Vietnam News Today (Oct. 12): Vietnam Pledges to Contribute More to UNESCO

At the meeting between Vietnamese Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son and Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Moriyama Masahito in Tokyo. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam, Japan foster educational cooperation

Vietnamese Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son on October 11 highly valued Japan’s educational development, and suggested the country share its experience with Vietnam to step up bilateral cooperation in this field.

At his meeting with the Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Moriyama Masahito in Tokyo, Son stressed that Vietnam wants to learn from foreign countries’ advanced education, especially Japan’s policy on general education.

The minister expressed his hope that the two sides will foster collaboration in higher education, with more Vietnamese students studying in Japan, especially through scholarship programs granted by the Japanese Government and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), cited VNA.

He suggested Japan further support Vietnam in implementing the present projects and work on plans to boost cooperation between the two countries’ higher education institutions in terms of training, research, and the exchange of lectures and students.

Son called on Japan to expand short-term training courses in the country for Vietnamese public servants.

For his part, Moriyama affirmed that Vietnam is one of Japan’s strategic partners in Asia-Pacific, saying the two countries have maintained collaboration in general education and student exchanges.

Regarding the exchange of undergraduate and postgraduate students, the minister agreed with his Vietnamese counterpart’s suggestions, stressing that relevant agencies of both sides need to make greater efforts in this regard.

Moriyama noted with pleasure to witness, together with Son, the exchange of a memorandum of understanding between the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training and Japan’s Mizuno Group on cooperation in physical education at primary schools in Vietnam.

On October 10, Son and his entourage visited the Tokyo Gakugei University and met with the university’s representatives.

He is scheduled to hold a meeting with the Vice President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on October 13.

Nikkei Asia highlights new wave of investment following Biden's Vietnam visit

Nikkei Asia's October 10 issue published an article stating that United States President Joe Biden's visit to Vietnam last September ushered in a new era of expanded economic links between the two countries, as well as marking the start of a fourth boom of foreign investment in the country.

During his visit to the country, President Biden held talks with Party Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong and agreed to raise the bilateral relationship to the highest level of "comprehensive strategic partnership". Upgrading its relationship with a foreign government by two ranks in one step represented an unusual move by Washington, the article said.

The high-profile talks held between the two leaders were also accompanied by several major business deals. Vietnam Airlines, the national flag carrier, signed an initial agreement to purchase 50 Boeing 737 Max jets in a deal valued at around US$10 billion.

Leading Vietnamese tech firm FPT Software announced a strategic partnership with the American startup Landing AI. Synopsys, a leading semiconductor design company, signed a memorandum of understanding with a Vietnamese Government Organization to collaborate on helping the Vietnamese semiconductor industry cultivate its chip-design workforce and R&D fabrication capabilities.

Historically, the nation has witnessed three significant booms in foreign direct investment. The first occurred when Honda Motor began local two-wheeler production in 1997. The second wave spanned the period from the early 2000s up to the time around the collapse of the US investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008, which triggered a global financial crisis. Most notably, Samsung Electronics of South Korea launched a mobile phone production base in the northern Bac Ninh province in 2009.

Photo: VOV

The third boom is believed to have come into full swing in the mid-2010s. With its purchasing power increasing, the Vietnamese market became a lucrative target for foreign consumer businesses. Indeed, Japanese shopping behemoth Aeon inaugurated its first Vietnamese store, Aeon Mall Tan Phu Celadon, in the country's largest city of Ho Chi Minh back in 2014.

President Biden's recent visit may trigger a further surge in American investment in Vietnam. Washington nevertheless perceives Vietnam as a friendly nation that is not part of China's sphere of influence, with President Biden's diplomatic move potentially being interpreted by American businesses as a green light to invest in the Vietnamese market, according to VOV.

The green light was given following Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to the headquarters of chipmaking giant Nvidia in San Francisco on September 19, during which he called on Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, to establish a production base in Vietnam and to capitalize on it as its manufacturing hub in Southeast Asia.

Nvidia represents a leading manufacturer of chips in powering artificial intelligence systems. During the visit, PM Chinh also met with other prominent figures in the American tech sector, including Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, as well as senior executives from Meta, formerly known as Facebook, and Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Historically, American business investments in the nation have been modest compared to those by Asian economic powers like Japan or the Republic of Korea (RoK).

Vietnam is therefore keen to pivot from its traditional labor-intensive industries, such as garment manufacturing and electronics assembly, and move toward more value-added high-tech sectors.

Collaborations with US tech companies, especially those dominant in the areas of semiconductors and AI, will therefore be crucial for the transformation of the country's industrial structure.

Vietnam pledges to contribute more to UNESCO

Vietnam will work harder to contribute to the common affairs of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) more practically and effectively, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu affirmed at the 217th Session of the UNESCO Executive Board which took place in Paris on October 9-10.

In his remarks at the opening ceremony, Vu stressed the importance of multilateral cooperation amidst an evolving world and called on countries to enhance international cooperation, dialogue, trust, and solidarity to seek common solutions to the current challenges.

He praised efforts by the UNESCO Director General and Secretariat in developing and implementing programs and activities such as recommendations on the ethics of AI and the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – MONDIACULT, among others, saying they have helped member countries implement sustainable development goals by 2030.

Vu lauded UNESCO's humanitarian aid programs in areas under its jurisdiction for countries affected by crises or conflicts such as Afghanistan, Haiti, and Ukraine, cited VNA.

Vietnam pledges to work harder to contribute to the common affairs of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) more practically and effectively. (Photo: AFP)

Vietnam will further coordinate the implementation of the memorandum of understanding on cooperation with UNESCO for the 2021-2025 period, he affirmed.

On this occasion, Vu had meetings with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, Deputy Director General Xing Qu, Chairperson of the Executive Board Tamara Rastovac Siamashvi, and leaders of the Organization's departments, and delegation heads of several countries to promote bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

The UNESCO leaders and delegation heads spoke highly of good cooperation between Vietnam and UNESCO and other member countries, as well as Vietnam’s role and contributions to key mechanisms of the Organization.

Congratulating Vietnam on having the first inter-provincial UNESCO-listed world heritage site Ha Long-Cat Ba, the UNESCO leaders and Secretariat pledged to further support the country’s new heritage dossiers, and help it preserve and promote values of recognized world heritages.

They hoped that Vietnam would win a seat at the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for the 2023-2027 tenure.

Petrol prices sharply drop in latest review

The retail prices of oil and petrol were adjusted down as of 4 p.m. on October 11 following a decision made by the ministries of Finance, Industry and Trade.

According to the latest changes, the retail price of RON95-III was reduced by VND1,600 per liter to a maximum level of VND21,900 per liter, while the ceiling price of E5 RON92 was cut by VND1,800 per liter to VND23,040 per liter.

This review sees diesel 0.05S VND1,180 cheaper at VND22,410 per liter, whilst kerosene is VND1,350 lower at VND22,460, VOV reported.

Photo: VOV

Meanwhile, Mazut 180CST 3.5S is to be sold at no more than VND16,230, down VND1,220 per kilogram.

For this price adjustment, the two ministries decided not to extract petrol oil prices from the price stabilization fund.

From the outset of this year, petrol prices have been revised up 16 times and down nine, whilst they have remained unchanged four times.

Vietnamese sports delegation departs for 4th ASIAN Para Games

A send-off ceremony was held in the central city of Da Nang on October 10 for Vietnamese disabled athletes who will compete in the 4th ASIAN Para Games — scheduled to take place in Hangzhou, China, from October 22-28.

The ceremony was held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the General Department of Sports and Physical Training, and the Vietnam Paralympic Association.

The Vietnamese sports delegation received the national flag at the ceremony. (Photo: Duc Hoang)

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Dao Cuong emphasized that the Vietnamese disabled sports delegation has obtained many remarkable achievements in recent years.

He shared his wish that the delegation and athletes would successfully complete their tasks as well as his hope that the delegation would implement the rules and regulations of the organizing committee, uphold national pride, and overcome difficulties to win the highest achievements.

At the departure ceremony, Deputy Minister Hoang Dao Cuong also assigned tasks and presented a national flag to the delegation, cited NDO.

The Vietnamese sports delegation attending the 4th ASIAN Para Games comprises 71 members, including 48 athletes, competing in 7 sports: athletics, swimming, weightlifting, chess, table tennis, badminton, and taekwondo.

They are striving to achieve 3 to 4 gold medals. Many of them have passed the qualifying round and meet the standards to participate in the 2024 Paralympics.

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