President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and Minister of the National Court Administration of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Kim Sang-hwan.

Vietnam wishes to build stronger judicial cooperation with RoK

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc eexpressed his hope to develop closer and more effective co-operation between the Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam and the Supreme Court of Korea, while receiving Minister of the National Court Administration of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Kim Sang-hwan on December 9 in Hanoi.

During the course of the meeting, President Phuc hailed the two supreme courts for their contributions to co-operation between the two countries since the first establishment of diplomatic ties 30 years ago.

Through the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the courts have been able to carry out many projects since 2008, under which the RoK has helped the Vietnamese side to build legal documents and teaching plans and programmes in this field. This is along with providing support in information-technology and shared experience in judicial training, he said.

The President went on to highlight the launching of an integrated case management system which is part of the project aimed at improving trial transparency and quality at Vietnamese courts, as funded by the KOICA.

President Phuc expressed his confidence that through the support of the RoK and efforts made by the domestic court sector, the system will not only help local judges and court officials to fulfill their tasks, but also facilitate the public’s access to justice.

He urged the two sides to make greater efforts to record more successes during the implementation of this project, cited VOV.

For his part, Minister Kim rejoiced at the co-operation outcomes between the two supreme courts over recent times, as well as the upgrade of the joint relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership during President Phuc's recently-ended state visit to the RoK. The Vietnamese President viewed the trip as a foundation and an impulse for the courts to enhance co-operation moving forward, therefore helping to tighten bilateral judicial ties.

Higher demand drives consumer prices up ahead of Tet

Consumer prices have been slightly rising in the last quarter of this year because of the increasing demand ahead of Tet (Lunar New Year) holidays.

The Ministry of Finance said on December 8 that the domestic market recovered significantly in November after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the consumption demand has risen after that.

The rapid, complex developments of the world situation have also pushed the prices of fuels, materials and some others up, the ministry added.

Illustrative image. Source: VNA

The finance ministry said it has coordinated with other ministries and agencies in assessing and forecasting the factors impacting inflation, outlining scenarios and price management solutions, and making reports to the Government, stressing that the price situation remains under control.

Notably, petrol prices have been adjusted in line with global price developments, but stayed lower thanks to the flexible use of the price stabilisation fund, plus the decrease in environmental protection tax, according to VNA.

The supply of essential goods like food and foodstuff has also remained abundant, the ministry said, stressing that production is going on for both domestic and foreign markets.

PM Pham Minh Chinh begins official visit to Luxembourg

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation touched down at Luxembourg-Findel International Airport International Airport on the morning of December 9 (local time), starting an official visit to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg at the invitation of Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel.

Those welcoming Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his entourage at the airport, included Luxembourg Ambassador to Vietnam Patrick Hammer; Chief of Protocol of the Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg Olivier Baldauff, Vietnamese Ambassador to Luxembourg Nguyen Van Thao alongside embassy staff and Vietnamese expatriates in the host nation.

During the visit, PM Pham Minh Chinh will hold talks with his Luxembourg counterpart Xavier Bettel, meet with the President of the speaker of Luxembourg and the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and visit a number of economic establishments. He is also set to attend the Vietnam - Luxembourg Business Forum and meet Vietnamese community representatives in Luxembourg.

The visit took place in the context that Vietnam-Luxembourg relations are developing well, especially in terms of investment and development, VOV reported.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation arrive at Luxembourg-Findel International Airport, beginning an official visit to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

Luxembourg represents the third largest investor of the European Union (EU) in Vietnam with a total investment capital of US$2.6 billion, and is one of the EU countries that soon ratified the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA).

Notably, bilateral trade between the two countries has increased rapidly since the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) came into force.

Luxembourg considers Vietnam as one of the priority countries in development assistance with total aid reaching 129 million Euros so far.

The two sides are currently stepping up cooperation in the fields of agro-ecology, climate change response.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit is expected to deepen friendship and cooperation with Luxembourg, and expand cooperation in the fields of each country’s strengths in line with Vietnam's development needs in multiple areas such as pharmaceutical technology and logistics.

Tickets for Vietnam’s matches in AFF Cup 2022 to be sold from December 10

The Vietnam Football Federation (VFF) on December 8 announced that it will sell tickets for the matches between Vietnam and Malaysia and Myanmar in the group stage of the AFF Cup 2022 at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi, from December 10.

Ticket prices for the upcoming matches range from 300,000 VND (12.6 USD) to 600,000 VND (25.2 USD). The VFF will sell tickets via online registration on app VinID. Each person can buy up to 4 tickets per match.

The Vietnam - Malaysia and Vietnam – Myanmar matches will take place respectively on December 27, and January 3, 2023, from 7.30 pm., cited VNA.

At the AFF Cup 2022, Vietnam is in Group B, meeting Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar and Laos. Group A consists of Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, the Philippines and Brunei.

The Vietnamese team. Photo: VNA

The Vietnamese team is training in Vung Tau city of the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau. On December 10, coach Park Hang-seo and his team will return to Hanoi to prepare for the "rehearsal" match against the Philippines on December 14 at Hang Day Stadium.

Following this match, the Vietnamese team will leave for Laos on December 17 or 18 to play the starting match of the AFF Cup 2022.

'Make in Vietnam' instrumental in going global

Digital technology industry as a bright spot in the economy with an industry-wide revenue of $148 billion, up 10 per cent against 2021.

Institutional reform and high-quality human resources are key to Vietnam's digital advancement, according to Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam.

Dam was speaking at the fourth National Forum on the Development of Vietnamese Digital Enterprises (NFD) on December 8.

The deputy PM said Vietnam needs institutional reform to facilitate digital growth since many existing legal documents are holding back projects.

High-quality human resources are also equally important as the country is in need of one million information technology (IT) workers in the short term.

"If we do not break old thinking patterns and take new approaches to education and training, one million IT workers would be a target out-of-reach," said Dam.

He also said software and digital products account for roughly 5 per cent of Viet Nam's total exports last year, of which FPT contributed around US$2 billion.

Pham Duc Long, deputy minister of Information and Communications, highlighted the digital technology industry as a bright spot in the economy with an industry-wide revenue of $148 billion, up 10 per cent against 2021.

The industry has more than 70,000 digital enterprises, which export billions of dollar worth of software and digital products in 2022, acting as a catalyst for digital transformation.

"Vietnamese enterprises need to take full advantage of the digital revolution to go global," said Long.

He also said the notion of 'Make in Vietnam' was introduced in the first NFD in 2019, which highlighted the active role of Vietnamese enterprises in the design and creation of high-tech products.

The second NFD in 2020 re-stressed the importance of the notion by conveying a message that Vietnamese enterprises would not be able to go global without 'Make in Vietnam' products.

In the third NFD in 2021, Vietnamese enterprises were tasked with laying the groundwork for the national digital transformation, a push for post-pandemic economic recovery, VNS reported.

Nguyen Trung Chinh, chairman of CMC Corporation, estimated that digital sectors in 12 Asia-Pacific countries, collectively, amounted to $586 billion in 2021 and are expected to hit $3 trillion by 2030. In Viet Nam, the sector contributed to roughly 10 per cent of the GDP.

"Digital infrastructure is the launch pad for a successful digital transformation," said Chinh.

He also said a digital hub requires many international fibre-optic cables. Unfortunately, only eight cables have reached Viet Nam so far, against around 20 to 30 for Singapore. Vietnam needs to connect to more cables to make headway digitally.

Hoang Tuan Hai, chairman of VNM Holdings, underlined the unproficiency in English, the lack of critical thinking and the absence of favourable policies for Vietnamese enterprises wanting to go global as the three major factors holding back the IT industry.

"Vietnamese IT enterprises are normally not good at English. They find it difficult to compete with rivals from India, the EU and the US because of the unproficiency," said Hai.

He called for a closer link between universities and enterprises to improve training and education as well as the establishment of Vietnamese digital hubs in large foreign markets to support Vietnamese enterprises abroad.

Joseph Saib, an entrepreneur in silicon valley in the US, said around $7 trillion nowadays is spent on digital transformation and 65 per cent of global GDP will be digital by 2025.

"This is an opportunity that Vietnam can choose to get in front of, not just play catch-up," said Saib.

He also said Vietnamese enterprises need to thoroughly prepare both knowledge and resources. Some key elements include a strong R&D team, a detailed action plan, successful case studies, industry experience and human resources.

Ngo Dien Hy, deputy general director of VNPT Group, told Viet Nam News that Vietnamese enterprises should engage in certain technologies to gain ground internationally. Some of the technologies include blockchain, big data, artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

At the forum, forty digital solutions were awarded 'Make in Vietnam digital products in 2022'.

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