Syria u s relations and bilateral issues

Defense Minister receives US Ambassador

April 18, 2021 by en.qdnd.vn

The ambassador bid farewell to the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense before leaving the country.

During the reception, General Giang congratulated the US Ambassador on his achievements during his term in Vietnam, contributing to promoting the bilateral ties in general and bilateral defense cooperation in particular, in the framework of the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership.

The Defense Minister also affirmed Vietnam’s consistent viewpoint of always considering the US one of its most important partners and hoped to develop comprehensive relations with the country on the basis of respecting the independence, sovereignty and political institutions of each other.

As Ambassador Kritenbrink has been promoted to US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, General Giang expressed his belief that in his new position, Ambassador Kritenbrink will continue to achieve success and further focus on promoting relations between the two countries and militaries, especially in overcoming the consequences of war.

On this occasion, Ambassador Kritenbrink congratulated General Giang on his promotion to Defense Minister. Ambassador Kritenbrink also promised that in his new position, he would pay attention to promoting the relationship between the two countries and militaries.

At the meeting, General Giang and Ambassador Kritenbrink highly appreciated the results of the cooperation between the two countries in recent years on both bilateral, regional and international levels. The two sides acknowledged and hailed the implementation of the memorandum of understanding on promoting bilateral defense cooperation and the joint vision statement on defense relations.

Especially, both sides praised the outcomes of cooperation between Vietnam and the US in overcoming war consequences, thereby effectively building trust between the two countries.

The successes of the two sides’ cooperation projects, such as the already-finished Environmental Remediation of Dioxin Contamination at Da Nang Airport Project, as well as the ongoing Bien Hoa airport dioxin cleanup project and continual MIA missions have contributed to strengthening friendship and creating favorable conditions for the two sides to boost cooperation.

General Giang emphasized that Vietnam will prioritize the cooperation in overcoming war legacy in the coming time.

In addition, both sides agreed to continue cooperation activities according to the signed documents for mutual benefits of the two peoples.

Translated by Minh Anh

Seventh Japan-Vietnam Festival opens in HCM City

April 18, 2021 by dtinews.vn

The seventh Japan-Vietnam Festival (JVF) opened at the September 23 Park in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 on April 17 with a host of activities.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Vo Van Hoan said he believes that the event will bolster understanding between the countries, and create more cooperation chances in education, trade, investment and tourism.

Japan is the third largest trade partner of HCM City and the fifth leading investor of the city. The southern hub has formed ties with seven Japanese localities.

Takebe Tsutomu, head of the organising board on the Japanese side said the holding of the JVF after a suspension of more than one year demonstrated efforts by both countries in promoting the bilateral relations. The 7th JVF is a major cooperative project of the countries’ tourism sector.

The two-day event features more than 100 booths of 75 units. Art programmes and sporting events will be staged by artists from both countries.

Seventh Japan – Vietnam Festival opens in HCM City

April 19, 2021 by en.qdnd.vn

Japan is the third largest trade partner of HCM City and the fifth leading investor of the city. The southern hub has formed ties with seven Japanese localities.

Takebe Tsutomu, head of the organizing board on the Japanese side said the holding of the JVF after a suspension of more than one year demonstrated efforts by both countries in promoting the bilateral relations. The 7th JVF is a major cooperative project of the countries’ tourism sector.

The two-day event features more than 100 booths of 75 units. Art programs and sporting events will be staged by artists from both countries.

Source: VNA

Concerns over renegotiation of Trans Pacific Partnership

April 19, 2021 by sggpnews.org.vn

Illustrative photo

JOURNALIST: – Sir, do you think the USA will return to renegotiate the terms for the CPTPP deal with other countries?

Dr. VO DAI LUOC: – The question of whether the USA will return to the CPTPP deal or not is a matter of great concern, not only for countries that are members of the CPTPP but also for other ally countries of America. I think that although the US President Joe Biden wants to rejoin the CPTPP right now, there is also an overwhelming leaning towards multilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). So in the short term, the US may not be able to renegotiate to rejoin the CPTPP. The reason is that the more Free Trade Agreements develop, the less are the chances of the US once again rejoining the CPTPP.

For instance, at present many countries are benefiting much more from FTAs because of more capital flow, and better markets, labor, and technology. However, voters in developed countries, like the US, believe that they are at a disadvantage because large corporations will lean towards the developing countries to take advantage of cheaper labor, growing markets, and preferential tax policies.

Former President Donald Trump launched the concept of fair and free trade, which is also how he sympathized with voters and had the support of his voter base. However, that which is fair is also not easy to do. Hence, although President Joe Biden wants to renegotiate the CPTPP for benefits to the US, it is unlikely he can do it at this time. The US still has many unresolved domestic issues that need to be tackled before thinking of rejoining the CPTPP, such as consent of congress on issues related to businesses and labor.

– Sir, will China be able to rejoin the CPTPP, given that its leaders have repeatedly expressed their will to do so?

– China has officially declared that they want to rejoin the CPTPP, but it is still a far cry from wanting and actually realizing. First of all, there are terms in the CPTPP that can be considered progressive, but also binding. If China wants to participate, they will have to reform very strongly, especially in their policy towards current state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The Chinese SOE block is too strong, and the Chinese SOE support and protection policy is also too huge. Therefore, the question arises if China will reform this policy to conform to the terms of the CPTPP. Besides this, there are also intellectual property rights and labor issues to upgrade.

Such reforms in China are not easily implemented, especially the policy of economic development, for which the Chinese prefer a very nationalistic approach. Therefore, in my opinion, both China and the US will not be able to participate in the CPTPP in coming time.

– Sir, there is also an opinion that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) plays a key role in China, so they will put pressure on the US to return to the CPTPP soonest. What is your opinion on this?

– RCEP associates have long-term strategic interests with China and neighboring countries. This is also believed to be a factor that motivates the US under the leadership of President Joe Biden to rejoin the CPTPP. Besides, this agreement is the best tool for the US to deepen economic relations with the region. In fact, the US can still maintain flexibility in that it seek a narrower agreement with CPTPP member countries on topics such as digital trade, the environment, and climate change, or on the sale and purchase of medical equipment and other essential products. Such an agreement will help build trust and serve as a starting point for the US to rejoin the CPTPP.

– Sir, what are the trends in US trade policy under President Joe Biden?

– I think that the trade policies will still serve the long-term strategies of the US. It will be a reassertion of their position as a world leading power, and show control over emerging nations that threaten America’s superpower status, of which China is number one. The US trade policy under President Joe Biden may be both competitive and controlling, though it must also clearly define a restructuring of relationship on the basis of mutual benefits.

On a broader scale, the US wants to reestablish its own set of rules, rather than reestablish new global governance, including in trade. Although this global governance model is in context of a current multilateral world, the US still maintains its superpower status across the world, as well as over its core interests. The problem is how the new rules will be introduced by President Biden, which are still unclear, and only time will tell.

– Thank you very much.

Luu Thuy (interviewer)

Denmark supports Vietnam to improve food safety

December 4, 2019 by hanoitimes.vn

Food safety not only directly relates to one’s good health and happy living, but also affects prices of products in the market.

Two significant documents related to the Danish support to improve food safety in Vietnam were signed at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on December 3.

MARD Vice Minister Phung Duc Tien and the Danish Ambassador to Vietnam Kim Højlund Christensen signed an arrangement to support the sustainable growth and development of the Vietnamese pork value chain.

At the signing ceremony. Photo: Embassy of Denmark

The arrangement marks the commencement of a three-year phase 2 of the Vietnamese Danish government-to-government cooperation on food safety with focus on improving food safety in the pork value chain.

Specifically, phase 2 of the Strategic Sector Cooperation in the pork value chain will focus on feed management, veterinary drug management, good animal husbandry practices and capacity building related to risk-based food and feed safety management.

Besides, the vice minister of MARD and Scientific Director of the International Center for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions (ICARS) Robert Leo Skov signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between MARD and ICARS on the establishment of a partnership on mitigating antimicrobial use and resistance in livestock and aquaculture.

Antimicrobial resistance has become one of the greatest threats to health, society, and economies worldwide. With the signed MoU between MARD and ICARS, Vietnam will be one of the first countries to engage in a cooperation with ICARS establishing pilot projects on mitigating antimicrobial resistance in the livestock and aquaculture sector.

“Food safety directly relates to one’s good health and happy living. It also affects prices of products in the market. Denmark has a long history of putting food safety high on the agenda,” said the ambassador.

“The two documents we are signing today are very important instruments for Vietnam and Denmark to continue our good cooperation in supporting Vietnam to improve food safety,” Kim Højlund Christensen added.

He stressed that the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration and the International Center for Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions will work closely with their Vietnamese counterpart agencies in MARD, exchange and share with them Danish expertise, experiences and knowledge gained after many years of research and practices in this area.

Since 2015, Vietnam and Denmark has engaged in Strategic Sector Cooperation (SSC) within health, education and food safety with the purpose of promoting sustainable and responsible growth, jobs and prosperity in Vietnam.

Within the SSC framework, the Danish public authorities have established a partnership where they can support their Vietnamese partner ministries with expertise and facilitate transfer of Danish know-how and experiences relevant to local priority issues, local conditions and needs.

Leader asks for better performance by Theoretical Council

April 17, 2021 by en.vietnamplus.vn

Speaking at the Theoretical Council’s meeting in Hanoi, the Party leader highly valued the council’s work during 2016-2021.

He also suggested some issues needing attention in the time ahead and asked for thorough understanding of the requirements in the political theoretical work in the new period.

The leader told the council to study new theoretical issues in the world, experiences of developed countries, along with scientific – technological revolutions.

General Secretary Trong also asked the council to improve the quality and effectiveness of political theory-related advice to help the Party Central Committee , the Politburo, and the Secretariat direct national development and defence efforts./.

VNA