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Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang speaks at the event (Photo: dantri.com.vn)

Vietnam seeks deeper labor cooperation with Europe

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang and Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Ba Hoan co-chaired a seminar in Hanoi, which sought ways to bolster Vietnam-Europe labor cooperation.

In her speech, Hang said the October 11 event aims to provide an overview of Vietnam-Europe labor cooperation, pinpoint opportunities and challenges, and elevate the labor sector's role within the broader framework of the bilateral relations between Vietnam and each European partner.

Hoan described Europe as a prime market with high income, socio-political stability, and robust ties with Vietnam. He reaffirmed Vietnam's policy of sending workers abroad to develop its workforce and improve their skills, cited VNA.

Representatives from European embassies in Hanoi noted high demand for skilled Vietnamese workers and expressed readiness to support the country in workforce training. They also highlighted stable wage policies and numerous labor incentives in Europe.

However, labor supply companies voiced concerns about several obstacles, including a lack of information regarding the European labor market, the relatively low expertise and skills of Vietnamese workers compared to European standards, as well as geographical distance, language and culture barriers, and fierce competition from other countries.

Vietnamese embassies in Europe stressed the need to accelerate the signing of bilateral labor agreements to create a solid legal framework for cooperation. Currently, only Germany and Romania have such agreements, while other countries lack comprehensive cooperation or have limited agreements between individual companies without specific government regulations.

The participants raised proposals to have a new approach so as to improve the efficiency of sending Vietnamese workers to Europe and promote labor cooperation between Vietnam and European countries.

Vietnam - Cambodia trade turnover soars by 21.9% in nine months

Vietnam is currently one of Cambodia's three largest trading partners, with bilateral trade turnover continuing to grow rapidly by 21.9% year-on-year to US$5.8 billion up to the end of the third quarter of this year, according to the latest statistics from the Cambodian Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Cambodia primarily exported agricultural products such as cashew nuts, and rubber to Vietnam. Vietnam accounts for 13.8% of Cambodia's export market share, while the US makes up for 38.4% of the Southeast Asian nation's market share.

From the first quarter to the third quarter of this year, Cambodia's imports from China accounted for the largest portion, with import turnover reaching US$9.8 billion, equivalent to 46.8% of the import market share, according to VOV.

Photo: VOV

During the reviewed period, Cambodia run a trade deficit of more than US$8.5 billion with China, while Vietnam ranked second in imports with US$3.1 billion, accounting for 14.6% of the nation’s market share.

Cambodia mainly imported garment and textile products, construction materials, petroleum, plastic products and fertilizers from Vietnam.

China ready to step up multi-sectoral cooperation with Vietnam: Chinese media

The ongoing official visit to Vietnam by Chinese Premier Li Qiang has been widely covered by major Chinese news and press agencies, including Xinhua and People’s Daily.

Xinhua quoted Li’s remarks at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on October 12, where he stressed that under the strategic guidance of their high-level leaders, the China-Vietnam relations have been on a solid growth trajectory. He said that since the beginning of this year, the two countries have maintained close high-level exchanges and achieved positive cooperation outcomes across various sectors. He also noted that the building of a Vietnam-China community with a shared future has recorded a promising start.

At their talks in Beijing in August 2024, Vietnamese Party General Secretary and State President To Lam, and Chinese Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping outlined a strategic framework to comprehensively advance the building of a Vietnam-China community with a shared future in the new context, and set a clearer direction for the development of the bilateral relations, VNA reported.

Xinhua reports on the meeting between Vietnamese Party General Secretary and President To Lam and Chinese Premier Li Qiang. (Photo: VNA)

Li affirmed that China consistently regards Vietnam as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy and is ready to work with Vietnam to build on their traditional friendship, enhance strategic exchanges, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, strengthen the foundation of their people’s friendship, and advance the building of the China-Vietnam community with a shared future in a practical manner, delivering tangible benefits to their people and contributing to peace, stability, and prosperous development in the region and the word.

Meanwhile, according to People’s Daily, at a meeting with Party General Secretary and State President To Lam, the Chinese Premier highlighted China’s readiness to collaborate with Vietnam in implementing the important common perceptions reached by high-ranking leaders of both Parties and countries in maintaining their traditional friendship, increasing high-level meeting and strategic exchanges, solidarity, and close cooperation, and persistently and strongly promoting the building of the Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.

Li stated that China is ready to work with Vietnam to step up cooperation in various spheres with higher quality and level and to reinforce the development direction of “six major goals”. He expressed his wish for both countries to jointly promote the “hard connectivity” of railways, highways, and border infrastructure, along with “soft connectivity” like smart customs in a bid to strengthen support for trade and investment and maintain stable, smooth supply chains.

China is also willing to collaborate with Vietnam to further expand economic and trade collaboration, actively pilot cross-border economic cooperation zones, and beef up cooperation in emerging fields like IT, new energy, digital economy, critical minerals and people-to-people exchanges.

All Vietnamese students competing at Olympiads in 2024 win prizes: Ministry

All Vietnamese students competing at Asian, Asia-Pacific, and global Olympiads this year won prizes, the Ministry of Education and Training has announced.

Vietnam has sent seven delegations with 38 students to Olympiads, including the Asia-Pacific Informatics Olympiad, the Asian Physics Olympiad, and international Olympiad competitions in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Informatics.

The Vietnamese students bagged 12 golds, 15 silvers, 10 bronzes, and one certificate of merit, cited VNA.

The Vietnamese students claim two golds, one silver and one bronze at the 36th International Olympiad in Informatics hosted by Egypt from September 1-6.

The Vietnamese delegations achieved high rankings in the competitions, many of them were in the groups of candidates with the highest scores, especially Vietnamese students got higher scores at practical exams compared to those in previous years.

According to the ministry, the results showed the students’ efforts, teachers’ proper instructions and the positive changes in selecting and training talented students for the national teams.

Last year, all 36 Vietnamese students competing at Asian, Asia-Pacific, and global Olympiads won prizes, including eight golds, 12 silvers, 12 bronzes, and four certificates of merit.

Vietnam faces rising frequency of cold fronts and tropical depressions

In the coming weeks, Northern Vietnam will see an increase in cold air activity, with cold spells expected in late December. Central Vietnam is preparing for widespread heavy rains.

Nguyen Duc Hoa, Deputy Director of the Climate Forecasting Department at the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, stated that from October 11 to November 10, the average temperature across Vietnam is expected to be 0.5-1 degree Celsius higher than the long-term average for this period.

Extreme weather phenomena, including storms, tropical depressions, cold fronts, lightning, and tornadoes, are likely to occur more frequently during this period.

In detail, rainfall in the Eastern Northern Region and North Central Region is expected to be near the average for many years, while in the Western Northern Region, Central and South-Central Regions, Central Highlands, and Southern Vietnam, rainfall is expected to be 10-30% higher than the long-term average. Especially in the Central Region, there is a high probability of widespread heavy rains. Thunderstorms across the country may be accompanied by lightning, hail, and strong winds.

Hoa also noted that in the next month, the likelihood of storms or tropical depressions in the East Sea and affecting Vietnam is expected to be near or slightly above average compared to previous years (the long-term average is 1.9 storms in the East Sea and 0.8 making landfall).

Cold fronts during this forecast period are expected to increase in frequency and intensity.

Soon, according to the meteorological agency, cold air will return on October 13 and again on October 19-20. From October 14-16, scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected in the northern mountainous and midland regions due to the interaction between cold air and upper-level wind convergence. The Central and South-Central Regions, as well as the Central Highlands and Southern Vietnam, will also experience scattered showers and thunderstorms, VNN reported.

Cold fronts are expected to intensify at the end of the year. Photo: Nam Khanh

Dr. Hoang Phuc Lam, Deputy Director of the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, predicted that from November to December, temperatures in the Northern Region and the Northern and Central part of the Central Regions will decrease slightly, about 0.5 degrees lower than normal.

By the end of December, the Northern Region may experience prolonged cold spells, similar to previous years. Cold air will continue to increase in frequency during January and February 2025, bringing severe cold and frost to the northern provinces, with the possibility of snow and ice in the mountainous areas.

Weather forecast for October 14-18:

Northern Vietnam:

- From October 14-18: Isolated rain, scattered morning fog; partly sunny in the afternoon. From October 14-16, scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected in the northern mountainous and midland areas.

Central Vietnam:

- North Central Region: Isolated rain, scattered morning fog.

- Central part of the Central Region: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, with isolated heavy rain on October 14-15.

- South Central Region: Isolated showers and thunderstorms, with scattered rain in the afternoon and evening.

Central Highlands and Southern Vietnam:

- From October 13-18: Scattered afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms, with isolated heavy rain in the Southern Central Highlands and Southern Vietnam.

Water levels on rivers in the Central Highlands are expected to change slowly. Water levels on rivers in Southern Vietnam will fluctuate with the tides.

Hanoi:

- From October 13-18: Isolated rain, scattered morning fog; partly sunny in the afternoon.

It is important to note that thunderstorms in these areas may bring tornadoes, lightning, and strong winds.

In addition, from October 13-18, waves in the northern East Sea will range from 2-3 meters, with rough seas. Along the coast from Quang Tri to Binh Thuan, waves will range from 1.5-2.5 meters from October 13-15, decreasing to 1-2 meters after. In other areas, waves will generally be less than 2 meters.

The meteorological agency also warned that from October 17-22, tidal levels along the southeastern coast will remain high. High tides in the early morning and late afternoon will increase the risk of flooding in low-lying coastal areas and along rivers in the southeastern region, and could slow down flood drainage in the event of flooding on the Mekong River.

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