Afternoon briefing on January 17


Hanoi: The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

– Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended and delivered a speech at the World Economic Forum’s Country Strategic Dialogue on Vietnam in Davos, Switzerland, on January 16 (local time).

This is one of eight national dialogue activities held within the framework of the 54th annual World Economic Forum (WEF) to introduce Vietnam’s socio-economic development strategy, priority areas to draw investments, and specific policies that the Government will carry out in the future in order to create an attractive environment to investors. Read full story

– Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had bilateral meetings with leaders of countries and the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on January 16 (local time) on the sidelines of the 54th Annual Meeting of the WEF (WEF-54). Read full story

– President Vo Van Thuong presented gifts and extended warm Tet greetings to people in Thanh Chuong district, and officers an
d soldiers at Thanh Thuy Border Guard Station in the central province of Nghe An on January 17.

Visiting Thanh Chuong district, President Thuong lauded the efforts made by the local Party Organisation, administration and residents to overcome challenges and obtain significant socio-economic achievements, with the rates of poor and near-poor households falling to 3.4% and 5.7%, respectively, much lower than the province’s average. Read full story

– Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan hosted a reception for President of Ford Motor’s International Markets Group Kay Hart in Hanoi on January 17, during which she proposed the US company consider expanding investment cooperation in Vietnam.

Congratulating Ford Motor on its achievements over the past 120 years and Ford Vietnam Co. Ltd. on receiving a first-class Labour Order from the Vietnamese State, Xuan said that Ford has invested 208 million USD in the Southeast Asian country, and created jobs for over 5,000 local labourers. Read full story

– The Ho Chi Minh City
People’s Committee and the World Economic Forum (WEF) will set up a Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR Vietnam) in June under an agreement signed between the two sides on January 16 on the sidelines of the 54th Annual Meeting of the WEF in Davos, Switzerland.

Located at the Saigon Hi-Tech Park – one of Vietnam’s two national hi-tech parks – that serves as a driving force for the city’s development, the centre will focus on research cooperation, policy recommendation, technology transfer, resources mobilisation for green growth, smart urban areas and AI, among others. Read full story

– Vietnam has set a target to climb at least two places in the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) by 2025.

Under a recently-issued resolution on tasks and measures to improve the business climate and national competitive capacity, the Government expects to move up at least five positions in the Prioritisation of Travel and Tourism index and three in the Tourist Service Infras
tructure index in 2024. Read full story

– The Vietnam Social Security (VSS) has completed and surpassed all set targets in the coverage of social, unemployment and health insurance, according to VSS General Director Nguyen The Manh.

Health insurance has now covered 93.35% of the country’s population, exceeding the goal set in the Government’s Resolution No. 01/NQ-CP as well as the National Assembly’s Resolution No. 68/2022/QH15 on socio-economic development plan for 2023, Manh said at the VSS’s conference in Hanoi on January 17 to review the sector’s performance in 2023 and launch tasks for 2024. Read full story

– Improving qualifications of guest workers and developing foreign labour markets that suit Vietnamese labourers’ standards and skills have been considered as key tasks in 2024 in order to stepping up the sending of labourers to work abroad.

According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), in 2023, the number of Vietnamese labourers sent to work abroad under contract reac
hed its peak with 155,000 people, 29% higher than the year’s plan and marking an increase of 8.55% compared to 2022. Read full story

– The Ministry of Health’s Department of Preventive Medicine on January 16 asked localities nationwide to keep a close watch on the disease situation in the face of complex developments of infectious diseases, especially respiratory ones, around the world. Read full story

– Phu Quoc island in the southern province of Kien Giang has emerged as a new trending destination, spurred by the introduction of new air routes by Korean Air.

Despite a shorter Lunar New Year holidays from February 9-12, major Korean travel companies such as Hana Tour, Very Good Travel and Kyowon Tour Travel Easy on January 17 reported a remarkable annual surge in tour bookings, averaging around 50%. Read full story

– MyTV platform of the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) on January 16 launched two international exclusive sports channels, SPOTV and SPOTV2.

The channels will provide sports
enthusiasts with exclusive access to various international tournaments, including the Grand Prix motorcycle racing (MotoGP), the US Open Tennis Championships (the US Open), the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, the BWF World Tour and BWF Major Events, Golf Major The Open and The Masters, and the World Table Tennis Championships. Read full story./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency