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Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held up the agreement with New Zealand during the first New Zealand – Việt Nam Agricultural Dialogue. — Photo from the New Zealand Embassy in Việt Nam

HÀ NỘI — New Zealand and Việt Nam on Wednesday added a new link to their flourishing agriculture relationship by signing an Agriculture Cooperation Arrangement at the first New Zealand – Việt Nam Agricultural Dialogue.

The dialogue was held virtually by Chief Executive of the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries, Ray Smith, and Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Lê Quốc Doanh.

At the dialogue, the two sides voiced their commitment to the two countries’ deepening agriculture and trade relationship.

Smith and Doanh affirmed that the Strategic Partnership, which was jointly announced by Prime Ministers in July last year, has created a solid foundation for increasing bilateral agricultural cooperation and connections between the two countries.

Speaking at the dialogue, Smith emphasised that this is a valuable opportunity to consider what both sides can do together as they build resilience and vitality back into their agriculture economies following COVID-19.

The Agriculture Cooperation Arrangement will enable both sides to advance their key agricultural interests in enhancing bilateral trade, reducing agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, promoting food safety, utilising agriculture research and technology, and in rural development.

Speaking at the ceremony, Doanh said that agriculture was critical to the economic wellbeing of our countries.

Both nations were strong agriculture producers and exporters, with complementary products, he said, adding that the establishment of the New Zealand – Việt Nam Agricultural Dialogue and the signing of the Agriculture Cooperation Arrangement would boost their connections, cooperation and two-way trade, in line with what the two Prime Ministers highlighted during last years’ Strategic Partnership dialogue.

The New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries is already supporting agriculture cooperation with MARD with activities in plant health, veterinary epidemiology and electronic certification. These activities complement New Zealand’s ongoing development programme, which has a number of agriculture projects including the premium fruit development project in Tiền Giang, the rural dam safety project in Central Việt Nam, and the safe vegetables project in Bình Định.

Smith said that New Zealand has developed one of the most efficient agriculture sectors in the world, with a reputation for cutting-edge research and technology, robust and safe agricultural practices, and delicious and high-quality products.

He expressed his hope that the newly signed cooperation arrangement will help build value and expand investment opportunities between the two countries:

“We recognise that increased trade is not just about exporting more products, it’s about an exchange of knowledge, expertise, technology, services, and investment. This two-way exchange benefits both of us,” he said.

He said New Zealand also looked forward to doing more to assist MARD’s greenhouse gas inventory capability through the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases.

The two leaders confirmed their shared commitment to finalising new fruit access for each other this year so consumers can enjoy New Zealand strawberries and squash in Việt Nam and Việt Nam’s limes and pomelos in New Zealand.

Việt Nam is New Zealands’s 14th largest trading partner, with two-way trade valued at NZD$2 billion, at year-end September 2020. While COVID-19 has posed some challenges, Việt Nam remains a promising market for New Zealand and vice versa due to robust demand for key agricultural products. — VNS

The team has developed a solution applying artificial intelligence to the accurate diagnosis of Covid-19 infections and provides intervention options.

Infection patterns vary by country and territory. As a result, interventions may work in one country or territory but be less effective in another.

A total 48 teams from 17 countries were selected for the final round out of a total 104 teams from 28 countries in the semi-finals. The results will be announced at the end of February 2021.

The jury selected the VinBrain team for the final round based on the accuracy of its AI models and ability to easily interpret predictions of the solution. This approach can be used for any future pandemic response model.

Members of VinBrain in the U.S. have come up with an extensive solution to this problem by developing region-specific AI models to predict the Covid-19 infection time series in those regions. The solution was based on the classical epidemic SEIR model, which was then expanded to integrate artificial intelligence.

Amir Banifatemi, GM for Innovation and Growth at VinBrain in U.S. Photo courtesy of VinBrain .

In order to train its AI models, the team used available data like demographics, medical infrastructure, and economic indicators. A special feature used by the VinBrain team is Google Maps mobile metrics collected from worldwide Android phones in an anonymous and secure way, measuring the movements of people in public areas like parks, hospitals, workplaces, grocery stores, stations, airports.

Another unique feature used by the VinBrain team is Google’s Covid-19 infection trend data aggregated anonymously and that contains popular Covid-19 symptom-related Google searches.

The Pandemic Response Challenge co-organized by XPRIZE and Cognizant was launched in November 2020. With prize money of $500,000, the contest aims to harness the power of data and artificial intelligence to predict Covid-19 infection rates, and propose intervention plans for governments, communities and regional institutions to control the pandemic when reopening the economy.

VinBrain is an AI-focused company funded by VinGroup and its mission is to infuse AI and IoT to medicine. VinBrain aims to provide access to the best healthcare solutions, knowledge, and services. VinBrain is made up of a team of talented AI professionals with world-class experience.

Their expertise lie in the fields of computer vision, machine learning, language processing and large scale products and services. VinBrain’s AI experts work in teams despite living in many different countries and territories including Vietnam, Australia, South Korea and the United States.

The vaccines would come from British-Swedish firm AstraZeneca, global vaccine access mechanism Covax and other domestic producers. The reception schedule and number of doses received was reported by the National Steering Committee on Covid-19 Prevention and Control to the government Wednesday.

The first batch, delivered Wednesday, was 117,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses from AstraZeneca. They would be prioritized for those on the frontline of the pandemic fight, including medical workers, doctors, nurses, contact tracers and officials of Covid-19 prevention and control committees.

The second batch, expected to arrive within the first half of this year, would comprise 1.5 million additional doses, of which 1.2 million are provided by Covax and the rest by AstraZeneca. These doses would also be prioritized for those on the pandemic frontline, with the addition of diplomatic personnel, customs officers, immigration officers and soldiers.

The third batch, expected within the second quarter, would include 8.2 million additional doses from AstraZeneca. Soldiers who have not been inoculated during the second wave, along with police officers, teachers and the elderly (aged 80 and above) would be vaccinated at this time.

The fourth batch, expected within the third quarter, would consist of 10.9 million doses, including 3.6 million from Covax and the remainder from AstraZeneca. The elderly who have not been vaccinated, along with those working in essential businesses and those with chronic conditions, would be inoculated this time round.

The fifth batch, expected between the fourth quarter and first quarter of 2022, would provide 14.4 million doses by AstraZeneca for those with chronic conditions and not yet vaccinated.

The sixth batch, expected within the same time frame as the fifth, would afford 25.2 million Covax doses to those with chronic conditions and not yet vaccinated, along with those aged 65-80.

The final batch, expected between the fourth quarter and second quarter of 2022, would comprise 90.5 million doses from both foreign and domestic producers. They would be administered to those aged 65-80 who have not been vaccinated and those aged 18 and above not included in the aforementioned priority list.

Vaccines should be prioritized for citizens in areas with outbreaks, said the steering committee. The committee also proposed the health ministry and other relevant entities manage the buying, importing and distribution of vaccines.

Four indigenous vaccines are under development by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC, the Institute of Vaccines and Medical Biologicals, Vaccine and Biological Production Company No. 1, and the Center for Research and Production of Vaccines and Biologicals. Vietnam earlier said it was stepping up negotiations with the U.S.’s Pfizer and Moderna, along with other vaccine manufacturers in Russia and some other countries to ensure it can get a total 150 million doses to cover 70 percent of its 98-million population this year.

As of Thursday, Vietnam has recorded 2,412 Covid-19 cases, with 569 still active.