Month: February 2022

Vietnam’s export-import turnover hit an estimated over 108.5 billion USD in the first two months of 2022, up 13 percent compared to the same period last year, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported on February 28.

Of the figure, the export revenue posted an increase of 10.2 percent to 53.79 billion USD.

In Jan-February, there were nine export commodities recording turnover of at least 1 billion USD, accounting for 71.6 percent of the total export value.

The US remained the biggest importer of Vietnamese commodities in the last two months, with an estimated value of 18.3 billion USD.

Meanwhile, the country’s import turnover was up 15.9 percent during this period, with 13 types of goods valued at over 1 billion USD. Vietnam mainly imported goods from China, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and ASEAN countries.

As a result, the country experienced a trade deficit of 937 million USD in the period.

In February alone, the country’s foreign trade was valued at 48.2 billion USD, down 20 percent from the previous month but up 17.6 percent year on year. Export earnings were estimated at 22.95 billion USD, down 25.6 percent month on month and up 13.2 percent year on year. Imports were valued at 25.28 billion USD, down 14.2 percent from January, resulted in a trade deficit of 2.34 billion USD./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A cultural and musical event named “Vietnam Soul” has been held at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, Italy, featuring various performances by students who learn Vietnamese language at the Department of Asian and North African Studies.

The event saw the presence of Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Nguyen Thi Bich Hue, Head of the Department of Asian and North African Studies Prof. Marco Ceresa and Italian friends.

In her remarks, Hue said she was happy to attend an event reflecting remarkable progress of Italian students in Vietnamese proficiency and understanding of Vietnamese culture.

She highly spoke of the creativity in teaching and learning Vietnamese language at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and the love for Vietnam of the Italian students, saying she expects to see greater success of Vietnamese language studies here. Vietnamese language has been taught at the Italian university since 2018, Ceresa said, adding that the university and the department are considering to open a postgraduate course on Vietnamese language studies.

The performances, directed by Le Thi Bich Huong, a Vietnamese lecturer, were taken to the stage by first to third-year students, who do not want to learn Vietnamese just from books but also from traditional cultures.

The event was opened with a signature Bac Ninh “quan ho” (love duet) folk song called “Moi Trau” to welcome the guests and express the hospitality.

The performers also enthralled the audience with “cheo” (Vietnamese traditional opera) and “cai luong” (reformed opera) singing, a traditional costume fashion show and Vietnamese poem reading, among others./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) has asked domestic airlines to prepare resources and set out plans to repatriate Vietnamese citizens in Ukraine.

The carriers should report the plans to the CAAV before March 2, the agency said in a recent document, saying it will inform the airlines about the conduct of the repatriation flights following instructions of the Government and the Ministry of Transport.

Bamboo Airways said it has sketched out plans to bring Vietnamese citizens back from Ukraine right after it was assigned by the Government and ministries and agencies, especially the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Transport and the CAAV, following the eruption of the armed conflict in Ukraine.

On February 26, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also signed a dispatch on the protection of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities in Ukraine.

The dispatch, sent to ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and agencies under the Government, and Chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, said since February 24, the armed conflict in Ukraine has spread in a fast and complicated manner, directly threatening the life safety and assets of people and businesses, including that of around 7,000 Vietnamese living in Ukraine, mainly in Kharkiv, Odesa and Kyiv.

In such a situation, one of the top concerns of the Party, State, Government and Prime Minister is to ensure the highest security and safety of lives, assets and legitimate interests of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities in Ukraine and related areas, said the document./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

An inter-ministerial working group has been established to operate and upgrade the Vietnam Free Trade Agreement Portal (FTAP) for 2021-2025 with a vision towards 2035.

According a decision by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) dated December 10, 2021, the group is staffed by 29 members from relevant ministries and agencies. It will be based at the MoIT.

The portal, the first of its kind in Vietnam, has been developed by the ministry and the World Bank, with support from the Government of Australia, since February 2019.

It provides a smart online look-up tool for enterprises and others who wish to explore various FTA commitments regarding import duties, rules of origin, and services and investment. It also offers information and knowledge essential to foreign traders, such as market updates and local regulations on imports and exports as well as sustainable development.

Vietnam has signed a total of 14 bilateral and regional FTAs, 13 of which have entered into force, including the new-generation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). The country has also concluded talks over another FTA while negotiations on two others are underway./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh has been cooperating with the National Economics University (NEU) to implement its socio-economic development plan for 2021 – 2030, with focus on developing sea-based economy and agriculture.

By 2030, Tra Vinh intends to cultivate rice on 195,000 hectares, mostly in freshwater zones in the districts of Cang Long, Cau Ke, Tieu Can and Chau Thanh. Annual output is expected to reach around 1.18 million tonnes, said Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Quynh Thien.

The province will raise the area of low-yield rice and sugarcane farming converted to coconut farming to some 22,800 hectares which will yield over 327,000 tonnes per year.

Tra Vinh has huge potential to accelerate the growth of its sea-based economy as the coastal province is near Cai Cui Port in the neighbouring city of Can Tho, which is capable of accommodating large container ships.

It also has Dinh An Economic Zone, one of the country’s eight key coastal economic zones, that gathers firms in multiple areas, from industry, trade, services, to tourism, urban development, agriculture, forestry and fishery. The economic zone is prioritising projects in the areas of electricity production, petrochemicals, shipbuilding and supporting industries.

The province boats great advantages in developing aquatic farming with around 50,000 hectares of coastal land and 15,000 hectares of floodplains, alongside nearly 1,200 fishing ships. Additionally, it has been attracting renewable energy projects, with five out of eight wind power projects put into use.

Tra Vinh has what it takes to become a marine economic and clean energy hub of the Mekong Delta, said Assoc. Prof., Dr. Bui Huy Nhuong, NEU Deputy Director. It must develop the economy with help of advanced technology, he suggested, adding that agriculture, fishery, fruit and rice farming should be seen as a leverage to allow the province to make the most of its potential.

The province has also been urged to pay more attention to recovering and expanding local mangrove forests to provide new sources of livelihood for local people. It is aiming to expand coverage of mangrove forest to 4.2 percent by 2025 and 4.5 percent by 2030./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnamese carrier Bamboo Airways announced on February 28 that it will launch its direct service connecting Ho Chi Minh City with Sydney city of Australia.

Initially, there will be two weekly return flights on Tuesdays and Fridays starting from March 29, and the number will be increased to four a week later this year.

The direct service will help cut travel time between the two cities to eight hours, down by half compared to transit flights. The modern wide-body Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will be used for this route with utmost fuel efficiency and superb amenities and services.

On the same day, Bamboo Airways signed an agreement with Sydney airport relating to the operation of Sydney-Hanoi/HCM City non-stop flights.

Under the agreement, the two sides pledged to implement necessary activities to ensure the efficiency of the direct flights as well as promote the two countries’ images, cultural heritages, natural beauty and traditional values.

Geoff Culbert, chief executive of the Sydney airport, said enhacing the connection between the two cities is essential because Vietnam is an extremely popular destination for Australian tourists as well as the large Vietnamese community living in Sydney. Bamboo Airways General Director Dang Tat Thang said they are delighted as the carrier has become the first international airline to run a new route to Sydney since Australia lifted its travel restrictions.

“Bamboo Airways hopes to bring a 5-star oriented flight experience to Australian tourists as well as the large Vietnamese community in Sydney, thereby meeting the significantly increasing market demand in the post-pandemic period,” he said, adding that the carrier will cooperate with the Sydney airport to successfully operate the regular direct flights on the Ho Chi Minh City – Sydney route as well as promote the partnership between the airline and Australia’s busiest airport.

Earlier, on February 19 and 20, Bamboo Airways launched the first non-stop flight between HCM City and Melbourne city.

Australia is home to more than 300,000 Vietnamese nationals, mainly in Melbourne and Sydney, the largest and most populous city of Australia. In 2019, the number of Australian visitors to Vietnam reached more than 383,000, just behind the figures of tourists from the US, Russia and some other Asian countries, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu has brought into full play its advantages like the river network and large-scale rice fields in the northern part of National Highway 1A to promote its tourism.

The northern part of National Highway 1A, encompassing Phuoc Long, Hong Dan, Vinh Loi and Hoa Binh districts, and Gia Rai town, has strength in spiritual tourism thanks to its churches and pagodas, said Director of the provincial Department of Culture, Information, Sports and Tourism Tran Thi Lan Phuong.

It is also home to historical relic sites, traditional festivals and special cuisines of different ethnic groups, she added.

According to the official, Bac Lieu aims to boost agriculture-based tourism, craft village tourism, eco-tourism and community-based tourism in the north of National Highway 1A.

It will invest in parks and theme streets, and organise big events, art programmes, workshops and exhibitions to promote tourism in the area. The province encourages strategic investors in large eco-tourism sites and complexes and projects upholding cultural and historical values of local tourism destinations and craft villages.

It has proposed competent agencies speed up investment in such expressways like Can Tho-Ca Mau and Ha Tien-Rach Gia-Bac Lieu, as well as expanded and upgraded major routes to facilitate tourism.

The locality has also organised field trips for delegations of other cities and provinces, travel firms and agencies that want to scope out its tourism market, Phuong said./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Party Committee of Can Tho city has issued a programme on vocational education and job provision for 2021 – 2030, aiming to reduce the unemployment rate to not higher than 4 percent by 2025 and 3 percent by 2030.

The overall goal of Programme No. 25 is to reform and improve the quality of vocational education and job provision while meeting the labour market’s demand and socio-economic development requirements in a timely manner.

In particular, the Mekong Delta city looks to raise the rate of trained workers to 80 – 85 percent, workers gaining jobs after vocational training to at least 80 percent, and give jobs to 252,500 people by 2025. The respective figures are hoped to increase to 85 – 90 percent, 85 percent, and 277,000 by 2030.

To that end, the municipal Party Committee requested increased communications to raise public awareness of vocational education and job provision, stronger engagement of the private sector in the work, and overhauling of relevant mechanisms and policies. It ordered the network of local training establishments be restructured, the quality of career coaching, vocational education, and employment consulting services be improved, vocational education be aligned with the labour market, employment service providers be connected with vocational training establishments, and the labour market’s development be facilitated.

In 2021, Can Tho failed to achieve many socio-economic targets, including those on vocational training and job provision, due to severe impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. It provided training for 40,118 people and jobs for 43,498, equivalent to 80.24 percent and 86.48 percent of the year’s targets, according to the Party Committee.

The city plans to raise this year’s rate of trained workers to 80 percent, compared to 75.8 percent in 2021./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency