Vietnam airlines

The EVFTA, which took effect on August 1 last year, has given an impulse to bilateral exportation and importation, with Vietnam currently recording a trade surplus with the EU. In the first half of 2021, the country’s exports to the EU stood at US$19.3 billion while imports from this bloc grew 17.2 percent from a year earlier to $8.14 billion. The import turnover was $14.65 billion in 2020, up 4.3 percent year on year. The largest EU exporters to Vietnam consist of Germany, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, and Ireland, which accounted for 85 percent of the country’s total imports from the EU last year. Computers, electronic products and components; machinery, equipment, tools, and spare parts; along with pharmaceutical products are the main groups of items with billions-of-US-dollar imports from the EU. They saw respective import turnover of $4.1 billion, $3.1 billion, and $1.75 billion last year, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs. …

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Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (Photo: VNA) Beijing (VNA) – Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong ’s article “Several theoretical and practical issues on socialism and the path towards socialism in Vietnam ” affirms the soundness of the path towards socialism of Vietnam, said a Chinese official. In his recent article on Vietnam’s contributions to human civilisation, Han Fangming, Vice Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and Chairman of Chahar Institute, a well-known think tank of diplomacy and international relations, the article systematically analyses the original ideal and development of socialism in Vietnam from the perspective of its reality. It points to the origins and goals of as well as persistence and firmness in a number of theories of Vietnam’s socialist-oriented market economy and the human-centered development strategy. Han wrote that the …

[Read more...] about Party chief’s article asserts soundness of Vietnam’s path towards socialism: Chinese scholar

Vegetables being loaded into a bus belonging to Bao Yen Construction Services Tourism Co., Ltd. in HCM City last week. Five such buses are being used to distribute vegetables around the city. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNS/VNA) - I was surprised to receive a call from an American friend who lives in Singapore, asking about the pandemic situation in Ho Chi Minh City , Vietnam’s current COVID-19 epicentre with a daily record of thousands of cases. He was concerned that the situation could spin “out of control”, comparing it to India or Indonesia. I told my friend that he had called at a good time as I had just read a news story from the Singapore-based The Straits Times, headlined “Vietnam grapples with public frustration over COVID-19 pandemic missteps and transparency”, mentioning the growing unhappiness about the pandemic control measures. The story, I believe, described the situation in a superficial way. I have closely observed the global situation, especially …

[Read more...] about Vietnam ensures people’s livelihoods, fair distribution of vaccines

Vietnamese State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked health authorities to promptly authorize Nano Covax, a vaccine being developed domestically, to make the first made-in-Vietnam vaccine available soon amid surging COVID-19 cases. The president made the direction during a meeting at Ho Chi Minh City-based Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC, which he visited on Thursday to review its production progress. At the meeting, President Phuc emphasized the importance of the compliance with epidemic prevention and control rules and the acceleration of mass vaccination to prevent the rising coronavirus spread. The leader said the Party and State have been proceeding with securing vaccine supplies from abroad while speeding up domestic vaccine research and production, with a vision to ensure proactiveness in inoculation. Administrative procedures should be sped up so that the vaccine can be approved for emergency use soon provided it is safe for people, the president said. The …

[Read more...] about Vietnam president urges authorization for domestically-made Nano Covax vaccine

Vietnam’s leading private conglomerate Vingroup will build a plant capable of producing up to 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses per year under a U.S. technology transfer, amid the country’s efforts to secure enough jabs for slowing COVID-19 infections. The vaccine plant will be constructed under a technology transfer agreement that Vingroup made with U.S.-based Arcturus Therapeutics, a company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of therapeutics for rare diseases and vaccines. The plant, to be located at the Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park in Hanoi’s Thach That District, will have a designed capacity of between 100 and 200 million doses a year. The mRNA-based vaccine developed by Arcturus is expected to undergo clinical human trials in August in Vietnam before being produced, the Ministry of Health said. If everything goes smoothly, the vaccine will be on the market next year. Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, which needs to be stored at temperatures of minus 75 to …

[Read more...] about Vietnam’s Vingroup to build COVID-19 vaccine plant in Hanoi

The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) on Tuesday sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden on behalf of 1,000 businesses to urge the donation of more COVID-19 vaccines to partner countries, including Vietnam. In the letter, Steve Lamar, president and CEO of the AAFA, stressed that the success of the U.S. apparel and footwear industry and three million American workers is directly dependent on suppliers with healthy workforces around the world. “Vietnam is the second-largest supplier of apparel, footwear, and travel goods to the U.S. market, accounting for 20 percent of all U.S. imports, a number that grows every year, even during the pandemic,” Lamar stated. He urged President Biden to dramatically ramp up distribution of vaccines, including America’s stockpile of Astra Zeneca vaccines, as well as testing supplies and personal protective equipment to Vietnam. Immediate and dramatic actions by the U.S. will not only save millions of lives worldwide but could …

[Read more...] about US businesses call on President Joe Biden to boost vaccine donations to Vietnam

To celebrate the two anniversaries and the deep bonds of friendship between the two countries, the Landmark 81 Building in Ho Chi Minh City will wear the colours of both countries on August 1, 2021 from 7.30-8.30 p.m. Switzerland was among the first Western countries to establish diplomatic relations with Vietnam. Bilateral relations have extended dynamically since then, from development cooperation to political and multilateral spheres including trade and investment, education and research, culture, tourism and numerous people-to-people exchanges. The upcoming August 4-6 visit to Hanoi by Swiss Vice-President and Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will highlight the trust and friendship between the two countries that constitutes a solid foundation for further expansion and strengthening of bilateral relations. On the occasion of the Swiss National Day, everyone is invited to virtually join the Swiss community in Vietnam and beyond at www.missione1agosto.org. Switzerland …

[Read more...] about Vietnam landmark to light up on Swiss National Day

A webinar held on July 30 to the one-year performance of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement The European Chamber of Commerce hosted a webinar on July 30 to mark the first anniversary of the implementation of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) with more than 200 attendees and featuring special guest speakers from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the Vietnamese Embassy in the EU, and the EU Delegation to Vietnam. This historic new-generation free trade agreement was implemented on August 1, 2020. From the moment it entered into force, 65 per cent of EU exports to Vietnam and 71 per cent of Vietnamese exports to the EU became tariff-free. Over the next decade, this will rise to almost 99 per cent. The webinar evaluated the first 12 months of implementation and discussed opportunities for further cooperation in the future. In the first six months of 2021, the value of EU-Vietnam trade reached $27 billion. That represents an increase of more than 18 per cent …

[Read more...] about EU-Vietnam FTA after the first year: Remarkable achievements amid COVID-19

Recovery across industries and services have all been affected by this year’s woes. Photo: Le Toan The Asian Development Bank (ADB) last week lowered Vietnam’s 2021 growth forecast to 5.8 from 6.7 per cent previously. According to the ADB, the relatively slow implementation of vaccinations and the application of prolonged physical distancing measures in the country’s largest growth regions have had a major impact on trade flows and constrained economic activities. Vietnam’s economy in the first six months of 2021 was not much stronger than in 2020. General Statistics Office data showed that GDP growth in the first six months of 2021 slowed down, reaching 5.64 per cent, albeit still higher than the 1.81-per-cent growth rate of the first six months of 2020, but lower than in 2018 and 2019. Thus, GDP growth did not meet the government’s target. Furthermore, the potential GDP growth rate declined for the 14th consecutive quarter and was significantly lower than the actual growth …

[Read more...] about Going on the attack for a self-reliant economy

Dr Pham Trong Nghia suggested that the Government have scenarios on epidemic developments with different levels, possible impacts, solutions and policy adjustments in both the short and long term. Based on the current epidemic situation and the United Nations' guidance, Dr Pham Trong Nghia, director of the Legislative Science Information Center, Institute for Legislative Research under the National Assembly Standing Committee, said that Vietnam can consider and apply five pillars to cope with the Covid-19 epidemic. Dr Pham Trong Nghia. “Along with the fast, complicated and unpredictable development of the Covid-19 epidemic in our country, in parallel with the current measures, as well as the use of stronger legal tools approved by the National Assembly during this session, the Government needs to quickly develop a master plan on Covid-19 prevention and control," Nghia told VietNamNet on the sidelines of the first session of the 15th National Assembly (NA), which …

[Read more...] about Five pillars of response to the Covid-19 pandemic