Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets with staff members of the Vietnamese Embassy and representatives from the Vietnamese community in Romania in Bucharest on January 20. (Photo: VNA)

PM Pham Minh Chinh meets Vietnamese community in Romania

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse met with staff members of the Vietnamese Embassy and representatives from the Vietnamese community in Romania in Bucharest on January 20 (local time), as part of his official visit to the European country.

The Vietnamese community in Romania numbers more than 600. They are united and help each other to stabilize their lives and look towards the homeland, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Romania Do Duc Thanh.

The embassy and the community always pay attention to educate the young generation and work to maintain the teaching and learning of Vietnamese language, he added.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh conveyed the greetings of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to the Vietnamese community in Romania in particular and Europe in general.

He recalled major milestones in Vietnam – Romania relations, including the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1950, the visit of President Ho Chi Minh to Romania in 1957, as well as Romania’s provision of 300,000 doses of vaccines and medical equipment to Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The PM affirmed the Party and State's attention to the Vietnamese community abroad, saying that in 2023 and early 2024, a number of policies regarding overseas Vietnamese have been concretised in laws.

The Party and State pay attention to creating conditions for overseas Vietnamese to preserve and promote cultural identity as well as the teaching and learning of Vietnamese language, he said.

The PM briefed the participants on Vietnam’s socio-economic situation, affirming the important and positive contributions of the Vietnamese community abroad to the country's achievements, cited VNA.

He asked the Vietnamese Embassy in Romania to continue to carry out its work on overseas Vietnamese affairs.

He called on Vietnamese in Romania to continue to promote the image of Vietnam and its people, contribute to the traditional friendship between the two countries, to build a united and strong community, and make practical contributions to Vietnam’s national construction and development.

Strong cold grips Northern Vietnam, temperatures drop sharply

Temperatures have tumbled sharply after a strong cold air wave hit northern localities of Vietnam early on January 21, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

The cold spell hit border localities at midnight and then quickly moved further inland, impacting northeastern and north-central localities.

Rain started to pour down and temperature dropped considerably to 15-17 degrees Celsius and 13-15 degrees Celsius in the highlands, according to VOV.

The strong cold spell that started to hit Northern Vietnam on January 21, is expected to last till the end of January.

The cold air is forecast to increase its intensity as of January 22 that will send temperatures falling further to 7-10 degrees Celsius in the plains and 3-6 degrees Celsius in the mountainous areas.

Some places in the highlands will even see temperatures fall to 0 degrees Celsius.

The strong cold spell is expected to last for several days till the end of January.

According to weather experts, places at high altitude should be wary of the risk of frost and snowfall when temperature drops to as low as 0 degrees Celsius with high humidity.

International integration drives Vietnam’s economic growth

Over 17 years of being a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Vietnam has seen hallmark economic growth thanks to economic integration into the world, providing strong momentum for further development.

Emerging as one of 20 largest trading economies

During her visit to Vietnam in May 2023, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala praised Vietnam’s impressive economic growth and trade amid the global headwinds prevalent in the world economy.

She described Vietnam as a bright example of economic growth based on the achievements of international economic integration, which have fostered trade, investment, as well as the country’s successful participation in globalization and in the re-shaping of regional and international supply chains.

Vietnam joined the WTO on January 11, 2007, and has evolved into one of the 20 largest trading economies. Its export value shot up almost eight-fold compared to that in the time of its official entry into the WTO, from US$48 billion in 2007 to US$371.85 billion in 2022. The disbursed foreign direct investment (FDI) stood at about US$23.18 billion in 2023. While many major economies recorded contraction last year, Vietnam was a bright spot with a GDP growth rate of 5.05%.

Vietnam’s international trade rocketed 6.6-fold since entering the WTO, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).

The country has established itself as a manufacturing base of many multinationals, including hi-tech companies, and is gradually moving up on regional and global production chains, VNA reported.

In 2023, the Vietnamese economy was valued at US$430 billion while per capita income increased US$160 from the previous year to US$4,284. The highest GDP growth was recorded in 2022, at over 8%.

While many major economies recorded contraction last year, Vietnam posted a GDP growth rate of 5.05%. (Photo: VNA)

MoIT Minister Nguyen Hong Dien said international markets and trade relations continue to be expanded. The recent conclusion of talks on a free trade agreement (FTA) with Israel and the signing of the minutes on the conditional conclusion of negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with the UAE have opened the door wide for Vietnamese goods to enter the Middle East, which has a combined GDP of about US$2 trillion.

Based on the principles of the WTO, Vietnam has signed and implemented 16 FTAs with over 60 partners, which account for nearly 90% of the global GDP. Most of these signings are with large economies.

Improving effectiveness of international economic integration

Economic expert Dr. Nguyen Minh Phong said international integration and a higher level of economic liberalism, including economic policy reforms within the frameworks of the WTO and FTAs, have provided a strong impetus for Vietnam to develop and become a competitive and modern country.

However, the increasing integration into the world’s economy has also posed challenges to the Vietnamese economy.

Le Viet Nga, Deputy Director of the MoIT’s Domestic Market Department, noted that thanks to lower tariffs, foreign goods have flown into the domestic market while many export sectors have to satisfy growing requirements in foreign markets.

Meanwhile, the application of trade remedies has also increased in many foreign markets, Deputy Director of the MoIT’s Trade Remedies Authority of Vietnam Chu Thang Trung pointed out. He said that 24 markets, including such major ones as the US, India, Turkey, and Canada, have launched hundreds of trade remedy lawsuits against Vietnamese exports.

Minister Dien said authorities will continue grasping developments in regional and international markets, enhance the forecast capacity to propose flexible moves in response to partners’ new policies, and align legal regulations and policies with commitments on international economic integration.

In particular, the MoIT will monitor over 170 export commodities and include 18 prone to trade remedies on the list of early warnings to help relevant ministries, sectors, localities, and businesses to respond with production and export plans to minimize adverse impact, he added.

Experts also recommended that to integrate effectively, businesses should actively learn market tastes, modernize technology, improve governance capacity, and join hands with authorities in building a self-reliant and resilient economy of Vietnam.

UK, ADB help promote green trade in Asia, including Vietnam

British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution (DFI) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced a new partnership to finance up to US$100 million of green trade transactions in Asia, including Vietnam.

The partnership will be managed through ADB's Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program (TSCFP) and will focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate-smart agriculture to support the region's energy transition and climate resilience.

In South and South East Asia, two of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, enabling development of more renewable energy capacity and its supply chain is essential to achieve the region's sustainability goals.

Trade is a critical part of this as it enables the flow of goods that help regions to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

However, it is estimated that there is a global trade finance gap of US$2.5 trillion annually, which means businesses lack access to the finance needed to trade energy transition goods for climate projects.

Furthermore, local banks are currently not able to fully meet the demand to provide longer tenors required to finance goods for climate related projects, particularly within the renewable energy sector, cited VGP.

Photo: VGP

The BII-ADB partnership aims to reduce the global trade finance gap and address this unmet demand for longer tenor for green transactions. The risk sharing agreement between the two organizations will help international banks increase their financing support to local banks, initially in Vietnam, before expanding to other countries supported by BII and ADB.

This will provide crucial financing for local importers of solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and agricultural goods which will support the region to transition to cleaner sources of energy.

Andrew Mitchell, UK Minister for Development and Africa, said, this agreement between BII and the Asian Development Bank will unlock crucial green trade finance in Asia.

It demonstrates how, by working together, the development finance system can mobilize the private finance so urgently needed to support countries in their transition to low carbon, climate-resilient economies, he noted.

International guests join Vietnamese Tet in Duong Lam Ancient Village

A tourism promotion program themed “Tet Lang Viet” (Tet in Vietnamese village) is being held in the ancient village of Duong Lam, Son Tay township of Hanoi, on January 20-21 to promote the value of traditional Tet customs.

The event has attracted the participation of nearly 160 international guests.

Diverse activities are to be held during the program, including a tour to fully experience the beauty of Vietnamese Tet in a traditional market space, ethnic art performances at Mong Phu communal house yard, check-in at the most unique spots in the village, and booths to introduce local specialities, handicraft products and craft villages.

It also has a space for visitors to experience traditional Tet customs, with activities such as calligraphy, To He (toy figurines) shaping, and folk games, NDO reported.

International guests experience wrapping banh chung.

People and tourists can also learn about traditional customs during the traditional Tet festival, such as the New Year's Eve ceremony, the carp fish release, and gifts of Li Xi or lucky money, together with the unique and famous culinary culture of Duong Lam.

This is the third year the program has been held with the participation of ambassadors and delegates from several diplomatic agencies and international organizations and both foreign and domestic tourists. It not only contributes to introducing Vietnamese culture to international friends but is also a way to preserve traditions for future generations.

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