Participants at the first meeting of the Vietnam - Colombia Joint Economic Committee (Photo: VNA) Mexico City (VNA) – Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai and Colombian Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Soraya Caro Vargas signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on trade, investment, and industrial cooperation, and co-chaired the first meeting of the Joint Economic Committee of the two countries on September 27 in Bogota. Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai (L) and Colombian Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism Soraya Caro Vargas (Photo: VNA) The positive growth of two-way trade turnover is clear evidence that bilateral trade relations are increasingly strengthened, she said. bilateral economic relations as well as cooperation within multilateral frameworks. Vietnam – Colombia Joint Economic Committee are a significant step in bilateral economic cooperation, demonstrating the commitment and … [Read more...] about Vietnam, Colombia ink MoU on trade, investment, industrial cooperation
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Thousands protest over UK health service
Protesters hold a placard portraying Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May during a march in central London calling for an end to the "crisis" in the state-run National Health Service (NHS). (Daniel LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP) NHS staffing levels have been in crisis for months, an issue made worse by a winter flu outbreak. The public health service is a highly-emotive political issue, and controversially formed the centre-piece of the succesful pro-Brexit campaign during the 2016 referendum. Protesters carrying placards reading "NHS not for sale", and "Hands off our NHS", braved the cold and rain to demand that the government pump more money into the system, and roll back the influence of the private sector in the public-funded service. Hospital campaigner Tamsyn Bacchus demonstrated with a life-size replica vulture and an NHS placard, fearing that the free-at-point-of-use service was moving towards a US style user-pay system. "I have faith, and so do all these folk here, that it's so … [Read more...] about Thousands protest over UK health service
Significance of Vietnam being a market economy
According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, 72 countries recognize Vietnam as a market economy, including Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea. The UK did so recently with an official letter to the effect. Speaking to VnExpress , a Trade Remedies Authority Department official said since its first anti-dumping investigation case against Vietnam in 2002 the U.S. had been considering the country a non-market economy. In a meeting with the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo in Washington last Tuesday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed the U.S. to soon recognize Vietnam’s market economy status . The need for recognition of Vietnam's market economy status was also in the joint statement between General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Joe Biden on upgrading the two countries' relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The EU also sees Vietnam as a non-market economy. In 2015, while free-trade agreement negotiations were underway, the EU … [Read more...] about Significance of Vietnam being a market economy
EU to offer 5 support tools to Vietnam, address IUU fishing warning soon: new ambassador
The European Union (EU) will apply five assistance tools to Vietnam’s multifaceted development plan, as well as rapidly resolve its Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing ‘yellow card’ warning against the Southeast Asian country, the new EU ambassador to Vietnam recently announced. Ambassador Julien Guerrier was speaking at his first media meeting in Hanoi on Wednesday, one day after taking office and presenting his letter of credentials to Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuong. Vietnam is an important EU partner in its Indo-Pacific strategy and the EU is one of Vietnam’s most reliable and long-standing friends and partners, Guerrier affirmed. The new ambassador pledged that during his four-year term, the EU will continue to help Vietnam realize its vision of becoming a developed economy by 2045 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. To that effect, the EU will provide Vietnam with five support tools, the first of which is to continue promoting the … [Read more...] about EU to offer 5 support tools to Vietnam, address IUU fishing warning soon: new ambassador
Conference looks for ways to boost exports of herbal products
Illustrative image (Photo: nongnghiep.vn) Hanoi (VNA) – Amidst the increasing demand for raw materials in the food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical industries, and Vietnam’s participation in various free trade agreements, the country’s herbal products, particularly cinnamon and star anise, are well-positioned to capitalise on the opportunity for development, heard a conference in Hanoi on September 28. Addressing the event, Vu Ba Phu, Director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade stressed that with a diverse and abundant source of medicinal herbs, Vietnam boasts great potential and advantages to develop this field into an economic industry. | The cinnamon cultivation area in Vietnam stands at about 150,000 ha, accounting for 17% of the global cinnamon area. Vietnam is the third largest producer and exporter of cinnamon in the world in terms of output, after Indonesia and China. Meanwhile, very few countries have star anise – the plant … [Read more...] about Conference looks for ways to boost exports of herbal products
ASEAN businesses seek investment opportunities in Africa
Chairman of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Arsjad Rasjid (Photo: VNA) Jakarta (VNA) – Southeast Asian companies are evaluating potential investments in African market s so as to support growth and seek new opportunities amidst China’s economic slowdown, said Chairman of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Arsjad Rasjid. China’s economic recession definitely impacts the Southeast Asian region, which has strong trade ties with the world’s second largest economy, he said. "What is important to see is that we are now looking at other nontraditional markets," Rasjid told Nikkei Assia, adding, "We've talked about Africa." With a population of over 1 billion, Africa is seen as filled with potential future markets by companies from the rest of the world. In late August, Indonesian President Joko Widodo made his first trip to Africa as leader of Southeast Asia's biggest economy. His tour to Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa marked a turn … [Read more...] about ASEAN businesses seek investment opportunities in Africa
Hanoi to host Vietnam Craft Village Festival 2023
The festival is expected to attract numerous visitors. The Vietnam Craft Village Festival 2023 will be held from November 9 to 12 in Hanoi to promote craft village products and tourism. Foreign visitors at the Hanoi Gift Show 2022 in October last year. Photo: The Hanoi Times The festival's program includes a ceremony to honor artisans and craftsmen, the opening ceremony, and an international exhibition of craft village products and One Commune One Product (OCOP) goods at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long. Nguyen Thi Hoang Yen, deputy head of the Department of Economic Cooperation and Rural Development, told a press conference on September 26 that six events will be held in response to the Vietnam Craft Village Festival 2023, including an art show of traditional cultural craft villages, an international workshop on craft villages with about 250 foreign and domestic delegates, a Vietnam-San Marino trade networking workshop with about 100 participants, … [Read more...] about Hanoi to host Vietnam Craft Village Festival 2023
Stock market stable after strong changes
The index closed 1.4 points lower after gaining 15.9 points Wednesday. Trading on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HoSE), on which the index is based, dropped 12.6% to VND15.9 trillion ($651.77 million). The VN30 basket, comprising the 30 largest capped stocks, saw 18 tickers fell. SSB of Southeast Asia Commercial Bank (SeABank) dropped 4.8% and STB of Ho Chi Minh City-based lender Sacombank fell 3.3%. VRE of retail real estate arm Vincom Retail closed 2.5% lower and SAB of brewer Sabeco declined by 2.3%. Ten blue chips gained, led by PLX of fuel distributor Petrolimex with a 3.3% increase. Foreign investors were net sellers to the tune of VND509 billion, mainly selling STB of Ho Chi Minh City-based lender Sacombank and GMD of logistics company Gemadept Corp. The HNX-Index for stocks on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, home to mid and small caps, fell 0.57% while the UPCoM-Index for the Unlisted Public Companies Market dropped 0.33%. … [Read more...] about Stock market stable after strong changes
More options looked at for energy-efficiency goals
Two weeks ago, the government held a forum to help make the first steps to shape the market of high-efficiency energy-consuming equipment by 2030. The move is made amid the rising pressure to alleviate power outages and achieve the net-zero goal by 2050. More options looked at for energy-efficiency goals, photo VNA The event, on developing the high-efficiency energy-consuming market from policy to implementation, was organised by the Office of the Steering Committee for Energy Efficiency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT). One measure discussed was promoting the use of high-efficiency energy-consuming equipment and gradually eliminating outdated technological products. Meanwhile, low-efficiency energy-consuming equipment such as storage water heaters and infrared hobs is prohibited to import, produce, and sell in Vietnam, according to a decision made in May. Dang Hai Dung, deputy chief of the Office of Sustainable Production and Consumption under the … [Read more...] about More options looked at for energy-efficiency goals
Detailed implementation will direct success of PDP8
The latest draft plan for implementation of Power Development Plan VIII (PDP8), submitted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on August 31, pointed out the vast challenges remaining despite the approval of the plan in May. Detailed implementation will direct success of PDP8, Source: Vietnam+ “For solar power projects that have been approved and assigned to an investor, the specific progress will be considered in the implementation plan PDP8. However, this request cannot yet be carried out according to the MoIT’s Institute of Energy,” noted the latest draft plan. The Institute of Energy, the unit responsible for developing plans to implement PDP8, explained that there are currently 23 solar power projects approved and assigned to investors with a total capacity of about 2,360MW. This is a much higher capacity than the 1,500MW limit currently set in the PDP8. Meanwhile, the MoIT reported that there are more than 2,000 proposed wind, solar, and small … [Read more...] about Detailed implementation will direct success of PDP8