Day: July 1, 2022

Many manufacturers in the global supply chain of major firms are gradually focusing on Vietnam.

In particular, Apple has moved 11 factories of Taiwanese enterprises in its supply chain to Vietnam.

Many other firms such as Foxconn, Luxshare, Pegatron, and Wistron are also expanding their production facilities in Vietnam.

This information was shared at a conference on the situation and proposed tasks and solutions to remove difficulties and support production and business in the last six months of this year, organised by the Ministry of Planning and Investment this week.

Samsung built its largest research and development centre in Southeast Asia worth 220 million USD in Hanoi and is also planning to continue to expand factories in the northern provinces of Bac Ninh and Thai Nguyen.

Earlier this year, Dong Nai province granted investment licences for two 100 million USD projects of a component supplier for Samsung, Hansol Electronics Vietnam (RoK).

To seize the opportunity, Do Thi Thuy Huong, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of Supporting Industries (VASI), proposed the Government have large-scale selective policies to attract big foreign groups to Vietnam.

However, these policies must be accompanied by “clean” production conditions, environmental protection and no discharge into the environment, she noted.

Huong also recommended several issues, such as more supportive policies to improve labour quality and authorities needing to create more favourable conditions for businesses to access credit support policies of the Government.

Previously, she said that the root cause of the shifting trends of supply chains to Vietnam largely came from China’s relatively developed electronics and information technology industry.

She explained that they had grown to more than just assembling in the global supply chain.

Vietnam was a country quite similar to China in electronic manufacturing activities, both in terms of labour and geographical location, infrastructure, and logistics and would be very suitable to receive capital flows, which was also a technological shift.

The VASI Vice President said that, regarding the attraction of large foreign companies, in the early stages, when domestic enterprises were still weak, FDI should be allowed in but must be regulated.

It was necessary to have the hand of the State not only to support foreign businesses but also to have an incubator to support Vietnamese businesses so that they were capable of receiving technology and gradually mastering the technology to have the ability to compete and keep in domestic market, she added.

If enterprises were not strong enough, they could not protect their “soft resources,” which was their market, said Huong./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prof. Dr. Phan Trong Lan, Director of the Health Ministry’s Department of Preventive Medicine emphasised the need to take booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines while speaking at a seminar on the matter held by the government portal on July 1.

Under the direction of the Government, the Ministry of Health and localities, most of the population have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by February. However, antibody levels among vaccinated people decline after 4-6 months.

The booster shots are essential for those with compromised immune systems and old people to get a longer immunity, Lan said, adding that they should be injected on schedule and at the right dose.

He also stressed the importance of vaccinating frontline health workers because they belong to high-risk groups, saying it will help reduce the infection to other people.

Referring to concerns about the possibility of children infected with BA.4, BA.5, subvariants of Omicron, Associate Prof. Dr. Tran Minh Dien, Director of the National Pediatric Hospital, said that studies have shown that between 20%-25% of children infected with COVID-19. Most severe diseases are mainly related to chronic or underlying diseases.

If the subvariants BA.4, BA.5 spreads rapidly in the community, there might a transmission from children to old people and adults due to the fact that they are not good at following instructions on COVID-19 prevention as adults./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnamese Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan on July 1 had a meeting with President of the Philippines Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr as part of her visit to the country to attend the latter’s swearing-in ceremony.

Vice President Xuan conveyed congratulations from President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Vietnamese leaders to the Philippine President.

The Vice President expressed her belief that with his rich experience and determination to bring practical benefits to the people during his presidency, President Marcos will lead the Philippines to develop prosperously and affirm the country’s important role and position in the region and in the world. She also conveyed a letter from President Nguyen Xuan Phuc inviting President Marcos and his wife to visit Vietnam soon.

The Philippine President thanked Vice President Xuan and the Vietnamese delegation for attending his swear-in ceremony, saying it reflected the growing friendship and political trust between the two nations.

President Marcos agreed that the two sides should increase the exchange of high-level delegations in the coming time and accepted President Phuc’s invitation, confirming that he would arrange a visit to Vietnam soon.

The President emphasised that the two sides should step up trade-investment promotion measures, especially trade in rice and other agricultural products. The Philippines wants Vietnam to continue supplying rice stably to ensure food security, he said, adding that he would work closely to make cooperation in this potential field develop even more strongly in the future.

President Marcos also agreed to maintain collaboration on issues related to the East Sea for peace, stability and security in the region.

While in the Philippines, Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan also had meetings with Australian Governor General David Hurley, Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi, Brunei Minister of Foreign Affairs Dato Erywan Yusof and the British Prime Minister’s Special Envoy Richard Graham.

At the meeting with Australian Governor General David Hurley, Vice President Xuan conveyed President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s invitation to Hurley and his wife to visit Vietnam on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2023, suggesting that the two sides coordinate to organise meaningful activities on this occasion.

She thanked Australia for supporting Vietnam in the process of national development, including providing ODA and assisting in human resource development. The Vice President expressed her hope that Australia would continue to create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community living and studying in the country.

The Governor General of Australia agreed with the proposals and accepted the invitation to visit Vietnam.

During her meeting with Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Don Pramudwinai, the Vice President congratulated Thailand on successfully hosting the Global Women’s Summit last week.

The Thai leader said he hoped that the two sides would continue to work together to further promote the enhanced strategic partnership in all fields.

Talking with Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi, Vice President Xuan emphasised that Vietnam attaches great importance to the extensive strategic partnership with Japan and expected that Japan will soon return to its position as a number-one foreign investor in Vietnam.

She hoped that the two sides would actively implement the signed agreements, especially the implementation of new-generation Japan-funded ODA projects in Vietnam and promote the completion of Metro line No.1 in Ho Chi Minh City on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan in 2023.

The Japanese minister agreed that there still have room for further cooperation between the two sides.

During her meeting with Brunei’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dato Erywan Yusof, the Vice President said she expected that the two sides would closely cooperate in implementing activities to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year.

Erywan Yusof affirmed that Brunei attaches importance to its relations with Vietnam and looks forward to soon welcoming Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son to visit Brunei and co-chair the second meeting of the joint committee on bilateral cooperation. He also suggested that the two sides soon promote the opening of direct flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Bandar Seri Begawan.

Talking with the British Prime Minister’s Special Envoy Richard Graham, Vice President Xuan thanked the UK for its practical assistance to Vietnam’s socio-economic development.

She stressed that there still room for cooperation, especially in education and held that National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue’s official visit to the UK will continue to open up new opportunities and development steps for the bilateral relations.

The Special Envoy highly appreciated the cooperative relationship with Vietnam, expressing his wish that more British universities will open establishments in Vietnam in the near future./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Republic of Korea (RoK) affirmed the importance it attaches to relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) during the 26th ASEAN-RoK dialogue in Seoul on July 1.

The RoK’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yeo Seung-bae and Ambassador Vu Ho, acting Head of ASEAN SOM Vietnam, co-chaired the event, the first in-person dialogue between ASEAN and a partner after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The two sides reviewed their relationship, outlined cooperation orientations and compared notes on regional and international issues.

The RoK said it backs ASEAN’s centrality and pledged to coordinate with the bloc in implementing the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific through practical cooperation programmes and activities.

The country spoke highly of ASEAN’s contributions to peace, cooperation and prosperity in the region over the past years, saying with two-way trade revenue of 176 billion USD in 2021, the RoK remained the fourth largest trade partner of the 10-member group.

In his remarks, Ho emphasised that the RoK is a strategic partner of ASEAN and the country has made significant contributions to the building of the ASEAN Community across pillars.

He highlighted the RoK’s contribution of more than 137 million USD to the ASEAN-RoK Cooperation Fund as well as the country’s support to the bloc during the pandemic combat over the past two years.

The ambassador suggested the two sides increase cooperation activities towards people, especially in response and recovery efforts, and work to ensure inclusive growth, and harmonious and sustainable development.

ASEAN and the RoK should foster partnerships in education-training and high-quality personnel development, he said, adding that a seminar on post-pandemic workforce should be organised soon.

He also urged the two sides restore, promote and diversify cooperation in such spheres as culture, communications, education, arts, sports, tourism and people-to-people exchange, and proposed organising Korean Day in ASEAN.

The ambassador appreciated the RoK’s support for ASEAN’s stance on the East Sea, and called on the country to coordinate with the bloc in turning the East Sea into the waters of peace, friendship and cooperation.

Participants shared the view that it is time for the two sides to support each other after COVID-19, work towards sustainable development, boost trade and tourism collaboration, and people-to-people exchanges.

They expressed their hope for the early establishment of an industrial innovation centre to support businesses, promote trade and investment ties and connect people of the two sides. The two sides highly valued multilateral trade and economic links, and pledged to effectively implement the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), contributing to a comprehensive recovery.

The countries agreed that priorities will be given to food security, energy transition, smart city building, digital transformation, digital economy, green development and climate change response, among others.

ASEAN countries appreciated the RoK’s commitment to cooperation in responding to emerging non-traditional security challenges such as terrorism, transnational crime, and cyber and maritime security.

Regarding the regional and international situation, ASEAN and the RoK consented to make efforts to contribute to ensuring peace, security and stability in both Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, thereby contributing to building an Asia-Indo-Pacific environment favourable for development.

The RoK spoke highly of ASEAN’s stance on issues related to the Korean Peninsula and pledged to maintain meetings and dialogues between the RoK and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to peacefully achieve denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula.

The RoK also voiced its support for ASEAN’s principled viewpoint on the East Sea, including efforts to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and build an effective and efficient Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea in line with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The country also heightened ASEAN’s role in promoting dialogue and reconciliation in and assist Myanmar in seeking solutions to stabilise the situation.

The 27th ASEAN-RoK Dialogue is scheduled to be held in Vietnam in 2023./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency