Day: May 21, 2023

The growing availability of green funds in the world has exposed the need for a professional institution in Vietnam to take charge of the green money granted to the country, according to insiders.

Former head of the Banking Strategy Institute Pham Xuan Hoe said that green funds to Vietnam will be more abundant in the next few years on the back of the Just Energy Transition Partnership launched in December 2022.

At least 15.5 billion USD initiated by the partnership will come in the form of preferential loans for three to five years to support the country’s energy transition. The EU and the UK also got in on the act with committed assistance of 7.8 billion USD.

Given the growing availability of green funds, Hoe called for a professional institution to manage the green money delivered to the country. Such an institution will act as an intermediary that would improve domestic firms’ access to green capital, he stressed.

“The professional institution will ensure the effective implementation of the green funds granted to Vietnam,” said Hoe.

In the long term, he urged the establishment of an up-to-international-standards financial taxonomy that works in line with other financial systems, including taxation and carbon credit.

Professor Vu Sy Cuong at the Academy of Finance opined that the transition to green growth in Vietnam requires vast investments. Between now and 2040, the country will need an annual amount of finance equivalent to 6.8% of the GDP to improve its resilience against climate change.

International institutions and banks are willing to dig deep into their pockets to fund the country’s effort on ‘going green’. However, the availability of green funds is one story, and the absorbability of the funds is another.

The absence of a climate bond taxonomy and a legal framework for the bond in the country has stymied those who want to finance green projects in the country. On top of that, the low awareness of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) among firms has made scores of firms slip through the cracks.

To unlock the full potential of green funds, the professor called for establishing a carbon credit market and granting financial assistance to firms cutting back on stranded fossil-fueled assets.

According to DARA International, Vietnam will incur an annual cost of 15 billion USD (5% of the GDP) in the next years owing to climate change. If the country fails to take early action, the cost can soar to 11% of the GDP by 2030./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held talks with his Japanese counterpart Kishida Fumio on May 21 within the framework of his trip to attend the G7 expanded Summit.

This is the first Vietnam-Japan high-level talks to take place in Hiroshima, the hometown of PM Kishida, and the fifth between the two PMs in more than a year.

Chinh congratulated Kishida and host Japan on successfully organising the G7 and G7 expanded Summits, and spoke highly of Japan’s coordinating role to reach consensus in solving global challenges such as food security and emission reduction.

Kishida welcomed the active and effective participation in and contribution of the Vietnamese delegation to the success of the G7 expanded Summit, affirming that Vietnam holds a leading position in the implementation of Japan’s foreign policy in the region.

The two leaders expressed their satisfaction at the strong, comprehensive and substantive development of the two countries’ relations over the past time; and agreed on major orientations and specific measures to promote the extensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Japan for peace and prosperity in Asia to a new height.

They agreed to strengthen political trust by stepping up high-level visits and contacts in 2023 which marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations.

The PMs also reached a consensus on enhancing defence-security cooperation in the settlement of the post-war consequences, human resources training, technology transfer, and cyber security.

The two leaders appreciated the completion of procedures for capital commitment of the new generation official development assistance (ODA) programme for post-pandemic economic recovery worth 50 billion JPY (362.4 million USD); and affirmed to direct relevant ministries and sectors to accelerate the progress of several ODA projects such as Cho Ray Hospital 2, Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien Metro Line No.1.

Regarding the Nghi Son Oil Refinery project, PM Chinh suggested the two countries’ businesses actively exchange ideas in the spirit of harmonising benefits, sharing risks, and removing difficulties of the project.

He also proposed the two sides work together to promote a new wave of Japanese investment in Vietnam in the fields of high-tech industry and energy transition to help Vietnamese firms participate more deeply and widely in the supply chains of Japan and the globe.

The Vietnamese PM also proposed the Japanese Government to create favourable conditions and simplify procedures for granting visas towards the exemption of entry visas for Vietnamese citizens to promote tourism cooperation between the two countries, and pay more attention to the 500,000-strong Vietnamese community in the country.

The two sides affirmed to coordinate their stances on issues of mutual concern at multilateral and regional forums such as ASEAN, the United Nations, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Kishida invited Chinh to visit Japan again and attend the ASEAN-Japan Summit in December.

Regarding the East Sea issue, the leaders emphasised the importance of ensuring navigation and aviation security and safety, solving all disputes and differences by peaceful means on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS),fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and soon completing an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

Before the talks, the two witnessed the exchange of signed documents of three ODA cooperation projects with a total value of 61 billion JPY, including a new-generation ODA support programme for post-pandemic socio-economic recovery and development, a public transport infrastructure project in Binh Duong province, and an agricultural development infrastructure project in Lam Dong province.

This is the last activity of PM Chinh during his trip to attend the G7 expanded Summit and pay a working visit to Japan. In the evening of the same day, he and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation left Hiroshima for Hanoi, successfully concluding his trip./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Central Highlands province of Gia Lai – one of Vietnam’s coffee growing centres – is striving to develop its specialty coffee brand by focusing on increasing the quality and value of products.

At present, farmers in Gia Lai are growing coffee on nearly 99,000 ha, with an average yield of over 3 tonnes per ha, and the total output of more than 267,000 tonnes. Coffee is currently Gia Lai’s main farm produce export with a turnover of 490 million USD in 2022, accounting for nearly 71% of the province’s total agro-product export value.

Over the past years, coffee production has contributed to creating direct and indirect jobs for hundreds of thousands of workers. As a result, the living standards of locals, including ethnic minorities, have gradually improved.

According to the province’s agricultural restructuring plan for the 2021 – 2025 period, Gia Lai will not expand the coffee growing area, but maintain it at around 98,000 – 100,000 ha.

Le Huu Anh, Director of Lam Anh Agriculture and Services Cooperative in Dak Doa district, said that in the past, Vietnam mainly exported coffee as a raw material, but now it has been processed into a specialty, adding value to the produce while meeting the world’s needs.

However, in order for coffee to stand firm in the international market, it is necessary to be transparent about the raw material area, and focus on protecting farmers with clean and organic cultivation, Anh said, adding that sustainable coffee development will bring bigger benefits to farmers, businesses and the environment.

In recent years, apart from promoting the production of clean coffee as a way to improve the quality and value of exported coffee beans, many businesses in Gia Lai have concentrated on investing in building sustainable processing and production networks and partly developing specialty coffee.

Tran Xuan Khai, Director of Gia Lai Sub-Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection, said that the current area of specialty coffee in the province is more than 200 ha, with an output of 62 tonnes.

The locality is striving to raise the area of specialty Robusta coffee to 1,200 ha with an output of 620 tonnes by 2025, and 2,300 ha in the 2026-2030 period./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Yuzaki Hidehiko, Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, on May 21 within the framework of his trip to attend the expanded Summit of the Group of Seven (G7) and pay a working visit to Japan.

PM Chinh expressed his delight at the strong development of the Vietnam-Japan relations, as well as the rapid and substantive development of cooperation and friendship between Vietnam and Hiroshima.

He suggested the Hiroshima Governor further promote collaboration with Vietnamese localities in investment, human resources development, and people-to-people exchange in the context of the two countries’ recent announcement of a direct air route between Hanoi and the Japanese prefecture; and encourage his prefecture’s businesses to invest in Vietnam in digital and green transformation, climate change response, processing, manufacturing, smart agriculture, wastewater treatment, and production of electronic components.

Governor Yuzaki Hidehiko described PM Chinh’s visit to Hiroshima and its Peace Memorial as an affirmation of his support for a peaceful world free of nuclear weapons.

He briefed the Vietnamese Government leader on the cooperation between Hiroshima and Vietnamese localities in recent years, affirming the desire to strengthen collaboration, investment and trade with Vietnamese localities, and to see more Vietnamese people studying and working in the prefecture.

Chinh took the occasion to invite the governor and other leaders of Hiroshima to visit Vietnam this year on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

On the same day, PM Chinh and other delegation heads to the summit visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Itsukaichi Wharf and the Suiso Frontier – the world’s first liquefied hydrogen carrier./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on May 21 delivered a speech at the G7 expanded Summit’s working session named “Towards a Peaceful, Stable and Prosperous World” in Hiroshima, in which he affirmed Vietnam will do its best to jointly contribute to peace, stability and sustainable development of mankind.

In his speech, PM Chinh highlighted Vietnam’s three messages on peace, stability and development.

Firstly, he said, ensuring a peaceful and stable environment for cooperation and development is both an essential foundation and an ultimate target for sustainable and prosperous development of the world as well as each country and region.

Vietnam upholds a holistic approach to issues related to peace, security and development, as peace is the foundation, solidarity and cooperation the driving force, and sustainable development the goal.

Experiencing many wars, thanks to peace, Vietnam has risen from a poor to a middle-income country, and is aiming to become a developed, high-income country by 2045, said Chinh, stressing the need to put an end to conflicts, avoid using and threatening to use nuclear weapons, respect sovereignty and territorial integrity, and ensure food, energy and human security.

Secondly, the Government leader emphasised that the supremacy of law, the respect for the United Nations Charter and international law, and the settlement of all disputes by peaceful means should be upheld and implemented by specific commitments. He called on parties involved in all conflicts to find long-term solutions through dialogue and negotiation, with the legitimate interests of the parties taken into account.

Vietnam does not choose a side but justice, fairness, and rightness, emphasised Chinh.

As for the region, the Vietnamese leader expressed his hope that the international community and partners will maintain support for ASEAN’s central role in building a region of peace, stability, cooperation and resilience.

Accordingly, countries should strictly implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and move towards achieving a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), he said, requesting parties to exercise restraint and not to take actions that complicate the situation and violate the sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction of relevant countries established by the 1982 UNCLOS. And

Thirdly, Chinh affirmed that sincerity, strategic trust and sense of responsibility are especially important for solving current global challenges. For Vietnam, those values are reflected in the consistent implementation of its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, diversification, multilateralisation, being a good friend, a reliable partner, and an active and responsible member of the international community.

During the session, leaders of G7 and guest countries shared their views on current international issues affecting regional and global peace and stability, affirming their commitments to act together to address challenges and curb the escalation of tensions in geopolitical hotspots around the globe.

They emphasised that the spirit of international cooperation and solidarity plays a fundamental role in ensuring an environment of peace, stability and sustainable development, and called on countries to uphold a free and open international order based on the rule of law and compliance with the UN Charter./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received members of the Japanese National Diet with constituency in Hiroshima on May 21, within the framework of his trip to attend the G7 expanded Summit in Hiroshima and pay a working visit to Japan.

At the meeting, PM Chinh expressed his delight at the strong, comprehensive and substantive development of the extensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Japan, and the rapid development of bilateral exchanges between the two countries’ parliamentarians, and the cooperation and friendship between localities, including Vietnamese ones and Hiroshima prefecture.

He expressed his admiration for the aspiration for peace of Hiroshima leaders and people, and sympathised with the prefecture over its losses in the war. Vietnam wishes to promote a peaceful world free of nuclear weapons, the leader stressed.

He took the occasion to thank the Japanese National Diet for always supporting the development of the Vietnam-Japan relations, and conveyed National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue’s invitation to visit Vietnam to the Speakers of the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors of Japan.

The PM proposed Japanese parliamentarians support the two countries’ relationship; contribute to strengthening exchanges and cohesion between the two parliaments and their members in a sustainable, substantive and mutually beneficial manner; and share experience in legal supervision and perfection of the legal system.

The Japanese parliamentarians spoke highly of Vietnam’s active participation in and contribution to the success of the G7 expanded Summit; and affirmed their desire to promote the Vietnam – Japan relations in general and cooperation between Hiroshima and Vietnamese localities in particular, and to actively participate in exchange and cooperation activities between the two parliaments, including the exchange of female parliamentarians.

Member of the House of Representatives Hiroshi Hiraguchi, Chair of the House’s Special Committee on Political Ethics and Election Law, expressed his hope that the two countries will promote the people-to-people exchange, and there are more and more Vietnamese to come to study and work in Hiroshima./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency