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Earth Hour 2024: Act together for common goal


Hanoi: In response to the Earth Hour campaign that will take place on the evening of March 23rd, the Ministries of Natural Resources and Environment, and Industry and Trade, and the World Wide Fund for Nature in Vietnam (WWF-Vietnam) have called on people to join hands in reducing carbon footprint, towards net zero emissions.

In addition to the main event calling on people to turn off their lights for Earth Hour from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm on that day, the WWF-Vietnam has officially introduced the ‘Hour Bank’ platform with the expectation to get at least 10,000 hours.

Accordingly, WWF challenges the public to give as many hours as possible and log them in its online “Hour Bank” – an online count of all the planet-positive activities pledged by people for Earth Hour at

https://vietnam.panda.org/act_now__vn/giotraidat/ngan_hang_thoi_gian/.

People can choose their activities in six areas – food, sports and health, entertainment, art and creativity, sustainability, and nature. Each individual can register to take
activities for the Earth, and spread positive messages to the community with daily interests and lifestyle.

Meanwhile, ‘Save Viet Nam – We Are One’ – a volunteer club for the environment at the Hanoi-based Vietnam Vinasep Quality and Environment Certification Joint Stock Company – launched a campaign calling on people to join three challenges – using stairs, turning off power when not in use, and turning off screen when not in use.

In addition, nearly 1,500 people took part in a running event to support the Earth Hour 2024 Campaign on March 16 in Hanoi.

Held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, it aimed to call on, motivate, and encourage the participation of state agencies, organisations, enterprises, and people to practice saving electricity regularly throughout 365 days of the year, making it a habit anytime, anywhere.

The ministry also launched an online running event through Uprace – a sports training application from March 16-31.

With lights turned off for one hour starting 8:30 pm on March 25 in
response to the 2023 Earth Hour campaign, Vietnam saved 298,000 kWh of electricity equivalent to about 555.6 million VND (23,617 USD), according to the Vietnam Electricity (EVN)’s National Load Dispatch Center.

Since the nation first joined the campaign in 2009, the average annual power output saved in one hour is estimated at about 400,000 kWh./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

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Prime Minister receives Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan


Hanoi: Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov, who is paying an official visit to Vietnam, in Hanoi on March 18.

The host leader affirmed Vietnam always keeps in mind Uzbekistan’s wholehearted assistance during its struggle for independence, and that it attaches importance to the traditional friendship with the republics that used to be part of the former Soviet Union, including Uzbekistan.

Lauding the significance of the first visit to Vietnam by an Uzbek foreign minister since the bilateral diplomatic ties were set up in 1992, PM Chinh held that on the basis of the traditional friendship, the two countries should promote cooperation comprehensively, between their Parties, governments, and parliaments, as well as via delegation exchanges and the establishment of new cooperation mechanisms between their ministries and sectors.

He said as the two countries boast economic and trade complementarities, they should increase trade in the commodities the
y are strong at such as cotton and production materials of Uzbekistan along with aquatic products, textiles – garments, and electronic devices of Vietnam.

The Vietnamese leader also called for stronger partnerships in spearhead industries of both countries like petroleum and agriculture to guarantee energy and food security, as well as stronger locality-to-locality connections.

Asking for strengthened collaboration at regional and international forums, the PM said Vietnam is ready to act as a bridge between Uzbekistan and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

He also suggested Uzbekistan help Vietnam reinforce ties with Central Asian countries in the spirit of good friends and responsible partners.

For his part, Saidov affirmed that Uzbekistan wishes to further enhance the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Vietnam, particularly in terms of economy, trade, and investment.

He perceived that the two sides hold considerable cooperation potential. He also agreed
on the cooperation directions the PM mentioned at the meeting.

Reporting on the earlier talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son, Saidov noted the two sides will work out a cooperation plan between the two foreign ministries and coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to perfect the legal foundation for developing the bilateral relations in such spheres as economy – trade, education, culture, and people-to-people exchanges in a more result-oriented manner.

PM Chinh highly valued the talks’ outcomes, asking the two foreign ministries to further bring into play their coordinating role so that the two countries’ cooperation will obtain fruitful results in the time ahead.

He also requested further promoting ties in education – training, culture, arts, tourism, people-to-people interaction, and exchanges between socio-political organisations such as alumni and youth ones to help intensify mutual understanding between the Vietnamese and Uzbek youths and nurture the friendship between the two n
ations’ people./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

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Vietnam ready to back Denmark’s APM Terminals to pilot green port projects: Deputy PM


Hanoi: Vietnam is ready to provide favourable conditions for APM Terminals to pilot green port projects along with a mechanism for direct electricity trading from renewable energy projects in Vietnam, said Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha while hosting the Danish company’s CEO Keith Svendsen in Hanoi on March 18.

Ha said the traditional friendship and the newly-established green strategic partnership between Vietnam and Denmark have created chances for Danish businesses to invest in Vietnam, especially in the fields of green economy, renewable energy and seaport infrastructure.

The Deputy PM said that during the process of planning the seaport system, Vietnam is striving to both ensure the optimality of international trade transport routes and meet the development requirements of industries, especially manufacturing-processing with a scale and model consistent with the green and smart port trend.

Ha highly valued APM Terminals’ plan to develop a green fleet and green seaports amid increasing strict techn
ical barriers and environmental and greenhouse gas emission standards for the sea transport and seaport industry.

For his part, Svendsen hailed the achievements that Vietnam has gained in improving the business environment and creating favourable conditions for foreign investors, as well as Vietnam’s efforts in digital transformation and green transition towards sustainable development.

The commitment to net-zero emissions that Vietnam delivered at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) fits APM Terminals’ orientation to develop a green fleet and green seaports in the coming years, he said.

Svendsen underlined that his company hopes to explore investment opportunities to build the largest and modern deep-water container seaports in Vietnam through digital, lean and green initiatives, and expressed a hope to receive support from the Government of Vietnam in the coming time./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

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Vietnamese street food introduced to Sri Lanka


Colombo: A Vietnamese restaurant in Colombo, Sri Lanka on March 15 introduced Banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) for the first time on the occasion of its 10th anniversary.

Established in 2014, ‘Pho Vietnam’ – the first Vietnamese restaurant in Sri Lanka – has helped popularise Vietnamese cuisine to local people including pho (noodle soup served with beef or chicken), fresh spring rolls and fried spring rolls.

The restaurant owner, Phung Huyen Nga said although many Vietnamese and visitors to Vietnam like “banh mi”, few people in Sri Lanka know about this popular Vietnamese street food.

Together with ‘banh mi’, Nga’s restaurant also started to offer popular Vietnamese street drinks – lemon tea and iced milk coffee.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Ho Thi Thanh Truc on this occasion commended Nga in particular and the Vietnamese community in Sri Lanka in general for their efforts to promote Vietnamese cuisine.

Four Vietnamese restaurants have opened in Sri Lanka so far. The restaurants usually coordinate wit
h the embassy to hold cuisine promotional events on the occasion of Vietnam’s national celebrations including Vietnamese ‘Pho’ Day, Ho Chi Minh President’s birthday (May 19) or National Day (September 2).

On March 11, international food magazine Taste Atlas announced that its readers voted Vietnam’s popular “banh mi” as the best sandwich in the world with a rating of 4.6 out of 5, along with Turkey’s Tombik doner, a variety of kebabs./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

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Vietnamese street food introduced to Sri Lanka


Colombo: A Vietnamese restaurant in Colombo, Sri Lanka on March 15 introduced Banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) for the first time on the occasion of its 10th anniversary.

Established in 2014, ‘Pho Vietnam’ – the first Vietnamese restaurant in Sri Lanka – has helped popularise Vietnamese cuisine to local people including pho (noodle soup served with beef or chicken), fresh spring rolls and fried spring rolls.

The restaurant owner, Phung Huyen Nga said although many Vietnamese and visitors to Vietnam like “banh mi”, few people in Sri Lanka know about this popular Vietnamese street food.

Together with ‘banh mi’, Nga’s restaurant also started to offer popular Vietnamese street drinks – lemon tea and iced milk coffee.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Ho Thi Thanh Truc on this occasion commended Nga in particular and the Vietnamese community in Sri Lanka in general for their efforts to promote Vietnamese cuisine.

Four Vietnamese restaurants have opened in Sri Lanka so far. The restaurants usually coordinate wit
h the embassy to hold cuisine promotional events on the occasion of Vietnam’s national celebrations including Vietnamese ‘Pho’ Day, Ho Chi Minh President’s birthday (May 19) or National Day (September 2).

On March 11, international food magazine Taste Atlas announced that its readers voted Vietnam’s popular “banh mi” as the best sandwich in the world with a rating of 4.6 out of 5, along with Turkey’s Tombik doner, a variety of kebabs./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

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PH-EU FTA negotiations to resume; FTA to boost trade by EUR6 billion


MANILA: The Philippines and the European Union (EU) on Monday formally announced that they will resume the negotiations for the Philippines-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

This was announced by Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Alfredo Pascual and European Commission (EC) executive vice president Valdis Dombrovskis in a joint press briefing in Brussels, Belgium.

‘The conditions are right to take our trade relations to the next level. Trade between the EU and the Philippines is already strong and has been growing at impressive pace over the past decade. But we can do more to realize the full potential of our trade relationship,’ Dombrovskis said.

He said the FTA between the Philippines and the EU will increase bilateral trade to up to 6 billion euros.

Dombrovskis said bilateral trade in goods in 2022 reached 18.4 billion euros while trade in services was at 4.7 billion euros in 2021, making the EU the fourth largest trading partner for the Philippines.

EU is a rich source of foreign direct i
nvestments (FDIs) for the country, which amounted to 13.7 billion euros in 2021.

Formal talks on EU-PH free trade deal have been in hiatus since 2017 after the EU raised concerns on humanitarian issues in the Philippines.

The EC official acknowledged the progress made by the Philippine government, especially when President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. began his term, which include the war on drugs policies that is moving towards prevention and rehabilitation.

‘Thanks to these positive developments that we are now in a position to get the trade talks rolling once again,’ Dombrovskis added.

Moreover, Pascual said the Philippines aims to lock in the benefits of the current EU Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) and add more in the FTA.

He said the Philippines is pushing for the free trade deal with the EU for technology transfer and bring in more capital from EU companies to the Philippines, especially in mineral processing activities.

‘We believe that technology and capital available from EU companie
s will enable us to achieve this value creation within our shores rather than us, exporting raw ores, and others making all the value out of our natural resource,’ Pascual added.

EC President Ursula von der Leyen visited Manila from July 31 to Aug. 1, 2023 to announce the EU’s interest to resume FTA negotiations with the Philippines.

Following her visit, Philippine and EU officials undertook a comprehensive stocktaking exercises from September to December last year to map out the future of the trade relations between the two parties.

Source: Philippines News Agency

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First Gen eyes hydro power plants in N. Ecija to hit 400MW by 2028


PANTABANGAN: Lopez-led First Gen Corp. aims to reach generating power capacity in its hydroelectric power plants (HEPPs) in this province to around 400 megawatts by 2028.

This, as the company sees the completion of the 100 to 120-megawatt (MW) Aya Pumped-Storage Project in four years, First Gen senior vice president and head of hydro group Dennis Gonzales said.

‘We’re already at close to 300 (MW). So the time we finish Aya — so we are waiting for the go-signal of NIA (National Irrigation Administration) for Aya. Once we get their go-signal then within a year, we can start construction. And then within three years, that 100- to 120-megawatt plant will be online,’ Gonzales said Monday in a press briefing.

Last month, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) and the NIA turned over to First Gen the Casecnan HEPP with a capacity of 165 MW through its unit Fresh River Lakes Corp.

First Gen bid for the Casecnan HEPP reached USD526 million.

In 2010, First Gen upgraded the Pantabangan-Ma
siway HEPP capacity from 112 MW to 132 MW.

‘(W)e know the complexity of developing a hydropower project. So I think, for one, it’s really part of our commitment to bolster our renewable portfolio. At the same time, because we’re there in Pantabangan, it’s also part of our commitment to have been ensuring stewardship of the water resources there in Nueva Ecija, not only for the power side but also in our other stakeholders,’ Gonzales said.

Source: Philippines News Agency