Bac Ninh: Strongly renovating foreign affairs, adapting well to the new normal
Against the backdrop of major global difficulties, from traditional and non-traditional challenges, the guideline of proactive, flexible, creative, and innovative foreign affairs has helped Bac Ninh province respond successfully to new requirements.
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Bac Ninh's foreign affairs has demonstrated its initiative and prompt adaptability to changing circumstances over the past time, assisting the province in overcoming obstacles in order to bolster growth. In particular, the province identifies the key task is to implement economic diplomacy in the period of industrialization and modernization.
Besides, Bac Ninh has also actively taken advantage of the policy of international integration, participated in investment promotion activities, carried out drastic administrative reform, especially incentive policies for businesses, maintained the top position in the country in attracting domestic and foreign investment, which includes the world's leading multinational corporations and large domestic corporations.
Maximizing opportunities and minimizing damage
In fact, facing a series of challenges, from natural disasters, epidemics to the complex nature of the world's economic and political situation, Bac Ninh province has soon grasped the development of the situation, closely followed important local foreign affairs missions, expeditiously developed plans suitable to new situations, minimized negative effects of the epidemic, ensured the uniform implementation of local foreign affairs in all aspects of politics, economy, culture, consular and citizen protection, overseas Vietnamese work.
All of these can be done thanks to the directions and guidance of central agencies, the decision of leaders and the determination of foreign affairs staff, the solidarity and unity of the whole political system, the business community and the people.
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| Provincial leader attends kick-off ceremony of 2021 business improvement. |
As a result, despite the difficult situation, Bac Ninh's FDI attraction still achieved positive results. In 2020, the province granted new investment registrations for 159 projects, with a total registered capital of nearly 440 million USD.
In the first 9 months of 2021, 97 new projects were granted with a total registered investment capital of nearly 522 million USD. Accumulated to the end of September 16th, 2021, Bac Ninh province has granted investment registrations for 1,693 valid projects with the total registered investment capital after adjustments reaching about 20.4 billion USD.
With the success of branding, creating driving force that led to hundreds of auxiliary businesses, forming production clusters, developing education and training, etc, Bac Ninh has turned into a center of industry, electronics, telecommunications, high technology, supporting industries of the whole country and join the global supply chain.
In terms of export turnover, the province maintains the top position in the country. In 2020, the Bac Ninh ranked second to Ho Chi Minh City with export turnover of 38.9 billion USD. In the first 9 months of 2021, the province’s export turnover was estimated at more than 31.9 billion USD, reaching 87.5% of the 2021 plan, up 23.7% over the same period last year.
Regarding foreign NGO works, in 2020, there were 7 organizations operating in the province, with a total of 8 project and non-project aid programs, disbursed value reaching 409,884 USD. In the first 6 months of 2021, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a number of projects could not be disbursed as originally planned. In total, seven organizations with 8 project and non-project aid programs disbursed the value of 100,237 USD.
In addition, a number of foreign NGOs, despite having not registered their operation in the province, provided emergency aid to Bac Ninh. For example, Worldwide Orphans Foundation (WWO) and World Vision International (WVI- V) of the United States has provided emergency aid for the prevention and control of Covid-19, with a total amount of 16,976 USD, bringing the total disbursement value in the first 6 months of 2021 to 117,204 USD.
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| Vice Chairman of Provincial People's Committee Dao Quang Khai and General Director of Samsung Vietnam visited Thinh Vuong Co. Ltd, within the framework of 2021 business improvement consulting program. |
Bac Ninh province has actively spread information, thus introducing and promoting the image of the land, culture, cuisine and people of the province to a large number of domestic and international tourists on the mass media, such as: Vietnam Airlines in the period of 2021 - 2025; on the information channels of the Tourism Promotion Organization of Asia-Pacific Cities (TPO) of which the province is a member; providing information to build a Guidebook on the potentials and strengths of local investment opportunities; publishing the Bac Ninh tourism photo book; coordinating the implementation of the cruise project on Cau and Duong rivers; organizing the promotion of Quan Ho folk singing in many forms both at home and abroad.
Especially in 2020, with the approval of the Prime Minister, the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, in coordination with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, has submitted a proposal to UNESCO to consider listing the “Dong Ho folk paintings" on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.
Along with that, the province continues to fulfill its committment to UNESCO in protecting Quan Ho Bac Ninh folk singing as the Representative Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity; Ca Tru as the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding; Rituals and the game of Tug of war are recognized by UNESCO as the Representative Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
Strengthening connectivity, promoting international cooperation
2021 is the first year of implementing the 5-year socio-economic development plan 2021-2025 and the 10-year socio-economic development strategy 2021-2030, with a vision to 2045. With the determination to realize the goal of "fighting the pandemic and recovering business and production activities", the Vietnamese economy in general and Bac Ninh in particular must overcome the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and make good use of new opportunities.
Bac Ninh will continue to take measures to retain foreign investors in the locality, promote foreign affairs activities in a new form, with emphasis on economic diplomacy, establishing relations with other provinces, promoting cultural diplomacy and the work with overseas Vietnamese.
Given the goal of gradually turning Bac Ninh into a smart city by 2030, the province has built a roadmap and implemented it step by step. Up to now, Bac Ninh province has completed a number of tasks on building the province's IT infrastructure such as: Smart city data center project, Project of deploying intra-provincial WAN network, etc.
In the near future, Bac Ninh will soon carry out projects in other fields, such as Education and Training Operations Center, Resource and Environment Operations Center, Center of Operations and Early Warning System. In terms of foreign affairs, Bac Ninh aims to apply information technology, towards digital transformation, to build databases and software for the province’s external affairs.
In order to contribute to the implementation of the province's foreign affairs in the coming time, Bac Ninh has proposed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to create favourable conditions for the province to promote investment, trade and the visibility, culture and tourism of the province to the world.
It is necessary to support the Province to establish cooperative relations with foreign localities, such as: assisting the Province in signing a MOU with Yaroslavl Province (Russia) and implementing follow-up activities; supporting the promotion of establishing relations with Kanagawa province (Japan); introducing a Chinese province with similar conditions to Bac Ninh to establish cooperative relations.
It is also needed to support Bac Ninh in introducing and coordinating foreign NGO programs and projects; creating conditions for the province to join working groups to learn from experiences in mobilizing and managing foreign non-governmental projects; providing information to support the province in surveying and making statistics of Bac Ninh citizens abroad; supporting the locality in training, fostering and improving professional qualifications, skills and foreign languages for Bac Ninh’s foreign service staff.
Due attention is required to promote UNESCO to soon recognize "Dong Ho folk painting craft" as an intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding, while continuing to support the province in promoting countries/territories to place their symbols at Bac Ninh’s International Friendship Park.
It is imperative to expedite the approval and implementation of the Vietnamese Village in Bonghwa district, Gyeongsangbuk province (South Korea). It is expected that the project will include main projects such as: Relics of the Ly Dynasty, Quan Ho folk song area, Vietnamese traditional house, South Korea - Viet Nam commemorative road. Bonghwa district has also made a proposal asking for Bac Ninh province’s cooperation to realize this project.
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