The diplomat said that the signing of the E.U.-ASEAN comprehensive air transport agreement, the first ever region-to-region aviation agreement in 2022, will provide quite a boost to air connectivity between the 37 countries involved. The E.U. wants to invest more in the region, he said, adding that leaders of the union have announced 10 billion EUR (10.88 billion USD) in investment in Southeast Asia in the next couple of years through the “Global Gateway” sustainable investments in the region at a hope to address some of ASEAN's big connectivity needs and build on some of the successes in that respect of our previous cooperation. He noted that the E.U. has already signed free trade agreements (FTA) with Singapore and Vietnam. The union will open negotiations for FTAs with other ASEAN countries, while resuming FTA negotiations with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. Driesmans said that the E.U.’s second priority is to develop a joint green and sustainable agenda … [Read more...] about E.U. to focus on deepening economic ties with ASEAN: diplomat
Focus enhancing foods
Migration significant to Vietnam’s socio-economic development: IOM
Remittances contributed by migrants account for 5% of Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP). International migration and internal migration in Vietnam have long played a very important role in the country’s socioeconomic development and they will continue to do so. Park Mihyung, Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Vietnam, shared that view with The Hanoi Times . Park Mihyung, Chief of Mission of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Vietnam. Photos: IOM Vietnam “If you look at the GDP, up to 5% of the country’s GDP comes from remittances contributed by international migration and that’s only recorded remittances, so it should be a lot more,” she said. For that reason, when the migration governance is done right and well, there’s a lot of positive development and contributions to Vietnam when they return and with their remittances, Park added. In addition, there’s also a recognition that … [Read more...] about Migration significant to Vietnam’s socio-economic development: IOM
Intertwined opportunities, challenges for Vietnam’s economy in 2023
Vietnam has to deal with one major external challenge and two internal ones, Dr Pham Sy Thanh, Director of the Chinese Economic Studies Program under the Vietnam Institute for Economics and Policy Research, told the Vietnam News Agency. The external challenge is a strong decline in demand for Vietnamese exports. Many export sectors with revenue of over 1 billion USD like wood and apparel recorded their earnings in October and November 2022 falling 30 - 40% year on year and month on month. This indicates that foreign markets are no longer open or attractive enough for exports in 2023. Export contraction will have a huge impact on many social issues, especially lay-offs, job shortages, and unemployment in industrial parks, he pointed out. Among internal challenges, the first is that the handling of wrongdoings in the bond market and the banking system has caused serious disruptions and congestion of the capital flow. Meanwhile, the cost of capital is one of tough barriers to … [Read more...] about Intertwined opportunities, challenges for Vietnam’s economy in 2023