At the meeting between FM Bui Thanh Son and Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin.

Vietnamese FM’s official visit to boost stronger ties with Thailand

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son held a meeting with Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn as part of his official visit to Thailand from April 10 to April 12, where he is also co-chairing the fifth Meeting of the Vietnam - Thailand Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC).

FM Son congratulated Thailand on their achievements recorded during their post-COVID recovery period, stating that they will continue reaping further successes in building themselves into a prosperous nation which plays an active role in the region and the world.

He also expressed his gratitude for the sentiments that the Thai King and the Princess herself have given to Vietnam, with the Princess’s song and performance about the country called “Vietnam an long” (Vietnam at peace) at Chulalongkorn University being a vivid illustration.

The Vietnamese diplomat was appreciative of the projects sponsored by the Princess, including one on improving the overall quality of life for children and youths in the Asia – Pacific region, whilst also outlining his hopes that she will re-visit Vietnam soon.

In response, the Thai Princess applauded the nation’s rapid socio-economic development over recent times, affirming that she will continue carrying out support projects in the nation, according to VOV.

She therefore consented to offer favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Thailand, whilst backing the preservation and promotion of Vietnamese cultural values in Thailand, thereby contributing to the friendship and co-operation that exists between the two countries.

Minister Son then paid a courtesy call to Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, during which he conveyed the regards and greetings from Vietnamese leaders to Thailand on the occasion of the Songkran festival.

Joint cooperative ties are at their best, he emphasized, affirming economic connectivity between the two countries aims to overcome numerous disadvantages in the spirit of “cooperation for mutual benefit and development”.

He urged that both sides should work to remove bottlenecks and facilitate more trade, striving to fulfill the two-way trade target of US$25 billion by 2025 in a more balanced direction.

Highlighting Thailand’s various initiatives, Minister Son agreed to ramp up tourism cooperation with regional countries, noting that it can be considered necessary to work together to develop infrastructure and multimodal transport.

He also suggested promoting the teaching of Vietnamese and Thai languages in each nation, whilst also promoting Vietnamese cultural and historical values in Thailand, particularly the monuments dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh in Nakhon Phanom, Udon Thani, and Phichit.

Thai PM Srettha underscored the significance of the JCBC mechanism in strengthening bilateral collaboration in all areas, making the Thailand - Vietnam Enhanced Strategic Partnership develop in a deeper and more practical way that brings benefits to the people of each nation.

Thailand places great importance on ramping up its co-operative ties with Vietnam across multiple fields, particularly in economics, trade, and investment, he affirmed, hoping to concretise these links through specific projects within the “Three Connections” initiative.

He also proposed that the Vietnamese side coordinate to roll out the “several countries, one destination” to beef up tourism cooperation.

Additionally, the Thai PM anticipates that Vietnam will encourage airlines to open a direct service to Udon Thani city where a large number of Vietnamese expats are living as a means of strengthening tourism and people-to-people exchanges.

PM hosts new Bulgarian ambassador

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received the new Bulgarian Ambassador to Vietnam, Pavlin Todorov, in Hanoi on April 11, affirming Vietnam’s appreciation of and wishes to enhance the two nations’ traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation.

The Government leader suggested that Bulgaria call on the remaining EU member states to ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and advocate the removal of the European Commission's "yellow card" warning imposed on Vietnam regarding illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities.

Lauding the deepening bilateral political ties, marked by high-level exchanges across party, state, and people-to-people channels, Chinh underscored the upcoming 75th anniversary of the nations’ diplomatic relations in 2025 and proposed the sides closely coordinate commemorating activities, cited VNA.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) and the new Bulgarian Ambassador to Vietnam, Pavlin Todorov, at their meeting in Hanoi on April 11. (Photo: VNA)

Expressing his delight at the countries’ effective coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums as well as the steady growth in bilateral trade, particularly since the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) came into effect, he acknowledged that their current scale of trade and investment remains modest compared to potential.

Looking forward to stronger cooperation, particularly in areas of mutual strength such as green, digital, and circular economies, and agriculture, he affirmed the Vietnamese government's commitment to creating favorable conditions for Vietnamese and Bulgarian businesses to connect and collaborate.

Furthermore, the PM expressed a wish for joint work in traditional and strategic sectors such as education and training, defense, security, culture, and tourism. He proposed Bulgaria further support the Vietnamese expatriate community so that they can better integrate and serve as a link in enriching the friendship between the two nations.

On this occasion, he conveyed greetings and an invitation to visit Vietnam from Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to the President of Bulgaria.

In response, Todorov said he is committed to further promoting friendship and cooperation between Bulgaria and Vietnam, focusing on enhancing exchanges at all levels to build political trust and develop trade and investment ties.

The diplomat praised the excellent state of bilateral relations and expressed high regard for the Vietnamese community in Bulgaria. He affirmed the European nation’s recognition of Vietnam's significant role and position in the region as well as its readiness to support Vietnam in its relations with the EU.

HCM City and US state eye stronger economic cooperation

Vo Van Hoan, vice chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, hosted a reception on April 11 for Washington State Senator Joseph Nguyen and his delegation.

Regarding the socio-economic situation in the southern city, the municipal leader told his guest that the city is currently outlining orientations for developing the green economy and speed up the digital transformation process to keep abreast with the common trends occurring in the world economy.

He voiced his hope that the state’s businesses will participate in the city's economic transformation process, especially in priority areas and industries such as semiconductor technology, digital transformation, and green energy.

At the reception for Washington State Senator Joseph Nguyen and his delegation.

Underlining the need for both sides to coordinate in launching exchange programs, Hoan invited the state to participate in the 2024 Ho Chi Minh City Economic Forum and the city’s Friendship Dialogue to seek greater cooperation opportunities.

As Washington State's first Vietnamese-origin senator, Joseph Nguyen expressed his positive impression of the city's dynamic development, affirming that the state desires to tighten its friendship with Ho Chi Minh City, particularly in relation to trade and investment, to bring practical benefits to the people and businesses.

Washington State is willing to, together with Ho Chi Minh City, carry out contact and dialogue activities to move forward with specific cooperative actions in the time ahead, he added.

Highlighting the southern city's development vision, My Linh Thai, a congresswoman of Washington State, expressed her desire to serve as a bridge of friendship between the second homeland, the United States, and the motherland of Vietnam, especially in the fields of education and health to bring practical benefits to people's lives.

Moving forward, 2025 will be the year that the US and Vietnam celebrate the 30th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations, and offer a good opportunity for the two countries to further bolster economic, technological, cultural, and intellectual collaboration, thereby contributing to building and developing the friendship and ties of co-operation that exists between the two countries.

Vietnam, Russia discuss ways to foster cultural cooperation

Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Dang Minh Khoi discussed bilateral cultural cooperation with Special Envoy of Russian President on International Cultural Cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoy and Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Third Asian Department Vadim Bublikov in Moscow on April 11.

Khoi shared several ideas to enhance cultural ties between the two nations, mentioning Shvydkoy's proposal for a reciprocal year for science and technology. He also mentioned plans to organize a Vietnamese cultural week in Russia's St. Petersburg and Moscow this July.

He expressed his desire for an increase in the number of Russian tourist arrivals to Vietnam, aiming for 600,000-1 million visitors annually. He advocated for Aeroflot, Russia’s national airline, to launch more direct flights to Hanoi and for Russia to offer visa exemptions to Vietnamese tourist groups to boost travel exchanges, VNA reported.

At the meeting (Photo: VNA)

Furthermore, the ambassador stressed the importance of encouraging more Vietnamese students to study in Russia and hoped for Russia's support in facilitating visa arrangements for these students to enhance their education and research opportunities there.

Shvydkoy, for his part, acknowledged the deep-rooted historical relations that span generations between the two nations.

He concurred with and supported Khoi’s initiatives aimed at enhancing bilateral cultural cooperation.

EU coffee demand expected to rise, Vietnam now the only Robusta supplier

The EU imported 4.05 million tons of coffee in 2023, worth US$20.79 billion, according to Eurostat. The figure was a 9 percent decrease in quantity and 10.2 percent in value compared to 2022.

The decrease was attributed to inflation which forced people to cut expenditures. However, with the economic recovery, European consumers’ coffee demand is expected to boom this year.

According to the European Coffee Confederation (ECF), the EU has the highest coffee consumption per capita in the world. The European coffee market is expected to have a value of US$47.88 billion in 2024 and US$58.14 billion in 2029, with an average growth rate of 3.96 percent in the 2024-2029 period.

Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in Europe. Newly opened café chains and coffee machine buyers are increasing.

In 2023, the EU imported 1.31 million tons of coffee from intra-block members, worth 8.54 billion euros (US$9.26 billion), down 6.8 percent in quantity and 0.1 percent in value compared with 2022. The biggest suppliers were Germany, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and France.

In addition, the EU imported 2.74 million tons of coffee from non-EU markets, worth 10.63 billion euros (US$11.53 billion), down 10 percent in quantity and 17 percent in value.

It imported 921,800 tons of coffee from Brazil, valued at 3.3 billion euros (US$3.57 billion) in 2023, down 11.6 percent and 24 percent, respectively.

The Brazilian market share in the EU dropped from 23.41 percent in 2022 to 22.74 percent in 2023, cited VNN.

Vietnam is a big Robusta supplier (Photo: Hoang Minh)

Meanwhile, with an export volume of 652,000 tons of coffee and a value of 1.53 billion euros (US$1.66 billion), Vietnam became the second-largest coffee supplier for the EU in 2023 in output and the third-largest supplier in value.

Vietnam’s coffee exports to the EU only decreased slightly by 1.4 percent in volume and 0.02 percent in value compared with 2022. Vietnam’s market share in the EU rose from 14.85 percent in 2022 to 16.08 percent in 2023.

The coffee bean prices in Vietnam have exceeded VND100,000 per kilogram. On April 6, coffee was traded at VND102,500 per kilogram. In Dak Lak, Lam Dong, Gia Lai, Dak Nong, and Kon Tum, the prices were VND104,000 per kilogram.

Nguyen Nam Hai, chair of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (Vicofa), said roasters all over the globe still have high demand and are seeking suppliers in Vietnam.

From January to the end of April, if European importers want to buy Robusta, they can only seek supplies from Vietnam, because harvesting is not yet to begin in other Robusta growing areas.

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