Vietnam News Today (Jun. 24): Vietnam Always Considers US Strategically Important Partner
	Vietnam News Today (Jun. 25): Vietnam Always Stands Side By Side With Cuba in All Circumstances

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks during his exchange with startup and innovation businesses of the World Economic Forum in Dalian, China, on June 25.

Vietnam pledges best possible conditions for foreign investors in all fields

Vietnam always welcomes, encourages and creates conditions for foreign businesses to invest in all fields of agriculture, industry and services towards a green, clean and sustainable direction, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said during an exchange with startup and innovation businesses of the World Economic Forum in Dalian, China, on June 25.

He said the government prioritizes developing technology, resources and innovation, noting innovation has become one of the main driving forces behind the country’s economic growth, especially in the era of globalization, international integration and the fourth industrial revolution.

Innovation not only contributes to solving regional and global difficulties and challenges but also promotes the sustainable development of each country in particular and the world in general, stressed the Vietnamese PM.

In this regard, he said Vietnam has taken many practical and effective actions to rev up innovation, including building priority policies to promote innovation and entrepreneurship; drawing up development strategies and programmes with a focus on digital economy, green economy, circular economy, sharing economy, knowledge economy, and especially industries that bring high added value such as big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, semiconductor chips, and hydrogen.

In addition, it has been completing infrastructure systems, developing human resources, especially high-quality human resources, and mobilizing resources, especially finance, technology and management skills, from overseas for innovation.

He assured that the government accompanies, listens to and addresses business concerns towards win-win gains on the principle of the harmony of interests and risk sharing. He said many of the world’s leading technology corporations such as Google, Apple, Intel, Synopsys, Meta, and Nvidia have explored and invested in Vietnam, cited VOV.

The PM stressed the importance of investing in human resources, considering this the key to realizing national development tasks. According to the leader, Vietnam considers education-training a top national policy and it allocates adequate resources for this field. He also revealed that Vietnam is implementing a project to develop human resources for the semiconductor industry, with a view to generating 50,000 engineers for semiconductor chip manufacturing by 2030.

The Prime Minister answered many questions related to preferential policies for innovation businesses, the role of foreign startups in the country’s innovation drive and its transition to the knowledge economy, as well as security and data usage issues.

He said foreign startups are the driving force to spur the development of innovation, as they support technology and knowledge transfer; create competition and promote innovation; enhance international cooperation and step up the transition to the knowledge economy.

The PM agreed that technology development on the one hand brings about benefits, but has risks and downsides on the other hand, saying this is a global problem that impacts all spheres of society. He said Vietnam has issued regulations on information protection, security and data use, alongside pouring investments and introducing solutions to ensure network security.

The leader also discussed many issues related to development plans and opportunities for Vietnamese youth in emerging industries such as artificial intelligence, semiconductor chips, and big data, as well as the degradation of globalization. To address the issues, he proposed that the world have a global, all-people approach, uphold multilateralism and strengthen international solidarity.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is in Dalian for the WEF's 15th Annual Meeting of the New Champions from June 25-27.

Parliamentary friendship group to work for stronger Vietnam - RoK ties

Applauding the contributions by PFGs, including the Vietnam - RoK Parliamentary Friendship Group, to parliamentary diplomacy, Thanh asked members of the Vietnam - RoK PFG to further bring into play their role in helping to boost the two countries’ locality-to-locality cooperation in the fields they work in.

They should also continue serving as active contributors to the development of the two NAs’ ties, as well as people-to-people exchanges, she said.

The group reported that since the start of the NA’s 15th tenure, parliamentary cooperation has played an important part in the two countries’ overall relations and reaped many encouraging results.

Leaders of the two NAs, specialized committees, and the group have maintained frequent meetings and opinion sharing, according to VNA.

NA Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh (front, eighth from right) and members of the Vietnam - RoK Parliamentary Friendship Group at the meeting in Hanoi on June 25. (Photo: VNA)

Activities of the group has been carried out actively, effectively and diversely through the close coordination among agencies in charge of the Party-to-Party, State-to-State, and people-to-people diplomacy such as the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations, and the Vietnam - RoK Friendship Association.

Besides, the Vietnam - RoK and RoK - Vietnam PFGs have frequently met and worked with each other to hold activities marking the two countries’ major anniversaries. They have also actively participated in specialized forums, workshops, and discussions to share their countries’ experiences in building and perfecting development mechanisms and policies, thus helping reinforce cooperation between the two legislative bodies and the two countries.

For the time ahead, Vietnam - RoK PFG is set to continue coordinating with relevant agencies of both sides to organize celebrations of the two countries’ anniversaries to match with the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership. It will also work with the RoK side and Vietnamese agencies to arrange high-ranking delegation exchanges.

In addition, it will team up with the RoK - Vietnam PFG and Korean parliamentarians to foster bilateral connections in such areas as development cooperation, trade, investment, health care, education, along with locality-to-locality and people-to-people links.

The two sides will also maintain meetings and information sharing with the Embassy and representatives of agencies and organizations of the RoK in Vietnam to promote cooperation and deal with problems in a timely manner, according to the group.

Later the same day, Thanh received RoK Ambassador to Vietnam Choi Young-sam.

Vietnam and China inaugurate Hoanh Mo - Dong Zhong Border Gate

A ceremony to mark the official opening of the Hoanh Mo - Dong Zhong Border Gate pair was held in Binh Lieu district of northern border Quang Ninh province on June 25.

The border gate pair is expected to promote friendship, co-operation, development and border trade via the Bac Phong Sinh – Lihe crossing.

The official opening of the border gate pair will offer greater motivation for the locality to develop border trade activities, said Pham Duc Thang, chairman of the Binh Lieu District People's Committee, reported VOV.

A ceremony to mark the official opening of the Hoanh Mo - Dong Zhong Border Gate pair is held on June 25.

He noted that customs clearance procedures and the control of goods will therefore be improved.

The last five years has seen total import-export turnover of goods passing through the border gate pair reach over US$80 million annually. Major import and export items are agricultural and forestry products, garments, tiles, food additives, furniture, auto parts, and consumer goods.

After the ceremony, a number of export and import shipments were completed through the customs clearance process.

Intra-regional trips set up to lure visitors: insiders

High-quality tours that connect Vietnam and Thailand should be further developed to bring fascinating experiences to both domestic and foreign visitors, according to insiders.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has rolled out various international cooperation programs to attract foreign travelers, especially Vietnamese, with Vietnam – Laos – Thailand cross-border road tour being a standout.

According to Le Cong Nang, Director General of WonderTour – a partner of the TAT in Vietnam, the tour, which runs from May 15 to August 15, offers visitors with new experiences of culture, religion, cuisine, fashion, and festivals.

Patsee Permvongsenee, a TAT official, said over 1 million Vietnamese spent their holidays in Thailand last year, making Vietnam one of Thailand’s largest sources of visitors.

Hoi An ancient city is a favourite stop of the Thai visitors. (Photo: VNA)

Meanwhile, statistics from the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism show that Thailand is among the top ten source markets of Vietnam, with nearly 490,000 Thai people making trips to the country in 2023, cited VNA.

With a view to bolstering bilateral tourism cooperation, experts held that the two countries need to develop and launch joint marketing campaigns in international markets such as the EU and the US, increase direct flights, and simplify visa procedures to facilitate travel for visitors of both nations.

Tours that capitalize on each country’s strengths should be built to shape up a diverse and alluring journey, they said.

UK's CPTPP accession ratified by Vietnam's National Assembly

The National Assembly this morning voted overwhelmingly to pass the Resolution ratifying the accession of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

On the morning of June 25, the National Assembly of Vietnam voted overwhelmingly to pass the Resolution ratifying the accession of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Out of 460 National Assembly deputies present, 459 voted in favor.

Before the vote, Chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee, Vu Hai Ha, presented a report on behalf of the National Assembly Standing Committee, explaining and accepting the opinions of the deputies.

The deputies unanimously agreed that the UK's accession document is an integral part of the CPTPP, requiring the National Assembly's authority to ratify. The procedures and order for proposing the ratification complied with the provisions of the 2013 Constitution, the Law on Organization of the National Assembly, and the Law on International Treaties.

The National Assembly deputies highlighted the necessity of ratification and its timely approval at the 7th session. The draft Resolution was also unanimously agreed upon, VNN reported.

National Assembly deputies vote to pass the resolution. Photo: National Assembly

"The UK has made higher commitments to opening its market to Vietnam than other CPTPP countries, exceeding the commitments of the Vietnam-UK Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) in several key areas. Within the CPTPP framework, the UK will recognize Vietnam's manufacturing industries operating under market economy conditions," said Vu Hai Ha.

The National Assembly's ratification positions Vietnam among the first six CPTPP countries to approve the UK's accession document, showcasing Vietnam's proactive and responsible approach to enhancing bilateral trade and investment relations with the UK.

This move affirms Vietnam's role and position in the region and the world, creating new momentum for socio-economic development, improving the legal system, and enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnamese enterprises.

The CPTPP was signed in 2018 and took effect in Vietnam at the beginning of 2019. The agreement includes 11 member countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, New Zealand, Peru, and Vietnam, collectively representing about 500 million people. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that with the UK's inclusion, the CPTPP bloc will contribute 15% of global GDP.

The UK applied to join the CPTPP in 2021, becoming the first European country to join this dynamic trade bloc and the first new member since its inception, transforming the CPTPP from a Pacific pact into a truly global agreement.

Vietnam News Today (Jun. 22): Vietnam Always Treasures All-around Ties With Morocco Vietnam News Today (Jun. 22): Vietnam always treasures all-around ties with Morocco; Vietnam backs UNSC’s role in addressing global cyber security challenges; PM hails practical ...

Vietnam News Today (Jun. 23): PM to Attend WEF Meeting Vietnam News Today (Jun. 23): PM to attend WEF meeting; Forum discusses ways to tap potential for Vietnam-Japan tourism links; Vietnam eyes to enhance cooperation ...