World games

Angkor Wat, a UNESCO world heritage site, is the tourist icon of Cambodia. (Photo: Khmer Times) Phnom Penh (VNA) - Cambodia expects to welcome 1.2-1.3 million international tourists in 2022, said Director General of Tourism Development and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Tourism Thong Rathasak. Recovering fast from the COVID-19 downfall, Cambodia is banking on increased arrival of foreign tourists this year, compared to the last two years. According to Rathasak, the Southeast Asian nation served over 500,000 foreign visitors in the first half of this year, and this was a good comeback compared to the number of 200,000 tourist arrivals last year.. COVID-19 was a big lesson as Cambodia n people learned to coexist with a pandemic, he said, hoping that people who left the tourism sector would come back and rebuild their businesses or careers. For Cambodia, 2022 started well as it got the chance to organise the ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF), which was … [Read more...] about Cambodia eyes to serve 1.3 million foreign tourists in 2022

Illustrative image (Photo: Geonoise Asia) Bangkok (VNA) – The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) may procure 3,200 electric buses to phase out fossil-fueled buses from its fleet in three years, said Deputy Permanent Secretary for Transport Sorapong Paitoonphong. The plan is part of BMTA’s revised business rehabilitation plan, which will be sent to the Thai Government for approval in about two months, he added. The development of electric vehicle industry is an important part of the Thai Government’s efforts to restructure the economy with focus on hi-tech industry, biological-circular-green economic model, health care and tourism. Last month, the Thai Government approved two tax incentives to promote the use of electric vehicles and help Thailand become a major manufacturer of electric vehicles in the world./. VNA … [Read more...] about Thailand plans to use entirely electric buses in Bangkok in three years

Dry port in Udon Thani (Source: Bangkokpost) Bangkok (VNA) - The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) has said that it is planning to develop a dry port in Udon Thani, with the aim of developing the northeast province into a centre for regional land transport, linked with the Chinese-Lao high-speed train system. According to the IEAT’s leader Veeris Ammarapala, the new inland transport facility will support trade among provinces in the northeast and the Thai economy. This port will also improve the efficiency of Thai logistics and land transport via roads and railways, he said. The IEAT is also confident the dry port in Udon Thani has the potential to serve ASEAN as a new transport hub in the future because Thailand is located in mainland Southeast Asia, surrounded by Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia, with southern China nearby. The IEAT said the new dry port can be linked with Laemchabang deep-sea port in Chon Buri and Map Ta Phut deep-sea port in … [Read more...] about Thailand eyes to own regional land transport centre

Indonesian Navy corvette (Photo:indonesiaexpat.biz) Brussels (VNA) – The European Union and Indonesia held their first joint naval exercise in the Arabian Sea on August 14-15. The exercise involved Indonesian Navy corvette KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda and EU NAVFOR Somalia – Operation Atalanta frigate ITS Virginio Fasan. It was based on the scenario of an anti-piracy operation, including cross-deck helicopter landings, complex tactical evolutions at sea, boarding of suspicious vessels and fuel replenishment at sea. The EU project on Critical Maritime Routes in the Indo-Pacific (CRIMARIO) provided its Indo-Pacific Regional Information Sharing (IORIS) platform for communication between participants in the exercise. The EU and Indonesia have conducted a regular Security Policy Dialogue to strengthen cooperation on security issues. In November 2021, the sixth meeting of the dialogue discussed maritime security alongside the fight against terrorism and violent extremism, … [Read more...] about EU, Indonesia hold first joint naval exercise

Ilustrative image (Photo: https://www.theedgemarkets.com/) Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - Big data can support over 100 billion USD  worth of opportunities in Southeast Asia, particularly across the five focus countries, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand, according to an report released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on August 17. The  report “Harnessing the Potential of Big Data in Post-Pandemic Southeast Asia” said big data holds immense potential in fast-tracking post-COVID-19 economic recovery in Southeast Asia, with benefits in public health, social welfare and protection, and education. It finds that that the use of digital technologies to provide personalised and remote learning and job matching can contribute an estimated 77.1 billion USD annually to the gross domestic produc (GDP) of Southeast Asian countries by 2030. According to the report , the use of analytics to direct highly targeted health interventions for at-risk … [Read more...] about Big data can support over 100 billion USD worth of opportunities in Southeast Asia: ADB

Ilustrative image (Photo: Xinhua) Hanoi (VNA) - Singapore's non-oil domestic exports ( NODX ) expanded 7% year-on-year in July, with June's growth revised down to 8.5% from 9% previously, Enterprise Singapore , a government agency, reported on August 17. This is the 20th consecutive month for Singapore's NODX to grow year on year. The electronic NODX increased by 10.3% year-on-year in July, following a 4.1% increase in June. Meanwhile, the non-electronic NODX in July expanded by 6.1% compared to the same period last year. On a month-on-month seasonally adjusted basis, Singapore's NODX increased by 1.4% in July to 17.8 billion SGD (12.9 billion USD), after the previous month saw a 3.2% growth. The country’s non-oil re-exports (NORX) grew by 25.2 % year-on-year in July, following a 31.4% expansion in the previous month. Both electronic and non-electronic NORX saw an increase. Its oil domestic exports in July surged by 97.1% compared to the same month last year, and … [Read more...] about Singapore’s non-oil domestic exports expand by 7% in July