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At the meeting between Party General Secretary To Lam (R) and Nicholas Berggruen, Founder and Chairman of Berggruen Holdings and the Berggruen Institute.

Vietnam, US advance educational and cultural co-operation

Party General Secretary To Lam has affirmed that Vietnam will continue to offer favorable conditions for foreign investors, including those from the US, while prioritizing bilateral cooperation in education, cultural and people-to-people connections.

Party General Secretary To Lam had a meeting on January 7 in Hanoi with Founder and Chairman of Berggruen Holdings and Berggruen Institute Nicholas Berggruen and Director of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at the US’s Columbia University Nguyen Thi Lien Hang.

At the meeting, the Party chief highly appreciated the support of Nicholas Berggruen and Nguyen Thi Lien Hang for the development of Vietnam-US relations in recent times. He affirmed that Vietnam values its relationship with the US, wishing to foster bilateral ties for the benefit of the people and businesses of both countries, contributing to peace, stability, and sustainable development in the region and the world.

Evaluating the substantial and effective progress of the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in recent times, which has seen significant contributions from the business communities, scholars, and people of both countries, To Lam proposed that Nicholas Berggruen and Nguyen Thi Lien Hang continue to exchange and explore new investment and research opportunities in Vietnam, while also working to implement effectively the cooperation agreements already made between Columbia University and universities in Vietnam.

Vietnam is entering a new development era as the entire Party and people of Vietnam are striving and urgently working to carry out the tasks set out at the 13th National Party Congress, aiming for Vietnam to become a developing country with a high middle-income by 2030 and a developed country with high income by 2045, Lam told his guests, cited VOV.

To achieve this goal, Vietnam is steadfast in its policy of building an independent, self-reliant economy that is deeply integrated, with science and technology, innovation, and high-quality human resource development which play a breakthrough strategic role and is crucial to enhancing the country’s competitiveness and sustainable development, harmonizing and effectively combining the development of endogenous capacity with actively utilizing external opportunities and resources.

He affirmed that Vietnam will continue to offer favorable conditions for foreign investors, including those from the US, and values the promotion of educational cooperation, cultural people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

In response, Nicholas Berggruen and Lien Hang expressed their joy at witnessing Vietnam’s development achievements and the positive progress in Vietnam-US relations.

They showed their appreciation for the vision of Vietnam’s leadership and Party General Secretary To Lam, affirming their commitment to actively support efforts to strengthen bilateral relations in the future, promote suitable investment opportunities, contribute to the advancement of US-Vietnam relations, and help Vietnam achieve its goals.

Vietnam maintains position as RoK’s third largest trading partner

Vietnam continued solidifying its position as the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s third-largest trading partner in 2024, trailing only China and the US, marking the third consecutive year of the significant trade relationship.

According to statistics released on January 6 by the RoK’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Korea International Trade Association (KITA), the country’s export hit a record high of 683.8 billion USD, with shipment to Vietnam rising 9.1% year-on-year to 58.3 billion USD while import growing 9.6% to 28.4 billion USD.

Two-way trade between the two countries rose 9.2% to 86.7 billion USD last year, positioning Vietnam behind China (272.9 billion USD) and the US (199.9 billion USD).

The RoK enjoyed a trade surplus of 29.9 billion USD with Vietnam in 2024, an increase of 2.3 billion USD from the previous year, marking the second-largest amount after that of 55.7 billion recorded with the US, according to VNA.

Vietnam is the third-largest trading partner of the Republic of Korea in 2024. (Photo: VNA)

Korean agencies’ analysis showed that the surge in trade with Vietnam was driven by a robust recovery in semiconductor exports which suffered a stagnation in 2023. The RoK’s semiconductor shipment enjoyed a remarkable growth of 43.9%, reaching 129.2 billion USD in 2024.

Semiconductors were the country's largest export item to Vietnam, with shipment reaching 16.5 billion USD in January - November of 2024, a year-on-year rise of 46.3%. Besides, wireless communication equipment export went up 16.9% to 2.3 billion USD, while synthetic resin exports grew 18% to 2.1 billion USD.

Trade between the two countries has flourished since they established their diplomatic ties in 1992, with trade volume expanding more than 150-fold from an initial 500 million USD after more than 30 years. The trade structure has evolved from labour-intensive products like textiles to high-value-added items such as semiconductors and wireless communication devices.

Notably, the implementation of the Vietnam – Korea free trade agreement in 2014 has more than doubled their trade volume from 30 billion USD to 80 billion USD.

In the tourism sector, the RoK emerged as the leading source of international visitors to Vietnam, with 4.1 million tourists accounting for 25% of Vietnam's total foreign arrivals, significantly outpacing mainland China's 3.35 million visitors, and the US’s 700,000 travellers.

KITA Senior Researcher Hong Ji-sang highlighted ASEAN’s growing importance as an alternative to the RoK’s heavy reliance on trade with China and the US, stating Vietnam stands out as a crucial ASEAN partner and the two countries are developing their cooperation in a new period based on mutual trust.

Singapore seeks to bolster cooperation with Vietnam in potential areas

Singapore desires to enhance cooperation with Vietnam in areas with significant untapped potential, including clean energy, artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors, carbon credits, finance, and education and training.

The statement was made by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam during a reception on January 7 for Vietnamese Ambassador to the Republic of Singapore Tran Phuoc Anh, who presented his Letter of Credence to the President.

At the meeting, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam congratulated Ambassador Tran Phuoc Anh on his new appointment in Singapore and conveyed his regards to Party and state leaders of Vietnam.

Shanmugaratnam expressed his delight at the comprehensive development of the bilateral relationship in recent years. He emphasized that Singapore aims to ramp up cooperation with Vietnam in key potential areas such as clean energy, AI and semiconductors, carbon credits, finance, and education and training, cited VOV.

Newly-appointed Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Tran Phuoc Anh (L) and his spouse pose for a photo with Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

In the context of both nations preparing to upgrade their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam highlighted the critical role and contributions of Ambassador Tran Phuoc Anh to further reinforcing the flourishing relationship between the two countries.

The Vietnamese diplomat reaffirmed his commitment to elevating the robust and growing strategic partnership between Vietnam and Singapore to new heights. He pledged to work tirelessly during his tenure to foster stronger, more substantive bilateral relations, serving the interests of the two peoples while actively contributing to peace, stability, and development in the region and the world.

On this occasion, the Ambassador conveyed greetings from Vietnam’s Party and State leaders to the President and other Singaporean leaders.

On the same day, Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs extended a warm welcome to Ambassador Tran Phuoc Anh and published a detailed biography on its website, highlighting his notable tenure as a Counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy in Myanmar from 2010 to 2014.

Vietnam climbs FIFA rankings after ASEAN Cup triumph

Vietnam’s national football team gained over 10 FIFA ranking points after defeating Thailand to claim their third ASEAN Cup title.

The Vietnamese national football team has climbed the FIFA rankings following their triumph at the 2024 ASEAN Cup, defeating Thailand in both legs of the final.

Vietnam clinched their third ASEAN Cup title with an aggregate score of 5-3 over two matches against Thailand.

According to Football Rankings, Vietnam gained an additional 2.77 points on the FIFA rankings for their victory in the second leg of the final.

Over the course of the tournament, the team accumulated a total of 10.22 points, elevating them to 112th place in the world rankings.

Thailand, despite being the highest-ranked Southeast Asian team, dropped 6.05 points due to their consecutive losses to Vietnam in the final.

The "War Elephants" now sit at 98th place with 1,225.12 points, losing one position on the FIFA leaderboard.

Following their ASEAN Cup victory, the Vietnamese players will return to their clubs to continue the 2024/25 V-League season, VNN reported.

Vietnam lifts the ASEAN Cup trophy on Thai soil. (Photo: Song Ngu)

The national team will reconvene in 2025 for the third round of the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Grouped with Malaysia, Nepal, and Laos, coach Kim Sang Sik and his "Golden Star Warriors" have a strong opportunity to earn additional points and move closer to the FIFA Top 100.

Vietnam invests 664.8 million USD abroad in 2024

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency, Vietnamese investors invested nearly 664.8 million USD in 164 new projects and 26 existing ventures abroad in 2024, up 57.7% in value compared to the previous year.

While this upward trend signals renewed confidence in foreign markets, the figures remain below pre-pandemic levels, primarily due to the absence of large-scale projects, cited VNA.

Star Telecom (Unitel), a joint venture between Viettel Global and Lao Asia Telecom. Laos has been the largest recipient of Vietnamese investment over the past years. (Photo: baodautu.vn)

The investment landscape showed notable diversification across 16 sectors, with most of the capital injected into professional services and science-technology (30.2% of the total capital), manufacturing (21%), and power generation and distribution (14.2%).

Geographically, Vietnamese investments are spread across 31 countries and territories, with Laos emerging as the top destination, capturing 28.8% of the total capital. Indonesia saw a dramatic surge in Vietnamese investment, securing 20.7% of the total capital and marking a 227-fold increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, India ranked third, attracting 13.5% of investments, representing a nearly 60-fold increase from 2023.

As of the end of 2024, Vietnam's cumulative overseas investment portfolio is comprised of 1,825 valid projects totaling over 22.59 billion USD. Over the past time, Vietnamese investors have maintained a strong presence in 18 out of 21 sectors, with significant capital landing in mining (7 billion USD or 31% of the total capital), agro-forestry-fishery industry (nearly 3.4 billion USD or 15%), and information and communications (more than 2.84 billion USD or 12.6%).

The countries with the largest investments from Vietnam include Laos (nearly 5.7 billion USD), Cambodia (nearly 2.94 billion USD), and Venezuela (nearly 1.83 billion USD).

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