Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (Photo: VNA)

PM to attend commemorative summit for 50th year of ASEAN-Japan friendship, cooperation

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will lead a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam to attend the Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation and have bilateral activities in Japan from December 15-18.

The trip will be made at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, according to an announcement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 13, cited VNA.

Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping concludes Vietnam visit

Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping and his wife left Hanoi on December 13 afternoon, concluding a two-day State visit to Vietnam at the invitations of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Vo Van Thuong.

This is the third time General Secretary and President Xi has visited Vietnam, after his previous visits in 2015 and 2017. This is the first visit of the highest leader of the Party and State of China to Vietnam after the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. The visit took place more than a year after the historic visit to China of Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping waving their hands at Noi Bai International Airport on December 13 before flying home.

During his stay in Hanoi, Party General Secretary and President Xi held talks with Party General Secretary Trong and President Thuong, and met with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue. The two Party General Secretaries attended an exchange between intellectuals and young people of Vietnam and China, according to VOV.

A total of 36 cooperation documents were signed between the two countries’ ministries, agencies, and localities.

The two sides issued a joint statement on continuing to deepen and elevate their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership and building the Vietnam-China community of shared future that carries strategic significance.

Direct flight between Japanese, Vietnamese localities proposed

Takashi Kawamura, mayor of Japan’s Nagoya city proposed opening a direct air route between Nagoya and Da Nang city to boost cooperation between the two localities at a working session with municipal leaders on December 13.

At the event, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’ Committee Tran Tri Cuong highlighted Da Nang’s socio-economic development with key products being seafood, garments and textiles, leather shoes and building materials.

As the growth nucleus of Vietnam’s central key economic region, Da Nang is shifting its economic structure to service - industry - agriculture and promoting external relations and international cooperation, VNA reported.

Vice Chairman of the Da Nang People’ Committee Tran Tri Cuong (fourth right) and Takashi Kawamura, Mayor of Japan’s Nagoya city (fourth left). (Photo: VNA)

Cuong said in the future, the city will organize an event to promote its potential and strengths, provide information to attract investment and promote international cooperation, especially in tourism.

He suggested the Chubu Centrair International Airport in Nagoya and the Da NangInternational Airport accelerate the opening of direct flights to facilitate the traveling between the two cities, pledging favorable conditions in this regard.

Over the past years, Da Nang has set up official friendship and cooperation with four cities of Japan, including Yokohama, Kawasaki, Sakai, and Kisarazu. It also has cooperative ties with 15 other Japanese provinces and cities.

Japan is taking the lead in registered investment capital in Da Nang, with more than US$1 billion injected into 222 projects, accounting for 23.5% of the total FDI projects and 26% of foreign investment capital in the city.

Foreign media praises Lan Ha Bay as one of earth’s most stunning seascapes

Australian travel newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald has called Lan Ha Bay as one of earth’s most stunning seascapes.

Lan Ha Bay, roughly meaning “elegant orchid”, reveals itself to be a seemingly endless waterborne wonderland composed of hundreds of weather-hewn limestone karsts straight out of central karsting.

Earlier this year UNESCO expanded the boundaries of its declaration of Ha Long Bay as a World Heritage area in 1994 to encompass the Cat Ba Archipelago, of which Lan Ha Bay forms an important part, according to author Anthony Dennis.

Enjoying a two-day trip to Lan Ha Bay was a great experience for the writer as he spent time discovering Viet Hai, a small and isolated fishing village which is gloriously sheltered by Lan Ha Bay and boasts lofty peaks above forming a beautifully bucolic valley.

The foreign traveler then went to explore the nearby Trung Trang Caves and later trekked for an hour or so through the sweaty jungles of Cat Ba National Park, a designed biosphere reserve hosting more than 1,500 species of plants, 78 species of birds, 20 species of reptiles, and 32 mammals.

A panoramic view of Lan Ha Bay. (Photo: Istock)

The travel website also suggested that tourists should discover traditional Vietnamese herbal teas and their health benefits in a special lesson aboard the boat while venturing to discover Lan Ha Bay.

Tourists should not miss out on kayaking in and around the bay, including paddles through caves, with swimming also on offer at a secluded beach away from other tour boats, the author suggested.

Located east of Cat Ba Island off the northern port city of Hai Phong, Lan Ha Bay has become a tourist magnet thanks to its unique beauty.

Linking Ha Long Bay of Quang Ninh province with Cat Ba archipelago, Lan Ha Bay is like a silk ribbon made from green mountains, blue sea with diverse fauna and flora. It is a tranquil, curved body of water featuring about 400 islands.

The bay spreads more than 7,000 hectares, including 5,400 hectares under the management of Cat Ba National Park.

Aside from plenty of beautiful beaches, its attractiveness also lies in the limestone mountain ranges which divide the sea into smaller bays, as well as its lagoons and caves, many of which are unexplored.

Vietnam’s rice brand holds firm position in global market

Vietnam has had a bountiful rice crop in 2023, with export prices hitting historic peaks and a record high export value of US$$4.41 billion.

Rice production is an important sector of Vietnam, creating jobs for tens of millions of farmers across the country. In recent years, Vietnam has had many great achievements in rice production, ensuring national food security and maintaining its position as one of the world's biggest rice exporters.

Vietnam’s rice has once again been recognized as the most delicious rice in the world at a competition in 2023. Three Vietnamese companies sent six rice varieties to the competition, including ST24, ST25, LT28, Nang Hoa 9, CBR39-1 and A Sao sticky rice.

Vietnam’s rice quality has improved significantly in recent years. The rice bags with the brand ‘Com Viet Nam’ (Vietnam’s rice) are available on the shelves of 253 Carrefour hypermarkets and convenience stores throughout France. The rice is also available at 583 hypermarkets and 100 supermarkets of the L.Leclerc distribution chain in the country.

Earlier this year, QTOrganic exported a consignment of organic rice to Germany at US$1,800 per ton, a rarely seen high export price. The partner wants to order several containers of organic rice each month.

According to Ngo Xuan Nam, deputy general director of SPS Vietnam (Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority), Vietnam’s rice products can satisfy the requirements from the EU, which sets high standards on imports.

A An, a Tan Long Group rice brand well known in the domestic market, has been exported to Japan. ST 25 A An has to satisfy 600 criteria.

Photo: VNN

Distributors want to buy 1,000 tons of ST25 rice a year to increase the rice retail scale. The export price to the market is US$1,200 per ton on average.

In 2022, fried rice using Vietnamese ST25 rice was part of a "special lunch" at the Japanese Cabinet Office.

The General Department of Customs (GDC) reported that as of the end of November, Vietnam had exported 7.7 million tons of rice, worth US$4.41 billion, the highest in history.

On November 30, Vietnam’s five percent broken rice was priced at US$663 per ton, much higher than Thailand’s US$625 per ton and Pakistan’s at US$598.

Vo Tong Xuan, a famous rice expert, said that previously Vietnam’s rice meant affordable rice products. But in recent years, Vietnam’s rice quality has improved and the rice varieties have higher quality than those of its rivals.

“Green rice, healthy life’

Recently, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang signed a decision on sustainably developing one million hectares of specialized paddy with high quality and low emissions in association with green growth in the Mekong Delta by 2030.

The plan reorganizes the rice production sector, improving production and business efficiency, raising rice growers’ incomes and ensuring sustainable development amid climate change.

An international rice festival is expected to be held in December in Hau Giang, a locality of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta rice granary, with the slogan ‘Gao Xanh, Song Lanh’ (Green rice, healthy life).

Nguyen Nhu Cuong, Director of the Department of Crop Production, said that Vietnam’s farm produce in general and rice in particular can satisfy food safety requirements with production following a green process and greenhouse gas emission-reduction principle.

Green rice, healthy life is the harmonious combination between international practice and Vietnamese national characteristics, cited VNN.

In rice production, analysts said Vietnam can take pride in what it has – extremely good rice varieties which create high-yield, high-quality rice products. It also has good farming procedures which minimize the use of input materials and adapt to climate change.

Vietnam has begun to shift into green circular production, exploiting multi-value rice production, effectively using the input and output factors to bring the highest possible effects.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan noted that Vietnam not only produces and sells rice grain but also products from rice.

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