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Press digest – June 16

June 17, 2014 10:35 AM GMT+7

VN, Netherlands set up strategic partnership on agriculture

PM Nguyen Tan Dung and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte agreed to establish Strategic Partnership on agriculture and food security between the two countries during their talks.

The Dutch leaders confirmed to advocate Viet Nam in promoting the comprehensive relations with the EU, encourage the European Commission to soon approve the EU-Viet Nam Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) and recognize Viet Nam as a full market economy and complete the Free Trade Agreement negotiations with Viet Nam.

The Dutch PM shared concerns about recent developments in the East Sea, affirming that the Netherlands supported the Statements of the EU and the ASEAN Foreign Ministers, suggesting that related sides exercise restraint and deal with disputes with peaceful measures in compliance with international law.

VN rejects China’s historical evidence

China has increased its aggressive actions in the East Sea after it brazenly moved its deep-water drilling rig escorted by over 80 armed and military vessels and many airplanes to Viet Nam’s waters since May 1.

Viet Nam consistently rejects all China’s sovereignty claims over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos because these claims are groundless.

Vietnamese leaders have called on the international community to continue lodging strong protest against China’s violations of Viet Nam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos.

A safe, friendly destination for investment

Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh has confirmed that Viet Nam will make every effort to further improve the investment environment, sharpen its competitiveness, and create possible favorable conditions for foreign investors.

As of May 2014, 16,323 projects invested by 101 countries and territories from around the world have been operating in Viet Nam with a total registered capital of US$237 billion.

Mekong Delta’s rice export reaches US$1 bln

The Mekong Delta has freshly exported 42,000 tons of rice, raising its total rice export by June 15 to 2.5 million tons, worth nearly US$1 billion.

China was the largest importer of the region's rice, accounting for 78% of the total and posting a year-on-year increase of 5%.  

Exports to the Philippines rose fourfold compared to the same period last year and to the Middle East up 126%.

WB set to help Can Tho develop

The World Bank (WB) will continue supporting Can Tho as it looks to adapt to changing socio-economic conditions, pledged bank representative Astrid Westerlind at a conference in the Mekong Delta city.

She noted that Can Tho is burdening an increasing amount of socio-economic pressure from its rapid urbanization, coupled with the ecological imbalance resulting from excessive population density.

She stated that the WB will assist the city in terms of capital as well as experience, so that Can Tho can choose a suitable roadmap for its development.

VN’s green growth and fossil fuel fiscal policy praised

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) released a report on green growth and fossil fuel fiscal policy in Viet Nam.

UNDP Policy Advisor (Economics) Michaela Prokop spoke highly of the Vietnamese government’s commitments to promoting green growth and restructuring the local energy industry.

In the 2007-2012 period, fossil fuel aid was valued at around US$1.2-4.49 billion, most of which was granted to State-owned energy producers and distributors via preferential loans and low-cost input.

Opportunities to export plastic materials to Turkey

In recent years, Viet Nam’s export turnover of plastic materials to Turkey has grown robustly.

The country earned US$7.1 million from exporting plastic materials in 2011 and US$20.7 million in 2013, 191.5% higher than 2011.

Yet, in the first four months of this year the nation earned just US$7.4 million, down 14%. The figure is expected to rise in the rest of 2014 due to market demands./.

By Thuy Dung