NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue answers questions raised by Iranian delegates. (Photo: VNA)

Top legislator highlights Vietnam-Iran cooperation for peace, development

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on August 9 visited and delivered a speech “Vietnam - Iran cooperation for peace and development” at the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS), as part of his ongoing official visit to Iran.

Hue said that Vietnam and Iran share the aspiration to promote cooperation for peace and development on the basis of the fine bilateral political-diplomatic relations.

Towards a future of peace and development with a vision to the next 50 years for the bilateral relationship, he proposed the two sides work together to strengthen their connectivity in four aspects, namely dialogue and cooperation mechanisms; digital, science technology and transport; trade and investment; and humans, especially between young generations, cited VNA.

Vietnam is implementing its policy of relation multilateralization and diversification and is willing to be a trustworthy friend and partner of all countries around the world for peace, friendship, cooperation and development, he highlighted, stressing Vietnam never forgets the past but is also ready to close the past to look towards the future, and jointly build a truly equal partnership on the basis of respect for territorial integrity, political institutions and non-interference in internal affairs of each other.

Those are immutable principles. No matter how the world changes, Vietnam remains steadfast in its stance, stated the Vietnamese top legislator.

On this occasion, Hue witnessed the signing of various cooperation agreements between ministries and agencies of both sides.

Earlier, the NA Chairman joined Iranian officials to launch a photo exhibition featuring 50 years of the Vietnam-Iran relations.

Vietnam among top 5 economies with leading e-commerce growth globally

With an average growth rate of 20% per annum, Vietnam is ranked among the top five countries recording the highest e-commerce growth in the world.

The information was revealed at a training workshop on promoting exports for Amazon businesses and traders in Hanoi on August 10.

Disclosing the news, Nguyen Van Thanh, director of the Center for E-commerce Development under the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency (iDEA), said that cross-border e-commerce is a booming trend in many countries around the world, including in Vietnam.

In Vietnam, he said cross-border e-commerce is considered a field that has great potential and is in line with the digital economy development policy adopted by the Government. The export value of Vietnamese businesses selling items on Amazon increased by more than 45% in 2022, according to VOV.

Cross-border e-commerce is booming in Vietnam, offering businesses opportunities to expand their footprint globally. (Illustrative image)

According to the expert, the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency, an arm of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, is still promoting the implementation of projects to assist Vietnamese import-export businesses to engage in e-commerce by providing trading opportunities for the businesses through import-export portal vietnamexport.com, as well as providing a platform for them through ecvn.com or ifair.vn.

In addition, the iDEA and Amazon Global Selling are working on the cross-border e-commerce initiative in a breakthrough era, aiming to support the development of human resources for cross-border e-commerce for Vietnamese businesses in the 2022 – 2026 period, so as to help improve the capacity and open up export opportunities for local businesses through e-commerce.

Do Hong Hanh, director of strategic partnerships of Amazon Global Selling Vietnam, revealed that many Vietnamese goods such as home decorations, blankets, bed sheets, interior decorations, and kitchen utensils are preferred on Amazon.

To win Amazon customers’ hearts, she suggested that businesses should focus on key products suitable to the tastes of international consumers, especially products derived from nature combined with the sophistication and ingenuity of artisans.

According to the latest research from Access Partnership, Vietnam’s e-commerce export revenue is likely to rise to VND296.3 trillion (US$13.1 billion) by 2027 if local businesses are fully enabled and accelerate the rate at which they adopt e-commerce to export their products and services.

The research conducted on around 300 domestic micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Vietnam found that 86% believe that without e-commerce, they would be unable to export at all as they lack capacity. Local MSMEs are also looking towards expanding their footprint in more markets such as the US, Japan, and European countries over the next five years.

Vietnam’s economy to see stronger growth in the next two years: WB

The World Bank forecasts that Vietnam’s economy will grow 4.7% in 2023, and accelerate to 5.5% in 2024 and 6.0% in 2025.

The bank made the prediction in its latest economic update entitled “Making Public Investment Work for Growth” released on August 10.

The report said Vietnam’s economic growth slowed from 8% in 2022 to 3.7% in the first half of 2023, noting that a challenging external environment and weaker domestic demand is leading to a slowdown in economic growth in Vietnam. But the economy will pick up pace over the second half of this year, and the following years, it said.

Overall, investment will contribute 1.8 percentage points to the country’s GDP growth. Private investment is expected to decline slightly with an increase of 4.3% compared to the same period last year due to external uncertainties and will contribute 1.2 percentage points for GDP growth. Public investment is expected to be boosted, up 9.5% over the same period in 2022, contributing 0.6 percentage points to growth. However, it can only partially offset the declining private investment situation.

Due to loosened liquidity and the State Bank of Vietnam’s issuance of the guidance on restructuring repayment terms, financial constraints for the real estate and construction sectors are expected to be solved, which thus support private investment to gradually recover from 2024 onwards.

The CPI is expected to increase slightly from an average of 3.1% in 2022 to an average of 3.5% in 2023. The deflationary impact of slowing growth and the policy of reducing value-added tax rates from 10% to 8% deployed in the second half of 2023 is enough to offset the 20.8% increase in civil servants salaries. CPI inflation will be stabilized at 3% in 2024 and 2025 on the basis of the expectation that energy and commodity prices will be stable in 2024.

Vietnam's economy is predicted to grow strong in the next two years. (Photo: VNA)

Carolyn Turk, WB Country Director for Vietnam said that Vietnam’s economy is being tested by internal and external factors, suggesting that to boost economic growth, the government can support aggregate demand through effective public investments, thereby creating jobs, and stimulating economic activity.

“Beyond short-term support measures, the government should not lose sight of structural institutional reforms – including in the energy and banking sectors – as they are imperative for long-term growth,” she said.

The report suggests policy options to get the economy back on track. Effectively implementing the 2023 investment budget can stimulate aggregate demand and economic growth. On exports, the report suggests diversifying product offerings and export destinations to build medium-term resilience against external shocks. At the same time, fiscal policy can play a stronger role in incentivizing green practices and consumption, ultimately contributing to environmental sustainability, reported VNA.

A proactive fiscal policy supporting short-term demand, removing barriers to the implementation of public investment, and addressing infrastructure constraints can help the economy achieve these targets and promote long-term growth, the bank suggested.

The report’s special chapter studies Vietnam’s public investment management and how it can contribute to the goal of climbing the income ladder. To harness the power of public investment, the report recommends that Vietnam sustain its level of investment, improve the quality of the proposed project, and address deficiencies in public investment management and inter-governmental fiscal institutions.

Vietnam Culture Week in Tehran marks 50 years of bilateral diplomacy

The Vietnamese Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in collaboration with the Vietnamese Embassy in Iran and a number of Iranian agencies launched the Vietnam Culture Week in Tehran on August 9 in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Iran.

Among distinguished guests were Vuong Dinh Hue, chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam and other members of the delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly who were on an official visit to Iran.

In his welcoming speech, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Iran Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili highlighted major development stages of Iran-Vietnam relations since the establishment of their diplomatic ties 50 years ago, as well as outstanding results in tourism and cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

Vuong Dinh Hue, Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam, and Mohammad Mehdi Esmaili, Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Iran, make a call on a pavilion of Dong Ho folk painting at the opening ceremony. (Photo: VNA)

He said the Iranian president personally and other Iranian leaders desire to expand cultural cooperation between the two countries, and the two cultural ministries are considering signing a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the coming time.

Taking the floor, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism Hoang Dao Cuong, expected that through the event the Iranian people would understand more about the country, culture and people of Vietnam, as well as some cultural similarities the two countries, serving as a bridge to promote exchanges, cooperation and friendship between the two peoples, cited VOV.

Part of the Vietnam Culture Week is an exhibition displaying 70 photos that introduce the beauty of Vietnam - a country of attractive tourist destinations, UNESCO natural and cultural heritages, and a culture imbued with national identity, rich customs and festivals.

Also in Tehran, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue cut the red ribbon inaugurating a photo exhibition on Vietnam – Iran relations hosted by the Institute for Political and International Studies.

Hue was in Tehran for an official visit to Iran from August 8-10.

Automatic entry/exit procedures at Tan Son Nhat Airport take only 30 seconds

An automatic entry/exit control gate system (Autogate) has been put into operation at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in HCM City, helping passengers check in/out quickly and reducing congestion.

Autogate was deployed by the Vietnam Immigration Department under the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) for a week at the largest and busiest airport in the country.

The Tan Son Nhat Airport border gate police are operating 10 passport scanners which support passengers’ check-in process, including five machines for exit and five for entries.

In the first phase, the entry procedures via Autogate will be applied only to Vietnamese citizens who have registered to use Autogate (those with w chip-based ID passport don’t have to register). Foreigners cannot use Autogate to check in.

As for exit passengers, Autogate is used for Vietnamese citizens who have legal passports and can satisfy one of the following conditions: diplomatic or business passport; Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Business Travel Card (ABTC); or members of the flight crew.

Photo: VNN

Foreign passengers who want to exit through Autogate must have a permanent resident card or a temporary residence card. Exit passengers must successfully register to use Autogate.

The direct manual registration process of passport data takes about 2-4 minutes, including passport, fingerprints scanning, and facial biological monitoring. Passengers, after registering and activating passport information along with personal information will move to the Autogate area to go through customs.

It takes only 30 seconds to go through the five steps at Autogate, VNN reported.

There are two doors that passengers have go through. At the first door, they need to put the ID page into the reader and wait for the notice.

After that, passengers put the boarding pass face down into the reader and wait for the notice, and the first door opens.

At the second door, passengers need to stand on the right position to have their photos taken and wait for the notice.

Passengers put their right forefinger to have their fingerprint scanned and wait for the notice.

In the last step, passengers complete the procedures. The second door opens and passengers step out, with no need to have their passports stamped.

If any step cannot be implemented, a red light will turn on. In this case, passengers need to stand still and a policemen at the border gates will give direct support so that passengers can continue the procedures.

To register to use Autogate, passengers can directly register at the Vietnam Immigration Department under MPS, and immigration control units under MPS, and the Ministry of National Defense at border gates.

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