Tay Ninh: Police bust drug trafficking ring

Police in the southwestern province of Tay Ninh are teaming up with relevant forces to investigate the trafficking of 11kg of methamphetamine.  

On March 22, two Cambodians namely Buy Bunly, 51, and Lim So Thea, 34, both residing in Tbong Khmum province of Cambodia, were caught transporting 5kg of myth by motorbike in Thanh Tay commune, Tan Bien district, Tay Ninh province. 

The provincial drug crime investigation police also seized a gun and six bullets.  

On March 23 night, they arrested six people relating to a drug ring in ward 4, Tay Ninh city, comprising Phan Thi Mong Cam, Phung Ngoc Tan, Pham Hong Thai, Tran Quang Khanh, Nguyen Hoang Sang and Huynh Han Song, all residing in Tay Ninh city. These suspects confessed that they were waiting for the drugs. 

In the early morning of March 24, the police forces arrested eight other people involved, along with another 6kg of myth, more than 5 billion VND (220,000 USD), four motorbikes, a car, a gun and other tools. 

The suspects confessed that Phung Hong Huy, 41, from HCM City, is the mastermind of the ring, while his wife Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thuy helped to manage the ring in city.

USAID-funded project to improve biodiversity in Quang Nam

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the 24-million-USD Green Annamites Project in Tam Ky city, the central province of Quang Nam on March 27 to help it preserve local biodiversity and improve people’s livelihoods.

The project aims to better manage more than 400,000 hectares of natural forest and protect endangered plants and animals. It also looks to improve the livelihoods of 20,000 forest-dependent people in Quang Nam and neighbouring Thua Thien-Hue provinces.

The project will be carried out in 11 cities and districts of Quang Nam until 2021 with total investment of more than 14 million USD.

Forests play a crucial role in Vietnam by protecting watersheds which slow soil erosion and alleviate climate change. Forests in the Annamites Range of Vietnam are home to rare and endemic species found nowhere else in the world.  However, in recent times, these forests, and the species that live in them, are disappearing at an alarming rate, as nearby communities increasingly depend on these limited resources for their livelihoods.

In such context, the USAID Green Annamites Project will engage small-hold farmers and their families to boost livelihoods and increase investment in climate-smart agriculture in Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Nam while maintaining the natural biodiversity of these provinces.

It will help the two target provinces reduce deforestation and forest degradation, and restore degraded landscapes. From partnering with the private sector, which sources materials from forests and local farmers, to introducing improved farming practices and strengthening market access, the project will help local forest-dependent communities diversify and adopt sustainable livelihoods.

The project also includes actions for improving forest conservation planning, increasing the knowledge and skills of local forest managers and decision makers and helping local communities live in harmony with protected forests.

Climate change directly threatens Vietnam’s sustainable development goals. To accelerate its transition to low-emission development, the country has collaborated with USAID to better respond to climate change through adaptation, sustainable landscapes and clean energy programmes in recent years.

Over 100,000 people join HCM City Ao Dai festival’s activities

More than 100,000 people joined various activities during the fifth Ho Chi Minh City Ao Dai (long dress) Festival from March 3-25, the event’s organising board announced at the event’s closing ceremony on March 26.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Tran Vinh Tuyen emphasised the success of the event, saying it helped popularise the Vietnamese Ao dai to locals and international friends. 

Highlights of the event included a talk on the charm of the traditional Ao Dai with 23 leading designers nationwide and a mass performance of Ao Dai joined by more than 3,000 people, he said. 

The festival also featured a exhibitions, talk shows and Ao Dai designing contests in many locations across the city, he added. 

Attended by 11 image ambassadors in many fields, the festival contributed to honouring and popularising the traditional culture of the Ao Dai.

Hosted by the municipal Department of Tourism and the Women's Union of Ho Chi Minh City in collaboration with relevant departments and localities, the event helped raise public understanding of the traditional dress, and attract international visitors to Ho Chi Minh City.

Thua Thien – Hue to run 2.3 million EUR climate project

Authorities of the central province of Thua Thien – Hue on March 26 approved a Luxembourg-funded climate change adaptation project in the locality. 

The project costs about 2.3 million EUR. Of the sum, 2 million EUR is sourced from the Luxembourg government’s non-refundable aid via the Global Climate Partnership Fund, while the remaining comes from the local budget.

The project will be carried out in 30 months in 29 communes in Quang Dien, Phu Vang, and Phu Loc districts, aiming to enhance local capacity to respond to climate change.

Its first component, “capacity”, focuses on raising public awareness of climate change response. 

Infrastructure facilities to cope with climate change in targeted areas will be set up in the second component, while management measures will be promoted in the third one to preserve natural resources and develop markets for organically-cultivated products.

Mekong Delta to have three highways by 2030

As per the national traffic system development planning in the Mekong Delta the region will have three highways by 2030.

They are Ho Chi Minh City – Trung Luong- Can Tho – Ca Mau; Ha Tien- Rach Gia- Bac Lieu and Chau Doc – Can Tho –Soc Trang. Existing national highways will be upgraded and more roads will be built. National highways will be classified first, second and third grade.

The governments will improve sea roads into ports from Hau river, tien river and others.

Railways connecting Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho and Can Tho – Ca Mau will be developed.

International airports Can Tho and Phu Quoc will be upgraded to achieve the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)’s aerodrome reference code 4E and other domestic ports including Ca Mau, Rach Gia achieves ICAO’s 4C.

Foreign chefs to organize fund-raising event to support poor kids

As many as 30 foreign chefs from the World Association of Chefs’ Societies will join forces to organize a fund-raising event in Vietnam for the first time, in which Miss Vietnam 2016 Do My Linh will serve as an ambassador for the charity event.

Sponsored by Dim Tu Tac Restaurant, the event slated for April 17 in District 10, HCMC, is targeted to give financial support to orphans, abandoned children and other underprivilleged people in society.

All the proceeds raised from event will be donated to the HCMC Red Cross to carry out charitable and humanitarian activities to help less fortunate children at Hoa Binh (Peace) children village and those people living in remote areas throughout the country.

The program will be attended by Michelin-starred chefs from the World Association of Chefs’ Societies, generous donors and famous artists to raise funds for community activities and introduce Vietnamese cultural values to international friends.

Coach Park Hang Seo becomes Samsung brand ambassador

Korean coach Park Hang Seo is now the brand ambassador of Samsung in Vietnam.

According to Samsung Vina, the coach will attend product and brand promotion campaigns of Samsung and its activities that contribute to Vietnamese community during this year.

Park Hang-seo, born in 1959, used to be a player of the RoK national team before starting the professional coaching career. He was known as the No 1 assistant of Guus Hiddink, who led the RoK team to the semi-finals of the World Cup 2002 and the RoK’s U23 team to win the bronze medal at the Asian Games in the same year.

Park and his teams obtained many achievements at different tournaments of the RoK. Notably, he set a record in 2013 when he led the Sangju Sangmu FC with all players being RoK citizens to win 11 consecutive victories at the K.League Challenge.

Park is currently the head coach of Vietnam national Olympic football team and Vietnam national under-23 football team.

He helped Vietnam’s U23 team claim second place at the AFC U23 Championship 2018 that concluded in China recently.

OV students mark Youth Month with various activities

Vietnamese students at the celebration of the 87th founding anniversary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union in Moscow on March 25 

Overseas Vietnamese students in Russia, China and the UK have held a number of activities in response to the Month of the Youth in the home country in March.

A ceremony was organised in Moscow by the civil affairs board of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCYU) in Russia on March 25 to mark the HCYU’s 87th founding anniversary (March 26, 1931).

Addressing the event, Secretary of the HCYU Board Le Anh Duy said there are more than 50 HCYU chapters with over 4,000 members across Russia at present. He expressed his hope that young Vietnamese in Russia will uphold the fine traditions of Vietnamese youths, unceasingly make efforts to fulfill their tasks, and inspire their pride in the glorious traditions of the country.

Reviewing the 87-year history of the HCYU, Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Ngo Duc Manh highly valued the achievements of the HCYU in the country, asking HCYU members to continue making self-improvement so as to help reinforce the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia.

At the celebration, the HCYU civil affairs board in Russia presented certificates of merit to collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements in HCYU activities in 2017.

Also on March 25, the Vietnamese Student Association in Beijing, China, held an arts festival at the Beijing Language and Culture University.

The programme featured performances of Vietnamese students from many Chinese universities, including the Communication University of China, the Beijing Jiaotong University, and the Beijing Language and Culture University. 

Vietnamese Ambassador to China Dang Minh Khoi said the festival was helpful in honouring students’ talent and creativity and popularising the image of Vietnamese students. It was also an occasion to enhance the solidarity among Vietnamese students in Beijing.

He emphasised that each year, tens of thousands of Vietnamese students pursue study in China and about 3,000 Chinese students study in Vietnam. They will help enhance mutual understanding and connectivity between the two countries’ younger generations, Khoi said.

Tran Dinh Hoang, Secretary of the HCYU of the Vietnamese Student Association in Beijing, said the event was held to mark 68 years of Vietnam-China diplomatic ties and the HCYU’s 87th founding anniversary.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese Student Association in the UK and Vietnamese student societies (VietSoc) at universities in the country also organised some events to promote solidarity among the student community.

Student Challenge 2018, held by the VietSoc at City, University of London, was one of the big activities of Vietnamese students in the UK. It is an annual competition with questions relating to various fields. 

This year’s event attracted 100 students of VietSoc teams from 25 universities across the UK. The team from the London School of Economic and Political Science won the first place.

Vinh Long’s Binh Minh town recognised as new-style rural area

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on March 27 handed over a decision on the recognition of Binh Minh town in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long as a new-style rural area.

After six years of implementing the new-style rural area building programme, Binh Minh town has mobilised a total investment of 881 billion VND (38.8 million USD), which was used to develop fruit tree, vegetable, rice growing and aquaculture areas, improve local infrastructure and better local people’s livelihoods, among others.

Average per capital income of the locals in 2017 was estimated at 43.34 million VND (around 1,900 USD), or 3.77 times higher than in 2011 while the rate of impoverished households has been reduce to 1.9 percent.

Speaking at the ceremony, PM Phuc said that despite numerous difficulties, half of the communes in Vinh Long province have become new-style rural localities.

As building new-style rural areas means building infrastructure and enhancing the life quality of the locals, the province should continue to accelerate the application of scientific and technological advances into production and seek measures to improve production efficiency, he noted.

The government leader also laid stress on building strong socio-political organisations and implementing the Party’s policies and the State’s regulations.

The national target programme on building new-style rural areas, initiated by the Vietnamese Government in 2010, sets 19 criteria on socio-economic development, politics, and defence, aiming to boost rural regions of Vietnam.    

The list of criteria includes development of infrastructure, improvement of production capacity, environmental protection, and promotion of cultural values.    

Under a decision issued by the Prime Minister in April 2016, a district must have all communes meeting all of the criteria to be designated as a new-style rural district. Earlier, those with at least 75 percent of the communes satisfying the 19 criteria were eligible.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as of February 21, 2018, there were 3,160 communes recognised as new-style rural areas, 35.4 percent of total communes.

HCM City to enhance tobacco harm control

Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Health is planning to provide training on how to help local residents quit smoking for staff at ward- and commune-level People’s Committees.

Dr Trinh Van Hiep, head of the municipal Department of Health’s the board on preventing harm caused by cigarette smoking, said that it’s difficult for many people to quit smoking even if they want to.

Hiep said at a recent meeting on preventing the effects of cigarettes that smokers need assistance from wards and communes involved in the programme.

After receiving consultations, smokers will be treated at eight hospitals in the city that provide this service, he said.

Knowledge along with determination and assistance are the keys to quitting smoking, Hiep added.

The city also wants more wards and communes to become smoke-free, Hiep said, adding that communication activities would be carried out at all households.

Each family member should have a deep understanding of the Law on Tobacco Harm Control and Prevention and should encourage their relatives to quit or never begin smoking.

Residents will be told that if there is a pregnant woman or children in the family, smokers should go outside, and that smoking at parties among families should not be encouraged.

Owners of restaurants, hotels coffee shops, and production workshops in every ward and commune will be encouraged to ban smoking, he said.

According to a report from the health harm prevention board, 24 wards and communes in the city are smoke-free.

“No Smoking” signs can be seen on many apartment buildings, hospitals, parks and other buildings.

Cigarettes should be sold only via retail regulated under the Law on Tobacco Harm Control and Prevention, which means that sites selling cigarettes should not advertise and sell to people under 18 years old.

The programme on preventing harm caused by cigarette smoking also aims to continue developing smoke-free environments at hospitals, schools, and state offices. The city has more than 350 restaurants and hotels that ban smoking.

People’s committees in the city’s districts will set up inspection teams to check the implementation of the tobacco harm control and prevention programme. An interdisciplinary inspection team will be set up by April this year.-

VNA leader elected head of Vietnam-Spain Friendship Association

Nguyen Duc Loi, member of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and General Director of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), was elected President of the Vietnam-Spain Friendship Association (VSFA) for the 2018-2023 term, at its third national congress in Hanoi on March 27.

The event saw the presence of Vice President and Secretary General of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Don Tuan Phong, Spanish Ambassador to Vietnam Maria Jesus Figa Lopez-Palop, and representatives from the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the VNA and Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America.

Speaking at the congress, VSFA President Nguyen Duc Loi said the new executive board will exert efforts to develop the association’s activities in a more diverse and effective manner, thereby helping to foster the traditional friendship between the Vietnamese and Spanish people.

At the congress, participants agreed that in the time ahead, the association will increase the exchange of delegations, organising more friendship activities, and developing the association with a focus on the two countries’ priority fields, particularly attracting young people from Spanish training establishments and businesses that have cooperative ties with Spain.

They will also continue popularising information about the association’s activities and Vietnam-Spain cooperation, expanding ties with Spanish friends and partners to promote the relations between the people of the two nations, and calling on the Spanish people to support Vietnam’s economic, social and cultural development.

Founded in 2004, the VSFA is one of 64 member organisations of the VUFO. Its activities have helped strengthen the friendship, cooperation and mutual understanding between the Vietnamese and Spanish people.

The association has maintained meetings and friendship exchanges marking Vietnam-Spain diplomatic ties and called for social participation in people-to-people diplomatic activities. It has also successfully served as a bridge liking Vietnamese and Spanish businesses while keeping close contact with the two countries’ embassies as well as Spanish friends and partners.

Free TB screening for high-risk groups in HCMC

Free X-rays and TB skin tests for people at high risk of contracting TB were provided last Sunday by medical staff working in a mobile healthcare vehicle in HCM City’s Tân Bình District.

Organised by the HCM City Public Health Association, the TB screenings are part of the association’s Right Care programme.

High-risk groups include relatives who live with TB patients; those who live in and near areas with many TB patients; others living in areas with high population density and poor labourers; people with HIV; drug addicts; and others with chronic disease.

The programme’s counsellors visited each household in the district with high-risk occupants to inform them about the free X-ray testing, and to encourage them to take part in the Right Care programme.

A 27-year-old woman from the the district’s Ward 6, whose husband tested positive for TB more than 20 days ago, had an X-ray on the mobile healthcare vehicle parked at the People’s Committee building.

“My mother-in-law and I were encouraged to come here for screening. I was asked to visit the TB prevention team at the district health centre this Tuesday to get the results of the skin test. My X-ray was negative," she said.

Another woman from Tân Bình District was also encouraged to take part because her husband had been treated for TB for five months.

“The programme is very helpful. I think it should be offered in every ward in the district so that more people can benefit,” Tuyết said.

Dr Hoàng Văn Thắng, head of the district’s TB prevention team, said the screening was offered in the district last Sunday to give high-risk people who work during the week better access to testing.

“It can detect TB early and provide treatment that helps prevent transmission,” Thắng said.

Last year, the programme found that eight of 556 people who were X-rayed had TB, including two with drug-resistant TB, he said, Of these, 96 people had one damaged lung or more.  

The programme is carried out under co-operation with Phạm Ngọc Thạch Hospital, which is in charge of TB prevention and treatment, and with the funders of the project, the Friends for International Tuberculosis Relief, IMPACT TB, and the EU, according to Dr Vũ Nguyên Thanh of the HCM City Public Health Association.

The aim is to detect and treat more TB patients to reach the target of zero number of TB cases in Việt Nam by 2030.

Last December, the Right Care Programme was carried out in districts 6, 8, 12, Tân Bình, Hóc Môn, Bình Chánh and Gò Vấp, offering free screenings, with a total of 3,133 people accessing the service. Of this number, 50 were found to have TB.

The programme, which continues in these seven districts, recently began in District 7, Thanh said.

X-ray results are given to patients right after the tests. If they have a damaged lung, the patients are given a Gene-Xpert test for rapid diagnosis of TB, which has a 90 per cent accuracy rate.

If the test is positive, they are treated at a health centre in the district where they live.

The screening programme, which is being carried out from  March 24-31, is expected to serve a total of 2,500 people in the seven districts plus the newly added District 7.

Unlike last year, participants who are relatives of TB patients are given a skin test because some of them are infected but have no symptoms.

“The testing programme is convenient because it is held on the weekend,” Thanh said.

Việt Nam ranks 15th of 30 countries with the highest burden of TB cases, according to the HCM City Public Health Association.

The country has estimated 123,000 new incidences of TB every year. However, only 81 per cent of them are detected and treated.

The remaining 19 per cent of TB patients need to be tested as early as possible for treatment and prevention of transmission, the association said.

Emergency medical teams test skills at regional disaster drill

More than 200 members of emergency medical teams from 10 ASEAN countries and Japan joined a regional collaboration drill under the ASEAN Regional Capacity on Disaster Health Management (ARCH) project in the central city yesterday.

The drill challenged participants to respond to a ‘super typhoon’ with wind speeds of 200km per hour sweeping central provinces from Thừa Thiên-Huế to Quảng Ngãi, killing 500 people and wounding 800 others. In the training scenario, dozens of living quarters were isolated and nearly 10,000 victims were taken to hospitals.

ASEAN countries then responded to a call for help from Việt Nam through the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA) and emergency medical teams (EMT) were sent to disaster-hit areas in Việt Nam with air cargo containing logistics and medical equipment.

“In response to ‘One ASEAN One Response’, Việt Nam has enthusiastically participated in the project since 2015. It’s the second time that Việt Nam has hosted the drill with the aim of strengthening joint actions with regional countries in dealing with disaster,” Vice Minister of Health Phạm Lê Tuấn said in his speech opening the drill.

“It’s also a practical opportunity for EMTs from regional countries and Việt Nam to share experience and skills in management and planning of responses in the future disasters in the region.”

Dr. Atchariya Pangma, general secretary of Thailand’s National Institute for Emergency Medicine and director of the AHA project, said the drill, which was jointly organised by the Vietnamese and Thailand ministries of health, the Japanese international co-operation Agency (JICA) and Đà Nẵng city, drew many participants and guests.

“We have designed this field exercise to provide you knowledge and useful experiences in practising medical and humanitarian responses in an extreme disaster simulation,” Atchariya Pangma said.

“In this exercise, you learn how to manage the information; how to report for effective collaboration among the EMTs, and how to work together with various local and international agencies in the affected areas,” he said.

He added that the exercise was designed to help participating teams test the efficiency of the regional collaboration tools, namely the Standard Operating Procedure for the Coordination of EMTs in ASEAN and the health needs assessment framework that have been developed by the project working group.

In 2013, cyclone Nari killed five people and injured 49 in the central region. Five hundred homes were wrecked and nearly 12,000 others damaged in Thừa Thiên-Huế, Đà Nẵng, Quảng Nam and Quảng Ngãi.

Việt Nam, Morocco share experience in maintaining cultural diversity

Vietnamese and Moroccan experts have emphasised the importance of cultural diversity for national unity during a conference held yesterday in Hà Nội.

They also shared experiences in cultural preservation and development as Việt Nam and Morocco have many similarities in culture and history. Both of the countries enjoy the harmony of different communities with unique cultures, said Azzeddine Farhane, Moroccan Ambassador to Việt Nam.

The conference was held in the framework of historical relations between Morocco and Việt Nam, and within the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Institute for Africa and Middle East Studies (IAMES) and the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences Research (CERSS), signed, on March 28, last year.

The conference saw the attendance of senior officials, professors, Ambassadors and students.

During the event, the specialists discussed general scope and meanings of cultural diversity and lessons learned from Cultural diversity experiences and implementation of legal frameworks on this issue. They considered cultural diversity as ‘a cement’ for national unity and territorial integrity.

“This event aims to contribute to strengthening academic research, and more specifically to exchange the experiences of Morocco and Việt Nam in cultural diversity, for permanent inter-cultural dialogue and mutual enrichment,” said Farhane.

“The seminar took the form of a debate about the relations between culture diversity, co-existence and national unity.”

The Ambassador said the event will help strengthen co-operation in research academic programs about cultural diversity, smooth integration and national unity; and put out the policy model of Morocco and Việt Nam for strengthening national unity, social cohesion and territorial integrity.

Michael Croft, head of the UNESCO Hà Nội Office said cultural diversity is embodied in uniqueness and plurality as a source of exchange, innovation and creativity.

“Cultural diversity is as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature,” he said. “Cultural diversity widens the range of options opened to everyone. UNESCO always works to promote cultural diversity in each country.”

Lê Phước Minh, general director of the Institute for Africa and Middle East Studies (IAMES), said Việt Nam has a rich and diversified culture, that’s the result of the establishing and developing process of the nation during thousands years.

“The ethnic groups always show solidarity and cultural exchange due to the real condition that Việt Nam always faced with the risk of being invaded during its history,” he said.

“Việt Nam has a treasure of 7,000 festivals; a rich heritage of folk music, art and crafts; as well as various beliefs and worshipping that nurture the spiritual life of the Vietnamese people.”

In order to preserve and develop cultural diversity, Minh suggested that managers and cultural activists should focus on popularising Vietnamese language, training a generation of traditional cultural practices and respecting the indigenous culture of ethnic groups.

Prof Abdallah Saaf, former Minister of National Education of Morocco, said he has researched much about Vietnamese history and culture and realised some similarities in cultural diversity between two countries.

“While Việt Nam has 54 groups with some communities immigrated from neighbouring countries such as Thailand, Laos and Cambodia and China, so does Morocco, some Moroccans look like Europeans, some look like Asians.”

He stressed that the unique culture of each group is an integral part of the national culture and plays an important part in developing the nation comprehensively.

On the occasion, the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Việt Nam introduced a Vietnamese translation of the book Histoire d’Anh Ma (Brother Mã’s History), written by Prof Saaf.

It’s the story of Ben Aomar whose Vietnamese name is brother Mã. Moroccan Communist Party sent Aomar to Việt Nam following President Hồ Chí Minh’s request with aim to support the then Việt Nam Communist Party during the resistance against French invaders.

Prof Saaf compiled the book due to his personal sentiment and respect for Aomar. He wants to honour Aomar’s braveness and achievement in political activities in general and Vietnamese revolution in particular.

Canada promotes culinary specialties

Various Canadian culinary specialities were on show at “Canadian Delicacies”, a reception held for Vietnamese food and beverage firms in HCM City on Monday.

The event, held as part of Canadian food promotion activities organised through March and April, featured Canadian fish and seafood from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, beef from the western province of Alberta, dried fruits from British Columbia, maple syrup, wines, and beers.

“We are proud to showcase some of Canada’s world renowned culinary specialties,” Canadian consul in the city, Kyle Nunas, said.

“Our vast and diverse land, pristine and cold water enables us to develop a world-class food industry dedicated to high-quality and tasty products while respecting the environment.”

Việt Nam is Canada’s top trading partner among ASEAN member countries. Canadian agricultural and seafood exports to Việt Nam doubled in 2017 to C$612  million, accounting for 58 per cent of the country’s total exports to Việt Nam.

This year marks the 45th anniversary of the diplomatic relations and the conclusion of Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

Nunas said: “I am pleased to note the growing appreciation of Canadian food and beverage products among Vietnamese consumers. We look forward to further opportunities under the CPTPP.”