Day: June 29, 2023

Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City Duong Anh Duc received Jonathan Law, executive director of Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), in the southern metropolis on June 29, to discuss orientations for promoting cooperation between the two sides.

Duc took the occasion to acknowledge the remarkable progress of the Vietnam – Australia relations across fields, including politics, defence, security, investment, trade, culture, education, science, and technology.

Recognising the role of CSIRO, he proposed that the city and organisation step up cooperation regarding open innovative startup models and the connection of their startup ecosystems; and share experiences in developing the triple helix model of innovation (Public-Private-Academia).

The official also suggested that the two sides implement strategies to commercialise research outcomes from universities, policies, and strategic models to attract the private sector’s participation in developing the innovative startup ecosystem.

Speaking highly of these suggestions, Law said the Australian national science organisation has experience and strengths in developing the triple helix model as well as in turning scientific research from universities and research institutes into commercial products for daily life. CSIRO is ready to share such experiences with HCM City, he affirmed.

CSIRO is willing to join the city’s innovation and digital transformation week (WHISE) at the end of this year and looks forward to exchanging knowledge and experiences in technology development and innovation with the southern economic hub of Vietnam, he said.

CSIRO has a close relationship with Vietnam, with the sides collaborating on projects in the fields of aquaculture, space science, and future technology. The organisation is one of the sponsors and managers of the Aus4Innovation programme, which has been implemented in Vietnam since 2018./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The following is a list of selected news summaries last night by the Vietnam News Agency.

– President Vo Van Thuong and a delegation of National Assembly deputies of central Da Nang city met with local voters on June 28 to inform them about the outcomes of the 15th NA’s fifth session, listen to and clear up their petitions. Many constituents at the meeting spoke highly of the results of the fifth session and put forth petitions regarding various issues of public concern to the NA, Government and relevant agencies.

– Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on June 28 afternoon visited Xiong’an New Area in Hebei province – 100 km southwest of Beijing, on the occasion of his official visit to China.

Xiong’an New Area is a national pilot new economic zone based on innovation, digital economic development, and green and smart city, which focuses on promoting harmonious interaction between people and the environment. The area will take on a part of the function of the capital Beijing.

– Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to China has contributed to concretising the common perceptions of the two Party General Secretaries, especially the joint statement on continuing to promote and deepen the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership issued in December 2022, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son.

In an interview granted to the press after the PM concluded his trip on June 28 evening, Son affirmed the visit was a great success, and recorded many important results.

– National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue held talks with President of the National Council of Switzerland Martin Candinas after chairing a welcome ceremony for the Swiss leader in Hanoi June 28.

At the talks, Hue affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to its traditional friendship and cooperation with Switzerland and expressed his gratitude for the European nation’s provision of over 600 million USD in official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam from 1991 to 2021 as well as for supporting the Southeast Asian country in the fight against COVID-19.

– Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien held talks with Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao on June 28, as part of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to China and attendance at the 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions of the World Economic Forum (WEF) from June 25-28.

Minister Dien appreciated the Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s close coordination with Vietnam to promptly tackle arising issues in economic and trade ties.

– Vietnam’s GDP growth is likely to expand by 5% in the second quarter, and 4% in 2023 before reaching 6% in 2024, Singapore-based Maybank Research Pte Ltd said in a report released on June 27.

Accordingly, Vietnam’s growth is led by the service sector, which accounts for 43.1% of the GDP. This sector is forecast to post 7% growth in the second quarter of 2023, as the fields of retail, accommodation, catering service, entertainment and passenger transport are supported by the tourism recovery.

– Five Vietnamese universities keep their places in the QS World University Rankings 2024 recently released by the UK-based education organisation Quacquarelli Symonds.

Specifically, the Duy Tan University is positioned at 514; the Ton Duc Thang University is in the group 721-730, the Vietnam National University (VNU) – Hanoi and VNU – Ho Chi Minh City both are in the 951-1000 group; and the Hanoi University of Science and Technology is placed in the 1201-1400 category.

– The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) on June 28 announced that the country welcomed over 5.57 million foreign tourists in the first six months of 2023.

The number of domestic tourists during the period was estimated at 64 million. Total revenue from tourists was estimated at 343.1 trillion VND.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam and China have issued a joint press statement on the occasion of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official visit to China and attendance at the 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions (AMNC) of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Tianjin from June 25 to 28.

During the visit, PM Chinh met with Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping and held talks with Premier Li Qiang. He also had meetings with Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of China Zhao Leji, and Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Wang Huning.

The two sides have informed each other about the situation of their respective parties and countries, engaging in in-depth discussions and reaching important shared understandings on deepening the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperation in the new context; as well as on international and regional issues of mutual concern.

They agreed to continue effectively implementing the joint statement on further deepening the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Vietnam and China, which was issued during Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s visit to China last year.

They agreed to maintain high-level exchanges and strengthen party-to-party, government-to-government, and parliamentary exchanges between countries. They agreed to enhance mutual learning and exchange experiences in promoting the cause of socialism building and seeking distinctive modernisation paths in each country. They vowed to promote the overall coordination role of the Vietnam-China steering committee for bilateral cooperation in deepening exchanges and collaboration in such key areas as diplomacy, defence, law enforcement, trade and economy, and culture.

Vietnam considers the development of relations with China as a strategic choice and top priority, while China views Vietnam as a priority direction for its neighbourhood diplomacy. Both sides said they will engage in in-depth discussions on related specific measures.

The two sides concurred to actively promote strategic connectivity, accelerate joint work in building a high-quality “Belt and Road” initiative, strengthen connectivity in border roads and railways, build a multi-modal and efficient logistics system, accelerate the upgrading and connectivity of their border infrastructure, and promote smart border cooperation. They will step up mutual learning and exchange between their state-owned enterprises; explore opportunities to foster bilateral and multilateral cooperation in key mineral sectors. Vietnam pledges a favourable business climate for Chinese enterprises investing in the country.

The two sides agreed to enhance friendship exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation between localities, especially border ones, raise the awareness of the two countries’ people, especially youths, about the bilateral friendship, and well organise exchange programmes, including the Vietnam-China Youth Friendship Meeting, the Vietnam-China border people festival, and the Vietnam-China People’s Forum.

They will seriously materialise important common perceptions reached by leaders of the two Parties and countries, and the Agreement on basic principles guiding the settlement of sea-related issues, satisfactorily control disagreements at sea, foster maritime cooperation, and work together to maintain peace and stability in the East Sea.

Vietnam and China will also push ahead with the comprehensive and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and on the basis of negotiation and consensus, soon reach a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982 UNCLOS).

The Vietnamese side affirmed that it consistently supports the “One-China” principle.

On the basis of equality and mutual respect, the two countries will cooperate in human rights issues, promote dialogue and international cooperation in this field, and resolutely oppose the politicisation of human rights issues.

The two sides consented to persist in true multilateralism, work together to safeguard international justice and fairness, and enhance coordination in major international and regional issues.

They will maintain coordination and mutual support within international and regional frameworks such as the United Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, ASEAN-China Cooperation, and Mekong-Lancang Cooperation, while effectively implementing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Vietnam supports China’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in accordance with standards and procedures of the agreement.

During the visit, the two premiers witnessed the signing of cooperation documents in market supervision, smart border gate development, and less-sensitive sea-related fields.

The two sides shared the view that the official visit to China by Prime Minister Pham Minh was a great success, helping deepen the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, for peace, stability, and development in the region and the world at large.

PM Chinh invited Premier Li Qiang to visit Vietnam. The Chinese leader accepted the invitation with pleasure./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

As one of the three telecom and mobile service providers in Mozambique, Movitel – a joint venture between Vietnam’s Viettel Group and Mozambique’s SPI company – has made significant contributions to the socio-economic development of the host country, becoming a bright spot in the cooperative relationship between the two nations.

Matola is one of the 13 branches of Movitel in Mozambique, employing a total of 113 staff members, including four Vietnamese and 109 Mozambicans. It is also Movitel’s branch with the largest number of active mobile subscribers and e-wallet customers nationwide.

In February, the staff of the Matola branch raised and donated 4.5 tonnes of food and essential goods to those affected by floods and natural disasters in Boane district.

Lusvio Vilanculos, Deputy Director of Business at the Matola branch, said Movitel always strives to create more employment opportunities for local residents, especially the youth, offering stable income to them and changing many lives.

Movitel officially launched its services in Mozambique in May 2012 and became the third mobile network operator in the country with 13 branches in 11 provinces and 157 districts. With 11 years of operation, Movitel continues to have the widest coverage, reaching 92% of the population and 90% of the total area of the African country, along with quality services at affordable prices.

Movitel is now generating jobs for over 80,000 workers, including full-time employees, collaborators, sales points and agents. It also actively engages in social activities by providing free internet for schools, building schools and medical stations. The company stood side by side with the Government and people of Mozambique in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, providing support for those affected by floods and natural disasters during heavy rainfalls and floods./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The disbursement of public investment funded by official development assistance (ODA) in localities in the first six months of this year has reached only 7.6% of the year’s target, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

Speaking at a conference in Hanoi on June 28, Truong Hung Long, Director of the Department of Debt Management and External Finance under the Ministry of Finance, said that the disbursement rate of ODA-funded public investment remains very low while a total of over 34.5 trillion VND (1.5 billion USD) was allocated to provinces and centrally-run cities this year.

Just 8 out of 50 provinces and cities had a disbursement rate of over 15% while 13 localities have yet to disburse any capital they were allocated.

According to Long, the slow disbursement was caused by the adjustments of investment policies, projects, extension of disbursement, extension of project implementation term, and use of surplus capital.

Meanwhile, other public investment projects using ODA have problems in bidding or commercial contracts, land clearance, design adjustment, fluctuations in raw material prices, and a shortage of workers.

To speed up the disbursement, according to the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Construction should study and propose solutions to handle problems in design appraisal to ensure the progress of projects. The Ministry of Health was called on to find solutions to handling problems relating to medical equipment purchase and use.

For its part, the Ministry of Finance will implement measures such as ensuring the correct processing time for capital withdrawal applications, removing difficulties in public investment, and discussing with donors to solve their problems.

In addition, localities need to conduct a detailed and specific review and assessment of the disbursement ability of each project, and transfer capital from projects with slow disbursement progress to projects with better disbursement./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency