☕ Afternoon briefing on February 15

Hanoi, (VNA) - The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

– Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has paid a visit to the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre to attend the 110th birth anniversary of Huynh Tan Phat, former President of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, former Deputy Prime Minister and Vice Chairman of the Presidium of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee.
Within the framework of the visit, on February 15, PM Chinh visited and presented gifts to policy beneficiary families and children with disabilities in Ben Tre, and inspected some major infrastructure projects in the locality.Read full text

– Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang on February 15 suggested Vietnam and Japan strengthen their investment cooperation, especially in spearhead industries, pay attention to technology transfer to Vietnam, and promote green transition.
Speaking at the Vietnam-Japan Economic Forum 2023 in Hanoi, the Deputy PM affirmed that the Vietnamese government will always accompany and create optimal conditions for Japanese firms to operate in the Southeast Asian nation for a long-term.Read full text

– Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang has signed a decision issuing an action plan on fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and preparing for working sessions with the fourth inspection delegation of the European Commission (EC).
The plan’s objectives are to enforce legal provisions on fisheries in a concerted and effective manner, and address all shortcomings and limitations as recommended by the EC in order to have its “yellow card” warning removed within 2023.Read full text

– Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on February 15 called on the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) to actively join green transformation and green projects in Vietnam, when receiving Surendra Rosha, Co-Chief Executive of HSBC Asia-Pacific.
Appreciating HSBC's pioneering strategy in implementing a fair energy transition, the Deputy PM expressed his desire that the bank will become a "credit filter" and actively participate in projects of green industrial parks, zero-emission factories, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in transportation, construction, industrial production as well as afforestation projects, or renewable energy projects.Read full text

- Vietnam needs a budget of up to 600 billion USD to achieve the target of carbon neutrality by 2050, according to Kazuo Kusakabe, Chief Representative of Toshiba Asia Pacific Pte Ltd in Hanoi.
Speaking at a forum on measures to boost post-COVID-19 cooperation between Vietnam and Japan towards green growth organised by the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) on February 15, Kusakabe said climate change is a challenge for the world, including Vietnam.Read full text

– A delegation of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) led by Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Communist Review Vu Trong Lam paid a working visit to Cuba from February 9-14.
From February 10-12, the delegation participated in the first international meeting of political ideological magazines and newspapers of political parties, left-wing and progressive movements in Havana, together with 40 Cuban scholars and nearly 100 delegates from 34 countries.Read full text

– Bloomberg on February 14 published an article “Silicon Valley talent is helping grow Vietnam’s startup hub”, quoting founders’ opinion that an abundance of inexpensive engineers coupled with a fast-growing economy makes Vietnam an attractive spot for startups.
The article cites a report published in July 2022 by KPMG International Ltd and HSBC Holdings Plc which states that the number of startups in the country nearly doubled from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to mid-2022.Read full text

– A national hybrid conference marking the 80th anniversary of the “Outline of Vietnamese Culture”, the first platform on culture launched by the Communist Party of Vietnam, will be held on February 27, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The event, to be jointly held by the ministry in coordination with the Party Central Committee’s Commission on Information and Education, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, and the Central Theoretical Council, will highlight the theoretical and realistic values of the “Outline of Vietnamese Culture”, and the culture and people of Vietnam as the foundation and motivation of national development in the new period.Read full text/.