Author: ltadmin

Berlin: Some 1,300 overseas Vietnamese in Germany gathered at an event to celebrate the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival held by the Vietnamese Embassy on January 28.

The event also saw the participation of representatives from other embassies in the host country such as Laos, Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, the US, China and Japan as well as from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Parliamentary Group in the German Parliament, the Ministry of Economy, the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, the German-Vietnamese Association, the mayors of Lichtenberg and Marzahn – Hellersdorf, among others.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Vu Quang Minh affirmed that 2023 was a very special year, as the strategic partnership of the two countries has reaped fruits in all fields of economy, trade, politics, defence-security, education, labour and development cooperation.

The diplomat emphasised the relations between the two sides have been expanded and deepened continuously, particularly after the histo
ric visit to Vietnam of German Prime Minister Olaf Scholz in November 2022 and another in early 2024 by German President Frank Walter-Steinmeier.

Germany is the second homeland of more than 200,000 Vietnamese people. The community is an important factor in fostering the traditional friendship between the people and governments of the two countries.

Mayors of Lichtenberg and Marzahn-Hellersdorf districts appreciated the role of the Vietnamese community in Germany in general and in the districts in particular, affirming that the community has significantly contributed to the districts’ socio-economic development.

On the same day, the Vietnamese Embassy in Switzerland held a pre-Tet programme in Bern, with the participation of hundreds of overseas Vietnamese and international friends in the country.

In his remarks, Ambassador Phung The Long stressed the overseas Vietnamese community is an inseparable part of the great national unity bloc, and is always of concern to the Vietnamese Party, State and people.

O
n January 27, the Vietnamese Embassy in Slovakia also organised a ‘Homeland Spring’ programme in Bratislava to bring the warm Tet atmosphere to the Vietnamese community in the European country.

On August 25, 2023, the Vietnamese community was recognised as the 14th ethnic minority group of the host country. The recognition is a testament to their active role in Slovakia’s development, thus making more effective contributions to the Vietnam-Slovakia friendship./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

MANILA: The Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) have joined forces in the implementation of the ‘no registration, no travel’ policy against unregistered private and public utility vehicles (PUVs).

In a statement Tuesday, LTO chief, Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II said a meeting with officials of the PCG resulted in the finalization of the strategic plans for the implementation of the policy.

‘Malaki pa ang hahabulin namin sa (We still have a long way to go at) LTO but with hard work, strategic planning and implementation, and the dedication to road safety of all our personnel, I am confident that we will finally reach our target,’ Mendoza said.

The participation of the PCG, he said, is based on the directive of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista.

During the meeting, he said around 30 percent of the daily income of registered PUV operators and drivers is stolen by “colorum” or unregistered PUVs.

‘We understand these concerns and this is the reason why we have be
en strengthening our coordination and interoperability with the PCG and other law enforcement agencies against these colorum vehicles,’ he said.

From Jan. 1 to 23, 182,458 motor vehicles across the country have been apprehended as part of the joint government effort on the ‘no registration, no travel’ policy.

Of the total, 48,714 are four-wheeled vehicles while 133,744 are motorcycles.

During the same period, a total of 1,966 vehicles have been impounded — 1,735 motorcycles and 231 four-wheeled vehicles.

‘I am personally monitoring both our law enforcement operations and the information drive and I commend our officials and personnel for this positive result. The figures are encouraging and I am confident that more delinquent motor vehicles will be registered in the coming days,’ he said.

He commended the LTO-National Capital Region (NCR) for having the highest number of registrations of delinquent motor vehicles with 32,370, followed by LTO-Region 7 with 22,729; LTO-Region 3 with 22,133; and LTO-Region
4-A with 18,428.

The strict implementation of the policy, he said, is necessary to compel the remaining delinquent motor vehicles to comply with the annual vehicle registration requirement of the LTO.

‘Let me inform them na pinapalawak na namin ang aming mga (that we are expanding our) impounding areas specifically for this purpose,’ he said.

Based on LTO data, around 24 million motor vehicles nationwide have expired registrations and are made up mostly of motorcycles.

As part of the annual registration process, motor vehicles are checked for their roadworthiness.

These 24 million unregistered and unchecked motor vehicles make up 60 percent of the total number of vehicles in the country.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday revised upward the third quarter Philippine economic growth to 6.0 percent from 5.9 percent.

In a statement, the PSA said major contributors to the upward revision in the gross domestic product (GDP) growth were manufacturing which grew by 1.8 percent, up than the earlier 1.7 percent growth; financial and insurance activities, from 9.5 percent to 9.6 percent; and accommodation and food service activities, from 20.0 percent to 21.0 percent.

The growth rate of the Gross National Income in the third quarter of 2023 was maintained at 12.1 percent annually.

The annual growth of the Net Primary Income from the Rest of the World, on the other hand, was revised downward from 112.5 percent to 111.6 percent.

“The Philippine Statistics Authority revises the GDP estimates based on an approved revision policy which is consistent with international standard practices on national accounts revisions,” the PSA said.

Official fourth quarter and full-year 2023 Ph
ilippine economic growth will be released on Wednesday.

Agriculture growth

In a separate report, the PSA said that the total value of agriculture and fisheries production slightly went up last year.

The PSA said the value of production in agriculture and fisheries at constant 2018 prices amounted to PHP1.76 trillion, higher by 0.4 percent than the PHP1.75 trillion in 2022.

The value of crops production which amounted to PHP1.0 trillion, also grew by 0.7 percent from PHP994 billion.

Livestock production likewise grew by 2.4 percent to PHP263.3 billion while the value of poultry production also went up by 3.8 percent to PHP262 billion.

The PSA, however, recorded a decline in the value of fisheries production from PHP252 billion in 2022 to PHP236 billion in 2023.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Hanoi: A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation to improve road traffic safety in Vietnam in the 2024 – 2026 period was signed between the Department of Roads of Vietnam (DRVN) under the Ministry of Transport and 3M Corporation of the US at a ceremony in Hanoi on January 30.

The document aims to promote cooperation in sharing experiences and expertise, and training, research, and consultancy activities in the field of road traffic safety, which are mutual interests of both DRVN and the 3M Corporation.

DRVN Vice General Director Nguyen Manh Thang said the department will actively coordinate with the 3M Corporation, as well as relevant agencies and units to develop detailed plans and efficiently deploy cooperative activities, and evaluate the results of pilot projects and the potential for scaling up effective solutions, thus helping to improve the effectiveness of ensuring road traffic safety in Vietnam.

Ming Cheng, Senior Vice President for Research and Development at the 3M Corporation, stress
ed that the firm hopes to collaborate with the Ministry of Transport towards reaching the goals set by the Vietnamese Government in 2021-2030, with a vision to 2045, to consistently reduce the numbers of fatalities and injuries caused by traffic accidents by 5-10%.

The MoU between the two sides will establish a more official framework for the public-private partnership to raise awareness and facilitate the sharing of global expertise and best practices in developing standards in the field of road infrastructure, Ming Cheng stressed, adding that the 3M Corporation pledged to assist the Vietnamese Government in achieving strategic development goals in traffic safety.

According to Deputy General Director of the International Cooperation Department under the Ministry of Transport Tran Viet Ha, the ministry acknowledged the activities of the 3M Corporation and its subsidiary – 3M Vietnam Co., Ltd, in implementing solutions to enhance traffic safety in Vietnam in recent times.

He suggested the two sides continue
to exchange ideas and agree on specific collaboration activities soon.

Addressing the signing ceremony, US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc E.Knapper highlighted the importance of the MoU for traffic in Vietnam. He said it aims to realise initiatives and cooperation programmes to ensure traffic safety for vehicles, people and transport infrastructure in Vietnam, thus enhancing policy coherence and mobilising support for cooperation to improve road traffic safety, ensuring key elements towards sustainable development goals./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

HCM City: Organisations and enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City joined hands to support needy people on the occasion of the Lunar New Year (Tet) Festival.

From January 30 to February 2, Hong Bang International University (HIU) is giving more than 15,000 Tet gifts to its students. On this occasion, HIU Foundation offers 100 scholarships worth 3 million VND (123 USD ) each to students with difficult circumstances. The university has also launched its 2024 spring volunteer campaign which attracted more than 200 students who will join charity community activities.

Meanwhile, during the same period, the city’s Young Entrepreneurs Association (Vietnam Young Entrepreneurs Tourism Club) and Suoi Tien Cultural Tourism Area coordinated with units to organise a Tet celebration for 3,000 orphans and disadvantaged children in the city.

The event with funding of 1.8 billion VND offered the children an opportunity to take part in popular activities or folk games commonly held during Vietnam’s traditional Tet festival, thus h
elping them understand more about the traditional cultural values. Beneficiaries will receive gifts including toys, milk, cakes, and 100,000 VND in cash.

On this occasion, the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Trading Co-operatives (Saigon Co.op) in coordination with Unilever Vietnam, Coca-Cola Vietnam, P and G Vietnam, and Mayhome planned to organise the ‘Happy Bus 2024’ programme offering 0 VND bus tickets to disadvantaged people.

Under the programme, 20 buses will depart from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi on February 5 (the 26th day of the last lunar month), carrying about 900 passengers to their hometowns in 35 provinces nationwide./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hai Phong: Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang on January 30 presented the Navy High Command with 1.55 billion VND (63,500 USD) donated by overseas Vietnamese (OV) to a programme on greening Truong Sa (Spratly).

The donation was handed over during a visit by a delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to offer greetings to the Navy High Command in the northern city of Hai Phong ahead of the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

The ‘Greening Truong Sa’ programme was launched by the Vietnam People’s Navy in 2023.

Hang, who is also Chairwoman of the State Committee for OV Affairs, noted that during 2012 – 2023, the OV community donated over 28 billion VND for building patrol canoes and some facilities, and presenting essentials and gifts to soldiers and residents on the islands and the DK1 platforms, which are economic, scientific, and technical stations on the country’s southern continental shelf.

Besides, OVs have also made practical spiritual contributions to the safeguarding of the Fatherlan
d’s maritime sovereignty over the past many years.

Following trips to Truong Sa, they have become the key force in many activities supporting the islands such as establishing the Vietnamese people’s fund for the seas and island sovereignty in the Republic of Korea in 2015, the Truong Sa Club in Germany in 2017, along with the Hoang Sa – Truong Sa Club in Poland in 2019 and another in the Czech Republic in 2022. They have also organised a number of workshops and forums on the East Sea, she noted.

The Deputy Minister thanked leaders of the Navy High Command and relevant units for providing favourable conditions for the State Committee for OV Affairs to successfully arrange 10 trips for its staff members and OV representatives to visit soldiers and residents in the island district of Truong Sa and the DK1 platforms so far.

She voiced her belief that navy officers and soldiers will always fulfill their duties, including firmly safeguarding the maritime sovereignty as well as peace and security at sea.

Rear Ad
miral Do Van Yen, Deputy Political Commissar of the navy force, pledged to continue coordinating closely with the State committee to organise more trips to Truong Sa for OVs.

Expressing his hope for the OV community’s continued support for the homeland’s seas and islands, he appreciated their material and spiritual assistance and considered this as a source of encouragement for Truong Sa soldiers and residents to keep defending the country’s sacred territorial waters./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency