Bangkok: The 23rd conference of the nine provinces of Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand that share the use of Road 8 and Road 12 took place in the northeastern Thai province of Sakon Nakhon on February 27 - 29 to review their cooperation in 2023 and propose future cooperation directions. The event saw the participation of representatives from the central provinces of Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Quang Binh of Vietnam; Bueng Kan, Sakon Nakhon, Nakhon Phanom and Nong Khai provinces of Thailand; and Bolikhamxay and Khammouane province of Laos. It was also attended by representatives of dozens of businesses from the three countries. Addressing the event, Vietnamese Consul General in Khon Kaen Chu Duc Dung said the agency is actively strengthening cooperation with provinces in northeastern Thailand, particularly those with overseas Vietnamese communities and bordering Laos, focusing on areas of trade, investment, tourism, culture, education, and health care in provinces along Road 8, Road 9 and Road 12; and fostering development in the nine provinces. Participants reviewed their cooperation in 2023 and discussed orientations for future cooperation. They agreed to continue promoting cooperation in education, health care, culture, sports, tourism, science, and technology, including expanding partnerships in training human resources; supporting migrant workers to move freely in accordance with agreements within ASEAN and on the basis of each country's legal regulations; and strengthening information exchange on preventing COVID-19, monkeypox and other diseases are spreading. Regarding transportation, participants unanimously agreed to urgently request the governments of the three countries to complete documents for constructing the Ha Tinh - Thakhek - Nakhon Phanom - Bangkok transport route; coordinate to open a passenger transportation route connecting Quang Binh, Khammouane, Nakhon Phanom and Sakon Nakhon; create favourable conditions for logistics businesses in the nine provinces to set up partnerships in transporting goods via Ro utes 8 and 12 to the Vung Ang Industrial Zone of Ha Tinh province, Hon La of Quang Binh province, Cua Lo of Nghe An province, and delivery to third countries. They underlined the necessity to accelerate the construction project of the Vientiane - Hanoi expressway via the Thanh Thuy (Nghe An) - Nam On (Bolikhamxay) intersection, towards facilitating trade, travel, and socio-economic development in Laos and Vietnam. For agriculture cooperation, the localities also agreed to intensify information and experience sharing in training and technology transfer in agriculture among them; and cooperation in combating the trafficking of wild animals along border areas. The 24th event of this kind will be held in Quang Binh in February and March, 2025. The 23rd preparatory conference for the event will take place in Laos's Khammouane province in September and October this year./. Source: Vietnam News Agency
Vietnam wants to continue promoting cooperation with UN: Diplomat
Geneva: Ambassador Mai Phan Dung, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), World Trade Organisation (WTO), and other international organisations in Geneva, Switzerland, on February 29 presented his credentials to Director-General of the United Nations Office in Geneva Tatiana Valovaya. At the meeting with the UN official, Dung affirmed that Vietnam will always be an active and responsible member of multilateral forums, especially the UN, through effective and substantive contributions in all aspects. He highly appreciated the role of Valovaya, the first woman to hold the position of Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva, and thanked the office in general and the official in particular for always creating favourable conditions to connect and support Vietnam in multilateral diplomatic activities. For her part, Valovaya congratulated the Vietnamese Ambassador on his new position at the UN, expressing her appreciation for Vietnam's role and cooperation with the UN in general as wel l as cooperation between the permanent mission of Vietnam and her office in particular in many fields, especially sustainable development. Valovaya emphasised that Vietnam is always a trusted partner, an active member, and has many important contributions to implementing UN missions as UN Secretary-General António Guterres affirmed in his meeting with Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son on the sidelines of the 55th High-Level Meeting of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on February 26. Valovaya expressed her deep impression of Vietnam and its people during her first visit to Vietnam in October 2023. The official said she wants to continue cooperating with Vietnam on many other projects in the coming time. Dung thanked Valovaya for her good assessments and sentiments for Vietnam and said he will try to continue promoting the cooperation between Vietnam and the UN during his term, especially when Vietnam is serving as a member of the UNHRC for the 2023-2025 tenure and running for re-electi on as a member of the council for the 2026-2028 tenure./ Source: Vietnam News Agency
Vietnam wants to continue promoting cooperation with UN: Diplomat
Geneva: Ambassador Mai Phan Dung, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations (UN), World Trade Organisation (WTO), and other international organisations in Geneva, Switzerland, on February 29 presented his credentials to Director-General of the United Nations Office in Geneva Tatiana Valovaya. At the meeting with the UN official, Dung affirmed that Vietnam will always be an active and responsible member of multilateral forums, especially the UN, through effective and substantive contributions in all aspects. He highly appreciated the role of Valovaya, the first woman to hold the position of Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva, and thanked the office in general and the official in particular for always creating favourable conditions to connect and support Vietnam in multilateral diplomatic activities. For her part, Valovaya congratulated the Vietnamese Ambassador on his new position at the UN, expressing her appreciation for Vietnam's role and cooperation with the UN in general as wel l as cooperation between the permanent mission of Vietnam and her office in particular in many fields, especially sustainable development. Valovaya emphasised that Vietnam is always a trusted partner, an active member, and has many important contributions to implementing UN missions as UN Secretary-General António Guterres affirmed in his meeting with Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son on the sidelines of the 55th High-Level Meeting of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on February 26. Valovaya expressed her deep impression of Vietnam and its people during her first visit to Vietnam in October 2023. The official said she wants to continue cooperating with Vietnam on many other projects in the coming time. Dung thanked Valovaya for her good assessments and sentiments for Vietnam and said he will try to continue promoting the cooperation between Vietnam and the UN during his term, especially when Vietnam is serving as a member of the UNHRC for the 2023-2025 tenure and running for re-electi on as a member of the council for the 2026-2028 tenure./ Source: Vietnam News Agency
Binh Phuoc seeks investments from EU businesses
Binh Phuoc: Representatives of more than 100 enterprises from 27 European countries and the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) will attend the 'Business Connection Forum - Industry, Trade, and High-tech Agriculture EuroCham - Binh Phuoc province in 2024' that is slated to take place in Dong Xoai city in the southern province on March 12. Speaking at the press conference to announce the event on February 29, Vice Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Huynh Anh Minh said that big European corporations such as Heineken, De Heus, Big Dutchman, Phileo by Lesaffre, Kilimo, Logwin Air, and Ocean, Stolz Asia, The Fruit Republic, Biodevas, Lallemand, Hung Nhon Aust Expor and businesses from EuroCham) will come to explore investment opportunities in the locality. 'Binh Phuoc wishes to attract businesses and strategic investors with reputation and financial and technological strength to invest in the fields of industry, commerce, high-tech agriculture, and areas that are in line with the local socio-economic development plan,' he said. Binh Phuoc has a strategic geographical location, plays an important role in Vietnam's new economic corridor, and is the gateway for economic, cultural, and social exchanges between the Southeast region, the Mekong Delta and the Central Highlands as well as with Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. It has a large land fund and a good transportation infrastructure system that smoothly connects it with the Central Highlands, the Southeast, and the seaport and airport system. Currently, Binh Phuoc has 13 industrial parks with a total area of more than 6,000 ha. The province is planning eight new industrial parks in Dong Phu district with a total area of 4,200 ha, bordering Binh Duong, Ho Chi Minh City, and Dong Nai. Vu Manh Hung, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Digital Agriculture Association (VIDA) said that besides activities at the forum, participants can also have field trips to the province's industrial zones/clusters, learn about local typical products and sign cooper ation documents on digitalisation of hi-tech agricultural products between the provincial People's Committee, VIDA and EuroCham./. Source: Vietnam News Agency
HCM City works on facilitating foreign capital influx
HCM City: Ho Chi Minh City authorities have freshly assigned tasks of stimulating foreign investment attraction, with the municipal Department of Information and Communications asked to suggest measures drawing tech firms into local software and semiconductors sectors. The Department of Planning and Investment, meanwhile, is tasked with joining the implementation of steps to attract direct foreign capital and making recommendations of selective criteria for foreign-funded projects in the southern economic hub. The Department of Industry and Trade is set to propose policies assisting the development of potential supporting industries, while the Department of Natural Resources and Environment comes up with ways to tackle shortcomings for effective use of land sources. Human resources preparations, tax policy recommendations, trade promotion, and business climate improvement are also among the key tasks assigned to relevant departments, agencies, and units. In 2023, the metropolis posted nearly 5.9 billion U SD worth of foreign direct investment, up nearly 50% year-on-year./. Source: Vietnam News Agency
Chinese daily affirms attractiveness of Vietnam’s investment environment
Hanoi: The International Business Daily, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, recently posted an article highly valuing Vietnam's investment and business environment, especially its efforts in and results of attracting foreign investment in recent times and future prospects. The article wrote that over recent years, with the stable development of the economy, Vietnam has attracted an increasing attention of investors, and always leads Southeast Asia in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction. Compared to other Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam is more attractive to foreign investors because of its advantages - a stable political institution and an abundant and skilled workforce. Over recent years, Vietnam's semiconductor and high-tech industries have grabbed much attention from the world. It cited data from the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency as saying that by January 20, Vietnam had attracted more than 2.36 billion USD in foreign inves tment, up 40.2% year-on-year. The author forecast that Vietnam's FDI attraction will maintain good growth momentum this year and the next period, given the fact that the Vietnamese Government always creates favourable conditions for investors for mutual development and benefit, with a lot of incentives on tax, factories, labour, raw material supply, and infrastructure. According to the author, Vietnam boasts rich natural resources, a rapidly growing consumer market, and a continuously improving policy environment, thus creating huge market potential that investors can exploit./. Source: Vietnam News Agency
Tra fish leads Vietnam’s seafood exports to strong January growth
Hanoi: Vietnam's aquatic product exports saw a strong start to the year, recording a 60.8% annual increase to reach 730 million USD in January, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Tra fish emerged as the star performer, showcasing a remarkable 97% year-on-year growth, with export revenue hitting 165 million USD. Communication Director of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) Le Hang anticipated a moderate 10% rise in tra fish exports this year, potentially reaching 2 billion USD, with China and the US being major importers. To achieve this projected growth, VASEP Secretary General Truong Dinh Hoe emphasised the importance of diversification. He encouraged the Vietnamese firms to explore new markets and develop innovative consumer products beyond just frozen fillets. While Vietnam faces a slight decline in market share within some major markets, smaller destinations like Mexico, Canada, Brazil, and the UK offer promising growth opportunities, he added. According to the International Trade Centre (ITC), Vietnam remains the leading supplier of whitefish to Brazil, creating a solid foundation to expand the export of more value-added products in this market. VASEP also identified Germany as another lucrative market for Vietnamese tra fish. Last year, Germany imported 38 million USD worth of Vietnamese tra fish, representing a 31% rise from the previous year. Notably, frozen fillets dominated these imports, accounting for nearly 37 million USD and up 34% year on year. Vietnam is now the sixth largest supplier of whitefish to Germany, behind China, Russia, Norway, the US and Poland, indicating room for further expansion if the Vietnamese exporters could deliver clean products that cater to German preferences at competitive prices./. Source: Vietnam News Agency
Consumer price index in February inches up 3.98%
Hanoi: The consumer price index (CPI) in February rose 1.04% against January and 3.98% year-on-year, fueled by high consumer demand for Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday and a surge in rice prices, the General Statistics Office said on February 29. In the first two months, the CPI rose 3.67% from the same time last year, while core inflation edged up 2.84%. The statistics office said that greater domestic demand for rice on the occasion of the Land Genie and Kitchen Gods worshipping day and Tet holiday resulted in an increase of 21.6% in rice prices, contributing 0.55 percentage points to the overall CPI. In the basket of goods and services that make up the CPI, prices rose in electricity (9.44%), education (8.47%), medicine and medical services (6.52%), housing and building materials (5.66%), food (0.89%) and culture, entertainment and tourism (1.3%). Meanwhile, the post and telecommunications saw its prices dropping 1.45% year-on-year as enterprises ran promotional programmes for old-generation phones. In F ebruary, gold prices expanded 2.01% from the previous month and 16.67% year-on-year as demand for the metal shot up on the God of Wealth Day on February 19 (10th day of the first lunar month). During January - February, the prices went up 16.05%. The USD rose against the VND by 0.4% month-on-month to hover around 25,115 VND./. Source: Vietnam News Agency