President of the National Assembly of Venezuela Jorge Rodriguez receives Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang of Vietnam in Caracas on April 19. (Photo: VGP)

Venezuela wishes to learn from Vietnam’s open-door policy

Venezuela always considers Vietnam a close friend, and it wishes to further develop friendly and cooperative relations, as well as to learn from Vietnam’s experience in opening its economy and diversifying its relations with international partners.

President of the National Assembly of Venezuela Jorge Rodriguez was speaking at a reception in Caracas on April 19 for Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang of Vietnam who was on an official visit to Venezuela.

Rodriguez welcomed Quang’s visit which he believed would help promote the Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries through all channels and in all areas.

According to the legislator, Vietnam has set an exemplary role model and a source of inspiration for peoples of Latin America in the past struggle for national independence and in the present cause of economic development.

He spoke highly of the great achievements that the Party, State, Government, National Assembly and people of Vietnam have recorded in national construction and development, and affirmed that the Venezuelan National Assembly always values cooperation with the Vietnamese National Assembly.

He expressed hope that the two sides would exchange experience and cooperate more closely in lawmaking as well as at international inter-parliamentary forums, cited VOV.

Quang for his part noted that his visit took place at a time when the two countries are celebrating 35 years of their diplomacy and 17 years of their comprehensive partnership.

Vietnam always considers Venezuela one of its traditional friends and important partners in Latin America, he told his host.

He said at international forums Vietnam shows its solidarity and support for Venezuela, while calling on countries to respect the basic principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, including respect for independence and sovereign rights and non-interference in the internal affairs of countries.

The Deputy PM informed his host about the results of his meetings with Venezuelan Government leaders, including President Nicolas Maduro, during which the two sides agreed on a number of major directions to develop the Comprehensive Partnership effectively and substantially, especially in the fields of economics, trade and investment.

He expected that the Venezuelan National Assembly as well as President Jorge Rodriguez would provide continued support in terms of legislation and policy making, as well as encouraging Venezuelan businesses to engage in bilateral cooperation projects.

The Deputy PM on this occasion respectfully conveyed the invitation of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez to visit Vietnam soon. National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez happily accepted the invitation and said he would coordinate with relevant agencies to arrange the visit at an appropriate time.

Ha Nam, China's Nanning city look to strengthen cooperation

Nong Shengwen, standing member of the Party Committee of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Secretary of the Nanning city Party Committee, led a delegation on a working visit to the northern province of Ha Nam on April 20.

Secretary of the Ha Nam provincial Party Committee Le Thi Thuy briefed the guests on the local potential, strengths, and notable achievements in socio-economic development, adding the province has invested in constructing 12 industrial parks and 14 industrial clusters with modern and concerted infrastructure, noting that Ha Nam is striving to complete procedures for establish the Ha Nam High-Tech Park with an area of over 660 ha to attract investment.

With a favorable investment environment, Ha Nam has become an attractive destination for many domestic and foreign investors, including 46 projects from Chinese investors with a total registered capital of over 414 million USD, she said.

Highlighting the longstanding friendship and important trade partnership between Vietnam and China, Thuy expressed her hope that the two sides will further strengthen investment promotion activities, exchanges, and people-to-people diplomacy to lay a foundation for building long-term cooperation between the two localities, thus strengthening and deepening the friendship and Vietnam-China cooperation.

Ha Nam will create the most favorable conditions for investment activities of Nanning's enterprises, and always accompanies and promptly resolves any difficulty and obstacle facing them during their operations in the locality, she affirmed.

For his part, the Chinese official showed his impression at the potential, strengths, and rapid development of Ha Nam, which has emerged as a leading industrial production center in Vietnam. He said he hopes that in the future, Nanning and Ha Nam will establish bilateral cooperation in various fields such as industry, agriculture, transportation, logistics, education, science and technology, health care, culture, and tourism.

Nong invited leaders of Ha Nam to attend the China-ASEAN Expo and an exchange conference between provinces and cities in the Nanning - Hanoi economic corridor in September to enhance understanding and cooperation, and to contribute to the longstanding friendship between the two countries and the two localities in particular.

The two sides discussed various issues related to industrial economy, logistics, attracting investment in energy, health care, agricultural production, trade development cooperation, and tourism between Nanning and Ha Nam, according to VNA.

At the siging ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding on strengthening economic and trade exchanges, and connectivity between Ha Nam province and Nanning city (Photo: VNA)

Chairman of the People's Committee of Ha Nam province Truong Quoc Huy emphasized that Ha Nam always considers investment cooperation as an extremely important task to promote socio-economic development, and the locality always welcomes and commits to creating the most favorable conditions for businesses from Nanning in particular, and China in general, to invest in the province.

At the working session, Vice Chairman of the Ha Nam provincial People's Committee Nguyen Anh Chuc, and Deputy Mayor of Nanning City Fan Xiaomin signed a Memorandum of Understanding on strengthening economic and trade exchanges, and connectivity. Specifically, the two sides agreed to organize learning and exchange activities among local authorities in the fields of industrial and industrial park development, bilateral trade, urban services, infrastructure, and clean energy through online meetings and reciprocal visits. They also pledged to support each other's enterprises to participate in their respective trade fair and exhibition activities, and Nanning will offer support and favorable conditions for Ha Nam's enterprises to participate in activities related to the China-ASEAN Expo.

Earlier, the Chinese delegation visited Dong Van IV Industrial Park.

AFC U23 Asian Cup: Vietnam beat Malaysia, advance to quarter-finals

Uzbekistan’s 5-0 win over Kuwait at the ongoing 2024 AFC U23 Asian Cup in Qatar on April 20 evening helped Vietnam beat Malaysia 2-0 in an early Group D match on the same day to enter the quarterfinal round of the tournament.

Both Uzbekistan and Vietnam got six points each after two group matches, but the former stayed atop thanks to goal difference. They are both scheduled to meet on April 23 in their last group match to determine group winners.

In the quarter-finals, Group D winners will take on Group C second-placed team that could be either Thailand or Iraq, while Group D second-placed team are likely to play defending champions Saudi Arabia.

Back to the Vietnam vs Malaysia match, coach Hoang Anh Tuan’s players did not perform well in the first minutes, giving their Malaysian opponents, in their highly physical form, the chance to dominate the game.

Malaysian strikers several times challenged goalkeeper Van Chuan due to Vietnamese defenders’ mistakes, but they failed to take advantage of the chances.

Vietnam did not play well but made a difference thanks to a deeply personal moment. Khuat Van Khang opened the score in the 39th minute from a beautiful free kick, breaking the deadlock. This was one of the best goals of the tournament so far, VOV reported.

Vietnamese players are confident after their two Group stage wins. (Photo: VFF)

Malaysian players immediately applied the power-play tactics, hoping to earn an equalizer. However, coach Hoang Anh Tuan’s students easily neutralized the opponents’ attacks.

After the break, Vietnam continued to be on the defensive, while Malaysia remained in a state of complete deadlock.

Coach Hoang Anh Tuan made an adjustment once again that helped Vietnam score another goal.

Just a few minutes after entering the field, Bui Vi Hao who scored a brace for Vietnam in their first match against Kuwait, earned a penalty for Vietnam. From the penalty spot, Vo Hoang Minh Khoa did not miss the opportunity to extend Vietnam’s lead.

30 minutes later, Vietnamese players stood firm in the face of their opponents’ intense attacks.

Southern tourism on right track

Impressive results in the tourist number and revenue in many southern localities in the first quarter of this year showed that the growth of the sector of the region has remained stable, signaling a good summer season in the second quarter.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism reported that the southern hub welcomed 1.38 million international tourists and 8 million domestic ones in the period, representing year-on-year increases of 32% and 6.6%, respectively. Total revenue from tourism activities reached 44.7 trillion VND (nearly 1.79 billion USD), surging by nearly 24% from the same period last year.

In the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang, travel firms have offered many tours to ecological areas, beaches, and islands, which are popular choices for many tourists. The locality served over 2.7 million holiday-makers in the period, up over 22% year-on-year.

Its neighbor Dong Thap province, known for tourism products associated with agricultural production experience, craft village, ecotourism, and culture, attracted 1.15 million tourists in the last quarter, earning 480 billion VND in revenue, cited VNA.

Tourists in Phu Quoc (Photo: VNA)

According to Vice Director of the HCM City Department of Tourism Le Truong Hien Hoa, the 20th Tourism Festival of HCM City from April 4 – 7 was eagerly awaited by many tourists looking to purchase packages with many incentives.

At the event, accommodation, travel agencies, and culinary businesses introduced 400 tour programs, accommodation and culinary services, and health care services combined with tourism.

The Saigontourist Travel Service Company said it offered many domestic and international tour packages with well-connected itineraries and diverse experiences, including those to domestic attractive destinations such as Phan Thiet, Da Lat, Nha Trang, Phu Yen, Con Dao, Vung Tau, and the Mekong Delta region, with flexible transportation options.

Similarly, the Vietnam Travel and Marketing Transports Joint Stock Company (Vietravel) offered various experiential tour packages with discounts, aiming to stimulate the demand in the summer tourism season.

To attract more visitors, Kien Giang’s tourism industry will continue to develop new products and focus on promoting and connecting more international flight routes to make it more convenient for the visitors, and providing products associated with environmental protection and community-based tourism towards ensuring a sustainable development for the sector.

Measures sought to boost Vietnam-Russia digital economic cooperation

The Vietnamese Embassy in Russia organized a seminar on April 19 on prospects for Vietnam-Russia digital economic cooperation, attracting over 100 delegates representing ministries, sectors, research institutes, and business associations of the two countries.

The function focused on opportunities and solutions to further promote cooperation between the two nations in this promising field.

In recent years, Vietnam's digital economy has experienced remarkable development. According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, the proportion of the digital economy in Vietnam's GDP reached 16.5 per cent in 2023, with an average annual growth rate of 20 per cent, which is three times the GDP growth rate.

According to assessments from international organizations, the scale of Vietnam's Internet economy in 2023 reached approximately US$30 billion, up 19 per cent compared to the figure in 2022.

Vietnamese digital technology companies have also been gradually strengthening their international cooperation efforts. Last year, the country had over 1,500 digital technology enterprises with revenue from foreign markets totaling an estimated $7.5 billion, up 4 per cent year-on-year, VNS reported.

Vietnam's Ambassador to Russia Dang Minh Khoi (third from left) at the seminar. Photo: VNS

Meanwhile, the strongest growth in Russia's Internet economy is observed in the e-commerce sector, with total revenue reaching RUB$15.4 trillion (over $164 billion) in 2023. Russia also leads in the field of smart cities and e-government, with cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg being at the forefront of IT applications worldwide.

Delegates said that the current context presents tremendous opportunities for cooperation between the two countries in general and between their respective businesses in particular. Several digital economic cooperation projects are already underway between Vietnam and Russia, particularly in such areas as cybersecurity, smart cities, digital banking, and digital business solutions.

In addition to the aforementioned projects, participants also highlighted numerous other promising areas for digital economic cooperation, such as finance, health care, agriculture, transportation, energy, environment, and manufacturing.

They put forward recommendations and solutions to further expand cooperation in the digital economy sector from the perspectives of policymakers, researchers, and businesses, including intensifying the trade promotion in information technology products of the two countries, and boosting collaboration in researching and developing digital platforms and products.

Ambassador Dang Minh Khoi emphasized the significance of the event, saying Russia's experiences in developing its digital ruble is highly beneficial, expressing Vietnam's interest in participating in the testing process of Russia's digital ruble by the Central Bank of Russia.

Delegates agreed that if utilized effectively, this could be a significant driver for economic cooperation between the two countries in the coming time.

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