Innovating growth model urged for post-pandemic recovery

Vietnam must strongly foster the renewal of growth model to accelerate economic recovery post-COVID-19, heard a dialogue held by Vietnam Economics Times on December 4.

It is urgent for Vietnam to innovate growth model at the time of COVID-19 as it will help the country boost recovery after the pandemic crisis, one of the country’s major goals in short term prioritised by the Party and Government in 2022 and the 2022 – 2025 period.

Vietnam’s growth model has revealed multiple weaknesses over the last decade, with the country’s labour productivity only equal to 62 percent of other countries in the same income group, and domestic sector outperformed by foreign-invested sector.

In the past 10 years, total factor productivity and capital contributed 40 percent and 53 percent, respectively, to Vietnam’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP), while labour represented only 7 percent, development economist Dr. Dang Kim Son told the dialogue.

Building Vietnam’s new growth model requires the mobilisation of all resources, from land, workforce, capital to science and technology and digitalisation, according to experts at the event.

Dr. Tran Van Tho from Wasade University in Japansaid provided that the COVID-19 pandemic is kept and the economic growth rebounds to 6 – 7 percent a year, Vietnam can achieve the upper-middle-income country status between 2025 and 2026.

To create breakthroughs for the economy, experts recommended Vietnam to focus on five points of science and technology; transforming from how the country allocates resources from administrative to market mechanism; economic diversification based on regional advantages; restructuring of urban spaces; and restructuring of enterprises and economic organisations.

Dr. Nguyen Si Dung, former Vice Chairman of the National Assembly’s Office, stressed the importance of attracting and awarding talents, saying industrialisation first and foremost relies on inventions by Vietnamese people.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam wishes to better engage expats in developing innovation ecosystem

Vietnamese officials and expats living all around the world gathered in a workshop held on December 4 to discuss ways to connect skilled and intellectual expats with the country’s innovation ecosystem.

The hybrid event was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA)’ State Commission for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs (SCOV) in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST)’s National Agency for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialisation Development and Office of Project 844.

It aimed to encourage overseas Vietnamese who are IT experts and intellectuals to put forward recommendations and initiatives in using technology and developing a startup and innovation ecosystem for Vietnam to boost recovery and sustainable economic development.

It also provided a platform for local authorities and organisations to speak about the kinds of support they need for promoting entrepreneurship and innovation; and for the expats to share practices and give their advice on developing incentives and supports for overseas Vietnamese to engage in the startup and innovation ecosystem in the country.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Quang Hieu reiterated Vietnam’s consistent policy of encouraging and facilitating overseas Vietnamese to make active contributions to developing and safeguarding the nation.

Hieu said SCOV will serve as a bridge to engage Vietnamese experts and intellectuals living in foreign countries in science and technology activities and the startup and innovation ecosystem in the country, via the network of associations of intellectual expats supporting innovation and technology commercialisation newly established under the patronage of the MFA and MoST.

He expressed his hope that through the network, Vietnamese policymakers can receive feedback from expats on issues they are facing when joining the country’s startup and innovation ecosystem.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam’s meat export to China spurs in October

China was Vietnam’s largest meat buyer, among its 14 foreign markets, in October, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Agency of Foreign Trade.

Vietnam exported 2,020 tonnes of meat and meat products to China for 7.52 million USD, up 61.2 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively, compared to September.

Among the meat and meat products exported, frozen poultry meat accounted for the largest share, 1,230 tonnes, worth 2.25 million USD, marking a month-on-month increase of 266.7 percent in volume and 243.1 percent in value. China purchased 63.1 percent of the total during the month.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong (China) was the biggest importer of frozen pork from Vietnam, buying 89.2 percent of the total.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam Aviation Authority issues directive to cope with COVID-19 variant

The Vietnam Aviation Authority recently issued a directive ordering units in the sectors to intensify measures against the COVID-19 pandemic in face of the coming into being of a new variant.

The directive asks aviation service providers to seriously implement the tests as prescribed by the Ministry of Health. When cases are detected, the units must report to the medical authorities and local administrations.

Carries are also asked to boost their checks and supervision of passengers coming from or transiting through African countries or those having the Omicron variant, while airport authorities must report those cases entering Vietnam so that they will be reported to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Transport.

The authority has proposed the Ministry of Transport to ask the Ministry of Health for concrete guidance on medical check of passengers coming from a number of countries having Omicron such as the Republic of Korea and Japan; and to ask the Ministry of Public Security to tightly control and detect in a timely manner the passengers coming from or transiting through countries with Omicron to Vietnam through aviation ports to help prevent the danger of the variant’s entry and spread in Vietnam.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Gov’t leader requests accelerated COVID-19 vaccination, drug production

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a meeting on December 5 with ministries, sectors, and relevant sides to discuss COVID-19 vaccine and drug development, production technology transfer, and import.

The Ministry of Health reported that Vietnam has received and is set to receive about 211 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines under purchase and assistance agreements by the end of 2021, including over 150 million doses already delivered by late December 3.

The country is transferring development technologies and testing several vaccines, including Nanocovax, COVIVAC, ARCT-154, HIPRA, Sputnik V, Shionogi, and others of Cuba and India.

At the same time, the research on COVID-19 drugs has been carried out since 2020, the ministry said, noting that six domestic factories have applied for licence to produce COVID-19 drugs with manufacturing capacity totaling at least 1 million doses per day. If permitted, they are able to meet the domestic demand for Molnupiravir for treatment.

Participants in the meeting looked into the vaccine demand and supply, the vaccination for each group, the demand for COVID-19 drugs and production capacity, related difficulties, and mechanisms for vaccine and drug import and production to serve the pandemic fight.

Prime Minister Chinh stressed that the vaccine strategy has proved fruitful, with 94 percent of the target group given at least one dose of vaccine and 69 percent the second dose.

Relevant agencies have to strive to have all people aged 18 and above fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by December 15.

He pointed out the need to make a roadmap for administering the third dose of vaccine, firstly to those aged 50 and above, priority groups, and others as requested by each locality. The vaccination for people aged 12 – 18 should also be accelerated.

Regarding COVID-19 drugs, the PM asked the Health Ministry to assist domestic producers and create the best possible conditions for the manufacturing for the sake of people’s health.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

No one must be left without food or clothes after floods: PM

Efforts must be exerted so nobody is left without food, clothes or shelter after the recent floods, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh ordered on December 5.

Speaking at an online meeting of the permanent members of the cabinet and representatives of eight provinces in the south-central region and the Central Highlands, the PM expressed condolences to the bereaved families whose members died during the natural calamities.

For the time to come, the leader asked relevant ministries, authorities and localities to continue summing up the losses and efforts to deal with the consequences, and ordered an emergency assistance of 1,000 tonnes of rice to each of Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Quang Ngai provinces.

He also stressed the need to continue the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the context of the floods, and to recover production and business as well as the supply of necessities to the people.

Statistics show that from November 27-30, up to 19 people were killed or rendered missing by floods that pulled down 26 houses and damaged 25 others, 1,657 hectares of rice and other food crops. The situation has eased but the recovery work is still encountering difficulties.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Union of Vietnam Students in France holds ninth Congress

The Union of Vietnam Students in France (UEVF) convened its ninth Congress for the 2021 – 2023 term in Paris on December 4, during which it announced to change its name to the Union of Vietnamese Youth and Students in France.

Founded in 2004, the UEVF gathers more than 7,000 undergraduates and postgraduates living across France.

Speaking at the event, UEVF President for the 2019 – 2021 term Nguyen Khanh Linh said despite COVID-19 lockdowns, the union has managed to host various virtual events connecting its members from not only France but also Vietnam.

To support COVID-19 response in Vietnam, the UEVF has also cooperated with the Association of Vietnamese People in France to donate 10,000 doses of vaccines for their homeland and raise fund for frontline medical workers, she said.

A new 29-member executive committee of the UEVF was elected during the congress, with Nguyen Phan Bao Thuy becoming the new president for the 2021 – 2023 term.

Hoang Manh Hien, a counsellor from the Embassy of Vietnam in France, highly spoke of the UEVF’s efforts to maintain operation at the time of COVID-19, saying he expects to the union to put forward more initiatives in the coming time.

Source: Vietnam News Agency