Human rights campaign fund

1. We, the Foreign Ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), met on 31 July 2019 at the 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) in Bangkok. We underlined the need to further strengthen cooperation and advance our partnership to ensure sustainability in all dimensions for ASEAN amidst the rapid changes in Southeast Asia and beyond.   ASEAN COMMUNITY-BUILDING 2. We reaffirmed our commitment to the full and effective implementation of the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the ASEAN Leaders’ Vision Statement on Partnership for Sustainability. We reaffirmed the importance of maintaining ASEAN centrality and unity in our community-building efforts, engagement with external partners and regional architecture. We commended the ongoing work of all ASEAN Sectoral Bodies and Organs for progress in the implementation of the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC), ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) … [Read more...] about Joint Communique of 52nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting

Rice export volume up but value falls The ministry said the total rice export volume and value in the first nine months of this year reached 5.2 million tonnes and $2.24 billion, respectively. The figures represented a rise of 5.9 per cent in volume and a drop of 9.8 per cent in value compared to the same period in 2018. Of which, Viet Nam shipped abroad 586,000 tonnes of rice in September for $251 million. The Philippines was the top market for Vietnamese rice in the first eight months of this year, consuming 1.76 million tonnes worth $720 million, 2.9 times higher in volume and 2.6 times in value over the same period last year. Strong growth was also seen in other markets, including Australia (75 per cent), Ivory Coast (nearly 35 per cent) and Hong Kong (nearly 35 per cent). The average rice price in the first eight months fell 13.8 per cent year on year to $435 per tonne. White rice led the way in the period, accounting for 47 per cent of total revenue, followed by Jasmine rice … [Read more...] about VIETNAM BUSINESS NEWS OCTOBER 14

Billion-dollar smart city will express the spirit and vision of a new Hanoi Vietnamese developer BRG Group and Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation have officially announced their US$4.2 billion smart city project on the outskirts of Hanoi. Through a 50/50 joint venture, a whopping 270 hectares of land located some 20 minutes from the city will begin development early next year and is expected to be complete by 2028. The smart city will be state of the art in that it will employ Industry 4.0 technology such as the Internet of Things to ensure energy is conserved. It will also feature surveillance cameras that come with the capabilities to recognise faces together with AI. Reality a long-term vision Marking the first milestone of the North Hanoi Smart City Project just before the 65th anniversary of Hanoi’s Liberation on October 10, Nguyen Thi Nga, chairwoman of BRG Group said, “We build a smart city not for our generation, but for many Vietnamese generations of the future. … [Read more...] about VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES OCTOBER 16