Vietnamese State President Vo Van Thuong (R) and Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone during their meeting in Hanoi on January 6.

Vietnam supports Laos in fulfilling international responsibilities

Vietnam stays ready to help Laos fulfill its international responsibilities in 2024, including its role as the ASEAN Chair, so as to enhance Laos’ position and contribute to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the wider world.

State President Vo Van Thuong was speaking at a reception in Hanoi on January 6 for visiting Prime Minister of Laos Sonexay Siphandone. He affirmed that the Party and State of Vietnam always give the highest priority to the relationship between Vietnam and Laos, cited VOV.

Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone for his part thanked Vietnamese people for their valuable assistance and heartfelt support for Laos in the past struggle for national independence, as well as in the present cause of national construction and development. He highly appreciated the investment of Vietnamese businesses in Laos, actively contributing to socio-economic development of the country.

Both sides took note of the strong and comprehensive development of Vietnam - Laos cooperation in all fields in recent times. They agreed to continue maintaining high-level visits and contacts at all levels, effectively implement important agreements between the two Parties and two countries, and promote cooperation in security, defense, and diplomacy, as well in economy-trade-investment, education-training, and tourism.

The two sides need to continue to promote exceptionally good political relations and closely coordinate to effectively implement cooperative plans and projects to bring practical benefits to their peoples, suggested Thuong.

Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone arrived in Hanoi on January 6 for a two-day official working visit to Vietnam where he will co-chair the 56th meeting of the Vietnam-Laos Intergovernmental Committee.

Embassy, associations support earthquake-affected Vietnamese in Japan

The Vietnamese Embassy in Japan on January 6 held an online meeting with Vietnamese associations to discuss coordination to support Vietnamese people affected by the earthquake that hit central Japan recently.

The meeting saw the participation of the Consuls General of Vietnam in Osaka and Fukuoka, Vietnamese associations in localities such as Gunma, Chiba, Niigata, Hokkaido, Fukushima, Nagasaki, and the Vietnamese Business Association in Japan, Vietnamese Intellectual Association in Japan, Vietnamese Buddhist Association in Japan, and representatives of volunteer groups in Fukui and Toyama.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu said that the earthquake on January 1 caused severe consequences in Ishikawa prefecture, central Japan, leaving residents there in a difficult situation.

He said after the earthquake, some Vietnamese volunteers were active in supporting and providing essential supplies to the Vietnamese affected by the earthquake.

According to him, the support work must be implemented quickly and transparently and in the long term. In the next two to three days, activities should focus on providing food, water, and shelter.

Nguyen Hong Son, chairman of the Union of Vietnamese Associations in Japan, said that more than 5,000 Vietnamese people are living in Ishikawa province, of which about 600 are working in companies in the Noto peninsula area that was hard hit by the earthquake in Ishikawa prefecture.

A report from the Ishikawa authority said there has been no casualties among the Vietnamese community there recorded due to the earthquake, according to VNA.

Representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan and associations join the online meeting. (Photo: VNA)

Son called for support for the Vietnamese community there as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, a representative from the Vietnamese association in Saitama prefecture proposed establishing a formation board to swiftly provide information on those who need support.

The association is ready to implement a support package of about JPY2 million (more than US$13,800) for the reconstruction and purchase of new microwave ovens and refrigerators to replace those damaged by the earthquake.

Vietnam Value hits US$431 billion, up in global ranking

The Vietnam Value has moved up one spot to 32nd out of 100 strong national brands globally, with its value hitting US$431 billion, according to a Government official.

Many reputable international organizations have highly appreciated the Vietnamese economy’s sound performance in 2023 and its future positive outlook, said Tran Van Son, minister and head of the Government Office, at a press briefing in Hanoi on January 5.

He cited Fitch Ratings’ December 2023 announcement saying this organization upgraded Vietnam’s long-term foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to BB+ from BB, with a stable outlook.

The upgrade reflects the country’s favorable medium-term growth outlook, underpinned by robust foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, which Fitch Ratings expects will continue to drive sustained improvements in its structural credit metrics, VOV reported.

The Vietnam Value has moved up one spot to 32nd out of 100 strong national brands globally (Illustrative image)

According to Brand Finance, the world’s leading independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy, Vietnam continues to be considered a bright spot in the national branding picture, recording the fastest value growth rate of 74% in the world in the 2019-2022 period.

Despite the impact of the COVID-19, the Vietnam Value rose 29%, 21% and 11% in 2020, 2021, and 2022 respectively to US$319 billion, US$388 billion and US$431 billion.

Vietnam is increasingly perceived as a safe and stable place to invest as many manufacturers look to relocate operations in Asia to Vietnam, according to Brand Finance.

The country has gained momentum and is known as an attractive destination for foreign investment thanks to its successful fiscal and monetary policies and investment in human capital.

Association continues efforts to contribute to Vietnam - Cambodia ties

The Vietnam - Cambodia Friendship Association (VCFA) held the third meeting of its Central Committee in the fifth tenure (2021 - 2026) in northern Ninh Binh province on January 6 to review its performance in 2023 and launch tasks for this year.

The event was presided over by VCFA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh, who is also member of the National Assembly Standing Committee, head of the board for deputies’ affairs at the Standing Committee, and Vice Chairwoman of the Party Central Committee’s Organization Commission.

In his welcome remarks, Chairman of the Ninh Binh People’s Committee Pham Quang Ngoc said as an active member of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, the VCFA has made substantial contributions to the enhancement of the Vietnam - Cambodia traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation. Its practical people-to-people diplomatic activities have helped promote mutual trust and understanding between the two peoples, thereby contributing to regional peace and stability, multifaceted cooperation, and socio-economic development in both countries.

Chairwoman of the Vietnam - Cambodia Friendship Association Nguyen Thi Thanh speaks at the third meeting of the association's Central Committee in Ninh Binh province on January 6. (Photo: VNA)

Looking back on last year’s performance, participants shared the view that 2023 was the first year the Vietnam - Cambodia and Cambodia - Vietnam friendship associations carried out the memorandum of understanding on the coordination of their activities during 2022 - 2027.

Many practical events, delegation exchanges, meetings, and friendship exchanges were held. Improvements were recorded in the communications and education about the two countries’ traditional friendship among members and people of all social strata, especially the young. The number of Cambodian students in Vietnam sponsored by the VCFA in the 2023 - 2024 academic year surpassed the target, VNA reported.

VCFA chapters at all levels carried out a number of charitable activities, participants noted, adding that they raised billions of VND for assisting Khmer and low-income people in rural and border areas, thus helping ensure social security and reduce poverty in disadvantaged areas and strengthen the two countries’ friendship, solidarity, and all-round cooperation.

For 2024, the VCFA will continue developing its chapters at all levels, diversify forms of sponsorship for Cambodian students, and step up friendship exchanges along with charitable and community activities. It will also increase communications about the two countries’ relations and assistance for disadvantaged members.

Vietnam makes great strides in digital transformation in 2023

The government and the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) have confirmed the outcomes of digital transformation in 2023.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that 2023 was the National Digital Data Year, with the view that digital data is a national resource and foundation of development. Data needs to be used effectively to serve the digital economy, digital society and digital citizen development.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung affirmed that 2023 was the year of data – protecting personal digital data; announcing and building databases at ministerial and local levels; expanding data to connect and share information; ensuring data security; building national big data centers; and processing digital data to create new values for the national economy.

The implementation of Plan 06 on developing and applying databases on population has brought benefits to people. The data about the population has been used to provide public services, such as granting and extending driving licenses and passports online.

In 2020, there were only 10 million connected and shared transactions. In 2023, 2 million transactions were conducted each day. Thanks to this, 528 administrative procedures have been simplified.

Businesses now have to wait only six days to make business registration as the number of procedures has reduced from four to one.

Digital institutional regime

2023 was considered the year when MIC gathered strength to complete institutions to ensure a legal framework for activities in cyberspace and digital infrastructure.

The Law on Electronic Transactions was approved on June 22, 2023. The Law on Telecommunications (amended) was ratified on November 24, 2023. They are expected to be a platform for digital transformation.

Digital citizens

People have benefited from digital transformation and Make in Vietnam digital platforms. For example, they can quickly fulfill procedures at airports if they have smartphones with VneID installed, and can apply for visas online. Many localities have applied digital technology to allow businesses to easily access public services at any time or place.

Digital safety

In 2023, MIC applied measures to prevent and control swindling, gambling and black credit in cyberspace and block spam calls. Necessary solutions have also been applied to ‘clean’ subscribers’ information, and show phone numbers of public agencies when calling people so as to prevent scams, cited VNN.

Photo: VNN

On June 23, MIC launched "Month of action to promote awareness and prevention of online fraud" aiming to help people discover 24 scam types common on Vietnam’s cyberspace. The ‘Anti Fake News’ message was responded to by many content creators.

Digital firms

Vietnam has emerged as a destination of the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers.

In October 2023, Amkor Technology inaugurated a US$1.6 billion factory in Bac Ninh province. Samsung stated it is considering manufacturing semiconductor parts in Vietnam. Vietnamese FPT and Viettel have been designing and manufacturing chips.

Regarding the Make in Vietnam campaign, more than 40 platforms were built in 2019-2022. The number of platforms in 2023 alone increased by 46.2 percent and by the end of the year, Vietnam had over 60 platforms, each of which had over 1 million monthly users.

Digital economy

The latest report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Co shows that Vietnam is one of the ‘bright spots’ of the Southeast Asian digital economy. The total volume of digital goods in 2023 was estimated at US$30 billion, up 19 percent over 2022, and the figure is expected to reach US$45 billion by 2025 and US$90-200 billion by 2030.

Of this, US$16 billion came from the e-commerce GMV (Gross Merchandise Value), US$3 billion from transport and food, US$5 billion from online travel and US$5 billion from online entertainment in 2023.

At the first National Forum on Digital Economy and Digital Society held in mid-September 2023, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said Vietnam’s digital economy would account for 20 percent of GDP at minimum by 2025 and 30 percent by 2030.

Digital communications

In 2023, the press continued to show its important role in truthfully reflecting the mainstream of Vietnamese society, creating consensus, spreading positive energy, and creating trust in society.

In March 2023, the Prime Minister issued a Directive on strengthening policy communication work.

In 2023, MIC for the first time organized a comprehensive inspection of a large cross-border platform in Vietnam - TikTok. This is the first time that Vietnam has asked a cross-border platform to admit its wrongdoings and take corrective measures.

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