and shoes. Pascual said he also underscored the importance of the US GSP renewal for the Philippines. The Philippine government is batting for the reauthorization of the US GSP, which provides zero duty for 3,500 tariff lines. Around 70 percent of the country’s exports to the US market enter at tariffs through this preferential tariff treatment. However, it expired on Dec. 31, 2020 and has not yet been reauthorized by the US Congress. ‘So far from the (US) executive (side), what (they) are saying to the Secretary is that they are fully supportive of the reauthorization, and we are hopeful that similar in the past, it will be reauthorized despite the lapse of the previous one,’ DTI Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said. Rodolfo said the US Executive Department is also supportive of the provision that the tariffs paid since 2021 will be reimbursed. Pascual and Rodolfo are part of the delegation of Marcos during his visit to the US, where he had a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden. The DTI chief said they are meeting at least eight companies in the US hoping to bring in more investments and jobs for the Philippines.

Source: Philippines News Agency

The Department of Education (DepEd) has monitored 1,374 public schools in Western Visayas shifting to alternative delivery mode (ADM) of learning as a precautionary measure due to poor weather caused by a low pressure area (LPA). DepEd information officer Hernani Escullar Jr., in an interview with media on Thursday, said DepEd Order 30, series of 2022, mandates schools to shift to alternative modes during suspension or cancelation of classes to make sure that learning competencies are met. Of the total number of schools, 452 are from Negros Occidental; 216 in Capiz; 529, Iloilo province; 66, Iloilo City; and 111 from Antique. Escullar said as of noontime of Thursday, the number of schools that utilized the ADM is already 33.94 percent of the 4,048 schools in the region. Leonil Salvilla, spokesperson for the schools’ division of Iloilo, said once there is a suspension of classes due to inclement weather, it is also automatic that they shift to distance learning. ‘Our schools are ready to implement the alternative delivery mode (ADM) of learning in situations like these. So it is not completely suspended; learning will continue if there are available self-learning modules prior to the suspension,’ he said in a separate interview. Among the towns that suspended classes in all levels are Calinog, San Dionisio, San Enrique, Pototan, San Joaquin, Sta. Barbara, Dueñas, Bingawan, Barotac Nuevo, Dumangas, and Lambunao while the suspension is only for grade school and secondary levels in the towns of Oton, balasan, Zarraga and Miagao. Meantime, Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. said that flooding has been monitored in central Iloilo bordering mountainous barangays and Capiz. ‘While it was not raining here in Iloilo City, last night we already received reports of flooding in Calinog,’ he said in a press conference on Thursday afternoon. A report submitted by the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) showed that as of Thursday, 122 families from 16 barangays are staying in evacuation centers; 122 families were affected by flooding and 97 families due to landslide. Further, 518 families from 12 barangays in the municipality of Dingle and eight families from one barangay in Dumangas town are staying in evacuation centers due to flooding. ‘We have no casualty, no missing. But we will continue to receive reports,’ he said. He also instructed the PDRRMO to coordinate with its counterparts at the municipal level if there is a need to send augmentation.

Source: Philippines News Agency