Day: January 10, 2022

The close cooperation between the Ministries of Public Security of Vietnam and Laos has contributed to deepening and consolidating the special friendship and solidarity between the two Parties, States and peoples.

The assessment was shared by both Vietnamese Minister of Public Security Gen. To Lam and his Lao counterpart Gen. Vilay Lakhamphong during their talks in Hanoi on January 9.

Gen. Lam said that in 2021, despite complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two ministries intensified cooperation in ensuring national security and social order and safety in each country, and in sharing information related to all kinds of crimes, especially drug traffickers and transnational crime.

The Vietnamese side helped train 280 Lao officers, and provided medical equipment and supplies to support the Lao ministry’s fight against COVID-19.

Gen. Vilay Lakhamphong expressed his hope that the ministries’ cooperation will develop further, contributing to ensuring social safety, order, security and stability.

Vietnamese, Lao Ministries of Public Security strengthen cooperation hinh anh 2

Gen. To Lam (R) chairs a welcome ceremony for Gen. Vilay Lakhamphong (Photo: VNA)

This year, the two sides will continue with coordination in handling arising cases quickly so as not to let hostile forces and criminals harm the security and order of the two countries, while seriously implementing the 2022 Cooperation Plan, and strengthening the exchange of information of mutual concern, especially the world and regional situations that affect the two nations’ security and order.

The two sides will effectively implement international treaties and agreements to which they are signatories; accelerate negotiations towards the signing of an agreement on extradition, and another on mutual protection and exchange of classified information between the two Governments; and support each other at world and regional forums in ensuring security, peace and stability in the region and the world as well as in the fight against crimes.

They will cooperate to effectively carry out activities to celebrate the Year of Friendship and Solidarity between Vietnam – Laos, Laos – Vietnam in 2022, as well as the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the 45th anniversary of the signing of the Vietnam – Laos Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation.

Concluding the talks, the two ministers witnessed the signing of several cooperation documents between the ministries’ units.

Vietnamese, Lao Ministries of Public Security strengthen cooperation hinh anh 3

Lao State’s orders presented to 16 collectives and 41 individuals of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security (Photo: VNA)

They later co-chaired a ceremony to present the Lao State’s orders to 16 collectives and 41 individuals of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Vietnamese people’s public security forces (August 19, 1945-2020)

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Government has issued Resolution No. 01/NQ-CP on the main tasks and solutions for implementing the socio-economic development and State budget plans for 2022.

Predicting this year will see more challenges than favourable conditions, the Government noted the country will face numerous challenges as a result of more complex and dangerous developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, while enterprises and people’s resilience has been running down.

Given this, it will keep working to safely and flexibly adapt to and effectively control the pandemic, stay persistent in appropriate anti-pandemic measures to maximally protecting people’s health and lives, further tackle production and business difficulties, and provide timely support for people and enterprises.

The Government views COVID-19 vaccination and medicine, along with people’s improved awareness and sense of responsibility, as the decisive factors in the successful pandemic control so as to fuel socio-economic recovery and development, according to the resolution.

Gov’t identifies focuses to obtain this year’s targets hinh anh 2

The conference between the Government and localities held on January 5 to discuss the implementation of the Party Central Committee’s conclusion and the National Assembly’s resolution on the 2022 socio-economic plan. (Photo: VNA)

It requested attention be paid to three focuses: recovering and facilitating production and business activities, promoting export, and accelerating public investment and mobilising all resources for the development of infrastructure, especially strategic ones.

To achieve the set targets, the first solution is taking flexible and effective moves to concurrently fight COVID-19 and fuel socio-economic recovery and development.

Besides, efforts must be made to obtain a GDP growth rate of 6 – 6.5 percent and per capita GDP of 3,900 USD, continue sustaining macro-economic stability, keep the consumer price index (CPI) rise at 4 percent at the maximum, and ensure major balances of the economy, the resolution noted.

The Government demanded speeding up economic restructuring and growth model reform, disbursing all the planned public investment capital, and quickly developing a uniform and modern infrastructure system.

It also ordered tightening discipline; boosting the combat against corruption, negative phenomena, and wastefulness; and stepping up the streamlining and restructuring of the State apparatus./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

National Assembly (NA) deputies continue an online debate on issues related to amendments and supplements to a number of articles of the Law on Public Investment, the Law on Public-Private Partnership, the Law on Investment, the Biding Law, the Electricity Law, the Enterprise Law, the Law on Special Consumption Tax, and the Law on Enforcement of Civil Judgments; and the Eastern North-South Expressway project on January 10.

During their debate in groups on January 6 within the framework of first extraordinary session of the 15th NA, the NA deputies agreed on the necessity of amending and supplementing the laws in order to promptly remove difficulties and obstacles related to mechanisms, policies, and procedures to promote investment and support production an business; accelerate decentralisation; institutionalise Party documents and implement resolutions of the NA.

The form of land use for the development of commercial housing projects was one of the issues that many deputies were interested in.

Relevant government members will give explanations and clarifications on a number of issues raised by NA deputies.

In the afternoon, they will focus on the investment plan for the expressway project in the 2021-2025 period.

The project is hoped to contribute to improving the economy’s competitiveness in the context of extensive integration, promoting socio-economic development and ensuring defence security.

According to the Government’s report, the project has an initial investment of nearly 149 trillion VND (6.56 billion USD). Its construction will start in 2023 and basically complete in 2025.

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The will field a number of issues raised by NA deputies./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Cuc Phuong National Park in the northern province of Ninh Binh said on January 10 that the unit had just rescued a large number of wild animals including 6 species of turtles, masked palm civet, Chinese Water Dragon, and pangolin in Da Nang city and Quang Tri province in the central region.

Immediately after receiving the rescue notice, the park sent a working group of the Centre for Rescue, Conservation and Development of Creatures to Da Nang and Quang Tri to rescue and receive the wild animals, including 115 turtles of 6 species, one masked palm civet, two Chinese Water Dragons and four Java pangolins. All the animals are rare and endangered species listed in groups IB and IIB under Decree 84/2021/ND-CP.

Trinh Van Nguyen, head of the Rescue Team under the Centre for Rescue, Conservation and Development of Creatures, said that this is the largest number of turtles the park has rescued since 2021. All animals rescued this time are in stable health, without injuries.

These animals have been brought to the Centre for care and behaviour correction and will be released to the wild as soon as possible./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam’s determination to ride the global trend of digital transformation is seen in leaders’ pronouncements, general awareness among the population and actions on the ground.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has said: “It is necessary to promote national digital transformation, develop the digital economy and society to create breakthroughs in improving productivity, efficiency and competitiveness of the economy.”

How pervasive the transformation has to be in society has been emphasised by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

Since it will have a profound effect on socio-economic activities, cooperation between State and private sectors is needed, he said, adding that the three key pillars of digital transformation are digital government, digital economy and digital society.

The leadership of the country has pushed the development of the digital economy with several policies and resolutions.

Vietnam promulgated the Law on High Technology in 2009. Five years later, the Politburo issued Resolution No 36 on “promoting the application of information technology to meet the requirements of sustainable development and international integration”.

Vietnam is one of the first countries in the world to launch a National Digital Transformation programme with far reaching goals like having 80 percent of level-4 online public services – allowing users to make online fee payment- provided via different means including smart phones; and 90 percent dossiers at the ministerial and provincial levels and 80 percent of those at the district level handled online by 2025.

The country hopes to be among the top 50 countries in the United Nations’ E-Government Development Index and in the top 30 in innovation and cybersecurity. It targets the digital economy to account for 20 percent of Vietnam’s GDP by 2025.

The potential

With a population of nearly 100 million people and the second fastest growing economy in the region, a dynamic young population and quick access to high technology, experts estimate that Vietnam has the potential to reap great benefits from digital transformation.

The country has signed 17 free trade agreements with more than 60 countries, including big markets like the United States, the European Union, Japan, China, the Republic of Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

According to a report on Vietnam’s digital potential conducted by strategic economics consultancy company AlphaBeta, digital technology, if exploited to the maximum, could deliver economic value of up to 74 billion USD for Vietnam by 2030, equivalent to 27 percent of the country’s GDP in 2020.

The report identifies eight key technologies for the digital economy in Vietnam: mobile Internet, cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), financial technology (Fintech), Internet of Things (IoT) and remote sensing, advanced robotics and additive manufacturing.

Vietnam has many advantages to develop the digital economy, in particular having 70 percent of its citizens under 35, educated and tech-savvy, not to mention a literacy rate of over 98 percent among the people aged from 15 to 35. About 70 percent of the population uses smartphones.

Digital transformation goes mainstream in Vietnam hinh anh 2

A customer using SmartPay to pay for her goods. (Photo: baotintuc.vn)

The education sector has also promoted the application of information technology in teaching, learning and management, achieving many important results in recent years.

The PISA 2020 report published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed that Vietnam’s online learning in line with the COVID-19 prevention and control regulations has many positive points compared to other countries and territories. Specifically, Vietnam has 79.7 percent of high school students studying online. This rate is higher than the overall average of OECD (67.5 percent).

The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down Vietnam’s economic growth, but also created a special opportunity to promote economic growth through technological applications, innovation and digitisation.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said about 5,600 digital technology enterprises were set up last year, raising the total to 64,000. Their total revenue is estimated to reach135 billion USD in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 10 per cent.

“Digital enterprises are the core of promoting Vietnam’s digital transformation to convert all Vietnamese enterprises into digital enterprises, all Vietnamese organisations into digital organisations, and all citizens into digital citizens,” he said.

Wide reach

Indicating the reach of the digital transformation process, Vo Quang Lam, Vice President of Vietnam Electricity (EVN), said that national power utility was supplying electricity to 29.5 million customers, of which 50 percent have had electronic meters installed for remote data reading. Since 2012, EVN has used e-invoices and it has provided electricity services equivalent to level 4 public services.

EVN has delivered 12 electricity services on National Public Service Portal after it came into operation in 2019. By the end of November 2021, 55 percent of transactions by individuals and businesses on the portal were for electricity related services. EVN plans to apply AI and Blockchain technology in their production and business, he said.

According to the e-Conomy Southest Asia report by Google, Temasek and new partner Bain and Company, Vietnam led leading the region in terms of digital growth with an average rate of 27 percent in 2015-2020 period. The country’s digital economy has increased from 3 billion USD in 2015 to 12 billion and 14 billion USD in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

Nguyen Thi Hong, Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, said payment via mobile devices in Vietnam has grown 90 percent in the number of transactions and 150 percent in value every year.

A survey by consultancy McKinsey revealed that the share of Vietnamese customers using digital banking tools at least once a month doubled from 41 percent in 2017 to 82 percent in 2021, making the country one of Asia-Pacific’s fastest growing markets for digital banking.

The national database on population becoming operational and issuance of chip-based ID cards were significant steps in the renovation of e-governance to meet the demand of regional and international integration, said Prime Minister Chinh, adding that it contributes to accelerating national digital transformation.

The national database on population is the most important among the six national databases to help form an e-Government, a digital society and digital economy.

Digital transformation goes mainstream in Vietnam hinh anh 3

The health insurance card will integrate into citizen’s ID cards with electronic chips. (Photo: Vietnam Plus)

Challenges ahead

In addition to the positive results achieved in all three pillars of the transformation process – digital government, digital economy and digital society, there are still shortcomings that need to be solved, experts say, noting that Vietnam’s e-Governance ranking is still low.

Despite moving up two places to 86th in the 2020 global e-government growth index, Vietnam stands sixth in Southeast Asia, behind Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei and the Philippines.

Vietnamese enterprises in general, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that account for 98.1 percent of the total number of Vietnamese companies, and contributing up to 45 percent of the country’s GDP – are still not aware of the role of digital transformation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

While digital transformation is considered a key solution to help SMEs survive, a survey by the Vietnam Software and its service Association (VINASA) found 69 percent of surveyed businesses did not know which partners to choose to implement their digital transformation process, 72 percent did not know where to start and 92 percent did not know what digital transformation entailed.

Studies have found that investment cost is a top digitisation barrier for Vietnamese SMEs.

There is a difference between the realisation of digital transformation between large-scale enterprises and SMEs.

It’s obvious that big enterprises have the advantage in terms of capital and production scale, so the application of technology will have immediate impacts and even the high cost is acceptable.

Meanwhile, SMEs have to carefully consider the short, medium and long-term benefits of the process while not having access to the needed capital to implement it.

A 2021 report on business transformation prepared by the Department of Business Development under the Ministry of Planning and Investment in collaboration with the USAID LinkSME Project revealed that up to sixty percent of the 1,300 businesses that participated in a survey said the cost of digital technology was a headache, especially because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has reduced their revenue and access to capital.

Changing business habits and mindsets is another stumbling block. Some businesses said that after applying a software, employees have displayed reluctance to use it or even refused it. This attitude makes it difficult for enterprises to achieve digital transformation goals.

Potential solutions

Information and Communications Minister Hung said that digital transformation was more like an institutional revolution rather than a technological evolution, so the Government should lead the way, fostering the building of digital institutions.

“Only by adopting innovation and creation can Vietnam escape the middle-income trap,” he said.

Digital transformation goes mainstream in Vietnam hinh anh 4

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (third from the right) and Minister of Information and Communication Nguyen Manh Hung (fourth from the right) present awards to four products that receive gold prizes of Make in Vietnam Digital Product Awards 2021 at a ceremony held on December 11. (Photo: VNA)

Regarding mindset challenges in digital transformation, Nguyen Duc Hai, director of LitCommerce, said it was imperative to determine input and output and then model all aspects of a business accordingly.

To help businesses succeed in digital transformation, a set of guiding documents should be compiled, suggested Nguyen Duc Thuan, vice president of Vietnam Association of Corporate Directors.

Speaking at the forum “New approach to enterprise digital transformation – Get it right to win” organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) recently, he said the most important solution was that enterprises are supported when they opt to use technological tools associated with digital transformation.

Thuan also underscored the need to set up a coordination system and groups of experts to assist companies in the process.

At the third edition of a national forum on the development of Vietnamese digital enterprises in Hanoi on December 11, Prime Minister Chinh said digital transformation was a global trend that would serve all people, and therefore, it requires a global and people-oriented approach.

He identified six key implementation aspects of the process: raising awareness; perfecting institutions; developing digital technology enterprises; developing digital human resources; and developing infrastructure.

The PM emphasised that the role of State management must be strengthened to create favourable conditions for the development of digital technology enterprises.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A new cold snap is projected to hit north-eastern Vietnam starting January 10 night,according to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

The northern and central regions will be struck by rain and thunderstorms, with whirlwinds, lightning, hail and strong winds expected in some locations.

Northern and north-central Vietnam will start experiencing biting cold weather with temperatures ranging from 13-16 degrees Celsius at the lowest and even dropping to below 13 degrees Celsius in high mountains.

Authorities in the affected regions are asked to provide local residents with prompt guidance to mitigate consequences of natural hazards and devise plans in case of emergencies.

The northern area of the East Sea, including the waters around Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, is expected to have strong northeasterly wind and rough sea on early January 11./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Fisheries Resources Surveillance Division No.4 under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said on January 10 that a fisheries resources surveillance ship had successfully rescued a fishing boat, which ran aground in the Truong Sa (Spratly) waters.

The boat, coded QNg 95032TS, from the central province of Quang Ngai, encountered the incident when fishing in the waters on January 9.

The rescue work lasted until 3:30pm on January 10, with the safety of the entire crew ensured. The boat is now under repair and the eight people on board have been equipped with necessities./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh and his entourage left Hanoi on January 10, concluding their three-day visit to Vietnam at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh.

During the visit, the two PMs held talks, attended signing ceremonies for cooperation agreements, launched the Year of Vietnam – Laos Solidarity and Friendship, co-chaired the 44th meeting of the Vietnam – Laos Inter-Governmental Committee on Bilateral Cooperation, and met businesses from the two countries.

Viphavanh paid a courtesy call to Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong as well as met President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

He paid floral tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum and laid a wreath at a monument to war heroes and martyrs on Bac Son street, Hanoi.

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc hosted a reception for Lao Minister of Public Security Gen. Vilay Lakhamphong. Lao Deputy PM and Minister of National Defence Gen. Chansamone Chanyalath visited former Vice Secretary of the Central Military Commission and former Minister of National Defence Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich. Meanwhile, Vilay Lakhamphong also held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Gen. To Lam.

During talks and exchanges, both sides reaffirmed the two countries’ consistent policies of treasuring and giving the top priority to consolidating bilateral great relationship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation.

Despite COVID-19 pandemic, the two countries maintained the exchange of delegations via all channels and regularly carried out bilateral cooperation mechanisms in various forms.

The two sides pledged to maintain all-level visits and exchanges in a flexible and effective manner while seriously and effectively realising agreements reached by their leaders.

The two PMs discussed ways to lift economic ties on par with bilateral special ties and vowed to step up connectivity between the two economies, including in hard and soft infrastructure, especially road, railway and airway transportation projects, thus helping Laos achieve its goal of becoming a regional logistics centre linking with seas and oceans.

They promised to effectively carry out economic agreements, create a stable and transparent legal corridor and business environment conducive to enterprises.

Priority will be given to improving the quality of education-training collaboration; enhancing cultural, sport and tourism exchanges; and developing coordination in clean agriculture, e-commerce, digital transformation and innovation.

Leaders consented to joint celebrations during 2022 – Year of Vietnam – Laos, Laos – Vietnam Solidarity and Friendship to mark the 60th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and the 45th anniversary of the signing of Vietnam – Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. They will effectively realise protocols and plans on national defence-security cooperation, as well as work closely together to seek, unearth and repatriate remains of Vietnamese soliders falling in Laos.

They vowed to continue working closely together and offering mutual support at multilateral forums, particularly in ASEAN, the United Nations and Mekong sub-regional cooperation mechanisms. They will maintain ASEAN’s common stance on strategic issues related to regional peace and stability, including the East Sea issue.

The two PMs witnessed the signing and exchange of nine cooperation documents in security, border, economic, banking, education, health care and electricity fields.

On the occasion, Viphavanh invited Chinh to visit Laos in his time of convenience. Chinh accepted the invitation with pleasure./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency