Regional comprehensive economic partnership rcep

The Hanoitimes – The US state wishes to boost bilateral trade with Vietnam in the energy sector.

Representatives from the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the State of West Virginia (the US) on February 25 signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance cooperation in terms of economics, trade and energy.

An overview of the meeting between he Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the State of West Virginia (the US) on February 25. Photo: Bnews

With the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, the two sides set out the goal of establishing a comprehensive cooperation framework to facilitate trade and investment activities of businesses of the tso countries as well as formlinh a joint Working Group to promote cooperative activities.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Vietnam Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh emphasized the special importance of Vietnam-US relations and highly appreciated the role and efforts of Carol Miller, the US House member representing West Virginia’s 3rd congressional district and US state’s Governor Jim Justice for promoting bilateral economic and commercial relations between the two sides.

Minister Tuan Anh also believed that this is a very appropriate time for the two sides to promote in-depth cooperation to jointly react to the Covid-19 pandemic and step up economic recovery.

“The US is an important and long-term partner of Vietnam in providing energy sources and technology as well as investment,” he said.

On her side, Carol Miller also wished to further promote trade cooperation, especially in the energy sector between the US state and Vietnam. “Reviving the economy after the pandemic is important, West Virginia and the US are ready to assist partners, especially in the renewable energy sector,” she said.

At an online talk with Miller last May, Minister Tuan Anh raised the initiative of signing an agreement between the ministrg and the US State to foster the collaboration.

Trade cooperation and investment between Vietnam and the US have been thriving, with two-way trade hitting US$90.8 billion in 2020, and are expected to reach US$100 billion this year.

Automation technology can reduce most common causes of injury in manufacturing environments

Automation technology can help increase productivity and reduce up to 72 per cent of the common causes of injury in manufacturing environments.

According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Vietnam recorded 3,349 occupational accidents from January to June 2020 with total deaths numbering 378.

The accidents were most prevalent in the manufacturing sector (27.41 per cent), construction (23.24 per cent), and services (12.35 per cent) while the remaining 37 per cent was spread across other sectors.

Most local manufacturers are currently facing a growing skilled talent shortage which strains their overall productivity and growth. At the same time, employers are also facing immense costs associated with workplace-related injuries.

“Cobots can perform tasks that may be dangerous or injury-prone for humans. With built-in safety features that slow the robot arm when a human enters its workspace, cobots can keep human colleagues safe from occupational injuries as they address repetitive and dangerous tasks in the manufacturing sector,” said James McKew, regional director of Asia-Pacific at Universal Robots.

For more complex applications, Universal Robots has a comprehensive network of Certified System Integrators and Authorised Training Centres ready to support users with day-to-day operations after the initial installation.

Universal Robots’ adjustable safety system allows companies to adjust a range of parameters to reduce the risks involved with implementing an industrial robot application.

These include limiting the force, speed, power, or momentum of the robot, or restricting its workspace using safety boundaries. Productivity gains, along with the inherently safe design of cobot solutions, signify this new automation technology could reduce up to 72 per cent of the common causes of injury in manufacturing environments.

“As we move closer to the vision of Industry 5.0 where man and machine work together on the smart factory floor, the need to consider the safety and compliance requirements of this new kind of workplace has become paramount. In a collaborative workforce, human and robots complement each other in their roles which offers significant opportunities to enhance manufacturing productivity, innovation, safety, and overall job satisfaction in the workplace,” said McKew.

McKew pointed out that companies can achieve a faster Return on Investment (ROI) by using cobots to free up workers’ time, allowing them to tackle higher productivity processes and ultimately acquire new skills.

Unlike traditional robots that require engineer-level programming, cobots are designed to make programming simple through human-machine interfaces (HMI) familiar to anyone who has used a smartphone.

For more complex applications, Universal Robots has a comprehensive network of Certified System Integrators and Authorised Training Centres ready to support users with day-to-day operations after the initial installation.

By eliminating the need for formal education in programming or robotics, such interfaces and capabilities make the skills gap and learning curve for using cobots diminishingly small.

Universal Robots encourages local manufacturers to adopt the perfect man and machine collaboration. With cobots, manufacturers in Vietnam need not fear the impacts caused by the growing skilled talent shortage.

The collaboration greatly reduces the time, effort, and cost associated with using the same cobot for various tasks as a cobot’s flexibility translates to a significantly faster return on investment.

Universal Robots (UR) was founded in 2005 to make robot technology accessible to all by developing small, user-friendly, reasonably priced, flexible cobots that are safe to work side-by-side with people.

Since the first cobot was launched in 2008, the company has experienced considerable growth with the user-friendly cobots now sold worldwide. The company has regional offices around the world, such as in the US, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Russia, China, India, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea, among others. In 2020, Universal Robots had a revenue of $219 million.

The Hanoitimes – Lawmakers largely attributed severe floods in the central region recently to poor planning of small-scale hydropower plants.

Vietnam’s lawmakers have urged the government to thoroughly review hydropower planning nationwide for sustainable management following severe flooding and fatal landslides in the central region late last month that are largely believed to stem from poor planning of small-scale hydropower stations.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade needs to make all-encompassing assessment of the investment of small- and medium-size hydroelectric plants in the north, the central region, and Central Highlands, lawmakers said at the National Assembly (NA)’s ongoing month-long plenum.

They demanded the removal of ineffective projects out of the National Power Plan by 2030.

Voices from lawmakers

Lawmaker Nguyen Thi Xuan. Photo: Quochoi

Lawmaker Nguyen Thi Xuan from Dak Lak province pointed out some consequences resulted from the development of these projects, including drought and flooding when the dams store and discharge water, legalized exploitation of timber under the guise of hydropower, transfer of hydroelectric projects to other investors after exploiting mineral resources.

She said the parliament needs to establish task forces to supervise the afforestation while the government has to increase funding the afforestation and add it to the socio-economic development of the mountainous areas and ethnic minorities in 2021-2030.

Lawmaker Phan Thai Binh from Quang Nam province demanded environmental impact assessment (EIA) by the government to ensure the safety of both hydroelectric dams and irrigation dams.

Lawmaker Hoang Duc Thang. Photo: Quochoi

Lawmaker Hoang Duc Thang from Quang Tri province attributed severe floods in the central region largely to the development of hydropower. He said hydropower-related deforestation has caused bare land, soil erosion, flash flood, landslide, and severe disaster.

The disappearance of natural and primeval forests has weakened soil water retention capacity, causing floods, Mr. Thang emphasized.

Meanwhile, lawmaker Leo Thi Lich from Bac Giang province talked about the safety of both hydroelectric and irrigation dams and the need of systematic operations among them.

Lawmaker Tran Thi Dung blamed the government for having no specific policies to remove ineffective projects that cause the disappearance of forests and disrupt the livelihood.

Lawmaker Vu Thi Luu Mai attributed tragic natural disasters to anthropogenic impact on the environment that includes changes to biophysical environments and ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources.

Well-known lawmaker Duong Trung Quoc pointed out the lack of long-term impact that small-scale hydro might cause for next generations in decades.

Pledge from government agencies

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh. Photo: Quochoi

Speaking at the NA’s discussion session on Wednesday [November 4], Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh said the ministry will closely work with localities to tighten control over existing hydroelectric dams and the development of the new ones.

He affirmed that the ministry has added to the national power plan no hydropower projects whose development implies the deforestation of natural forests while removing from the plan 480 hydroelectricity projects and 213 potential locations planned for this kind of projects.

At the parliament, Mr. Anh also highlighted the important role of hydropower in the country’s development, saying that hydropower capacity of 20,000 megawatt (MW) from 429 dams accounts for 37% of the country’s total power capacity.

The Hanoitimes – The partnership is expected to develop a hub for LNG imported from the US.

US energy firm AES Corporation and Petrovietnam Gas JSC (PV Gas) on Wednesday signed a term sheet of the joint venture agreement for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal with a US$1.4 billion investment in central Vietnam.

AES Corp. and PV Gas sign deal at IPBF at the presensence of Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh and US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel J. Kritenbrink. Photo: AES Vietnam

With the agreement signed during the 3rd Indo-Pacific Business Forum (IPBF) held in Hanoi on October 28-29, the joint venture is expected to speed up Son My LNG Terminal’s financial completion which is scheduled in 2022 and commercial operations in 2025.

The Son My LNG terminal complements AES’ investment in gas infrastructure around the country, with its previously announced US$1.8 billion 2,200 megawatts (MW) combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant.

Together, the plant and terminal will play a major role in shaping Vietnam’s energy future by diversifying the energy mix with imported LNG as well as meeting the country’s increasing demand for sustainable and affordable electricity.

“This is an important milestone for the development of the Son My LNG terminal and our CCGT power plant. With these two projects, AES is fully committed to the country’s growth in cleaner energy sources and offering the most reliable and affordable electricity to support the continued economic growth of Vietnam,” said President of AES Vietnam David Stone.

As part of the signing ceremony, AES also received a Letter of Interest from the US’ Eximbank and International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to support the Son My LNG Terminal and Son My 2 CCGT projects with a loan amount of US$3.2 billion.

Making comments in pre-recorded remarks to a business conference hosted both online and in person in Hanoi, US State Secretary Mike Pompeo said Vietnam has approved the project and that it would “open the door to billions of dollars per year in US LNG exports to Vietnam. That’s a real win-win situation.”

Virginia-based AES Corp. and its Vietnamese partners have been gradually ramping up efforts to develop a hub for importing LNG from the US over the past several years.

New York (VNA) – Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy , Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, on February 24 underscored the importance of international assistance in the conflict-affected Central African Republic at an UN Security Council (UNSC) videoconference, which discussed ongoing violence in the country.

Jean-Pierre Lacroix , UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, told the conference that the Central African Republic has continued to suffer from violence despite the announcement of the official result of the presidential election in December 2020.

Citing important progress in recent weeks in combating the armed coalition group known as Coalition des Patriotes pour le Changement, he said the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) is providing security to thousands of internally displaced persons, while also supporting efforts to safeguard the democratic order.

The Central African Republic has now become the most dangerous place for humanitarian work, with over 46 percent of worldwide incidents registered by international non-governmental organisations reported in the country.

In his speech, Quy said Vietnam backs the recent efforts of the UN as well as of regional and subregional organisations, including the African Union, the Economic Community of Central African States, and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, to support the Central African Republic.

He took the occasion to urge all concerned parties to resolve differences in a peaceful manner. This effort towards political stability and reconciliation must go hand in hand with the promotion of trust and confidence, he noted.

Calling for the sides involved to respect the election results and handle differences through dialogues, representatives from other UNSC members stressed the importance of implementing the 2019 peace agreement between the local government and armed groups to facilitate long-term political measures.

They supported the efforts made by the African Union and the MINUSCA in the matter./.

VNA