☕ Afternoon briefing on February 16

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

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh demanded Ben Tre further tapinto its advantages and develop the sea-based economy, while addressing aworking session with officials of the Mekong Delta province on February 16.

He said Ben Tre holds a special position in roadand sea transport connectivity. With a 65km coastline and an exclusive economiczone of nearly 20,000sq.km, it boasts favourable conditions for developingsea-based economic sectors, logistics, and wind power. Read full story

Vietnamese teams perform search and rescue activities in (Photo: VNA)

- Two search and rescue teams from the Vietnam People’s Army(VPA) on February 15 discovered three locations of victims of the recentdevastating earthquake in Hatay province, one of the localities hardest hit bythe disaster in Turkey.

The teams, comprising engineers, sniffer dogs, andmilitary doctors, searched eight points in Hatay’s capital city of Antakyawhere they located three points with victims buried under debris. Read full story

- A tree-planting ceremony was held on February 15 in Israel’sAshdod city to mark the 30th anniversary of the Vietnam-Israel diplomaticrelations.

Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to Israel LyDuc Trung said that tree planting is one of the important activities markingthe anniversary. This year, the two countries will accelerate cooperationactivities for their development and people-to-people connections. Read full story

- The European Chamber ofCommerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) on February 16 launched its 2022-2023 Whitebook,with the theme “Working Toward a Green Economy and Sustainable Development”.

The annual publication presents policyrecommendations that aim at resolving regulatory hurdles and facilitating thegrowth of the country's economy, focusing on areas of health care, the greeneconomy and sustainability, and innovation and investment.Read full story

- Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows to Vietnam are slowingdown but promising moves are showing that waves of FDI to the country will bestronger in the coming time, said Chief Representative of the Japan ExternalTrade Organisation (JETRO) in Hanoi Nakajima Takeo.

Citing the results of a survey conducted with 3,100 businessesbased in Japan, the official said that Vietnam ranks fourth in the world interms of export destinations for Japanese companies, second only behind the USin attracting Japan’s foreign investment, and this shows the great interest ofJapanese businesses in Vietnam as they believe that the Vietnamese market willdevelop strongly and be a destination for businesses. Read full story

Tra fish exports are likely to enjoy good growth in the remaining months of 2023 thanks to increasing demand from China and the US -Vietnam’s two largest markets. (Photo: nongnghiep.vn)

- Despite experiencing a sharp decline in the last quarter of2022 and the first month of 2023, tra fish (pangasius) exports still see brightoutlook this year, according to insiders.

Le Hang, director for communications at theVietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said fromOctober to December last year, tra export value decreased 12% from a yearearlier to 457 million USD.  The decline continued to linger until thebeginning of this year, with 50% in January. Read full story

- The 8th Vietnam – Japan Festival – the biggest of this kindwill take place in Ho Chi Minh on February 23-26 as part of activities tocelebrate the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the twocountries, heard a meeting in Ho Chi Minh City on February 16.

Organised based on the concepts of "bilateralcooperation", "co-existence and development", and "buildingfor the future" between Japan and Vietnam, the festival aims to act as a bridgefacilitating mutual understanding of culture and tradition between the twocountries through holding cultural and sports exchanges./. Read full story

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