Category: Politics

The 4th Global Conference of the One Planet Network’s Sustainable Food System Programme (SFS Programme) opened in Hanoi on April 24, bringing together more than 300 delegates, of whom nearly 200 were foreigners.

In his remarks at the ministerial-level conference, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang briefed the participants on the national action plan on building a transparent, responsible and sustainable food and food stuff system by 2030, which is aimed at turning Vietnam into a transparent, responsible and sustainable food producer and supplier.

Vietnam stands ready to share its experience and cooperate with other countries in agriculture and rural development, and wishes to receive more support from them in the time ahead, he said.

The Deputy PM cited a report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) showing that the number of people affected by hunger globally rose to as many as 828 million in 2021. The Asia-Pacific region is so off track, it would need an additional 35 years to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals – in 2065.

“It’s high time to take actions to protect the planet – our common house,” Quang stressed.

Estrella Esther Penunia, Secretary General of the Asian Farmers’ Association, also pointed out that natural disasters, climate change, epidemics and political conflicts have worsened and seriously impacted lives of households, causing food prices to double or triple, which makes it difficult for people, especially those in remote areas, to access nutritious food.

She suggested countries integrate sustainable development into policy making, and work to ensure seeds, technology and technical assistance.

FAO Director General Qu Dongyu stressed the urgent need to transform the food system in a more effective, comprehensive, flexible and sustainable fashion, saying this requires efforts by all countries.

The conference, to last until April 27, will look into barriers and problems related to the transformation of the food system, and proposed solutions, focusing on models and global architecture of the food system; national and local policies and administration of the food system; production and consumption models; food system transformation methods.

The One Planet Network is an open partnership chaired by the United Nations Environment Programme, aiming to promote sustainable consumption and production.

SFS is a global programme led by the UN, intending to accelerate the transition of food systems towards a more sustainable one through capacity building, synergies and strengthening cooperation between partners at all levels./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Argentinian Ambassador to Vietnam Luis Pablo Maria Beltramino has highlighted the significance of the upcoming official visit to Argentina by National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, stressing that it will contribute to further deepening diplomatic relations and cooperation between the two countries in all areas.

In a recent interview with the Vietnam News Agency, Luis Pablo said 2023 marks the 50th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations and the 26 years since Argentina and Vietnam opened embassies in respective capital cities.

The Vietnamese top legislator’s visit will reflect existing areas of cooperation that both sides are striving to strengthen, as well as help promote collaboration in new areas, he stated.

Vietnamese top legislator’s visit to deepen diplomatic ties with Argentina: Ambassador hinh anh 2

Argentinian Ambassador to Vietnam Luis Pablo Maria Beltramino says that the Vietnamese top legislator’s visit will reflect existing areas of cooperation that both sides are striving to strengthen. (Photo: VNA)

In addition to strengthening existing areas of cooperation, the two sides are expected to sign agreements on various fields such as justice; and peaceful use of outer space for satellite services and commerce, the ambassador said, adding that there will also be ministerial-level meetings on science and technology, trade, agriculture, and diplomacy to discuss the bilateral agenda.

The two sides will also discuss and determine future cooperation orientations in some other fields, he noted.

Basically, political dialogue is an important high-level dialogue to make decisions on the future goals of the diplomatic relations between the two countries, but most of all, the two sides are striving to expand bilateral trade relations, Luis Pablo stressed.

According to the diplomat, the two countries witnessed strong development of bilateral trade ties, with a sustainable growth of 700% over the last decade. Vietnam ranked between 5th to 8th in the list of trading partners of Argentina, which was the third biggest trade partner of Vietnam in Latin America. Two-way trade has hit 5 billion USD and will continue to grow.

Vietnamese top legislator’s visit to deepen diplomatic ties with Argentina: Ambassador hinh anh 3

Argentinian Ambassador to Vietnam Luis Pablo Maria Beltramino (R) grants an interview to the Vietnam News Agency (Photo: VNA)

Explaining the complementary economic relationship between Argentina and Vietnam, Luis Pablo said about 90% of Argentina’s exports to Vietnam are agricultural and industrial products, noting that this shows the importance of the agricultural and industrial cooperation strategy between the two nations.

Vietnam also imports other products from Argentina, including beef and wine. Meanwhile, the Southeast Asian nation mainly exports electronics, mobile phones, and other products that the Argentinian market requires.

Regarding the legislative cooperation, the diplomat emphasised the tradition of cooperation and dialogue between the Vietnamese and Argentinian legislatures, saying that they have maintained meetings and delegation exchanges in recent times.

During the visit, NA Chairman Hue will have meetings with the Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of Argentina, and sign a cooperation agreement to establish a legal framework for cooperation between the two parliaments, he said.

According to the diplomat, Argentina has cooperated with the Vietnamese NA in law-making. During the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese legislature donated 20,000 masks to Argentina, while the Argentinian side also provided 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the Southeast Asian nation.

In the time to come, the two parliaments will organise dialogues and sign cooperation agreements and memoranda of understanding towards deepening the bilateral relationship, he said, adding that they have set up their respective friendship parliamentarians’ groups.

Regarding priority cooperation areas, Luis Pablo stressed that collaboration must be carried out in both government-to-government and the people-to-people channels to achieve comprehensive cooperation.

Both sides want to expand trade cooperation as this contributes to socio-economic development in the two nations, he noted, underlining the need to enhance cooperation in sports, culture, science, technology and education. Highlighting the importance of technical cooperation, the diplomat said that the two sides will continue to work closely in the coming time, especially industry and agriculture./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will chair an April 22 meeting with foreign investors, which will take place in-person in Hanoi and connect with 63 provinces and centrally-run cities and 80 international destinations.

The conference will be attended by two deputy PMs, leaders of ministries, agencies, and localities, and representatives of the foreign-invested business community and investment promotion offices of Vietnam overseas.

The event aims to extend the message of the Government leader and affirm the Party’s guidelines and State policies and laws that support the foreign investment sector, which has been identified as having an important role in the economy. It is developed in order to promote external and internal strengths, stimulate creativity, create opportunities, and streamline foreign investment cooperation.

At the conference, participants will compare notes on the impact of the global and domestic economic situation on investment and production activities of enterprises. Related opportunities and challenges will also be identified to put forth solutions and remove obstacles to investment collaboration in the new situation.

The conference demonstrates a statement on a reliable government which accompanies international firms in tackling obstacles and creates favorable conditions for them to operate effectively./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Residents need not be concerned by the military’s decision to upgrade the status of military operations in several regions in Papua to battle standby, the Indonesian Defence Forces (TNI) Information Center has said.”(Residents) need not be concerned by the term ‘battle standby’ because we have comprehensively devised the plan (and we will keep the operation from getting) reckless or out of control,” head of the TNI Information Center, Rear Admiral Julius Widjojono, said at the TNI Headquarters here on Friday. The combat status upgrade is necessary because the conflict in Papua region has not been resolved for more than half a century, he informed. “The key is (that it has occurred) for 50 years. Even (the conflict) was not resolved during the Soeharto era, which, we all know, about his iron-fisted rule,” the read admiral said. Earlier, Widjojono assured that the battle standby status would be enforced only in vulnerable regions where armed separatist groups (KKB) constantly threaten the lives of locals and stationed troops. “The battle standby (will be enforced) only in vulnerable regions marked as their operations center. Meanwhile, there will be no change to our armament equipment there,” he said on Wednesday (April 19). On April 15, 2023, Papuan separatists ambushed TNI officers sweeping a region in Mugi sub-district, Nduga district, Highland Papua, in search of Susi Air pilot Phillip Mehrtens, a New Zealand national who was abducted in February. The ambush led to the death of one TNI officer, First Private Miftahul Arifin, while four other officers suffered gunshot and fall wounds. In response to the escalating KKB attacks in Papua, Admiral Yudo Margono has decided to elevate the military operation tactic from a soft approach to battle standby in areas prone to attacks. “On account of the April 15 attack, we decided to escalate (our tactic) from soft approach to battle standby,” the TNI commander said in a statement issued by the TNI on April 18. baca-jugaRelated news: MPR speaker lauds intensification of military operations in PapuaRelated news: Prioritizing local govt to handle security disturbances in Papua

Source: Antara News Agency

Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, said climate change in the world is causing very big problems and various issues.

Addressing at the inauguration ceremony of a maternity ward building at the National Pediatric Hospital in Phnom Penh this morning, Samdech Techo Hun Sen said climate change is becoming worse and worse.

The Premier continued that we, Cambodians, had already passed two “fields”, the first was war and the second was hunger, while the third is the “field” of transmission of infectious diseases, which we cannot really pass because due to climate change, more and more viruses will appear to which we need to be careful.

Climate change has become one of the greatest risks facing humanity in the 21st Century. As the earth continues to heat up, the severity of climate change impacts continues to intensify and amplify, prompting our attention to seek for urgent solutions.

The Royal Government of Cambodia has thus launched the Cambodia Climate Change Strategic Plan 2014-2023 (CCCSP) which builds synergies with existing government policies to ensure a strategic cohesion to address a wide range of climate change issues lined to adaptation, Greenhous Gas (GHG) mitigation, and low-carbon development.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse (AKP)

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affair Saleumxay Kommasith visited China between Apr 16-18 to in response to the invitation of Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang.

Mr Saleumxay’s visit aimed to further strengthen and deepen the traditional friendship, and comprehensive, strong and long-lasting strategic partnership based on the four-good principle and Laos-China community of a shared future which has increasingly been promoted.

The visit also aims to realize the results of the meeting between the two Party General Secretaries and Presidents of Laos and China in late 2022.

At a bilateral meeting in Beijing on Apr 17, Mr Saleumxay Kommasith expressed his satisfaction with meeting with his Chinese counterpart and appreciated the latter on his appointment to the post in early March.

Both ministers highly valued the relations and cooperation between the two Parties, governments and peoples of Laos and China which is increasingly strengthened, especially the implementation of the agreements made by the top leaders of the two countries, noting that the implementation is increasingly successful and of high effectiveness.

The two countries have maintain regular exchange of high-level visits at central and local levels, especially between the ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries, contributing to materializing the agreements and cooperation projects of the two countries, as well as the mutual assistance on regional and international arenas.

The ministers agreed to further promote regular exchange of high-level visits of the Party and government of the two countries so as to enhance the friendship and mutual exchange of good lessons and promote people to people and business to business exchange, and encourage tourists of the two countries to visit each other.

Both sides also agreed to promote bilateral trade through making the best use of cargo and passenger transport on the Laos-China Railway.

They agreed to urge relevant authorities of the two countries to discuss the facilitation of the flow of people at border gates, upgrading of border gate, and the promotion of the establishment of single-window immigration mechanisms at the Boten-Bohan international railway checkpoint, and increase cargo transport routes in border areas to accommodate the increasing volume of cross-border goods.

Both sides agreed to continue to work together to develop Laos-China economic corridors, especially those along the Laos-China railway, by asking the relevant authorities to work together to devise a plan that can better materialize the cooperation frameworks and ensure better access to funding and Chinese markets.

The Chinese side approved Laos’ proposed opening of a Lao general consulate in Chongqing City, which will be another connecting point for Laos-China cargo transport thus increasing cargo transport and strengthening the relations and cooperation between Chongqing of China and the Lao PDR.

Both sides also discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in the areas of electric energy, mining, agriculture, national defense, public security, prevention and suppression of transnational crimes, human trafficking, and human development, among others.

Both sides also exchanged points of view on their cooperation under Belt and Road Initiative, Mekong-Lancang Cooperation, ASEAN, and other multilateral frameworks.

The Chinese side expressed their support for Laos’ chairmanship of ASEAN in 2024.

Mr Saleumxay expressed on behalf of the Party, government and people of Laos gratitude to the Party, Government and people of China for their support and assistance to Laos in the past and current times, especially for anti-COVID-19 efforts.

Mr Qin Gang affirmed his commitment to urge relevant sectors of the two countries to better work together to implement in an effective manner agreements reached by senior leaders of the two countries thus bringing optimal benefits to the two peoples and prosperity to Laos and China.

Source: Lao News Agency