Talk Vietnam

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade  Đỗ Thắng Hải  (centre) poses for a group photo with participants of the meeting in Hà Nội. — Photo courtesy of MOIT HÀ NỘI — Despite there being no commitments on services and investment in the Việt Nam - Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the pact has boosted trade and economic ties between the two countries. The view was shared at the fourth meeting of the Việt Nam - Chile free trade council, which was held online and chaired by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade (MoIT) Đỗ Thắng Hải and Vice Minister of Trade at Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Rodrigo Yanez on Thursday. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s European - American Market Department, the two countries have enjoyed robust relations over the years. Despite the difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, two-way trade in 2020 topped US$1.28 billion, up 4.43 per cent year-on-year and 2.5-fold higher than the figure recorded in 2013, prior to the FTA coming into effect. Chile is one of Việt Nam’s four largest trade partners in Latin America, while Việt Nam is the largest trade partner of Chile in ASEAN. Goods trade in the first four months of this year rose 15.3 per cent year-on-year to $401.1 million, with Việt Nam’s exports standing at $321.3 million, up 11.8 per cent. Both sides recognised the efforts made to implement the FTA. The subcommittee for trade in goods discussed matters regarding tariffs and origin of goods and considered the application of electronic certificates of origin to simplify procedures for exporters in both countries. Meanwhile, the subcommittee for hygiene and phytosanitation worked on import procedures for several agricultural products. Việt Nam has begun risk analysis on Chilean kiwi fruit while the South American country said it will begin analyses of Vietnamese rambutan in July. Both agreed to step up measures to help Vietnamese and Chilean businesses capitalise on the Việt Nam - Chile FTA as well …

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HCM City — President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc joined other candidates for the upcoming elections of deputies to the 15th National Assembly and People’s Councils in HCM City at a conference reviewing the socio-economic-cultural situation and national defence-security in HCM City's outlying districts of Củ Chi and Hóc Môn on Thursday. The event was held three days before the first meeting between voters and candidates in constituency No 10 in Củ Chi, scheduled for Sunday. Phúc hailed the municipal Election Committee for holding the event to help the candidates understand the local situation and devise plans to meet public needs. Expressing his honour at being a candidate of Củ Chi, he said Củ Chi and Hóc Môn have advantages in land and socio-economic infrastructure, which provide a launchpad for them to prosper in the future. He suggested authorities and people in Củ Chi and Hóc Môn districts study high-tech, digital, and organic agricultural models and make the best use of land potential by reviewing land use planning and allocating more land for trade, industry, services, and high-tech agriculture. More attention should be paid to new-style rural development, the building of ecological urban areas and green belts, and making changes to the structure of the local workforce. He said the two districts should provide more care to the families of revolutionary contributors, and disadvantaged and vulnerable groups, while maintaining national defence-security and social safety and order and ensuring COVID-19 prevention and control. Phúc hoped the two districts would uphold their glorious revolutionary tradition and optimise their advantages for growth. NA Chairman Vương Đình Huệ checks election preparation at a constituency in Tuyên Quang city. —VNA/VNS Photo Candidates for the upcoming elections of deputies to the NA and all-level People’s Council are scheduled to begin their election campaigns this weekend. Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) and the …

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Illustration by Trịnh Lập by Nguyễn Mỹ Hà The latest COVID-19 outbreak has put Hà Nội's National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in lockdown for 14 days from May 5. Since the first COVID-19 community case in this latest outbreak was found in Hà Nam Province on April 29, three days prior to a four-day national holiday, as of the time of writing on Thursday morning, the number of community cases hit 64 in just eight days. New variants of the coronavirus from India and the UK have also been detected in Việt Nam. The actions of the country in recent days are reminiscent of the world-famous hand-written letters by General Võ Nguyên Giáp when he called on the advancing troops to race faster to Sài Gòn in 1975 and reunite Việt Nam. " Thần tốc, thần tốc hơn nữa ," which literally translates as "flashing speed and faster," has encouraged today's health officials and ordinary citizens alike to quickly track down the source and new COVID-19 cases in Hà Nam, Yên Bái, Đà Nẵng, Vĩnh Phúc, HCM City and Hà Nội. The country has been switched back on to alert mode to fight the coronavirus. A quick list of communities that have reported positive cases have been developed by Hà Nội's Medical University's Practice Hospital for you to check. After the four-day national holiday over the last weekend, health officials warned more coronavirus cases will spring up in the fortnight following the massive amount of people returning to work from beaches in Nha Trang, Vũng Tàu and Phú Quốc. The haunting image of the news broadcast on national TV showed two identical pictures: one of people bathing in the Ganges River in India and the other of people enjoying the beaches in Việt Nam. Needless to say, the images were supposed to warn the public in Việt Nam to learn a lesson from the tragedy unfolding in India. Over the past week, prior to the holiday, Việt Nam's Ambassador to India Phạm Sanh Châu wrote a heartfelt letter, regarding a young employee of …

[Read more...] about General Giáp’s legendary words echo as health workers battle COVID-19 outbreak