Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh.

High hopes on breakthroughs in Vietnam-Thailand relations

The visit to Thailand by National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue from December 7 to December 10 will close a successful year of Vietnam-Thailand relations and open up expectations for further breakthroughs in bilateral ties.

This statement was made by the Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh in a recent interview granted to VOV ahead of the top Vietnamese legislator’s visit.

NA Chairman Hue will lead a high-ranking NA delegation to pay an official visit to Thailand from December 7 to December 10 following an invitation by President of the Thai NA Wan Muhamad Noor Matha

The trip takes place amid Thailand successfully organizing parliamentary elections in May and establishing a new Government.

In visiting Thailand, he will become the first head of a foreign legislative body to visit the neighboring country during its new NA term. 2023 is also the year in which the 10th anniversary of the strategic partnership between Vietnam and Thailand will be celebrated, the Vietnamese diplomat said.

As planned, NA Chairman Hue will, on behalf of the Party and State leaders, hold talks with Thailand's highest-ranking leaders, meet with parliamentarians, politicians, scholars, and business representatives, as well as visiting Udon Thani province where the largest number of Vietnamese expatriates live.

Therefore, the visit holds great significance and can be considered an important event for the anniversary of the Vietnam - Thailand Strategic Partnership 2023, he added.

In recent years, joint relations have been consolidated and developed rapidly and practically across multiple fields, especially in terms of parliamentary and inter-parliamentary cooperation.

The official visit affirms the support of the two countries' senior leaders for the Action Program to implement the Vietnam-Thailand Enhanced Strategic Partnership in the 2022 to 2027 period, including high-level delegation exchanges between the two legislatures and closer ties between the two countries at multilateral and regional forums such as the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF), Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA).

According to information given by the Ambassador, the Thai NA has prepared a very thoughtful and respectful visit for the Vietnamese delegation with diverse activities, talks, and meetings between the Vietnamese NA leader and Thai senior leader. This shows that they treasure the sound friendship and cooperation that exists between the two countries.

Thai leaders highly appreciate Vietnamese potential, as well as its role and international position, considering the nation to be their most important partner in the region and looking forward to continuing to further deepen the comprehensive friendship and cooperation between the two countries, cited VOV.

“Vietnam and Thailand play an important role in ASEAN. Amid a very complicated world situation, Vietnam and Thailand must strengthen solidarity and cooperation at all levels.

The prospect of what direction the two countries' relations will develop in the coming time and what role it will play in solving international and regional problems is the question Thai politicians, scholars, and researchers are waiting for in the speech of NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand's leading policy research facility,” the diplomat said.

The Thai business sector continues to view the country as a key market and an attractive destination for investment, with Thai groups continuing to intensify strong investment in the Vietnamese market.

​The Vietnamese NA plays an important role in promulgating laws and policies aimed at promoting investment and trade cooperation with foreign countries, therefore, Thai businesses have high expectations for the meeting between the Vietnamese NA leader and businesses at the policy and law forum aimed at promoting Vietnam-Thailand economic, trade, and investment ties.

Regarding some major highlights marking the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam-Thailand Strategic Partnership and now an Enhanced Strategic Partnership, and an assessment of the prospects of cooperative relations between the two countries in the time ahead, Ambassador Thanh said 2023 can be viewed as an important milestone for Vietnam-Thailand relations when the two countries celebrate 10 years of their strategic partnership with many exchange visits made by senior leaders.

Concerning the prospects of cooperative relations between the two countries moving forward, the Vietnamese diplomat said preparations for the upgrading of relations between both sides to a new level will create further potential and opportunities for both to bolster all-around collaboration and carry out joint activities regarding economics, trade, investment, and tourism, especially connecting road, rail, aviation, and coastal traffic.

​The documents expected to be signed during the visit will devise a range of measures aimed at continuing augmenting parliamentary ties more effectively and substantially, as well as discussing the framework for common cooperation in other fields, such as exchanging high-level NA delegations, strengthening parliamentary exchanges and links between the two NA Secretariats. This will serve to enhance joint work in citizen protection and sharing experience in the law-making process and issues of shared concern, Ambassador Thanh added.

Vietnam-Cambodia cooperation continuously consolidated, developed

The comprehensive and friendly cooperation between the Vietnamese and Cambodian Governments, ministries, and localities along the shared border has been continuously consolidated and developed, with positive changes recorded in the fields of economy and trade, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Neth Savoeun said while receiving Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Huy Tang in Phnom Penh on December 5.

At the reception, the Vietnamese diplomat expressed his admiration for the effective and commendable activities of the 7th-tenure Government of Cambodia after more than three months of operation.

He expected that the two governments, ministries, and sectors of Vietnam and Cambodia will work together to deepen their bilateral relations toward higher effectiveness.

The Deputy PM lauded Vietnam's development achievements and underscored the importance of the friendship and neighborliness between the two nations, according to VNA.

Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Neth Savoeun (R) receives Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Huy Tang in Phnom Penh on December 5. (Photo: VNA)

He proposed both sides continue to leverage the achievements, actively implement the agreed deals in the economic and trade sectors, and strengthen coordination and teamwork in defense and security.

The host and guest agreed to maintain the exchange of delegations at all levels, increase meetings through various channels to share information and experience, continue to capitalize on existing cooperation mechanisms, and seek new effective opportunities and mechanisms for cooperation, especially in potential areas.

They also emphasized the importance of ensuring peace, security, and stability in both countries, stepping up coordination in the fight against transnational crime, and jointly maintaining security and order along the shared border to facilitate socio-economic development and cross-border trade.

Vietnamese exports to China see positive growth in 11 months

China is the only market among Vietnam’s major export markets to record positive growth during the 11-month period, according to the latest figures released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Specifically, Vietnamese exports to this market reversed from a decrease of 2.2% to an increase of 6.2% in the reviewed period.

Several groups of agricultural products such as rice and fruits have taken full advantage of opportunities from China's market opening and rising prices as a means of boosting exports.

This was also the only product group to record growth throughout the reviewed period, representing a rise of 4.6% against the same period from last year.

With regard to international markets, while exports to the United States, the EU, the Republic of Korea (RoK), and Japan experienced a downward trajectory, exports to African countries, Eastern Europe, Northern Europe, and West Asia all saw significant rises.

The fall in exports in several key markets such as the US, the EU and the RoK gradually shrunk compared to the first half of the year, reported VOV.

Agricultural products see robust growth during the 11-month period.

Most notably, the country raked in a high export turnover of over US$30 billion per month from July to November, higher than the average of US$27.45 billion per month in the past six months of the year.

Although the nation’s exports in November failed to maintain its growth momentum compared to the previous month with export turnover dropping by 3.6% to US$31.08 billion from the previous month, the overall revenue increased by 6.7% compared to the same period from last year.

Industry insiders assessed that the overall recovery momentum will remain slow moving forward to the global economic downturn, especially from the first months of the year.

Therefore, Vietnamese overall exports from January to November are projected to decline by 5.8% to US$322.5 billion against the same period from last year.

However, the decline in exports continues to narrow significantly compared to the figure of 12% recorded in the first half of the year.

During the 11 months, the total export turnover of processed industrial goods stood at an estimated US$274 billion, down 7% over the same period from last year.

Furthermore, garments textiles, and footwear exports continued to decrease by 11.1% and 6.4% respectively, while timber and wood exports increased slightly by 1.6%.

Eurasia a promising market for Vietnamese exporters: Experts

The Eurasia region, comprising 28 countries stretching from Eastern Europe to Central Asia with a population of more than 400 million and a total GDP of nearly US$4.5 trillion, is considered a potential export market of Vietnam, according to experts.

Statistics from the General Department of Vietnam Customs showed that due to fluctuations in the world's economic and political situation, trade between Vietnam and Eurasia reached US$13.3 billion in 2022, down 9.7% year on year. In the first nine months of this year, the figure dropped 6.5% year on year to US$9 billion, with Vietnam’s exports falling 1.2% to US$6.3 billion.

However, the Director of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s European-American Market Department Ta Hoang Linh said that the Eurasian market still boasts great potential for Vietnamese export products, as Vietnam’s export revenue to the region has accounted for just 0.4% of the total import value of this region.

Besides, the two sides have set up many institutions and solid frameworks serving as a foundation for bilateral trade cooperation, including the Vietnam - Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Free Trade Agreement, EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and 14 joint committees and inter-governmental committees, Linh noted.

The official underlined that these cooperation mechanisms have operated effectively, paving the way for businesses of both sides to strengthen cooperation in many areas, especially trade and investment. A large community of Vietnamese people in the region also supports trade and investment between the two sides, cited VNA.

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

Vietnamese Trade Counsellor in Bulgaria Nguyen Thanh Hai said that the annual import demand of Central Eastern European countries has reached about US$1.6 trillion, but Vietnam's export turnover to these countries in 2022 only reached US$7.8 billion, accounting for 0.5% of the total. This showed that there is still a lot of room for Vietnamese export enterprises to exploit the market.

Meanwhile, export turnover from Vietnam to the Western Balkans is currently still below US$20 million each year and is mainly through intermediary countries in the EU.

Vietnamese Trade Counsellor in Russia Duong Hoang Minh said that the presence of Vietnamese products like spices, sauces, fresh and dried fruits, drinks, and foods is increasing in Russia and members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

However, he said that the Vietnam Trade Office in Russia has received negative feedback on Vietnamese products’ quality and labeling. At the same time, Vietnamese exporters also reported a number of problems with partners in these markets.

Minh said that the Vietnam Trade Office in Russia is willing to help domestic firms to verify the information of their partners. He advised exporters to consider the use of rail freight for export to the CIS countries.

Linh said that amid the instability in the world economic situation, exporters must update the market information and policies in importing countries while optimizing marketing, payment, and transport solutions.

The MoIT will work with Vietnamese Embassies in the region and Vietnam Trade Offices abroad to support domestic firms in tapping new cooperation opportunities and help them deal with difficulties during trade activities, the official said.

National holidays for 2024 Announced

The New Year Holiday 2024 will be longer this year as it falls over the weekend from December 31 to January 2 next year.

There will be a seven-day holiday for the Tet Lunar New Year, from February 8 to February 14. The New Year's Day holiday will last for three days, VNN reported.

Photo: VNN

The National Day September 2 holiday will last four days between August 31 and September 3. Employees who work overtime or work at night on public holidays are paid at least 300 percent of their normal rate.

Vietnam currently has five holidays annually with 11 days off.

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