Hanoi: The Republic of Korea (RoK) is expected to welcome 420,000 Vietnamese visitors for the whole year 2023, the highest number among Southeast Asian countries, according to the Korean Tourism Organisation (KTO) in Vietnam.

During January – November, over 386,900 Vietnamese travelled to the RoK, accounting for 74% of the figure recorded in the same period of 2019-the year, prior to COVID-19, and 139.7% of the number in the same time last year.

Vietnam was the RoK’s top MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and events) tourist market in the Southeast Asian region as more than over 38,400 visitors made MICE trips to the country as of November.

According to Lee Jae Hoon, KTO Chief Representative, around 3.6 million Koreans will visit Vietnam in 2023, making it the largest source of foreign tourists of Vietnam.

Vietnam has been a top priority market of the RoK thanks to the close relations across politics, economy, culture and tourism, he said.

With a view to realising its set target of welcoming 10 mill
ion international visitors in 2023, the KTO has carried out an array of activities to diversify its tourism markets, with a focus sharpened to the Southeast Asian region.

Next year, the organisation will introduce the RoK’s as a wonderful travel destination for international visitors, including those in Vietnam, through the top 100 alluring destinations in the Rok programme, and K-Tourism Roadshows./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency

LEGAZPI CITY: The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-5 (Bicol) has distributed PHP20.2 million worth of livelihood assistance through its Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) to the families in Albay province that were affected by Mount Mayon’s unrest.

Ram Joseph Zaragoza, DSWD-Bicol project development officer for the SLP, said at least 1,014 households from the towns of Camalig, Daraga, Guinobatan, Tabaco City and Sto. Domingo received the grant over the weekend.

‘Each family receives livelihood grants of PHP20,000 from the program. The purpose of the grant is for the restoration and continuation of their affected livelihoods,’ Zaragoza said in an interview on Monday.

He said the distribution of the livelihood assistance to the qualified beneficiaries was assessed by the agency.

‘The recipients of the grant were evacuees with livelihood who were affected during their evacuation for five months because of the Mayon infusive eruption,’ he added.

Zaragosa said they will continue to monito
r the implementation of the program, saying ‘We want to ensure the sustainability of the livelihood.’

In a statement, sari-sari store owner Gina Nebreja of Barangay Sua, Camalig town shared that she had to close down her small business and also sell their pigs and cattle when they evacuated from their home as Mayon Volcano began erupting several months ago.

‘The PHP20,000 we received was a big help, it will serve as capital for our sari-sari store,’ Nebreja, who is mother to eight children, said in the local dialect.

She and her family still have no substantial income since returning home from the evacuation center, where they stayed from June to November.

‘I am so grateful to DSWD, to those who helped us, to those who gave us rations and food (when we were in evacuation center). Thank you so much,’ Nebreja said.
Source: Philippines News Agency

Jakarta: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Australia have recently held the first Joint Planning and Review Committee (JPRC) Meeting of the Australia for ASEAN (Aus4ASEAN) Futures Initiative at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Ambassador Bovonethat Douangchak, Permanent Representative of Laos to ASEAN and Country Coordinator for ASEAN-Australia Dialogue Relations, co-chaired the Meeting with Australian Ambassador to ASEAN Will Nankervis.

Aus4ASEAN Futures is the flagship investment under the ASEAN-Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP). Predominantly focused on supporting the ASEAN Economic Community Pillar’s (AEC) goal of connectivity and integration, Aus4ASEAN Futures will soon expand its flexible and demand-driven support for ASEAN priorities across all three ASEAN community pillars.

The meeting approved the Rolling Prioritisation Plan of the Aus4ASEAN Futures Initiative for the reporting period of October 2022 to October 2023. It discussion focused on key a
chievements of the initiative so far, including support for the Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA), ASEAN Strategy for Carbon Neutrality; ASEAN Tariff Finder, Initiative for ASEAN Integration and implementation of the ASEAN Outlook of the Indo-Pacific (AOIP).

Ambassador Nankervis briefed ASEAN member states on Australia’s International Development Policy, including new targets to tackle challenges across the ASEAN region to support economic growth, healthcare, infrastructure investment, climate change and gender equality.

‘As ASEAN’s first Dialogue Partner and a Comprehensive Strategic Partner, Australia is committed to deepening our engagement with ASEAN and continuing to take forward tangible, flexible, reliable cooperation that delivers for ASEAN and its people. Through Aus4ASEAN Futures we will keep listening and responding to ASEAN priorities,’ he said.

Ambassador Douangchak highlighted the importance of the projects’ implementation under the successor Aus4ASEAN Futures initiatives as well as
key roles and performances of JPRC.

He welcomed three new projects approved during the reporting period, in particular the ‘Regional Workshop on ASEAN Integration: Enhancing the IAI Work Plan IV (2021-2025) Implementation,’ and among others.

The JPRC agreed on key areas for future cooperation, including in support of climate change, energy transition, the ASEAN post-2025 agenda, infrastructure and connectivity, digital economy, health, education, and maritime cooperation.

It will also support the ASEAN Chairs’ priorities, and consider outcomes of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in March 2024./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency

LUCENA CITY: Almost 500 households or 3,100 people in Barangay Domoit here are now assured of unlimited supply of clean water after the installation of special solar-powered pumps on Monday.

Quezon 2nd District Rep. David Suarez told reporters that the Level II solar-powered water system project was funded by his office and implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) second Engineering Office.

He said the project involves two separate systems, each with its own submersible pump, solar panels and elevated water tanks.

One system supplies water to Purok Jasmin while the other supplies water to Purok Dama de Noche.

During the project’s inauguration, Suarez said the two systems will produce around 80 cubic meters of water daily.

The two solar water systems have a combined cost of some PHP10 million, he disclosed.

Suarez said the solar panels have a lifespan of 30 years if properly maintained.

“All you need to do is to use it with care and devise a scheme to make it last long. For exa
mple, your homeowner’s association can impose a minimal monthly due for the maintenance of the facility,” he told the residents during the inauguration ceremonies.

The solar water system in Purok Dama de Noche includes filtration equipment to make it potable.

To date, Suarez’s office has bankrolled the installation of solar-powered water systems to 18 villages in Lucena City.
Source: Philippines News Agency

Quang Binh: The central province of Quang Binh will use an aid grant of nearly 600 million VND (about 24,800 USD) from the World Pheasant Association for a conservation project on the ‘Ga Loi Lam Mao Trang’ (Edwards’s Pheasant, or Lophura edwardsi).

Under the project, which will last until December 2024, Edwards Pheasant will be bred at a farm owned by the Viet Nature Conservation One Member Co.Ltd.

This type of pheasant is mainly distributed in Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue province. It was recorded in the wild most recently in 2000. Edwards’s Pheasant was listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as critically endangered in 2012.

Edwards’s Pheasant is believed to exist in Dong Chau-Khe Nuoc Trong Nature Reserve in Quang Binh province.

The reserve, at a height of 700m above sea level, covers an area of over 22,132 ha with functional sub-zones of ecosystem protection and conservation, administration and service.

The reserve is home to endangered and rare species of
animals and plants that are in danger of extinction such as the Sao La (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis), Cha Va Chan Nau (Pygathrix nemaeus nemaeus) and Tri Sao (Rheinardia ocellata).

There are also rare plant species including Vu Huong (Cinnamomum balansae) and Gu Lau( Sindora tonkinensis) in the reserve./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency

MANILA: Close to 400 jobseekers were hired on the spot during the job fairs held early this month in the National Capital Region (NCR) by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in celebration of its founding anniversary.

According to DOLE-NCR, 396 were hired in the five job fairs held in the cities of Manila, Taguig and Malabon, and the municipality of Pateros.

The number is 30.7 percent of the 1,288 registered jobseekers that participated in the series of job fairs which started on Dec. 1.

DOLE-NCR Director lawyer Sarah Buena Mirasol on Monday said they intend to hold similar activities in the future as some people who are jobless were hired.

“This proves the effectiveness of the Department’s initiative in bridging the gap between jobseekers and employers,” Mirasol said in a statement.

“Our agency will continue to put more emphasis in providing opportunities for every Filipino to find decent jobs,” she added.

A total of 30,986 job vacancies were offered by participating employers in the job fair
s in NCR.

Among the top local job vacancies were customer service representatives, cashiers, drivers, service crews, sales consultants, merchandisers, bus conductors, pipe fitters, sales clerks and office staff.

Likewise, the top overseas job vacancies were nurses, occupational/physical therapists, production sewing machine operators, chefs, restaurant workers, butchers, hotel workers, care workers, scaffolders, welders, mechanical engineers, auto mechanics, livestock farmers and construction workers.

A series of job fairs were held in other regions in the country in celebration of the DOLE’s 90th anniversary, where the last activity was held on Dec. 14.

Aside from the job fair, DOLE-NCR also facilitated the payout of cash-for-work assistance through Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) Program to 500 beneficiaries and awarding of certificate of eligibility under the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP) to 131 beneficiaries — the latter included eight repatriated Le
banese and Israeli.
Source: Philippines News Agency