Finance Minister Ho Duc Phoc rings the bell at Euronext, the pan-European stock exchange in Brussels on july 4. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam and Belgium boost finance-investment cooperation

The Ministry of Finance of Vietnam and major Vietnamese commercial banks will make efforts to promote and support investment plans of Belgian enterprises in Vietnam.

Finance Minister Ho Duc Phoc made the assurance during his working sessions with his Belgian counterpart Vincent Van Peterghem and several leading Belgian counterparts on his visit to Brussels from July 1-4.

Meeting with Minister Van Peterghem, Phoc suggested that the Belgian Government consider adjusting the updated official development assistance (ODA) loans for projects in accordance with the Vietnamese law. He also suggested that the Belgian side reduce the fees and expand the loan term and the ratio of aid capital to increase preferences of the loans.

He briefed his host on the formulation of policies on the global minimum tax policy and the issuance of green bonds in Vietnam, and expected that the Ministry of Finance of Belgium and its tax agencies would share their experience in drafting and implementing the rules.

Minister Van Peterghem for his part acknowledged Phoc’s proposals and said he would request relevant agencies to work closely with their Vietnamese counterparts to deal with these proposals. He informed his guest about the Belgian Government’s policy changes regarding ODA implementation and said the Embassy of Belgium in Hanoi would work alongside the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam to address its concerns.

According to the Minister, Belgium is scheduled to apply the global minimum tax as from January 1, 2024 to create a level playing field not only for large corporations, but also for small and medium sized enterprises. He told his guest that Belgium is ready to share its experience in the field with Vietnam.

During his stay, Minister Phoc worked with Jean-Paul Servais, chairman of the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority (FSMA) and also head of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), cited VOV.

Phoc proposed that FSMA and IOSCO provide continued support and assistance for the Vietnamese stock market through information sharing, personnel training, research, and enhancement of capacity building on new financial products, digital assets, and digital applications.

He expressed hope that as an active and responsible member of IOSCO, Vietnam would host an annual conference of the organization in the near future.

Servais lauded the Vietnamese stock market’s active operations in Asia and emphasized that the Belgian side stays ready to support the State Securities Commission of Vietnam in exchanging experiences. He also voiced his support for Vietnam’s bid to host the annual IOSCO conference in the future and encouraged it to submit an application.

Minister Phoc also made a call at Euronext, the pan-European stock exchange, and held a working session with director general Francois Mitchell and other executives of John Cockerill that is investing in energy projects in Vietnam.

Vietnamese university, Israel's largest hospital seal cooperation deal

VinUni, a university under Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Sheba Medical Center, the largest hospital in Israel, to promote cooperation in 3D technology and medical training.

Accordingly, both parties will share programs on vocational training and knowledge transfer in various medical specialties, which cover on-site expert exchanges, online training, and professional consultations.

Sheba will send experts to healthcare facilities to share knowledge and on-site treatment skills; organize training courses with different programs, allowing participants to experience the most advanced medical infrastructure and equipment of the hospital; and provide virtual healthcare training with interactions with experts, according to VNA.

At the signing ceremony of the MoU on cooperation between VinUni and Sheba Medical Center (Photo: VNA)

It will also offer advisory services in areas such as analysis, evaluation, IT application, digital transformation, equipment procurement, personnel selection, policy-making, training program design, and planning.

Sheba is ranked as the best hospital in the world by Newsweek from 2019 to 2023.

Vietnam moves up four places in 2023 Global Peace Index to 41st position

The annual study of the Australia-based Institute for Economics and Peace measures a nation’s state of peace across three domains: societal safety and security, the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict, and the degree of militarization.

With a score of 1.745 (the lower the better), Vietnam was among the nations with a “high” level of peace, joining the ranks of Germany, Netherlands, Malaysia, the UK, Laos, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Argentina, Chile, and Cyprus.

In the Asia-Pacific region with 19 countries and territories measured in the index, Vietnam is the 7th most peaceful place, after New Zealand and Singapore in the first and second place, but higher than RoK (8th) and Cambodia (13th), China (14th), or Democratic People's Republic of Korea (19th).

In the GPI ongoing domestic and international conflict domain specifically, Vietnam’s peacefulness is squarely among the top one third of countries measured with 1.403 in score.

Vietnam is also placed in the top third in the societal safety and security, as well as the militarisation domains, reported VOV.

With a score of 1.745 (the lower the better), Vietnam is among the nations with “high” level of peace. (Photo: chinhphu.vn)

The study also estimates that Vietnam suffers about 6% in percentage of GDP, or US$1,200 per capita as the economic costs of violence, making the country the 99th in terms of being most affected by violence.

Ukraine, Afghanistan, Sudan, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea top the list of suffering the most from economic costs of violence, with losses as a percentage as their GDP estimated at 63, 47, 30, and 39%, respectively.

The economic impact of violence on the global economy in 2022 was US$17.5 trillion in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms. This figure is equivalent to 12.9% of the world’s GDP or US$2,200 per person, increasing by 6.6% from the previous year, the study noted.

According to this year's findings, there has been a 0.42% decrease in the average level of global peacefulness, marking the thirteenth decline in peacefulness in the last fifteen years.

Iceland (with a score of 1.124) continues to hold the title of the most peaceful country in the world since 2008, while Afghanistan remains the least peaceful country in the world for eight consecutive years.

Women’s football team heading to New Zealand for 2023 World Cup

The Vietnamese national women’s football team and head coach Mai Duc Chung departed from Hanoi for New Zealand on July 5 to start their 2023 FIFA World Cup campaign.

They are scheduled to arrive in New Zealand at 9:00 am on July 6. After landing, the team will then head to Auckland city for two weeks of training before competing at the sporting event. They will also have two friendly matches in order to test their lineup, with fixtures scheduled against New Zealand on July 10 and Spain on July 14.

At the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Vietnam has been named in Group E and will face the US on July 22, Portugal on July 27, and the Netherlands on August 1, VNA reported.

Vietnamese female footballers (Photo: VFF)

To prepare for the finals, the team took training camps in Japan and Germany.

Over the past time, the “golden girls" have been crowned SEA Games champions for eight times, and won a ticket to the 2024 Olympic First Qualifier.

Foreign travel website suggests things to do and buy for under US$10 in VN

During a five-day trip to Hanoi, many tourists will realize that the capital boasts a rich blend of history, vibrant culture, and culinary delights, according to the foreign travel website youthopia.sg.

If visitors are traveling on a budget but would still like to get the authentic local experience, here are some things they can do or buy in Hanoi for under US$10, equivalent to VND237,000, the author Farhana Subuhan wrote.

A trip to the Vietnamese capital is barely complete without a piping-hot bowl of pho. The noodle dish, usually made from beef or chicken bones, is garnished with cilantro and typically costs no more than VND100,000, she noted.

The famed ca phe trung, also known as egg coffee, can be bought for VND55,000 and is often served in small cups which can be enjoyed both hot and cold.

Discovering artifacts and paintings in the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum, a site that exhibits sculptures, traditional applied art, folk art, and various mediums of paintings such as lacquer, oil, silk, and paper is another suggestion during a trip to Hanoi.

The drink is traditionally prepared with egg yolks, sugar, condensed milk and robusta coffee. Photo credit: Youthopia/FarhanaYOUTHOPIA/FARHANA SUBUHAN

Admission to the museum costs only VND40,000 per person, with each group limited to a maximum of 25 people.

The media outlet also recommends visiting the Temple of Literature which is a symbol of Vietnamese cultural heritage, serving as a reminder of the country’s long-standing commitment to education.

At just VND30,000, travelers are able to marvel at the 54,000 sqm architecture that is surrounded by an ancient brick wall and five courtyards that come in differing styles.

Strolling along West Lake and renting a pedal boat around the lake for VND80,000 can be a fun activity, especially when visiting family or friends.

Buying a pack of 100g of Vietnamese ground coffee in Hanoi’s Old Quarter is a good suggestion for any traveler.

Each pack of 100g ground coffee can retail anywhere from VND150,000, with the coffee being filtered through a traditional Vietnamese coffee filter called a “phin”.

Condensed milk is then added to the brewed coffee, with this combination of strong coffee and sweetened condensed milk creating the famous Vietnamese iced coffee, also known as “ca phe sua da”, the article adds.

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