An international workshop on Vietnam's economic prospects until 2025: opportunities and challenges brought by new-generation FTAs (Photo: dangcongsan.vn) Under its 5-year socio-economic development plan until 2020, Vietnam has maintained an annual GDP growth rate of more than 6.8%. Last year’s growth was more than 7% and this year is expected to exceed 7%. Vietnam has achieved the GDP growth target set for the entire period. Inflation has been under control and the public debt ratio has been decreasing. But growth has been heavily dependent on capital. The support industry has grown slowly. The contribution of services with high added value has remained low. Logistics costs are high. Exports depend on foreign-invested enterprises. Most Vietnamese businesses haven’t participated in global value chains and their ability to innovate hasn’t improved much. At a recent international workshop on Vietnam's economic prospects until 2025, many experts pointed … [Read more...] about New-generation FTAs create opportunities, challenges for Vietnam’s economy
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The United States supports Vietnam in improving customs procedures
The five-year, $21.7 million USAID Trade Facilitation Program aims to support the Government of Vietnam to adopt and implement a risk management approach to customs and specialized inspection agencies, which will strengthen the implementation of the World Trade Organization's Trade Facilitation Agreement of which both Vietnam and the United States are members. Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue and U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel J. Kritenbrink at the launching ceremony The USAID Trade Facilitation Program will work with the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC), under the Ministry of Finance to strengthen the role and capacity of Vietnam's National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) and their associated working groups to improve the efficiency of specialized inspections and customs-to-business partnerships. The USAID Trade Facilitation Program will be implemented until 2023 and will support the standardization of policies and procedures for … [Read more...] about The United States supports Vietnam in improving customs procedures
Vietnam’s healthcare sector acts to reduce plastic waste
Minister of Health and hospitals signed several commitments The event, which attracted the participation of ministries, leaders of cities and provinces, and businesses, as well as representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), shows strong determination to cut the volume of plastic waste in the healthcare sector in the months to come. “Plastic is a multifunctional material, and is light, durable, and has a reasonable price. It is popularly used in various fields and sectors, including healthcare. However, plastic waste has become a global environmental pollutant because of its duration and difficulties in decomposition, seriously affecting the environment and people’s health,” said Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien. “The country now has more than 13,000 health facilities with around 150 million inpatients and 450 million outpatients annually. Thus, the volume of plastic waste is huge,” she added. At the conference, a number of … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s healthcare sector acts to reduce plastic waste
France wants Vietnam to become partner of reference in Southeast Asia: PM Édouard Philippe
French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe strongly believes that Vietnam and his country should advance their ties in order to turn Hanoi into Paris’ partner of reference in Southeast Asia, given their current comprehensive cooperation. In an exclusive interview with Tuoi Tre News this week, the prime minister addresses a broad range of topics, from high-level exchange visits, trade, innovation, to culture, the French language, and history, on the occasion of his visit to Vietnam from November 2 to 4. PM Philippe did not forget to voice his expectation for the entry into force of a free trade agreement between Vietnam and the EU, which he believed would ease flows of trade and bring benefits to both nations. The pact is waiting to be ratified in both Europe and Vietnam after having been adopted by the European Commission on October 17. One highlight of his stay in the Southeast Asian country is his visit to Dien Bien Phu, the old battlefield of the French … [Read more...] about France wants Vietnam to become partner of reference in Southeast Asia: PM Édouard Philippe
Bosch partners Yonah to clear healthcare barriers in Papua New Guinea
Bosch, a leading global supplier of technology and services, announced its collaboration with Yonah, a project initiated by the alumni and students of National University of Singapore (NUS) that seeks to overcome barriers to accessing healthcare in rural regions through autonomous technologies. The project was inspired by the founding team’s trip to Papua New Guinea in 2016, where they discovered cargo logistics challenges caused by the difficult terrain and lack of road infrastructure. This also inhibited the transport of medical supplies to rural villages, causing a surge in prices for transportation and hindering supervisory medical visits by health community workers. Yonah was thus founded to help time-sensitive medical supplies reach the communities that need them. “From our hospital partner at Papua New Guinea, we learned that health workers conducting immunisation patrols at the various rural health centres have to travel 20 to 30 kilometres on foot, taking up to … [Read more...] about Bosch partners Yonah to clear healthcare barriers in Papua New Guinea