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Vietnamese naval ship joins multinational exercise in Indonesia (Photo: www.qdnd.vn)

Vietnamese naval ship joins multilateral exercise in Indonesia

The Vietnamese Navy is actively involved in maritime security seminars, command and staff exercises ashore, drills at sea, and various cultural and sports exchanges.

The 5th Multilateral Naval Exercise Komodo (MNEK) drew the participation of approximately 3,000 naval personnel from 37 countries and 40 warships, including 17 from Indonesia.

The exercise aims to promote an open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific region, focusing on coordinated search and rescue operations to enhance collective response to regional contingencies. The Vietnamese Navy is actively involved in maritime security seminars, command and staff exercises ashore, drills at sea, and various cultural and sports exchanges, cited VNA.

Indonesian Navy Rear Admiral Yayan Sofiyan said MNEK 2025 is organised within the framework of humanitarian assistance, contributing to regional and global stability, as well as natural disaster management.

Beyond tactical training, the event offers opportunities for participating nations to strengthen diplomatic relations and international cooperation. Activities include public tours of warships, defence exhibitions, the 6th International Maritime Security Symposium, engineering civic action programs, and community healthcare services.

Japan's role in driving digital and green transformation in Mekong Delta

As a key partner of Vietnam in agriculture, particularly in digital transformation and high-tech applications, Japan plays a crucial role in attracting enterprises specializing in digital technology, mechanization, and sustainable agricultural startups.

According to the Department of Crop Production under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the project "Sustainable Development of One Million Hectares of High-Quality, Low-Emission Rice Associated with Green Growth in the Mekong Delta region by 2030" is being implemented in 12 provinces and cities across the region.

Before expanding the project, the ministry piloted seven models in five localities. Results showed that this model helps reduce seeding rates, fertilizer, and pesticides while improving rice yield and quality. Additionally, farmers' incomes increased, and greenhouse gas emissions were significantly reduced.

Le Thanh Tung, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Vietnam Rice Industry Association, stated that the project plays a crucial role in rice production by ensuring national food security and fostering sustainable, climate-resilient agricultural development in the Mekong Delta region while improving farmers' incomes.

According to Tung, the project's goal is to restructure rice production along the value chain, enhance added value, and apply sustainable farming practices that adapt to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This effort aligns with Vietnam’s international commitments.

The project will also upgrade infrastructure, improve logistics and innovation centers, and refine technical packages based on the "one must, five reductions" method. Moreover, it will support the reorganization of smallholder farmers through agricultural cooperatives and farmer organizations.

Furthermore, the project aims to provide training and technology transfer to farmers on sustainable farming practices, farm management, and digital applications in areas such as monitoring, reporting, and carbon credit verification. Financial and technical resources will be mobilized domestically and internationally, including results-based climate financing (RBCF), to support low-carbon rice production and implement the MRV (measurement, reporting, and verification) system for carbon credit issuance.

Tung also noted that the project seeks to develop a market for low-carbon rice by building branding and expanding market access for this product from the Mekong Delta and Vietnam as a whole. Additionally, it will strengthen the domestic ecosystem supporting the transition to high-quality, low-carbon rice production, including access to finance, results-based carbon payment mechanisms, and benefit-sharing models.

"With the implementation of the one-million-hectare rice project, we can reduce seed use by 50 %, nitrogen fertilizer by 30%, and pesticides by 30% while minimizing lodging, post-harvest losses, and average carbon emissions by 5 to 6 tons per hectare per crop. At the same time, profits can increase by VND5 million per hectare. This demonstrates that we fully meet the technical, technological, and commercial criteria of the project while enhancing linkages between enterprises and cooperatives," Tung stressed.

According to the Department of Cooperative Economy under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, there is substantial demand for investment and technological applications in digital and green transformation. Cooperatives play a vital role in uniting farmers, organizing production, and marketing rice. To establish a transparent and efficient agricultural value chain and promote branding, enterprises and cooperatives must collaborate closely to form a sustainable value chain.

Technology must ensure high-quality rice production, emission reduction, and environmental protection. Key technologies include monitoring and assessing flooding conditions and seeding feasibility, water management, sowing techniques, product consumption, pest control, and traceability, according to VOV.

Sustainable and climate-adaptive agricultural development in the Mekong Delta region to improve farmers' income.

Le Duc Thinh, Director of the Department of Cooperative Economy and Rural Development, said that the demand for digital applications in cooperatives is substantial, with approximately 2 million farming households, 1,230 cooperatives, and 210 rice enterprises involved. Digital solutions such as electronic logs, traceability systems, and water management assessments will be deployed.

Japan is a key partner of Vietnam in agriculture, particularly in digital transformation and high-tech applications, making it essential to attract Japanese enterprises specializing in digital technology, mechanization, and sustainable agricultural startups.

“We are particularly interested in Japanese enterprises in digital technology, mechanization, and sustainable agricultural startups,” Thinh emphasized.

The Mekong Delta plays a key role in national food security and global rice exports. However, the region faces multiple challenges, including climate change, resource degradation, rising production costs, and increasingly stringent international market requirements regarding quality, traceability, and carbon emission reduction.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Tran Thanh Nam stated that to promote agricultural transformation in the Mekong Delta region through digital and green technology adoption, enhancing productivity, quality, and emission reduction, the ministry is actively carrying out the project and seeking cooperation with international organizations, particularly Japanese investors, to provide technological solutions and training support.

Homeland Spring held for OVs in Bangladesh

The Vietnamese Embassy in Bangladesh hosted the “Xuan Que Huong” (Homeland Spring) program in Dhaka on February 14, creating a warm and festive Tet atmosphere for the Vietnamese community in the South Asian nation.

In his address, Ambassador Nguyen Manh Cuong emphasised that despite the challenges in 2024, Vietnam, under the sound leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the management of the State, has seized new opportunities and achieved remarkable growth, reported VNA.

Shah Alam (first left) President of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), presents flowers to Ambassador Nguyen Manh Cuong at the Homeland Spring program in Dhaka (Photo: VNA)

He said traditional friendship between Vietnam and Bangladesh continued to flourish in 2024, with diplomatic and political activities being carried out regularly and effectively. Economic and trade cooperation remained a bright spot, with bilateral trade reaching 1.1 billion USD. Businesses from both nations have shown increasing interest in each other’s markets and are eager to explore further opportunities for collaboration. Vietnam remains a steadfast friend to Bangladesh, and the two countries continue to support each other in international forums and mechanisms, he added.

On behalf of the Liaison Board of the Vietnamese Community in Bangladesh, Nguyen Hoang Long expressed his thanks to the embassy for organizing the warm and heartfelt Homeland Spring program, which made the community feel as if they were celebrating Tet in their homeland. He said the community is proud of Vietnam’s cultural traditions and stays united to look toward the homeland. He hoped for more cultural activities that highlight Vietnam’s rich heritage in Bangladesh.

Cold air intensifies, bringing rain and drizzle to northern and north-central Vietnam

A cold air mass has begun affecting the mountainous areas of northeastern Vietnam as of February 16, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Over the next 24 to 48 hours, this cold air will continue spreading across the rest of the northeastern region before reaching parts of the northwest and north-central Vietnam. Northeasterly winds on land will range from level 2 to 3.

In northeastern Vietnam, temperatures will drop, with some mountainous areas experiencing severe cold. The lowest temperatures during this cold spell will range from 15-18°C, while some mountainous areas may see readings below 14°C.

Hanoi will have rain and drizzle, with chilly weather. The lowest temperatures are expected to range from 17-19°C, cited VOV.

Cold air mass hits northeastern Vietnam's mountains.

At sea, northeasterly winds will strengthen in the northern part of the Gulf of Tonkin, causing rough sea conditions with waves reaching 2.0-4.0 meters.

Due to the influence of weakly reinforced cold air shifting eastward, combined with an upper-level westerly jet stream, northern and north-central Vietnam will experience rain and drizzle from February 16 to the morning of February 17. The cold weather, particularly in mountainous areas, may impact livestock and crops.

Strong winds and high waves could also disrupt maritime activities.

New wave of data center investment in Vietnam

With the surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI), the race to build and upgrade data centers is becoming increasingly competitive in Vietnam, noted investment promotion portal Invest Vietnam.

Domestic technology enterprises such as VNPT, Viettel, CMC, FPT, and VNG are actively expanding their data center infrastructure. Remarkably, CMC, the second-largest technology corporation in Vietnam, plans to invest up to US$500 million in data centers in Vietnam, Japan, and several other countries from now to 2028.

Viettel, the nation's largest telecommunications group, is also actively participating in the race, planning to develop 11 large-scale data centers with a total capacity of over 350 MW, accounting for 40 percent of the country's total capacity. Notably, Viettel will collaborate with the U.S. tech giant NVIDIA to develop AI data center infrastructure, integrating nearly 800 supercomputers and 6,000 GPU cards.

CEO of the Viettel Internet Data Centre (IDC) Hoang Van Ngoc estimated that to meet Vietnam's current technological demands—including AI development and cloud computing—for a population of 100 million, the country's data center capacity needs to expand 15 times from its current capacity.

Not only Vietnamese technology companies are accelerating the expansion of data center infrastructure, but international tech firms such as Amazon, Microsoft, Supermicro, ST Telemedia Global Data Centers, Google and Alibaba are expressing strong interest and actively pouring more investment into the Southeast Asian nation, cited VGP.

Photo: VGP

According to the latest report from Cushman & Wakefield, Vietnam has a significant advantage in data center investment, with an average construction cost of US$6.9 million per MW, among the lowest in the Asia-Pacific region, compared to China (US$7.1 million), Thailand (US$7.6 million), Indonesia (US$8.7 million), and Malaysia (US$9 million).

Trang Bui, CEO of Cushman & Wakefield Vietnam, held that with competitive construction costs and a favorable geographic location, Vietnam has great potential to become a major data center hub in the region.

Additionally, Vietnam is becoming more open to foreign investments, and a series of administrative reforms are creating greater opportunities for international investors while driving the growth of Vietnam's data center industry. Leading tech giants such as Apple, Intel, Canon, Samsung, LG, LEGO, and Airbus have all shown interest in the Vietnamese market, she noted.

Vietnam's data center market was valued at US$654 million in 2024, and is projected to reach US$1.75 billion by 2030, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.93 per cent, according to Research and Markets.

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