President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right) shakes hands with Kuroiwa Yuji, governor of Kanagawa prefecture of Japan. Photo: VNA

State President confident of stronger Vietnam – Japan relations

The extensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Japan is developing deeply and effectively, especially in the fields of trade, ODA, education, culture, and labour cooperation.

State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc was speaking while receiving Kuroiwa Yuji, governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, in Hanoi on November 20.

Cooperation between the two countries’ localities plays an important role in bilateral relations, and strengthening such local cooperation and exchanges will create the prerequisite for elevating the Vietnam – Japan partnership to new heights, cited VOV.

The President highly appreciated the Governor’s role in promoting relations between Kanagawa and Vietnam, notably through trade networking seminars and annual cultural exchange events, including the recent Kanagawa Festival in Hanoi that attracted a large number of visitors.

Acknowledging that Kanagawa and Vietnamese localities hold great potential for investment and business cooperation, Phuc called on Kanagawa businesses to step up investment in high-quality agriculture, supporting industries, information technology, health care, cancer screening, wastewater treatment, and environmental protection in Vietnam.

The President proposed Kanagawa expand the reception of Vietnamese trainees, nurses and labourers, and at the same time create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community to live, study and work in their host community.

Yuji, for his part, briefed his host on the results of the recent Kanagawa Festival in Hanoi, which he said helped promote not only cultural exchanges but also business opportunities between the two countries.

He affirmed many businesses of Kanagawa are keen to invest in Vietnam, and expected their businesses would receive support and assistance from the government of Vietnam in undertaking their future projects in the country.

Kanagawa will host more cultural, education and economic exchanges with Vietnam, and it will give full support to Vietnamese students in studying in the prefecture, Yuri affirmed.

He shared issues related to aging population and expressed Kanagawa’s desires to promote cooperation with Vietnam to effectively respond to this challenge in the future.

Vietnam logs 274 new Covid-19 cases on November 20

The national Covid-19 caseload rose to 11,511,452 with 274 new cases recorded on November 20, according to the Ministry of Health.

With 155 patients given the all clear during the day, the number of recoveries rose to 10,606,901.

Meanwhile, there are 107 patients needing breathing support, according to VNA.

Illustrative image. Photo: VNA

No death from Covid-19 was recorded in the past 24 hours. The total fatalities stood at 43,169.

With 22,043 doses administered on November 19, the total number of doses of Covid-19 vaccines injected rose to 263,287,066.

Vietnam and Japan sign cooperation agreement on promoting cuisine

The signing cooperation agreement between the Japan-Vietnam Gastronomy Association and the Vietnam-Japan Business Association is expected to bring great success, contributing to promoting the growing relationship between Vietnam-Japan.

The Japan Vietnam Gastronomy Association (JVGA) and the Vietnam Japan Business Association (VJBA) signed a cooperation agreement in Ho Chi Minh City, on November 19.

Representatives of the two associations signed a cooperation agreement.

This is an activity within the framework of the Vietnam FoodExpo 2022 event, hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in collaboration with the Vietnam Trade Office in Japan and the VJBA, reported NDO.

Accordingly, the two sides cooperate under the motto of mutual benefit. The sides work together to coordinate regular, long-term and sustainably, based on promoting the functions of each side and mobilising resources to effectively carry out commercial activities, and promote the image of the country and people of Vietnam and Japan.

After the signing ceremony, both associations look forward to the FOODEX JAPAN 2023 event, to be held in Japan. In this event, 63 products from 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam, will be shipped to Japan through the 110VJ project.

The event is expected to be a great success, marking a new step in the cooperation of both associations in the future.

Sick sailor of foreign ship saved in Vietnamese waters

After receiving the request from the ship’s captain, the centre coordinated with relevant agencies to provide health advice.

The Vietnam Maritime Research and Rescue Coordination Centre (Vietnam MRCC) in the central city of Da Nang said on November 20 that it has rescued a sailor of a foreign ship, who suddenly fell ill while the ship was going through Vietnamese waters.

A ship was dispatched to bring the ill sailor to Da Nang for treatment at a local hospital. Photo: VNA

The centre received a request for help from BELFUJI ship flagged in Marshall Islands at 3:45pm on November 18, which was en route from Argentina to China, cited WVR.

When the ship was about 150 nautical miles off Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) to the southeast, a 39-year-old Vietnamese sailor on the ship experienced symptoms of prolonged vomiting and rapidly deteriorating health, accompanied by abdominal distension and yellow skin and eyes.

After receiving the request from the ship’s captain, the centre coordinated with relevant agencies to provide health advice. A ship was dispatched to bring the ill sailor to Da Nang for treatment at a local hospital.

Digital transformation an urgent need for SMEs

Digital transformation has been seen as an urgent need to help link small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with global trends.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam has approximately 900,000 operational businesses. More than 97% are SMEs that contribute up to 45% of the national GDP and 31% of the total budget collection. Together, these companies employ over 5 million labourers.

Vietnam is set to post a 31% growth in gross merchandise value (GMV) from 23 billion USD in 2022 to 49 billion USD in 2025, according to the "e-Conomy SEA 2022" report released by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company on October 27.

The report said South East Asia’s top digital economies grew faster than expected in 2022 and is set to reach 200 billion USD in total value of transactions made this year.

The six major economies covered in the report, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, will achieve the milestone of 200 billion USD by 2025 which is three years earlier than schedule.

Recent research by Meta unveils that 73% of Vietnamese consumers surveyed use Business Messaging to reach out to brands, the highest rate among the nations included in the research.

Vietnam has approximately 900,000 operational businesses. More than 97% are SMEs that contribute up to 45% of the national GDP and 31% of the total budget collection. Photo: VNA

The figures reflect the readiness of Vietnamese businesses and consumers to engage in the digital economy, as well as the dynamism and efforts of the domestic firms, VNA reported.

Meta commits to supporting Vietnamese SMEs to increase their presence at online platforms and benefit from the digital economy, said Ruici Tio, Policy Programme Manager of Meta Asia Pacific.

Through its long-term partnership with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Meta has provided support for more than 32,000 SMEs nationwide, he noted.

Meta has also launched an e-handbook introducing enterprises on digital platforms, he added.

This is the sixth year the SME Support Centre under the VCCI has cooperated with Meta to roll out the Meta Boost programme. This has benefited some tens of thousands of SMEs nationwide, both online and in-person, through diverse activities like forums and training courses.

VCCI Vice Chairman Bui Trung Nghia said his chamber has coordinated with Meta to organise an array of activities aiming to raise the awareness of Vietnamese businesses to equip them with digital skills.

VCCI has released a e-handbook introducing 100 SMEs providing their information to both customers and businesses seeking potential partners. It plans to introduce the e-handbook to 500,000 domestic and foreign partners through its network, he said.

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