Category: Politics

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

– Hai Duong is envisioned to become a modern industrialised province and a key industrial hub in the Red River Delta by 2030, according to a master plan announced on January 10 in the presence of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

By 2030, Hai Duong will have developed comprehensive socio-economic infrastructure, built greenness, smartness and modernity-oriented urban areas deeply imbued with its identity, and met some basic criteria of a centrally-run city, according to the province’s master plan for the 2021 – 2030 period with a vision to 2050. Read full story

– There is plenty of room for Vietnam and Sweden to boost cooperation in many areas, especially those of each other’s strength and demand, stated Vietnamese Ambassador to Sweden Tran Van Tuan.

Firstly, the two sides boast high collaboration potential in climate change and environmental protection, as Sweden is a world leader in the field and Vietnam one
of the countries hardest hit by climate change, the diplomat said in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the Vietnam-Sweden diplomatic relations. Read full story

– Reforming mechanisms for mobilising private organisations, businesses, individuals, and the society’s engagement in child care and protection is among the key tasks recently set by the Politburo.

This is part of the Politburo’s Directive No 28-CT/TW, issued on December 25, 2023, on the enhancement of child care, education, and protection.

In November 2012, the Politburo also released a directive on promoting the Party’s leadership over child care, education, and protection which affirmed the need to boost the private sector’s engagement in the work. Read full story

– The management board of the Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (Hepza) has set a target to attract 550 million USD in investment capital this year, averaging 8.5 million USD per ha.

Concurrently,
the board aims to finalise the pilot conversion project for Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone, along with Tan Binh, Cat Lai, Hiep Phuoc, and Binh Chieu industrial parks (IPs); and build 25,000 sq.m of high-rise workshop space. Read full story

– More than 1,800 night flights, equivalent to 8% of the total number of domestic flights, will be operated from January 21 to February 25 to meet the increasing travel demand during the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) issued a document allowing night flights during the Tet holiday, and asked carriers to take actions to minimise flight delays and cancellations, and to intensify control to ensure aviation safety. Read full story

– The Mercantile Exchange of Vietnam (MXV), the only national centralised commodity trading market organiser in Vietnam, has said that it will focus on building specialised commodity trading floors in the coming time.

This is one of the MXV’s key plans in the 2023 – 2028 period, aiming to develop the
domestic commodities trading market in accordance with international standards. Read full story

– Up to 77.41% of the adults in Vietnam have payment accounts at present, an increase from 31% during the 2015 – 2017 period, an official of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) cited a World Bank report as saying.

Impressive results have been recorded in payment-related activities in the recent past, SBV Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dung told a conference in Hanoi on January 9, noting that many banks have reported over 90% of transactions conducted digitally, in some cases even 98%. Read full story

– The Vietnamese animation studio Sconnect has officially been recognised for two records in the fields of animated film copyrights and multilingual distribution on digital platforms, marking the first time in Vietnam that records have been established in the realm of animated films.

The Vietnam Records Organisation (Vietkings) presented Sconnect Vietnam the two records for the most copyrights related to Vietnamese animated
films (127 copyrights) and for Wolfoo – Vietnamese animated film with the most multilingual releases on the YouTube platform. Read full story./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: The visit to Vietnam from January 11-13 by Indonesian President Joko Widodo is expected to further tighten the Vietnam-Indonesia strategic partnership and deepen their bilateral cooperation.

This will be the President’s second state visit to Vietnam, after the first in 2018.

Indonesia was the first Southeast Asian nation to set up diplomatic ties with Vietnam, on December 30, 1955.

Since then, the bilateral friendship has been continuously nurtured by generations of leaders and peoples.

Since 1990, the two sides have organised various visits by State, Government and National Assembly delegations, and promoted cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

In June 2013, on the occasion of the state visit to Indonesia by then President Truong Tan Sang, the two sides issued a joint statement on the establishment of their strategic partnership, marking an important milestone in the history of the bilateral diplomatic relations.

At multilateral forums, the two countries have maintained close coordination an
d shared views on many issues of strategic importance associated with maintaining peace, stability, and security in the region.

Economic collaboration and trade is described as a bright spot in bilateral relations. Currently, Indonesia is Vietnam’s third biggest trade partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), while the latter is the former’s fourth largest.

Two-way trade increased from 8.2 billion USD in 2020 to 14.1 billion USD in 2022, and was estimated at over 12 billion USD last year. The two countries are striving for 15 billion USD in two-way trade by 2028.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Ta Van Thong said that the two countries still have huge potential to be tapped and a lot of advantages to supplement each other. In ASEAN, Indonesia is the largest market with more than 285 million consumers, while Vietnam is the third largest with 100 million people and impressive economic growth.

In addition, they have many advantages to increase two-way trade, as both are members of the
ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

According to the diplomat, during President Widodo’s trip, the two sides will exchange views on cooperation in fields of shared concern such as promoting trade and investment, and cooperating in energy transition and development of green and digital economy, electric vehicle manufacturing, and hi-tech agriculture.

As the world situation is experiencing big developments in terms of geopolitics, security, and economics, the two sides will have many issues to discuss to boost cooperation and coordination at regional and international forums.

As both Vietnam and Indonesia have made strong commitments to cutting carbon emissions, demonstrating their responsibility in contributing to the global effort to respond to climate change, they can cooperate closely in the fields of energy transition, carbon storage, development of renewable and green energies, and sustainable green economic development.

It is necessary to consider
the signing of a new agricultural cooperation agreement to carry out specific collaboration projects to increase farmers’ livelihoods, ensure food security and promote trade and economic development of each country, said Thong.

Tourism is also a promising field to promote collaboration between the two countries, he said. The resumption of direct flights after a period of disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the opening of new Ho Chi Minh City – Jakarta and Hanoi – Jakarta routes by the Vietnamese carrier Vietjet are favourable conditions for the two sides to cooperate in developing specific tourism products, connecting destinations, and creating new products in a green and sustainable direction, he assessed./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Stockholm: There is plenty of room for Vietnam and Sweden to boost cooperation in many areas, especially those of each other’s strength and demand, stated Vietnamese Ambassador to Sweden Tran Van Tuan.

Firstly, the two sides boast high collaboration potential in climate change and environmental protection, as Sweden is a world leader in the field and Vietnam one of the countries hardest hit by climate change, the diplomat said in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the Vietnam-Sweden diplomatic relations.

Secondly, science-technology is also a promising area for bilateral cooperation, especially in the fields where Sweden has a lot of experience such as carbon capture technology and waste treatment, digital transformation, energy transformation, financial management, and public health care, he said. And

Thirdly, the two countries have high potential in labour, trade and investment partnership, held the ambassador, explaining that with a population of a
bout 100 million, stable political situation and impressive growth rate, Vietnam has been an attractive and promising market for Swedish businesses.

During a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on the sidelines of the 28th UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in the UAE, Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson highly valued Vietnam’s stance on peaceful settlement of international disputes, and expressed his belief that the country will continue to make positive contributions to promoting ASEAN’s central role and dealing with common problems of the international community.

Tuan said he believes that with high mutual political trust, Vietnam and Sweden will continue to effectively coordinate at multilateral forums, especially in coping with global issues.

Highlighting achievements of the Vietnam-Sweden cooperation over the past 55 years, Tuan said that the two countries have enjoyed fruitful partnership in all fields.

Along with strong political trust and friendship, Sweden and Vietnam have shared sou
nd economic cooperation, he said, noting that Sweden was the biggest North European provider of non-refundable aid to Vietnam in the 1967-2013 period. Since late 2013, the two sides switched their relations to win-win partnership.

Two-way trade hit 1.5 billion USD in 2022, and 1.2 billion USD in the first 11 months of 2023 despite impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from Statistics Sweden (SCB) released in December 2023 showed that Sweden was Vietnam’s largest trading partner in North Europe and Vietnam Sweden’s largest import partner in Southeast Asia.

At the same time, Sweden helped Vietnam train many experts and engineers in the fields of forestry, paper, energy, biology, medicine, and journalism in the past through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. Meanwhile, cultural and art exchange activities between the two sides have also been fostered.

However, Ambassador Tuan held that the partnership between Vietnam and Sweden in some areas have been modest, noting that as of June 2023
, Swedish firms had invested 680.49 million USD in Vietnam.

The diplomat said that in the time to come, the Vietnamese Embassy in Sweden will focus on conducting activities to foster bilateral cooperation in politics, diplomacy, trade, investment, and science and technology.

On the occasion of the 55th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties, the embassy will organise some activities to promote Vietnam’s culture, trade and tourism in Sweden, while assisting the signing of cooperation agreements between agencies of the two countries and providing favourable conditions for the businesses of the two sides to explore each other’s market.

Along with assisting Vietnamese and Swedish firms to strengthen import-export activities between the two countries, the embassy will advocate for Sweden to open its door for highly qualified Vietnamese workers to work in the European country, especially in the fields of information technology, education, health care, and elderly care.

The embassy is working to hasten the ope
ning of a direct air route and a direct maritime route between the two countries, the diplomat said, adding that it will strengthen cultural diplomacy, people diplomacy and education-training cooperation between the two countries./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: On the opening days of 2024, Vietnam News Agency conducted an interview with Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski on the opportunities and potential to advance bilateral cooperation in fields of the countries’ respective strengths.

Ambassador Goledzinowski also shared his views on Vietnam’s diplomatic achievements over the past year, saying that 2023 was a ‘big year’ for the country.

‘It’s been particularly because the 50th anniversary, there has been a huge number of visitors to Vietnam, which also reflects the importance of Vietnam. Vietnam is emerging as one of the most important countries in Asia and in the world,’ he noted.

The Ambassador cited visits by high-ranking Australian officials to Vietnam last year, including the Governor-General, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Trade Minister, and Defence Minister.

‘We also know that Vietnam elevated its bilateral relationship with some very important countries, Korea, Japan and the United States, which I think was an important st
atement of Vietnam’s perspective on the world,’ said the Ambassador.

He went to mention the visit by Chinese President to Vietnam, saying that China will always be an important country for Vietnam due to economic, cultural, historical, and geographical reasons.

He spoke highly of Vietnam’s foreign policy of diversifying its relationships and building resilience in the national interest. The Ambassador also expressed optimism about the prospects for Vietnam-Australia diplomatic ties to be elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2024.

According to Ambassador Goledzinowski, one year after the two countries forged bilateral relations in 1973, the first Vietnamese students came to Australia on scholarships, and Australia became one of the earliest investors in Vietnam.

‘We built the first bridges over the Mekong, the first university was RMIT, the first law firm, the first bank, the first ATMs, the first telecommunications links were put in place by Australian companies. So that was really good. W
e’re looking forward to strengthening our investment profile here even more,’ the Ambassador said.

He also revealed that the Embassy will recruit five new staff members in Ho Chi Minh City and two new staff members in Hanoi with the specific aim of increasing Australian investment in Vietnam.

‘That’s new and it’s very important. And there are a few areas where we particularly want to focus,’ he continued.

‘I’m speaking with the Education Minister about making some adjustments to ensure that Vietnam is an attractive place for education investment. Because I would like to see more Australian universities come to Vietnam to establish themselves,’ the Ambassador added.

Ambassador Goledzinowski told VNA about two more potential fields of cooperation – mining and telecommunications.

The Australian side has been working with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to share its knowledge and support Vietnam in reviewing its mining law, as mining is a major industry in Australia and boasts ‘incredible p
otential for wealth to be created’ in Vietnam. Australia also expects to help Vietnam in building ‘trusted cables that connect Vietnam to the world,’ he said.

Another pillar of cooperation in bilateral ties he mentioned was ‘green energy transition’, a field that has been increasingly intensified between Australia and Vietnam in recent times.

‘When my Prime Minister was here in Vietnam in June, he announced a new partnership worth 105 million AUD, which we’re calling ‘Aus for growth’. But it will largely be around the green energy transition to assist in Vietnam’s efforts to make sure that your supply chains green, because that’s what will be necessary to trade in the future economy,’ said Ambassador Goledzinowski.

He also cited the Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s trip to Vietnam in August, where she announced 95 million AUD for climate change adaptation and particularly for the Mekong Delta region.

‘I was down there a week or two ago and the Mekong faces very particular challenges. And so we hop
e that that project will help to ease the transition to sustainable economic models in the Mekong area,’ the Ambassador said.

According to him, Australian companies are interested in working with Vietnam in this field. Specifically, he mentioned one Australian company that is ‘very keen to build offshore wind farms’ because ‘Vietnam is very prospective for offshore wind in particular.’

‘There’s a lot that’s going on, and Australia will be playing a small but we hope an important role in Vietnam transition,’ the Ambassador affirmed./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: President Vo Van Thuong on January 9 handed over appointment decisions to 26 ambassadors and heads of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad for 2024-2027, and assigned tasks to them.

Addressing the hand-over ceremony, Thuong asked the diplomats to follow instructions of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the 32nd National Diplomatic Conference last December to fulfill their tasks.

He also asked them to carry forward significant achievements the diplomatic sector made in 2023, reminding them of both opportunities and challenges ahead.

Stressing the importance of the 2024-2027 tenure to implementing resolutions adopted at the 13th National Party Congress, Thuong said the ambassadors and representative agency chiefs need to keep a close watch on the situation at home and in host countries to provide consultations for the Party and the State in building foreign policies and enhancing external relations.

Foreign relations should serve economic development, he said, highlighting cultural dip
lomacy should be prioritised as it plays a crucial role in promoting the image of Vietnamese land and people.

The leader also requested the diplomats to promote multilateral diplomacy, actively and responsibly participate in regional and international mechanisms and forums, and well perform their important task of citizen support./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency