Vietnam News Today (May 14): US Businesses Affirm Long-Term Commitment to Vietnam
	Vietnam News Today (May 15): Vietnam Looks for Stronger Cooperation with RoK in New Era

Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang at the roundtable. (Photo: VNA)

Francophone businesses ready to embrace new investment opportunities in Vietnam

French enterprises and the wider Francophone business community are poised to seize emerging investment and business opportunities in Vietnam, particularly in sectors where France holds advantages such as energy, sustainable development, infrastructure, semiconductors, as well as agriculture, transport, health care, and pharmaceuticals.

Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang made the remark during a roundtable discussion held on May 14 with Francophone businesses interested in investing and doing business in Vietnam. The event gathered senior leaders from major French and international companies across diverse sectors to explore avenues for future cooperation with Vietnam.

At the roundtable, French business leaders engaged in open dialogue, introducing their enterprises and sharing insights and experiences gained from operating in Vietnam. They also expressed interest in upcoming opportunities and outlined their expectations for deeper cooperation and future investment in the country, cited VNA.

Participants widely acknowledged Vietnam’s remarkable development achievements and its current growth potential. Many saw these as a source of fresh momentum that could drive new partnerships in key sectors between Vietnamese and international companies.

Ambassador Thang expressed hope that the roundtable and future engagements will further strengthen economic relations between France and Vietnam, one of the critical pillars of the Vietnam – France Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Steve Gentili, President of the Francophone Business Forum (FFA), noted that many Francophone companies are already active in Vietnam. Since the Francophonie Summit held in Hanoi, economic collaboration has expanded across all 87 member states of the community.

He highlighted Vietnam’s special voice within the Francophonie community and applauded the country’s initiative to promote economic cooperation among member states.

At the event, business representatives agreed that Vietnam’s emergence as a rising force in the regional economy presents a compelling opportunity for French and European companies. They saw Vietnam as a strategic entry point for expanding operations and partnerships in the broader Asia–Pacific region.

In today’s volatile global investment and trade environment, French and European businesses aim to maintain a diverse economic portfolio by partnering with dynamic and promising markets like Vietnam. For its part, Vietnam stands to climb higher in the global and regional economic rankings if it can capitalize on new areas of cooperation, particularly in energy, transport, infrastructure, and green and sustainable development.

Offering a detailed overview of Vietnam’s investment climate and opportunities, Dao Quoc Cuong, Investment Counselor at the Vietnamese Embassy in France, highlighted the priority sectors, special economic zones, and preferential tax policies designed to attract foreign investors. His presentation was warmly received and described by French business leaders as highly informative and helpful for shaping new investment plans and expanding their presence in Vietnam.

Cuong emphasised that discussions centred on sectors of strategic importance to Vietnam’s investment agenda, notably the green economy, renewable energy, health care, and pharmaceuticals.

Vietnam, Thailand aim for US$25 billion trade by 2030 based on complementary strengths

Both sides should utilize complementary strengths in areas such as the digital economy, green energy, regional supply chains, and smart agriculture, while making full use of free trade agreements like the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), to achieve the US$25 billion bilateral trade target by 2030.

National Assembly (NA) Chairman Tran Thanh Man made the statement at a meeting in Hanoi on May 15 with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra and a high-level delegation of the Royal Thai Government during their official visit to Vietnam and their co-chairing of the 4th Vietnam–Thailand Joint Cabinet Meeting.

Welcoming PM Shinawatra and the Thai delegation, the top Vietnamese NA leader highlighted the significance of the visit, which takes place as the Enhanced Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and Thailand continues to grow strongly and comprehensively across a variety of fields. He expressed his belief that the visit will mark an important milestone and open a new chapter in bilateral relations.

The top legislator congratulated Thailand on its recent achievements under PM Shinawatra’s leadership, particularly the 2025 agenda focusing on infrastructure and social welfare development. He also thanked the Thai Government for supporting the Vietnamese community of over 100,000 people, who are actively contributing to Thailand’s society and serve as a vital bridge for friendship between the two nations.

Chairman Man praised Thailand’s role in ASEAN and the international arena, and its efforts to promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the region. He urged Thailand to continue working with Vietnam and other countries to maintain ASEAN’s shared stance on the East Sea, striving to make it a sea of peace and cooperation.

Expressing satisfaction with growing economic, trade, and investment ties, he noted that the outlook for bilateral economic cooperation remains promising with untapped potential. Thailand is currently Vietnam’s largest trading partner in ASEAN, with two-way trade hitting more than US$20.2 billion in 2024, up 6.3% year-on-year.

In the first four months of 2025 alone, bilateral trade soared by 11.2% to nearly US$6.88 billion. Thailand ranks 9th among 150 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with 767 projects and total registered capital exceeding US$14.85 billion. These figures reflect not only dynamic cooperation but also strong trust and close ties between the two countries, according to VOV.

NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man welcomes Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

Chairman Man affirmed Vietnam’s readiness to share experience and enhance cooperation with Thailand in high-tech agriculture, green transition, and sustainable development. The Vietnamese NA will continue to improve the legal framework, facilitate business and investment, and support joint initiatives in strategic fields, he told his guest.

Regarding legislative cooperation, Chairman Man greatly valued the strong ties between the two legislatures, marked by frequent high-level exchanges and effective co-operation in lawmaking and supervision. Friendship Parliamentary Groups have also played a key role in strengthening mutual understanding and expanding cooperation in trade, investment, tourism, and education.

He applauded the close coordination between the Vietnamese and Thai legislatures in regional and international parliamentary forums, such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), emphasizing that this collaboration not only strengthens bilateral relations but also contributes to regional peace and stability.

On this occasion, Chairman Man conveyed his greetings and invitation to Speaker of the Thai House of Representatives Wan Muhamad Noor Matha and President of the Thai Senate Mongkol Surasajja to visit Vietnam in the near future.

For her part, PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra showed great joy at making her first official visit to Vietnam and witnessing the country’s impressive socio-economic achievements.

She informed Chairman Man that the visit’s major purpose is to co-chair the 4th Joint Cabinet Meeting and hold discussions with Vietnamese leaders to deepen cooperation, especially in trade, investment, and economics, aiming to take the bilateral relationship to new heights. She underlined the significance of the joint cabinet mechanism, which Thailand maintains only with its closest neighbors, including Vietnam.

The Thai PM noted the many similarities between the two countries and their important roles in each other’s foreign policy. She stressed that closer collaboration is especially meaningful in the current context of regional and global challenges. She called for the two sides to intensify delegation exchange and expand cooperation between their Friendship Parliamentary Groups, particularly in legislative affairs and multilateral parliamentary forums.

Both leaders agreed that the people of Vietnam and Thailand share close bonds and cultural similarities. They laid stress on the need to augment cooperation in tourism, railways, and aviation, including opening more direct flights between localities and studying the possibility of a railway link connecting Vietnam and northeastern provinces of Thailand.

On this occasion, PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra extended a cordial invitation to NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man to visit Thailand. Chairman Man thanked her and said he will arrange a visit at an appropriate time.

Nha Trang listed among top 15 global summer destination in 2025

Nha Trang has been ranked 11th among the top 15 most prominent summer travel destinations worldwide in 2025, according to the latest report by the Mastercard Economics Institute.

The report, based on an analysis of flight booking data during the summer seasons of 2024 and 2025, highlights a strong resurgence in global travel, with Asia accounting for more than half of the featured destinations. Japan’s Tokyo and Osaka led the list, followed by cities in France, China, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Spain and Brazil.

Nha Trang’s appearance in the ranking reflects the growing appeal of the Vietnamese coastal city to international visitors, particularly those from Asian, European and American markets, reported VNA.

Nha Trang ranks 11th among the popular summer destinations in 2025. (Photo: laodong.vn)

The report also noted that Asia is the top summer destination for travellers from the Middle East, signifying a shift in travel preferences towards the region.

In anticipation of the upcoming peak tourism season, Nha Trang is preparing to host the 2025 Sea Cultural and Tourism Festival under the theme "Nha Trang say hi". The month-long festival, starting in late May, will feature 36 cultural, sporting and artistic events. The highlight is a grand music concert on the evening of June 7, accompanied by a high-altitude fireworks display and international cultural exchange performances.

With continued investment in service quality and vibrant event programming, Nha Trang is steadily strengthening its position as a leading travel destination in the region and beyond.

Vietnamese trade chief shares insights on AI and trade at APEC 2025

Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien emphasizes AI's transformative role in trade while dealing with regional cooperation challenges at the APEC 2025 Ministerial Meeting.

On May 15 in Jeju, the Republic of Korea, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, head of the Vietnamese delegation, delivered remarks at both sessions of the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) Meeting with a focus on building a sustainable future towards connectivity, innovation, and prosperity.

The event gathered trade ministers from 21 APEC member economies, including major ones like the US, China, and Japan along with senior representatives from the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The discussions focused on joint responses and cooperative measures amid rapidly evolving global trade, covering three main topics: artificial intelligence (AI) and trade, WTO reform and APEC’s role in restoring the multilateral trading system, and co-operation for sustainable supply chains, including climate crisis responses and supply chain stability.

Addressing the first session on AI for trade, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien praised the relevance of the topic and underscored AI’s importance in Vietnam’s national strategy for research, development, and application of AI through 2030. AI, he noted, is a foundational technology that can help drive production breakthroughs, enhance national competitiveness, and promote sustainable economic growth.

The Minister shared two main categories of AI’s impact on trade: First, AI offers major opportunities. Directly, it can lower trade-related costs through improvements in logistics, supply chain management, customs automation, border control, and risk forecasting.

E-commerce becomes more efficient as AI helps overcome language barriers and reduce search and matching costs, thus enabling businesses to access global markets more effectively and engage deeper in international trade.

In this spirit, Vietnam welcomes the APEC AI initiative, which envisions building a sustainable future with AI while boosting creative economic growth across the Asia-Pacific.

Indirectly, AI promotes demand and trade in technology-related goods and services, such as IT infrastructure, telecoms, specialized software tools, and development libraries. Many AI-related products such as semiconductors, and smartphones are supplied by a limited number of economies, making international trade a key driver in AI development across the region and beyond. Further upstream in the value chain, the extraction and processing of critical minerals and metals, inputs essential for AI-related production, are also expected to grow more dynamic, VOV reported.

Minister Nguyen Hong Dien speaks at the first discussion session of the APEC MRT Ministerial Meeting (Photo: congthuong.vn)

Second, alongside opportunities, the Minister emphasized that APEC economies must also tackle risks and challenges to ensure all members can benefit from AI in trade. On the legal front, AI’s rapid evolution often outpaces national regulations, particularly in areas like intellectual property and data governance.

In terms of international cooperation, the increasing number of bilateral and regional initiatives on AI governance, each with differing priorities, raises the risk of fragmentation or overlap. Divergent national policies and the absence of a unified standard are also also leading to regulatory fragmentation.

Given this context, Minister Dien expressed Vietnam’s support for the host country’s proposal to initiate discussions on establishing an APEC AI Standards Forum, thereby contributing to the development of a unified global AI governance framework.

Vietnam reaffirms deeper participation in UN peacekeeping activities: Officer

Vietnam continues maintaining its peacekeeping forces in the field and pledges its deeper participation in UN peacekeeping operations by considering the expansion of new types of units, such as mechanized infantry, military police, communications, and mission protection units, a Vietnamese officer has stated.

Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army Senior Lieutenant General Phung Si Tan made the statement while addressing the UN Peacekeeping Ministerial 2025 Berlin on May 13-14, which gathered over 100 delegations from UN member states and international organizations.

Tan noted that although Vietnam only began participating in UN peacekeeping operations in May 2014, it has achieved encouraging results.

Vietnam has deployed nearly 1,100 personnel to UN peacekeeping missions, he said, adding that the Southeast Asian nation has encouraged and created opportunities for female military personnel to join peacekeeping operations, while regularly coordinating with the UN and international partners to conduct training programs and international exercises, cited VNN.

Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army Senior Lieutenant General Phung Si Tan (L) and UN Under-Secretary-General Atul Khare Atul Khare. (Photo: qdnd.vn)

Vietnam is also committed to maintaining and working to increase the participation of women in peacekeeping operations, and strengthening cooperation with international partners to better training capacity and readiness for future UN peacekeeping activities, Tan said.

Within the framework of the event, Tan held a bilateral meeting with Giles Norman, Director General of the Transnational Threats and Conflicts Bureau of Canada, during which the Vietnamese officer affirmed that the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense highly values defense cooperation with Canada, particularly in peacekeeping.

Tan proposed the two sides to effectively implement the signed Memorandum of Understanding on peacekeeping cooperation, hoping that Canada will share its experience, provide support, and endorse Vietnam’s initiative to nominate personnel for positions such as Deputy Force Commander and Force Commander at UN peacekeeping missions.

Tan also had a sideline meeting with UN Under-Secretary-General Atul Khare Atul Khare.

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