Vietnamese Ambassdor to Belgium and head of the Vietnam Mission to the EU Nguyen Van Thao (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam, Belgium, and the EU to boost green and sustainable co-operation

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son is in Brussels for the 24th ASEAN-EU Ministerial Meeting (AEMM) and the third EU-Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum (EU-IPMF), as well as a visit to Belgium, from January 30 to February 3.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium and head of the Vietnam Mission to the EU Nguyen Van Thao said that the EU-IPMF gathers nearly 70 delegations from EU member states and more than 40 countries in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as representatives from a number of international organizations.

The initiative was proposed by the EU back in 2022, serving as an important mechanism for the bloc and the Indo-Pacific region to share their evaluations on new developments and trends occurring in the world.

This is along with reviewing achievements and outlining new co-operation orientations and prospects to connect the two regions, thereby further reinforcing solidarity and ties in dealing with common issues of the globe, said Ambassador Thao.

He said that at the forum, the Vietnamese FM will deliver a speech on green transition, which is one of the promising and prioritized areas in the Vietnam-EU partnership, as well as the inevitable trend of the global economy and the development direction of the nation.

Vietnam, one of the countries that are hardest hit by climate change and environmental pollution, is in need of strong collaboration with the international community, including the EU, to mitigate climate change, promote adaptation capacity, and boost sustainable development, the diplomat underlined, emphasizing that this is an area of the EU’s strength, cited VOV.

The EU has also shown a keen interest in increasing strong collaboration with the Vietnamese side to build a model new-style cooperation between the EU and the Indo-Pacific region in this important field, he added.

Meanwhile, the 24th AEMM, which is the first one held in-person after five years due to COVID-19 pandemic, is the continuation and promotion of important results achieved in the recent high-level events, aiming to take the ASEAN-EU relationship to new heights, thereby making it more substantial, effective, and strategic.

With regard to the Vietnam-Belgium relations, Ambassador Thao underscored that ties have seen breakthrough growth over the years, especially after Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to the European country in December, 2022.

The two sides have maintained regular high-level visits, he noted, adding that this year the Belgian King will choose Vietnam for his only official visit outside the EU.

Together with the visits, bustling activities aimed at enhancing economic connectivity and bolstering bilateral trade and investment links over the years have laid a firm foundation for the two sides to optimize their cooperation potential, the diplomat said.

He noted that Belgium is currently a strategic partner of the Vietnamese side in agriculture, as well as being a promising partner in many other fields such as infrastructure development, seaport, hydrogen, health care, and pharmaceuticals.

Belgium is playing the role of European Council President in the first half of 2024, a factor which will enable the country to help Vietnam to boost ties with the EU, said Ambassador Thao.

In order to strengthen the partnership between Vietnam and the EU, the diplomat suggested that the nation devise comprehensive and systematic strategies aimed at promoting bilateral trade and investment ties in the future, with the identification of prioritized co-operation areas and potential partners. This should be done whilst increasing in-depth trade and investment promotion activities in the EU to deepen mutual understanding and connect businesses, as well as keeping close contact to maintain collaboration momentum, he added.

Vietnam strives to increase competitiveness for agricultural exports to US

There is great potential for Vietnam to increase its agricultural, forestry, and aquatic exports to the US, particularly when the quality and competitiveness of its products are improved.

In 2023, the US was the second largest market for Vietnam’s agro-forestry-fishery products, accounting for 20.7% of its total export turnover.

According to the Foreign Trade Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, statistics from the US International Trade Commission showed that in the first 10 months of 2023, the US imported 1.43 million tonnes of rubber. However, Vietnam exported just 20,370 tonnes worth US$28.99 million to the US, ranking 13th among rubber suppliers to this market, and making up only 1.42% of the US's total rubber imports.

In the US market, Vietnamese rubber has to compete with that from many markets including Indonesia and Thailand whose market share in the US reached 25.13% and 14.28% respectively.

Meanwhile, in 2023, up to 88.7% of total cashew nuts imported into the US were from Vietnam, according to VNA.

Illustrative photo (Photo:VNA)

Among fisheries exporters to the US in the 10 months of last year, Vietnam was the one with the strongest increase in volume and the second highest rise in value.

Notably, the US's imports of shrimp, tra fish, and tuna from Vietnam saw positive growth. According to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Vietnam is currently the 6th largest aquatic product supplier to the US, after Canada, Chile, India, Indonesia, and Ecuador.

Regarding the consumption trend of tra fish in 2024, the US will not only focus on frozen filet fish – a key product of Vietnam but also gradually increase consumption of processed tra fish and high value-added products such as swim bladder and tra fish paste. This requires the Vietnamese seafood industry to diversify its products and focus on deep processing to increase competitiveness in this major market.

Regarding other products, Trade Counsellor of Vietnam in the US Do Ngoc Hung said that in 2022, the total export turnover of cinnamon from Vietnam to the US reached about US$50 million, accounting for 35% of the US's total cinnamon import turnover. Vietnam’s cardamom shipments to the US fetched about US$5 million, making up 13%.

Cinnamon and cardamom are not only popular spices but are also widely used in the food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. They have also been added to beverages such as tea, coffee, and other nutritional supplements.

Hung said that US consumers are increasingly interested in immune-boosting products, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, so the demand for cinnamon and cardamom essential oils continues to rise.

These are significant values in sustainable development and have the potential to promote Vietnamese cinnamon and cardamom exports in the US market, Hung stressed.

He suggested localities have plans to ensure high-quality raw material areas with the application of organic farming standards to enhance Vietnamese products’ competitiveness against similar products from other countries like Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and India.

Processing businesses should promote the application of scientific and technological advances and actively participate in international trade fairs to widely promote Vietnamese cinnamon and cardamom products in the market, he said.

Increasing number of foreign arrivals in January creates impetus to fulfil yearly target

The number of foreign arrivals to Vietnam in the first month of 2024 reached over 1.5 million, the highest ever recorded for a month since the country fully reopened all tourism activities in March 2022, according to Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT).

The figure represented an increase of 10.3% compared to the previous month and a 73.6% hike compared to the same period last year.

This is a positive signal for Vietnam's tourism industry, creating motivation for the sector to achieve the goals of receiving 17-18 million international visitors, serving 110 million domestic tourists and earning about 840 trillion VND (34.3 billion USD) in tourism revenue in 2024, VNA reported.

The number of foreign arrivals to Vietnam in the first month of 2024 reached over 1.5 million (Photo: vietnamnet.vn)

The Republic of Korea (RoK) remained the largest source market for Vietnam tourism in January with 417,576 visitors, accounting for 27.6% of the total. It was followed by China and Taiwan (China). Meanwhile, the UK, France, Germany and Russia sent the largest numbers of European tourists to Vietnam.

According to the VNAT, January witnessed remarkable growth in European markets that enjoy unilateral visa exemption. It reflected the positive impact of a policy on extending the temporary stay period for citizens from countries unilaterally exempted from visa from 15 to 45 days.

Vietnam had 25 destinations and establishments named in different categories of the ASEAN Tourism Awards at a ceremony held as part of the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF) 2024 in Laos on January 26.

They were honored for six categories, namely ASEAN Green Hotel, ASEAN Clean Tourist City, ASEAN MICE Venue Award for Meeting Room, ASEAN MICE Venue Award for Exhibition Venue, ASEAN MICE Venue Award for Event Venue, and ASEAN Sustainable Tourism Award for Gastronomy Tourism theme.

Vietnam considered important partner of Brazil

Brazilian President Lula da Silva highlighted Vietnam as an important partner of his nation at a reception held for Vietnamese Ambassador Bui Van Nghi, who came to present his letter of credence in Brasilia on January 31.

The Brazilian President expressed his admiration for the achievements that the country has recorded over the past years, going on to hail the positive developments recorded in bilateral relations.

He suggested that both sides move to step up cooperation across multiple fields, including politics - diplomacy, economics - trade, agriculture, and science - technology.

Lula da Silva stated that bilateral trade has been growing strongly over recent years to roughly US$7 billion in 2023, therefore the two countries should strive to further advance ties in this field.

Brazilian President Lula da Silva (File photo: VNA)

The President stated that he hopes to pay a second visit to the nation in the near future, after the first back in 2008, cited VOV.

In response, Ambassador Nghi expressed his honor at being able to serve as Ambassador of Vietnam to Brazil, pledging to help strengthen the two countries’ comprehensive partnership in an increasingly substantive and effective manner in all the three pillars of party-to-party, state-to-state, and people-to-people diplomacy.

The diplomat went on to stress that he will make greater efforts to develop bilateral economic - trade - investment ties on par with the sound political relations, firstly carrying out the commitments stated in the joint communiqué issued during Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to Brazil in September, 2023.

He pledged to closely coordinate with the South American country to hold celebrations of the 35th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties, which were first established on May 8, 1989, and the 17th anniversary of the comprehensive partnership which began in May, 2007.

At the meeting, Ambassador Nghi also conveyed President Vo Van Thuong’s invitation to visit Vietnam to President Lula.

Vietnam vie for Asian efootball championship title

Vietnam will have the chance to avenge their losses to Japan and Indonesia at the Asian Cup when the trio will meet each other again at the AFC eAsian Cup which begins on February 1 in Qatar.

The inaugural edition of the AFC eAsian Cup, in conjunction with the ongoing Asian Cup, runs from February 1 to 5 in the capital city of Doha.

The Cup is set to take center stage at the Virtuocity eSports Arena, the region’s first and only year-round esports facility, allowing gamers of all ages the unique opportunity of widespread participation in the world of gaming.

The event features 20 teams divided into four groups of three teams and two groups of four, the same as they are in the Asian Cup. Each team has two main players and one substitute and will play against the remaining teams in its group twice in 12-minute matches in a 2v2 format.

Played on Konami’s eFootball 2024, the contestants will step onto the virtual pitch using PlayStation 5 consoles as they aim to go down in history as the winners of the first-ever AFC eAsian Cup, cited VNS.

The Virtuocity eSports Arena will be the venue for the AFC eAsian Cup which begins on February 1 in Qatar. Photo: AFC

Vietnam will play Japan first and then Indonesia in Group D on February 1.

Qatar will host Lebanon and Tajikistan in Group A. Uzbekistan, India and Syria will square off in Group B.

At the same time, action in Group C will ensue with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) taking on Hong Kong, China.

Malaysia will face Jordan, South Korea and Bahrain in Group E. Meanwhile, Kyrgyz Republic, Saudi Arabia will battle against Oman and Thailand in Group F.

The top two teams from each group, alongside the four best third-place finishers, will earn a berth in the knockout stage.

Vietnamese players are Nghiem Xuan Nam, Le Doan Thanh Tam and Nguyen Minh Hung. They overcame many strong rivals to win the National Efootball Championship's qualifications by the Vietnam Football Federation and the Vietnam Recreational and Electronic Sports Association (VIRESA)

"The tournament shows AFC's goal in pushing the popularity of efootball and tightening its association with traditional football. It can be seen through the rules of this competition where organizers require efootbalers to be players of the national football teams," said coach Duong Vi Khoa of Vietnam.

All eAsian Cup 2023 matches will be livestreamed on youtube https://www.youtube.com/AFCAsianCup.

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