Products of Kymviet Space, a Vietnamese handicraft production and trading establishments founded by people with disabilities to create jobs for people with disabilities in the country. (Photo: WIPO)

WIPO supports disability empowerment, cultural preservation in Vietnam

The homepage of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) recently posted an article to praise Kymviet Space, a Vietnamese handicraft production and trading establishments founded by people with disabilities to create jobs for people with disabilities in the country.

According to the article, Kymviet is currently registered only in Vietnam, as the company has been focusing on strengthening its brand and reputation nationally. However, it is now ready to enter foreign markets and, in the next five years, is determined to expand to Europe and protect its brand internationally.

The article said the company also intends to create more job opportunities for disabled people in Vietnam and to open a professional vocational training centre for them along with promoting the Vietnamese culture to the world.

A WIPO brand expert is working with the company to develop an international brand and other intangible assets to support Kymviet’s business expansion goals, cited VNA.

WIPO quoted Pham Viet Hoai, founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kymviet, as saying that people buy its products not because they want to contribute to charity but because the products are of the highest quality.

The article also stated three pillars in Kymviet’s business operation and activities, namely the production of handmade products, the café, and education.

Hoai said Vietnam has over 2.5 million deaf people, and Kymviet focuses on this community, with most of the staff being deaf. Kymviet’s mission is to provide job opportunities to these individuals and empower them to fulfill their potential.

Vietnam records trade surplus of US$15.23 billion over seven months

Vietnam racked up a trade surplus of US$15.23 billion during the initial seven months of the year compared to US$1.34 billion recorded in the same period from last year, according to information given by the General Statistics Office (GSO).

July alone witnessed the total import and export turnover of goods stand at an estimated US$57.21 billion, up 2.5% over the previous month, but down 6.7% over the same period from last year.

Throughout the seven-month period, the total import and export turnover of goods reached US$374.23 billion, down 13.9% on-year, of which exports decreased by 10.6% to US$194.73 billion and imports fell by 17.1%.

According to the GSO’s data, the domestic economic sector raked in US$51.5 billion, representing a drop of 10.2% and accounting for 26.4% of total export turnover. Elsewhere, the FDI sector earned a turnover of US$143.23 billion, representing a fall of 10.8% and accounting for 73.6% of total export turnover.

Photo: VOV

The reviewed period saw 30 items with export turnover reaching over US$1 billion, duly accounting for 91.6% of total export turnover, of which five export items have turnover of over US$10 billion, making up 57.6%.

Moreover, the country’s import turnover of goods was estimated to be at US$179.5 billion in seven months, down 17.1% on-year, as the domestic economic sector fetched a turnover of US$64.1 billion, down 16.1%, and the FDI sector grossed US$115.4 billion, down 17.7%.

With the imports falling more sharply compared to exports, the national economy continued to rack up a trade surplus of US$15.25 billion, of which the domestic economic sector endured a trade deficit of US$12.58 billion, whilst the FDI sector enjoyed a trade surplus of US$27.81 billion.

A large trade surplus has therefore raised concerns that industrial production and exports will continue to face hurdles over the coming time, according to VOV.

In fact, the Vietnamese economy depends heavily on imported raw materials, although the decrease in imports highlights that enterprises are still short of orders, meaning there is no need to import input materials.

In the reviewed period, the nation’s trade surplus with the United States was estimated to be at US$44.3 billion, down 24.1% on-year, while the country’s trade surplus to the EU and Japan was estimated to be at US$16.4 billion and US$0.9 billion, respectively.

In contrast, the country’s trade deficit with China, the Republic of Korea, and ASEAN dropped by 35.2%, 35.1%, and 35.3% to US$27 billion, US%15.5 billion, and US$5 million, respectively.

Promoting heritage value of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park

The Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in the central province of Quang Binh has twice been honored as a World Natural Heritage site - a testament to its unique geomorphology and global tourism value and countless efforts of Vietnam to increase awareness in the process of international integration.

Over the past two decades, the province has preserved cultural heritage values of the national park toward the goal of sustainable development.

On July 3, 2003, the World Heritage Committee under the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) approved Vietnam's submission to recognise the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park as a World Natural Heritage Site, with criteria of exceptional global value in terms of geology and geomorphology.

Tourists discover Phong Nha cave in Quang Binh province (Photo: nhandan.vn)

The Government of Vietnam, with support of international organisations, saw the park expand to more than 123,000 hectares to preserve the largest ancient limestone region in Southeast Asia.

On July 3, 2015, UNESCO members agreed to add the criterion of outstanding value representing the evolutionary and development processes of terrestrial ecosystems, possessing meaningful natural habitats for biodiversity conservation.

Over the years, the park management board has actively cooperated with domestic and foreign organisations to carry out scientific projects in the fields of environment, geology-geomorphology, biodiversity, and culture-history to preserve the heritage for the local socioeconomic development.

Since 2003, experts from the Royal British Cave Association surveyed and discovered 425 caves in seven areas and systems, of which 389 caves have been measured with a total length of 243 km. The most prominent was the discovery of Son Doong - the world's largest cave. The site is important in caving research in the region, promoting the image of Vietnam and Quang Binh and Phong Nha-Ke Bang around the world.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park has three forms of tourism, including self-exploration, joint venture businesses, and leasing of forest environment services, reported VNA.

Currently, the World Natural Heritage site has 15 different routes possible on a tour that include various combinations of nature exploration, caves, camping, walking, and zip line areas.

The development of tourism services has attracted an increasing number of visitors to the site. In order to ensure both tourism development and sustainable heritage conservation, the park management board is monitoring and assessing the impact of tourism activities on the caves to mitigate negative impacts on the heritage.

Pham Hong Thai, Director of Phong Nha- Ke Bang National Park Management Board, said in the coming time, the board will continue to strengthen forest management and protection work, scientific research and rescue of wildlife in order to preserve the outstanding global value of the heritage.

The National Park is a model of "Ecosystem and Biodiversity" with a unique population not found anywhere else on the Earth, an evergreen tropical forest with a 500-year-old cypress species.

The Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park borders the Hin Nam No National Park of Laos. In line with UNESCO's goal of expanding cooperation in the conservation and preservation of heritage sites, Vietnam and Laos are working together to build the first inter-country heritage profile in Southeast Asia and the largest continuous karts cross-border heritage in the world. The expansion plans are to be submitted to UNESCO in 2024.

Australian magazine praises top seven Vietnamese destinations

Australia's leading travel magazine Escape recommended a number of highly rated cities nationwide, including Da Nang, Hoi An, Hanoi, Hue, Sa Pa, Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho.

Returning to the nation for the 14th time, Australian reporter Ronan O’Connell wrote the article titled "Thrill and Chill", which introduces the seven top destinations throughout the nation this year, noting that the country has never stopped surprising him.

Being the most family-friendly city in Southeast Asia behind Singapore, Da Nang is modern, organised, clean, peaceful, has minimal traffic, and is hemmed in by natural splendour, with a sparkling coastline located to the east and verdant hills situated to the west.

Da Nang Cathedral, the Museum of Cham Sculpture, and the pretty Apec Park can be found only 3km inland from a 30km stretch of interrupted and attractive beaches, with these being among the top places tourists should not miss out on when travelling in Da Nang City.

Photo: Escape magazine

The article also highlighted Hoi An, a UNESCO heritage site, where visitors should not forget to walk around in the evening to admire the shimmering ancient town basking in a colourful glow of thousands of paper lanterns.

In Thua Thien-Hue province, what impressed Ronan O'Connell was not only the architecture and culture of the ancient capital, but also Lang Co Bay, where many of the pristine beaches still retain their essence and have yet to be commercialised.

Furthermore, the Australian author gave special compliments to the Vietnamese capital, stating that, “Hanoi may just be Asia’s finest city.” Indeed, few places can compete with its rewarding blend of ancient sites, art galleries, energetic night-life, splendid parks, memorable food, and extraordinary value.

For US$200 a day in Hanoi, travelers can stay at a five-star hotel, eat three superb meals, catch taxis all over town, and visit multiple attractions. In contrast, trying to replicating a similar feat in Tokyo, Singapore, or Hong Kong (China) would be difficult for any less than US$500, he shared.

Moreover, the writer gave a special mention of Sa Pa, which can be found 250km northwest of Hanoi. Sa Pa’s natural beauty is mesmerising and the town is scattered across a mountainside and is situated above an emerald valley of rice terraces, he noted.

The Escape reported that the colourfully clothed Hmong, Giay, Tay, and Red Dao people were so taken by the local scenery that these hill tribes arrived here more than 300 years ago and never left.

Elsewhere, visitors to the country can enjoy interesting experiences in Ho Chi Minh City. Walking around and passing restaurants serving suon nuong pork chops, vendors wedging grilled meat into ‘banh mi’ (baguettes), and carts selling ‘banh xeo’ crepes that bulge with prawns is a great activity for any foodie.

Vietnam keen to attract high-quality investment capital from RoK

Vietnam desires to continue to attract high-quality investment capital from the Republic of Korea (RoK), especially leading enterprises such as Samsung, in the fields of high technology, electronics, and semiconductor chips.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh made the statement during his working session on July 30 with Samsung Electronics Vietnam Co., Ltd (SEV) to remove difficulties and obstacles in a bid to create favorable conditions for Samsung to further develop in Vietnam.

Upon addressing the meeting, PM Chinh highly appreciated Samsung Group's investment activities in Vietnam, saying that the Group's projects have a fast disbursement progress, thereby contributing to promoting economic restructuring, boosting exports, spurring the development of domestic supporting industries, creating more jobs as a means of making an important contribution to the economic development of Vietnam.

He praised Samsung Group, together with the Korean business community, for having always trusted the leadership of the Vietnamese Government.

Vietnam and the RoK upgraded their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership in December 2022, opening up great opportunities in the two countries' cooperation, he said.

Political trust between the two countries has been continuously strengthened, while cooperation across multiple fields has seen strong development, especially politics, economy, culture and people-to-people exchanges.

The RoK has become a strategic partner of Vietnam in all fields, especially economy, trade and investment. The RoK is currently the largest foreign direct investor (FDI) with US$82 billion, ranking second in development cooperation, tourism and labor, and third in terms of trade cooperation reaching US$86.4 billion in 2022.

In which, Samsung is the largest Korean investor and also the largest foreign investor in Vietnam, with a total registered investment capital of nearly US$20 billion.

Samsung's effective operation in the past time has made important contributions to Vietnam in terms of export revenue, job creation and tax contributions to the budget, with Samsung Vietnam's revenue in 2021 reaching US$ 74,2 billion, and export turnover hitting US$ 65.5 billion.

He thanked Samsung for taking Vietnam as its strategic production base, research and development hub, thus contributing to the country's export revenue, job creation, and tax payment to the State budget. Samsung has also actively become involved in social welfare activities in the Southeast Asian nation.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the working session.

The Government chief wished that Samsung will continue doing business stably and effectively in Vietnam, invest more in digital transformation and circular economy in the country, and train and appoint more Vietnamese to leading roles in the company.

The same day, PM Chinh attended the groundbreaking ceremony for several transport infrastructure projects in the northern province of Bac Ninh on July 30, VOV reported.

The roads connecting Bac Ninh with the new National Highway 3, Ha Bac 2 Bridge, Belt Road 4 and Hanoi Capital Region are scheduled to be completed and put into operation by 2025. They have a total length of about 20.2km and a combined cost of over VND1.49 trillion (US$64.78 million).

PM Chinh emphasized that the development of infrastructure, including the transport one, is one of the three strategic breakthroughs defined by the Party. This is particularly important for localities like Bac Ninh which is striving to become a centrally-run city.

He asked provincial authorities to continue completing site clearance while intensifying inspection and supervision during the project implementation to ensure safety, quality and environment protection.

While in Bac Ninh, the leader also visited Cat Tuong Smart City and Thong Nhat Smart City affordable housing project in Yen Phong district, and presented gifts to workers there.

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