Vietnam News Today (Nov. 20): Vietnam and Cambodia Ink MoU on Cooperation Between Two Legislatures

Heng Samrin, president of the National Assembly of Cambodia and Vuong Dinh Hue, chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam, sign the MoU on cooperation between the two legislatures in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on November 19.

Vietnam and Cambodia ink MoU on cooperation between two legislatures

The National Assembly of Vietnam and the National Assembly of Cambodia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to chart a course for further bilateral cooperation.

Signatories to the MoU are Heng Samrin, president of the Cambodian National Assembly and Vuong Dinh Hue, chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly, who is currently in Cambodia on an official visit.

The two leaders also witnessed the signing of a cooperation document between the Secretariats of the two legislatures on this occasion.

The signing of the documents took place in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh on November 19 following talks between the two legislatures’ leaders, cited VOV.

During the talks the two sides expressed satisfaction at the positive development of bilateral relations in recent times, and vowed to further develop the friendship and boost comprehensive ties between the two countries, considering this an indispensable objective requirement for both sides.

They agreed to strengthen visit exchanges in a bid to seek effective measures aimed at promoting cooperation in the fields of their great potential, including trade - investment, banking, agriculture, industrial tree planting, education - training, information - communication, transportation, culture, and people-to-people exchanges.

With regard to defence and security co-operation, the two sides consented to work closely together to prevent terrorist activities, transnational crimes, as well as drug and human smuggling and trafficking.

They also reaffirmed the principle of not allowing any hostile forces to use the territory of one country to harm the security of the other. They pledged to find mutually acceptable solutions to complete the remaining 16% workload of land border demarcation and border marker planting, in order to build a land border of peace, stability, co-operation, and development between the two countries.

Hue thanked Cambodia for closely coordinating with Vietnam in successfully rescuing many Vietnamese citizens who had been scammed and forced to work illegally at economic establishments owned by foreigners in Cambodia. He expected that both sides would continue to deal with the issue moving forward.

Discussing further ties between the two legislatures, the two leaders underscored the importance of strengthening parliamentary diplomacy, both bilaterally and multilaterally.

Hue suggested that the two sides increase the exchange of delegations of their legislative bodies, as well as bringing into full play mechanisms to promote the efficiency of their cooperation. In the immediate future, he requested that the two sides competently prepare for the organisation of the Friendship Parliamentary Group Meeting of the two legislatures that is scheduled to take place in Vietnam in December.

The two sides agreed to work in tandem to both monitor and speed up the implementation of bilateral and multilateral treaties and agreements to which the two countries are either signatories or are members.

Among the documents were those relating to building partnerships and promoting multilateral solutions to global challenges, such as climate change, green and sustainable development, as well as food - energy - water resources - health security. In addition, both sides should seek to further promote joint development and cooperation programmes along border areas in order to build a common border of peace, cooperation, and development.

Regarding regional and international issues of mutual concern, the two leaders emphasised that Vietnam and Cambodia must further strengthen ties and mutual support at multilateral forums, especially within ASEAN and Mekong sub-regional cooperation mechanisms.

The two sides emphasised the importance of ensuring security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea, as well as resolving disputes by peaceful means, on the basis of international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Both host and guest also talked about the preparations being made ahead of a tripartite meeting between the leaders of the National Assemblies of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

President meets Hong Kong, IMF leaders on APEC meeting sidelines

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on November 19 met with Chief Executive of the Hong Kong (China) Special Administrative Region Lee Ka-chiu and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva on the sidelines of the 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Thailand.

Meeting the Hong Kong leader, President Phuc expressed his wish for strengthened exchanges between the authorities, businesses and people of the two sides. He invited Lee to soon visit Vietnam.

Phuc welcomed Hong Kong firms to invest in Vietnam’s sustainable and environmentally friendly fields, and hoped they will support Vietnamese enterprises’ participation in trade, investment and tourism promotion activities in Hong Kong.

The State leader said he wants Vietnam and Hong Kong to boost collaboration in economy, trade, and investment toward pushing their bilateral trade to 50 billion USD in the next five years; and to expand engagements in culture, education, tourism, and labour.

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva. Photo: VNA

For his part, Lee affirmed that Hong Kong values and is willing to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with Vietnam in various fields.

Agreeing with the five-year trade goal towards making Vietnam Hong Kong's largest trading partner in ASEAN, he stressed his willingness to promote the bilateral people-to-people exchanges, including in tourism, education and labour.

He said he hopes the sides will coordinate in immigration management, according to VNA.

At the meeting with the IMF Managing Director, the President lauded joint works between Vietnam and the fund so far, particularly IMF’s consultations on Vietnam's macroeconomic management, restructuring, and growth model innovation.

Given the context that the global economy is volatile with increasing inflation, the economic growth of many countries and regions is slowing down, and the ensuring of food and energy security is facing many difficulties, Phuc stated Vietnam, IMF and other nations must strengthen collaboration and coordination of policies and guidelines to effectively deal with such issues.

Georgieva said she wishes Vietnam to make further contributions to the global agenda of transforming growth models and securing supply chains.

The leader said that the IMF will step up support and advice for Vietnam in economic management and growth model renovation.

On the afternoon of the same day, the President and his entourage left Thailand for Vietnam, successfully concluding his official visit to the nation and attendance in the 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting.

By 2045, Vietnam wants to have five metropolises of international stature

Vietnam's action plan to achieve Resolution No.06-NQ/TW of the Politburo calls for the establishment of five vibrant urban metropolises by 2045.

The government's action plan to achieve Resolution No.06-NQ/TW of the Politburo on planning, building, management, and sustainable development of urban areas in Vietnam until 2030, with a vision to 2045, calls for the establishment of five vibrant urban metropolises by 2045.

The urban area of Hanoi. Photo: Thanh Dat/VNA

Tran Quoc Thai, director of the Urban Development Agency within the Ministry of Construction, stated on November 16 at the seminar “Policies for Urban Development in Vietnam” that one of the major groups of solutions identified in this resolution is to improve policies and procedures to facilitate the urbanisation, planning, construction, management, and sustainable urban development processes.

At the seminar, the National Assembly Law Committee revealed that Vietnam has more than 860 metropolitan areas, and its urbanisation rate is over 40 per cent. The urban economy has risen at a rapid pace, contributing more than 70 per cent of Vietnam's GDP, with the proportion predicted to reach 85 per cent by 2030, VIR reported.

According to a significant number of planners and architects attending the seminar, rapid urbanisation, rising income societal inequalities between rural and urban areas, informal expansion, a lack of basic infrastructure and services, and a shortage of affordable housing have resulted in a variety of problems.

Dr. Nguyen Quang, deputy director of UN-Habitat, said that the complex social issues developing in urban areas demand “a larger strategy, more vertical and horizontal coordination, and relationships to innovation.”

Quang said, “Urbanisation and sustainable urban growth do not occur by chance, but by strategy.” The national urban policy should prioritise “practical priorities” such as the formulation and construction of a sustainable urban framework in both form and density via a compact urban model, the connection of cities via transport corridors, and the promotion of centralised production to take advantage of economies of scale.

The urban policy promotes intersectoral policy coherence regarding cities through the articulation of shared development visions and objectives. The urban policy should play a significant role in national development policies and goals. “In particular, a human rights-based approach, social protection measures, and excellent multi-level governance with an emphasis on participation and inclusion are required,” Quang said.

According to Quang, if Vietnam is to establish cities of international stature, the national urban policy must “decentralise more explicitly to local authorities” in urban planning/management and provide circumstances for the creation of efficient instruments to govern urban growth.

Vietnam has implemented several efforts to address environmental issues and enhance the urban infrastructure for many years. Herve Conan, head of the French Development Agency in Vietnam, said on October 22 while working with Nguyen Thanh Nghi, Minister of Construction, that urban management and development connected with the endurance and adaptability of cities to climate change offer many issues in Vietnam.

According to Conan, Vietnam is one of the most vulnerable nations to the effects of climate change owing to its geographical characteristics, with frequent droughts, floods, and coastline retreats increasing its susceptibility.

Green FDI inflows promoted in Vietnam

European investors are very interested in green projects in Vietnam.

Chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) Alain Cany said that EuroCham is implementing an investment promotion programme, planning to bring 300 European enterprises in green economic fields to Vietnam to explore investment opportunities. Related feedback has been positive.

With policies to encourage sustainable growth, Vietnam can leap ahead of many other countries in the region, said Cany.

Danish toymaker LEGO has officially begun the construction of its 1 billion USD project in the southern province of Binh Duong as green investment starts to take shape in Vietnam.

The project covers an area of 44ha in the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park III, making it the company’s sixth in the world and second in Asia.

EuroCham is implementing an investment promotion programme, planning to bring 300 European enterprises in green economic fields to Vietnam to explore investment opportunities. Photo: WVR

LEGO CEO Niels B. Christiansen said it is the first factory designed as a neutral carbon facility. Apart from solar panels on the roof, the factory will also have a nearby solar power farm to meet annual energy demand and use energy-saving equipment to meet the minimum standards of LEED Gold, a green building certification used worldwide.

Once completed in 2024, the factory is expected to generate thousands of jobs for skilled workers, contributing to Binh Duong’s economic development in the coming years, cited WVR.

Although LEGO's project is considered an important milestone, this is not the only one contributing to the trend of green FDI inflows in Vietnam.

A few months ago, Pandora, a Danish jewelry manufacturer, decided to invest 100 USD million in building a new facility in Binh Duong. The plant is set to follow the LEED Gold standard and be powered by renewable energy. It will create jobs for more than 6,000 craftspeople and have an annual capacity of 60 million pieces of jewellery.

Recently, DHL Express, the world's leading international express delivery service provider, inaugurated its newest operation centre in Vietnam. It is worth mentioning that, with the goal of sustainable development at the heart of all business activities, the centre has been equipped with a series of technologies to help reduce carbon emissions and optimise efficiency.

Vietnam ranks 5th among international students in US

Vietnam has the fifth largest number of international students in the US, up one place from last year, according to the “Open Doors” report released by the Institute of International Education (IIE).

In addition, Vietnam continues to rank second in the number of international students attending community colleges in the US.

Vietnamese students have increased in almost all levels of education, up 6.5% in graduate programmes, up 23.3% in non-degree programmes and up 4.4% in optional practical training programmes.

Harvard University. Photo: Getty Images

Based on the overall economic size and measured through GDP output, Vietnam has more students studying in the US more than any other country in the world.

Vietnamese students also continue to demonstrate a strong footing in strategically important subjects across US institutions, such as science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and business/management studies.

The percentage of Vietnamese students pursuing STEM and business/management majors are 47.1% and 25.6% respectively, NDO reported.

“As the US approaches the 10th anniversary of the US-Vietnam comprehensive partnership, the Open Doors data is demonstrable proof that education remains a cornerstone of the bilateral relationship, while the nature of our current educational cooperation is already strategic”, said Genevieve Judson-Jourdain, US Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer.

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