Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and his spouse (second and first from right) chair an official welcome ceremony for Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping and his spouse (Photo: VNA)

Party General Secretary hosts welcome ceremony for Chinese Party, State leader

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong and his spouse chaired an official welcome ceremony in Hanoi on December 12 for General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping and his spouse.

The welcome ceremony was held with 21-cannon salute, the highest level for a head of state, cited VNA.

The Chinese leader and his spouse are making a State visit to Vietnam from December 12-13 at the invitation of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and his spouse, and President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Vo Van Thuong and his spouse.

Party General Secretary Trong invited the Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping to ascend to the honorary podium, and 21 cannons were fired in salute. The two leaders then inspected the guards of honor of the Vietnam People’s Army.

The Vietnam visit by the Party General Secretary and President of China and his spouse and a high-ranking delegation from the CPC and Chinese State is the first by the highest leader of the Chinese Party and State to Vietnam after the 20th National Congress of the CPC. It comes one year after the historic visit to China by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in October 2022.

The visit takes place when Vietnam and China are celebrating the 15th anniversary of their comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership. It will mark a new historical milestone in the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

Following the welcome ceremony, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong held talks with Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping.

Vietnam emerges as new favourite destination among Indian tourists

The Times of India recently published an article describing Vietnam as the latest favorite destinations for Mangalureans during the holiday season later this year.

The article notes that the nation has become a popular destination known for its ancient towns and Buddhist pagodas, along with its flexibility in issuing visas for Indians.

William D’Souza, managing director of Globe Travels, said Dubai tends to be the most preferred international holiday destination among or a majority of Mangalureans, followed by Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia.

However, he revealed that many Indian tourists showed a keen interest in traveling to Vietnam and Cambodia this year, adding that the company processes travel documents for nearly 30 people visiting the nation each month.

Photo: VOV

Meanwhile, Eualia D’Souza of Lia Travels, outlined that factors such as value for money, flight tickets, accommodation, good food, and sightseeing opportunities are the main reasons attracting people to Vietnam, noting that the country is very safe, especially for senior citizens.

According to a recent report released by travel website MakeMyTrip, Vietnam, Hong Kong (China), and Istanbul of Turkey are the new favorite destinations for Indian tourists during the year-end period, along with traditional destinations such as Thailand, Dubai, Singapore, and Bali.

Flight booking data also indicates that the top international destinations for Indian tourists by the end of the year are the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Maldives, the United States, Nepal, the UK, Canada, and Vietnam.

The number of Indian visitors to the country during the 11-month period doubled compared to the same period from 2019 with 352,226, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Vietnam hands over Berlin ASEAN Committee chairmanship role to Brunei

Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vu Quang Minh, Rotating Chairman of the Berlin ASEAN Committee (BAC), on December 11 handed over the chairmanship role to Brunei after the committee’s seventh meeting.

At the meeting, Minh reviewed outstanding activities in Vietnam’s chairmanship tenure, affirming that they have contributed to increasing the grouping’s position, strengthening cohesion between ASEAN member states, and asserting Vietnam’s role in this mechanism, according to VNA.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vu Quang Minh (L), Rotating Chairman of the Berlin ASEAN Committee (BAC), hands over the chairmanship role to Brunei (Photo: VNA)

ASEAN is currently an important partner of the European Union (EU), including Germany. Cooperation in all fields between the two sides has gained many achievements, benefiting both, and contributing for peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

The diplomat said that Vietnam has been doing its best to contribute to ASEAN, as well as the building process of the ASEAN Community.

The role as the BAC Chairman is rotated among ASEAN countries every six months.

Hanoi and HCM City among world’s top city destinations in 2023: CNN

Prestigious website CNN Travel of the United States has released its annual “The Top 100 City Destinations Index 2023” according to global market research company Euromonitor International, with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City among the top city destinations in the world.

The list has Hanoi ranked at 98th while Ho Chi Minh City is at 85th place.

Hanoi boasts rich tourism resources, including nearly 6,000 historical and cultural relic sites and about 1,800 intangible cultural heritage elements. These include places such as the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, the Temple of Literature, the Old Quarter - Hoan Kiem Lake, Hai Ba Trung (Trung Sisters) Temple, Soc Temple, Thay Pagoda, and Tay Phuong Pagoda.

It is also home to the country’s largest number of craft villages, including famous ones like Bat Trang Pottery Village, Van Phuc Silk Village, Ha Thai Lacquer Village, and Quat Dong Embroidery Village.

This year saw Hanoi boast 48 restaurants among the 103 Vietnamese ones selected by Michelin Guide, including three granted one Michelin star, VOV reported.

Hanoi from a bird's-eye view (Photo: dulich.laodong.vn)

Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City is home to a number of historic sights, including the Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon, a neo-Romanesque and Gothic cathedral built by French colonists in the late 1800s. Other places include the Cu Chi Tunnels and the War Remnants Museum.

The southern metropolis is also a fast-paced city that boasts a bustling nightlife and delicious local cuisine.

Aside from Vietnam, three other Southeast Asian countries was also honoured in the list, namely Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Paris of France topped the list for the third consecutive time. It was followed by Dubai of the UAE, Tokyo of Japan, and Madrid of Spain.

The Top 100 City Destinations Index 2023, produced in partnership with data company Lighthouse, looked at leading cities from around the world and ranked them based on criteria including tourism, sustainability, economic performance, and health and safety.

Japanese businesses enjoy huge profits when investing in Vietnam

Of nearly 900 Japanese businesses in Vietnam, 54.3 percent of them are profitable businesses.

The Japan Trade Promotion Organization in Vietnam today revealed that 54.3 percent of nearly 900 Japanese businesses operating in Vietnam enjoyed substantial profits in 2023.

Furthermore, this organization disclosed that businesses not only earned good profits in 2023, but 50.4 percent of respondents believed that their revenue would keep improving in 2024, SGGP reported.

The Japanese Juki brand embroidery machine manufacturer expands its market share in Vietnam.

Businesses pointed out improvement in profit in the next year thanks to the increase in demand for orders from the manufacturing industry in the export market, plus the increase in orders from the non-manufacturing industry from the domestic market.

In addition, enterprises keep enjoying higher profits because they continue to improve productivity and cut unnecessary costs which are also expected to bring more positive effects to the enterprise's production and business activities.

However, businesses are also concerned about a decrease in domestic and foreign demand and an increase in labor costs and raw material purchases - two factors that will have a negative impact on enterprises’ production efficiency in the near future. Therefore, more than 56.7 percent of Japanese businesses announced that they would expand their scale of operations in Vietnam.

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