Vietnam News Today (Mar. 10): Vietnam, UK Partner to Effectively Utilize UKVFTA

Photo: VOV

Vietnam confirms over 164,000 new infections, 65,872 recoveries

A total of 164,596 new Covid-19 cases were confirmed by the Health Ministry on March 9, including 106,573 detected within the local community.

As a result of the latest infections, the total caseload since the beginning of the pandemic has now reached over 5 million.

New cases were reported in 63 provinces and cities across the country, with Hanoi registering the highest number of infection at more than 31,000.

Elsewhere, the three localities reporting the highest number behind the capital include Nghe An with 10,296 cases, Bac Ninh with over 9,000 cases, and Phu Tho with 5,594 cases.

The Covid-19 death toll nationwide also rose to over 41,000 with the confirmation of 109 fatalities over the past 24 hours, with Hanoi reporting the highest number of deaths at 24. The country’s Covid-19 deaths make up 0.9% of the total infections since the pandemic began.

The average number of deaths recorded over the past seven days now stands at 91 cases daily.

By March 8, the country had injected roughly 198.6 million vaccine doses, with more than 67 million people now fully inoculated, while over 1.492 million third shots have now been administered, cited VOV.

Furthermore, the total number of recoveries grew to more than 2.85 million after an additional 65,872 people were declared free from the virus on the same day.

To date, the World Health Organization (WHO) still considers Covid-19 to be a global pandemic, and predicts unforeseen variations. In many countries, the pandemic remains complicated and requires the maintenance of high-level pandemic response activities.

Although the rate of severe cases and deaths in the country has strongly declined compared to the previous period, the daily number of deaths is still around 100.

Therefore, the Health Ministry said that the country should not consider the Covid-19 pandemic as an "endemic disease" at this time.

Vietnam, New Zealand seek to strengthen defense ties

Minister of National Defense General Phan Van Giang held a phone talk with his New Zealand counterpart Peeni Henare on March 9 during which they sought to strengthen defense ties between the two countries in multiple areas.

Giang expressed sincere thanks to the Government and people of New Zealand for supporting Vietnam in the fight against Covid-19. He also informed Henare on Vietnam’s roadmap for staged border reopening post-Covid-19 which is expected to pave the way for closer defense relations between Vietnam and other countries, including New Zealand.

The Vietnamese minister said despite Covid-19 impacts, Vietnam and New Zealand has sustained and expanded the bilateral defense ties in accordance with their signed agreements and the Strategic Partnership for the common benefits of each nation and the region, according to VNA.

Minister of National Defense General Phan Van Giang. Photo: VNA

He highly spoke of the two ministries' efforts in maintaining high-level exchanges and meetings, citing the Vietnam-New Zealand Defense Policy Dialogue held virtually in December 2020 and this phone talk as examples.

He also appreciated the role and contributions of the New Zealand Ministry of Defense at ASEAN-led multilateral defense-security mechanisms, particularly the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM ).

Vietnam backs New Zealand to further step up its Strategic Partnership with ASEAN, including the implementation of an action plan in defense and security for 2021-2025.

Both sides agreed that there is plenty of room for the bilateral defense ties to grow further on the basis of the Strategic Partnership. They agreed to request the two ministries to continue making plans for future cooperation, with focus placed on increasing high-level delegation exchanges, establishing dialogue channels between the two countries’ defense-security officials and scholars, personnel training, cyber security, search and rescue, and medical studies on communicable diseases.

They also plan to effectively implement a memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation in UN peacekeeping missions and soon start the building of a cooperation plan for the next three years.

HCM City aims to be No.2 financial market in Southeast Asia

HCM City is currently Vietnam’s financial center and a secondary global financial center. However, to become an international financial center, the city needs a legal corridor to expand the operating space for the financial-banking market.

At a recent workshop, experts proposed many solutions for the city to become an international financial center in the 2026-2030 period.

Le Ngoc Thuy Trang, General Director of Ho Chi Minh City State Financial Investment Company (HFIC), said that in March 2020, Ho Chi Minh City was evaluated as a secondary financial center on the Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI). In September 2021, the city topped the list of 10 potential centers to be considered for inclusion in the official GFCI assessment list.

Nguyen Xuan Thanh, a lecturer at Fulbright University Vietnam, said that GFCI rates Ho Chi Minh City as a global financial center, but the ranking does not say whether it is a national or international financial center, but only a secondary global financial center. This secondary quality lies in competitiveness, reported VNN.

Photo: VNN

The city has better conditions than other localities to develop an international financial market based on this criteria, especially in terms of concentration of market and financial institutions as well as development potential.

To assess the city's competitiveness, the project compares HCM City with 14 other centers in Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia.

In terms of geo-economic factors, the financial market in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) can be classified into three groups: weak, medium, and strong. Singapore is the only country in the strong group.

Thanh said the competitiveness of Ho Chi Minh City is equal to that of major cities in the region such as Manila (the Philippines) and Jakarta (Indonesia) and is not significantly inferior to Bangkok (Thailand) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).

"We are equal to Manila and Jakarta, but with the fast growth rate, we can surpass and reach the level of Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur in the 2026-2030 period. However, objectively, we cannot catch up with Singapore and Hong Kong," said Thanh.

Based on that analysis, Ho Chi Minh City aims to be the second strongest financial market in ASEAN, after Singapore.

Vietnam, UK partner to effectively utilize UKVFTA

The Ministry of Industry and Trade will co-ordinate with the British Embassy in Vietnam to co-host the seminar "One-year journey of the UKVFTA: Remarkable achievements and the vision ahead” on March 15.

The event is set to be held in both Hanoi and London with the aim of reviewing the achievements recorded one year on from the UK - Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) taking effect. In addition, it will simultaneously evaluate the role of the trade pact in creating growth momentum for the country's export sectors and local businesses during the post-Covid-19 recovery period.

Bilateral turnover between Vietnam and the UK last year grew by 17.24% to US$6.61 billion. Photo: vneconomy.vn

The seminar is expected to provide an ideal opportunity for both nations' business communities to determine the future orientations and share their experience in taking full advantage of the agreement, cited VOV.

Furthermore, it will serve as a forum for the business community to resolve problems for import-export firms in the process of implement the UKVFTA.

The UKVFTA Agreement was officially signed in London on December 29, 2020, before officially coming into force from May 1, 2021.

According to preliminary statistics compiled by the General Department of Vietnam Customs, bilateral turnover between Vietnam and the UK last year surged by 17.24% to reach US$6.61 billion.

Vietnamese associations abroad pledge coordination to support Vietnamese in Ukraine

Vietnamese associations in Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Germany and Hungary have pledged to work closely in citizen protection and support for the Vietnamese community in Ukraine.

The statement was made by representatives of the Vietnamese community in some countries during an online working session on March 8 with leaders of the Foreign Ministry's State Commission for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs (SCOV); the Vietnamese embassies in Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Germany, and Hungary; and the union of Vietnamese associations in Europe.

Addressing the event, Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Hieu, head of the SCOV, expressed his joy when most of Vietnamese in Ukraine have been evacuated, stating that the Party and State have always paid due attention to and given early direction to ensure safety of lives and assets of the Vietnamese community in Ukraine.

Vietnamese Embassy and community in Hungary welcome and support Vietnamese from Ukraine. Photo: VNA

Accordingly, the first flight operated by Vietnam Airlines repatriating 287 Vietnamese people evacuated from war zones in Ukraine landed at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi at noon on March 8.

The Deputy FM stressed the need to roll out more realistic measures to support Vietnamese expats in Ukraine, as well as strengthen connection and coordination among Vietnamese associations abroad in this work.

According to deputy head of the SCOV Ngo Trinh Ha, with the spirit of initiative, urgency and efficiency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant ministries and sectors, and the Vietnamese representative agencies abroad have been focusing on a number of measures to support and protect Vietnamese people in Ukraine, VNA reported.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son had phone talks with his counterparts and ambassadors of related countries on the work, he said.

Meanwhile, direct liaison channels between the SCOV and Vietnamese associations abroad have been established, providing guidance, information and support and organizing evacuation, he added.

Ha expressed his belief that with the solidarity of the Vietnamese community abroad, and efforts made by agencies inside and outside the country, Vietnamese people in Ukraine will soon overcome difficulties.

On the occasion, the Vietnamese association in the Czech Republic donated 10,000 EUR each to the Vietnamese embassies in Poland and Romania to help Vietnamese evacuated from Ukraine.

A representative of Sun Group in Ukraine said that the business is ready to contribute and support the Vietnamese Government in organizing flights to bring Vietnamese home.

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