Vietnam is Australian Travel Influencers' Favourite Country to Visit in Southeast Asia
	Timor-Leste Leader Praises Vietnam's Global Influence

This year, the country gained an overall score of 18.7 out of 100, up 1.2 points or 7% from the 2023 rankings, Vietnamplus reported.

The index criteria include economic capability, military capability, resilience, future resources, economic relationships, defense networks, diplomatic influence, and cultural influence. This year, the list is topped by the US and China with respective scores of 81.7 and 72.7, followed by India and Japan.

Traditional Vietnamese Dishes Are Favored by International Tourists (Photo: VNA).

Susannah Patton, Director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Lowy Institute, and the Project Lead for the Asia Power Index commented on the ranking of Vietnam, stating that as a middle power in Asia, the country sees the biggest improvements in diplomatic influence and cultural influence.

It performs best in terms of diplomatic influence, up 3.3 points to place 8th, the result of its proactive diplomatic outreach with a diverse set of partners. Its ranking for this measure improved by one place in 2024, according to the report.

The foreign expert noted that in 2023, Vietnam was the only in the region to welcome the top leaders of both the US and China.

As of the end of August, Vietnam had established diplomatic ties with 194 countries, formed economic partnerships with over 230 countries and territories, and signed 16 free trade agreements, including many new-generation ones.

Other impressive scores for cultural influence, future resources, economic relationships, military capability, and economic capability have recorded respective gains of 1.9, 1.8, 1.6, 1.5, and 0.8.

Ben Tre Delicacy Garners International Recognition The coconut candy attracts tourists with a distinctive local taste from the land of Ben Tre.

Taste Atlas: Spring Roll And Sugarcane Shrimp Are Among The World’s Best Appetizers Spring roll and sugarcane shrimp (Chao Tom), the Vietnamese traditional dishes, are voted among the world’s best appetizers on the global list of Taste Atlas.