Vietnamese team comes first at Southeast Asian Fencing Championship

Wednesday, 01/02/2023 15:00
Vietnam secured the first position at the 2023 Southeast Asian Fencing Championship which has taken place recently in Malaysia, marking a good start for the Vietnamese sport towards the 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 32) slated for May in Cambodia, reported Vietnam News Agency.
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The Vietnamese national fencing team are aiming to gain at least three gold medals at SEA Games 32. (Photo: thethaovietnamplus.vn)

The Vietnamese fencers brought home eight gold, six silver and five bronze medals.

The tournament saw strong performance by such fencers as Phung Thi Khanh Linh, Vu Thanh An, Nguyen Minh Quang and Nguyen Minh Quyet.

The Southeast Asian Fencing Championship was considered a pre-SEA Games 32 event, with Vietnam sending 47 athletes to compete in all categories for both individuals and teams.

The Vietnamese national fencing team are aiming to gain at least three gold medals at SEA Games 32.

Vietnam develops green agriculture to increase exports to EU

Vietnam is paying attention to mobilising resources to invest in developing green agriculture with an aim to raising the market share of its agricultural exports to the European Union,  reported Vietnam News Agency.

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Illustrative image (Photo: baodautu.vn)

Last year, Vietnam’s export revenue of agro-fishery-forestry products set a record high of 53.22 billion USD, up 9.3% year-on-year. However, Europe accounted for only 11.3% of its market share.

This is a modest number, although the agricultural sector has optimised many advantages of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

One of the main reasons is said to be the union’s high requirements on farm imports, while Vietnam’s agricultural production has yet to meet green growth requirements.

According to the World Bank’s report, agriculture is the second highest emitter, accounting for 19% of the nation’s total gas emissions in 2020. About 48% of the sector’s emissions and more than 75% of methane emissions are from rice production.

Therefore, to boost farm exports to the EU, the sector is advised to pay more attention to green growth indicators through making policies and roadmaps to reduce greenhouse gas and methane emissions in accordance with international commitments.

Last year, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development approved an action plan to implement the National Strategy on Green Growth from 2021-2030, which aims to specify goals, tasks and solutions to realise the strategy and the national action plan for green growth.

Under the plan, the ministry will work to develop the agricultural sector in an ecological, organic, circular and low-carbon direction to improve growth quality, added value, competitiveness and sustainable development, while reducing pollution in agricultural production and rural areas, and promoting energy efficiency towards carbon neutralisation by 2050. Specifically, the sector aims for 2.5-3% in annual growth, and 42% in forest coverage.

It will also strive to increase the use of organic fertilisers to 30% of all those consumed, along with 30% of pesticides and at least 30% of farm areas using water-saving systems.

The sector will switch 300,000 hectares of rice to other crops with higher economic and environmental efficiency, while aiming for over 2% of organic farms out of the total farming area.

Vietnam’s trade with India hits record in 2022

Two-way trade between Vietnam and India saw a yearly increase of 13.6% to US$15.05 billion in 2022,  reported Vietnam News Agency according to statistics from the General Department of Customs.

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Goods for export at the Tan Cang-Cat Lai Port in HCM City. Vietnam's exports to India topped 7.96 billion USD in 2022, up 26.8% year-on-year.  (Photo: VNA)

During the year, Vietnam’s exports to India topped 7.96 billion USD, up 26.8% year-on-year. Among its export items, mobile phones and accessories posted the highest turnover with 1.52 billion USD, up 18.4%, making up nearly 20% of the total export value. Computers, electronics and parts came next with 1.03 billion USD, up 25%, or 13%, while machinery and equipment ranked third with 804 million USD or over 10%.

Other staples with the highest value increase were coffee with 165%; iron and steel (97%) and footwear (96%).

Some items, however, posted large decreases in export value, such as animal feed and raw materials with 23.04 million USD, down 76.5%, and coal with 7.68 million USD, down 46%.

As per the data, Vietnam imported $7.09 billion worth of goods from India last year, a yearly hike of 2%. Its major import commodities from the market were iron and steel with nearly 775 million USD, down 44.6%; machinery and equipment (549.3 million USD, up 28%) and ordinary metals (515 million USD, up 26%).

According to the Vietnamese Trade Counsellor in India, Bui Trung Thuong, Vietnam and India could supplement each other in economic production. India is an important supplier of materials, while Vietnam has a high demand for materials in service of production and export.

India is Vietnam’s leading provider of aquatic, garment and textile, leather and pharmaceutical materials. The 1.4-billion-strong Indian market has diverse demands with various market segments - a good condition for Vietnamese exporters.

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Illustrative photo (Photo: TCCT)

Besides trade, bilateral cooperation in tourism and investment also grew with the resumption and launch of direct air routes. Adani Group, for example, has committed to pouring 10 billion USD in Vietnam.

However, Thuong said, the presence of Vietnamese businesses in the market remained modest. In contrast, India's administrative and legal system had been complicated by the toughest trade defence measures, which had caused great difficulties for Vietnam in approaching the market.

As part of the efforts to support Vietnamese firms to penetrate the market more deeply, the Vietnam Trade Office in India organised online trade promotion activities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, the official said.

His office had also connected many Vietnamese firms with their Indian peers and helped deal with trade conflicts while providing domestic businesses with trade defence cases initiated by the Indian side, he said.

Banh Cuon among world top 10 dishes visitors should try in 2023

Australian travel magazine Traveller has listed Banh Cuon, Vietnamese steamed rice rolls, among the top 10 best meals from around the world that visitors should try in 2023, reported the Voice of Vietnam.

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Banh Cuon (Vietnamese steamed rice rolls) (Photo: LDO) 

“Banh Cuon is just incredible,” says the Traveller.

“Everything is good, from the noodle soups to the grilled meats to the herby salads to the turmeric-heavy pancakes,” the article adds.

According to Ben Groundwater, author of the article, there's a certain magic to the way that these big sheets of steamed rice noodles are made, before they are wrapped around savoury fillings and then served with herbs and sauce.

This comes after renowned fashion magazine Vogue of the United States also listed Banh Cuon among the top 29 Vietnamese dishes that visitors should try when heading to a Vietnamese restaurant or visiting the nation on vacation.

Nine other dishes also made the list, including, Grilled Turbot of Spain, Oklahoma smash burger of the United States, Mole Negro of Mexico, Short Eats of Sri Lanka, Sushi of Japan, Ragu Napoletano of Italy, Sarawak Laksa of Malaysia, Duck Sausage Sanga of Australia, and Tahdig of Iran./.

Compiled by BTA

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