An overview of the workshop. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam, France work together in environmental protection

Vietnamese localities need experience and collaboration from international partners in environmental protection and sustainable development, and French investors are considered credible partners, an official from Ho Chi Minh City has said.

Bui Xuan Cuong, Deputy Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, made the remarks at a workshop entitled “Environment, Water and Water Treatment” held in Hanoi on April 14 as part of the 12th Vietnam-France decentralised cooperation conference.

Cuong emphasised the importance of environmental protection and sustainable development, which are among topics of Vietnam's national development policies and decisions.

Vietnam is now adopting a proactive approach which priotises prevention, control and restoration of environmental ecosystems, he said, adding that the country has some 90 bilateral partners, and participates in more than 100 multilateral frameworks on natural resources, environment, and climate.

Environmental protection between Vietnam and France is a highlight in bilateral cooperation, according to Cuong.

The Vietnam-France joint statement issued during Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to France in November 2021 affirmed the two countries' commitment to promoting sustainable growth.

Many Vietnamese localities have actively cooperated with their neighbouring regions in environmental protection, river basin pollution control, and inter-provincial water sources use, Cuong said, noting that numerous cooperation models have been established to protect biodiversity corridors and buffer zones in nature reserves.

HCM City's development priorities include promoting high-value industries using renewable energy and environmentally friendly technologies in various sectors such as industry, agriculture, and services, he said.

Various topics were mulled over at the workshop, including environmental protection, air quality improvement, climate change mitigation, waste reduction and recycling, and circular economy, cited VNA.

In his speech entitled “Plastic Waste Management in Hanoi” Mai Trong Thai, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment, highlighted the city's regulations to reduce plastic waste, including a plan to control plastic waste and bags by 2025.

In the near future, Hanoi authorities will propose the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment issue new regulations on environmental protection techniques for solid waste management.

Thai said that financial incentives should be offered to promote the recovery, recycling, and reuse of plastic waste. The city will continue to devise a plan to prepare the necessary resources, financial institutions, and policies to implement waste separation at source, he added.

Ho Chi Minh City detects new Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5

Ho Chi Minh City has recorded an infection caused by the XBB.1.5 sub-strain of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, as announced by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health.

The Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) had co-operated with the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases to randomly conduct genome sequencing, during which they found one case of an individual being infected with the Omicron variant XBB.1.5.

Photo: VOV

The World Health Organization (WHO) said that based on its genetic characteristics and early growth rate estimates, XBB.1.5 may contribute to increases in cases.

Scientists suggest that XBB.1.5 may be able to evade any immunity generated by infection from the SARS-CoV-2 virus or the COVID-19 vaccine. Although XBB.1.5 appears to be more infectious, its severity is still unknown, according to VOV.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health said that since the beginning of March the southern city had recorded an average of one COVID-19 case per day. Currently, there are 12 patients being treated at the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital for Tropical Diseases with no serious cases requiring mechanical ventilation.

The department stressed that booster vaccinations for COVID-19 are very important, especially for those aged five above, as well as older people in the high-risk group.

Da Nang city steps up cooperation with Lao localities

Secretary of the Party Committee of central Da Nang city Nguyen Van Quang hosted a reception on April 14 for Secretary of the Party Committee and Governor of Laos’ Savannakhet province Bounchom Oubonpaserth.

Quang highlighted the traditional friendship between the two Parties and States, as well as the close ties between Da Nang city and Savannakhet province, expressing his hope that Savannakhet will push ahead with the construction of a Vietnamese language teaching centre in the province and send more students to educational institutions in Da Nang.

The two localities should foster collaboration in trade and tourism based on the reached contents, he suggested.

Secretary of the Party Committee of central Da Nang city Nguyen Van Quang (R) receives Secretary of the Party Committee and Governor of Laos’ Savannakhet province Bounchom Oubonpaserth. (Photo: VNA)

For his part, Oubonpaserth thanked Da Nang for its support to Savannakhet over the past time, and called on the city to create favourable conditions for its investors to operate in Savannakhet in the fields of education and tourism.

Savannakhet stands ready to cooperate with Vietnamese localities, for mutual development, he stressed.

Over the past years, Da Nang has strengthened its cooperation and friendship with Lao localities, helping them in various fields, from infrastructure construction to health care, agriculture, urban planning and high-quality personnel training, VNA reported.

The city has, to date, signed 35 cooperation documents with seven Lao localities.

Vietnam most promoted in EIU's business climate rankings

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), a research and analysis division of the Economist Group of the UK, recently announced the ranking of the global business environment for the second quarter of the year, which recognizes that Vietnam has the highest ranking among the world’s ranked economies.

The EIU offers many categories on order to evaluate economic management activities over both the previous five years and the next five-year prospects of countries and regions, thereby assessing the quality or attractiveness of the business environment across 82 countries and economies globally.

The nations that improved the most in the EIU's ranking over the past year included Vietnam, Thailand, Belgium, Sweden, India, and Costa Rica.

Photo: VOV

Of these, Vietnam is considered to have the greatest motivation, increasing 12 places in the ranking, while Thailand rose by 10 places and India grew by six places.

In the 2023 EIU rankings, Singapore retained its position as the world's best place to do business for the 15th consecutive year and will continue to be the best place to conduct business over the next five years.

The EIU gave Singapore a perfect score in policies with foreign investment, foreign exchange control, and foreign trade.

Singapore is also the country that scores highest for tech readiness, a sign of government policies aimed at developing tech infrastructure facilities and a startup ecosystem.

The Singaporean Government is also a pioneer in terms of deploying high-tech solutions in public services, cited VOV.

Canada and Denmark are both tied for second place. In addition, there are four European economies along with the United States, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (China), and New Zealand in the top 10.

In the top 20 of the list, there are four Asia-Pacific economies, namely Australia, Taiwan (China), and the Republic of Korea (RoK).

Meanwhile, the countries that were most significantly downgraded include China, Bahrain, Chile, and Slovakia. China is the country with the deepest drop globally, falling 11 places from a year earlier.

According to the EIU, although China has moved to considerably relax its COVID-19 prevention policies, regulatory changes and increased costs have put pressure on the business environment and reduced opportunities for international investors.

Vietnamese people prefer to travel abroad for long holidays

Many travel companies announced this year, during the long holidays of April 30 and May 1, people prefer foreign tours to domestic tours.

According to Saigontourist Travel, the number of tourists booking foreign tours has increased sharply, accounting for nearly 70 percent of the total number of tourists buying tours on the upcoming holiday.

It is estimated that 100,000 individual and group visitors planned over 200 trips abroad. According to Nguyen Huu Y Yen, General Director of Saigontourist Travel, a lot of tourists have chosen tours to Japan, Taiwan (China), South Korea, and Thailand this year.

Also according to Saigontourist, the number of registered tourists for the tour has reached 75 percent of its plan. Most holiday-makers favored tours to foreign countries such as Australia, Japan, Europe, Canada, the USA and Cuba which are fully booked; so the agent has not admitted more bookings. Presently, tours to Southeast Asia such as Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, and Thailand are still available for more travelers.

A female customer who bought a tour from Saigontourist revealed that her family members - 6 people - planned to shop in foreign countries; thus, they decided to choose a tour to Thailand, because they can shop in Thailand with prices more reasonable than in the country.

Photo: VNN

Realizing people’s demand for travel abroad during the long national holidays, Nguyen Nguyet Van Khanh, Marketing Director of Vietravel, informed that the company had prepared a plan of taking care of customers attentively.

According to Van Khanh, the number of tourists choosing foreign tours accounts for over 70 percent. Moreover, she forecast that more people registered for the upcoming summer tours.

Similarly, Tran The Dung, General Director of Vietluxtour Travel, said that the number of tourists choosing foreign tours increased significantly. Vietluxtour has not received more travelers for trips to Australia or Japan.

As for TSTtourist, the company has nearly reached the milestone of welcoming 2,000 customers for the national holidays of April 30 and May 1.

Nguyen Minh Man, Director of Communications - Marketing Department of TST tourist Company, predicted that the number of tourists choosing foreign tours may increase when the Chinese market relaxes quarantine requirements for visitors in June.

Meanwhile, according to travel agencies, currently, tours to Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, and Ha Long Bay are favorite domestic trips, SGGP reported.

Some big hotels and resorts announced no surcharge for guests who book early to encourage people to stay and retain travelers.

On April 13, airfares during the national long holiday were higher than on weekdays. In particular, airfares for many flights to tourist destinations have been sold out.

Currently, round-trip tickets from Ho Chi Minh City to Phu Quoc cost VND3.5 million but there are not many flights left.

Those who decided to travel close to the national holiday must buy a round-trip ticket from Vietnam Airline at VND9 million.

The Saigon Railway Transport Company said that trains from Ho Chi Minh City to other provinces are already sold out in the upcoming peak days of the holiday; yet, the ticket prices are 20 percent higher than on weekdays.

Coach companies have not announced price increases during the holiday because people's travel demand is still low.

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