During the meeting, Mai expressed the belief that the opening of the Belarusian Consulate General in HCM City will contribute to fostering cooperation between the two countries and their localities, affirming that the municipal authority will create favourable conditions for the mission's operation. He suggested the two countries strengthen cooperation in terms of trade, investment, culture, education and tourism, which he said will be a foundation for further developing the Vietnam – Belarus relations in general and between HCM City and Belarusian localities in particular. Regarding the Belarusian Prime Minister's visit to Vietnam slated for late this year, Mai said HCM City will be honoured to welcome the Belarusian leader. Regarding the cooperative relationship between HCM City and Minsk city of Belarus, the official proposed that the two sides select specific items to carry out in the framework of the cooperation programme between the two localities in the 2020-2025 period. … [Read more...] about HCM City looks to boost ties with Belarus
Why strategic partnerships are important
Overcoming war legacy by practical deeds
Over the past time, in the spirit of “forgetting the past, looking to the future,” Vietnam and the U.S. have taken various effective and practical measures to heal the wounds of war. However, experts have evaluated that those efforts are not enough as around 3 million Vietnamese people are still being affected by AO/dioxin, and next generations of the Vietnamese people are being affected by the consequences of the disaster. In recent article posted on usip.org, Dr. Andrew Wells-Dang, who leads the Vietnam War Legacies and Reconciliation Initiative at United States Institute of Peace (USIP), evaluated that AO and other toxic chemicals that the U.S. sprayed over Southern Vietnam have left long-term and severe consequences on the Vietnamese people. From 1961 to 1971, the U.S. troops sprayed 80 million liters of AO, which contained about 400 kg of dioxin, over more than 3 million hectares of forest in South Vietnam. More than 4,8 million people were directly exposed to toxic chemicals, … [Read more...] about Overcoming war legacy by practical deeds
Singapore and Vietnam commit to further strong collaborations
In February, Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc paid a state visit to Singapore, with both nations vowing to continue cementing economic ties. How has this cooperation been implemented so far? Singaporean Ambassador to Vietnam Jaya Ratnam Singapore and Vietnam’s strong economic, trade, and investment ties are underpinned by decades of consistent and meaningful engagement between our governments and peoples. During President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s state visit to Singapore earlier this year, he and President Halimah Yacob reaffirmed these ties and committed to further collaboration. Our leaders also oversaw the signing of an MoU on economic and trade cooperation between our two countries. We are starting from a very strong base. Singapore has been the leading source of foreign direct investment into Vietnam for the past two years. Singapore is now Vietnam’s second largest foreign investor, with total registered capital of nearly $70 billion. This demonstrates the … [Read more...] about Singapore and Vietnam commit to further strong collaborations