NA Vice Chairman Tran Quang Phuong holds talks with First Vice President of the Senate of Mexico Sergio Pérez Flores. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam, Mexico strengthen relations

A delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly led by Vice Chairman Tran Quang Phuong paid a working visit to Mexico from September 28 – 30.

During his visit, NA Vice Chairman Phuong held talks with First Vice President of the Senate of Mexico Sergio Pérez Flores, met with President of the Foreign Affairs Commission at the Senate Cora Cecilia Pinedo Alonso, and President of the Commission on Border and Migration at the Senate Bertha Alicia Caraveo Camarena.

Phuong also held talks with Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico Joanna Alejandra Felipe Torres, and met with head of the Mexican Chamber of Deputies' Foreign Affairs Committee Alfredo Femat Bañuelos who is also head of Mexico - Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians' Group, head of the Mexican Chamber of Deputies’ Social Affairs Committee Anna Karina Rojo Pimentel, and leaders and members of the Mexico-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians' Group.

At the meetings, Phuong briefed the hosts of Vietnam's socio-economic development, and said that his Mexico visit aims to promote friendship and cooperation between the two countries' legislative bodies, thereby contributing to strengthening and deepening the traditional friendship between the two countries in fields, according to VNA.

Congratulating Mexico on its important and positive achievements in many aspects under the leadership of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Phuong affirmed that Mexico is one of Vietnam's top important partners in the American region, and hoped that the relationship between the two countries will become deeper and more comprehensive.

He said the Vietnamese NA hopes that the two sides will soon discuss and agree on a draft joint statement on elevating the Vietnam-Mexico comprehensive partnership.

For their parts, Mexcian leaders expressed their appreciation for the visit of NA Vice Chairman Tran Quang Phuong and the Vietnamese delegation, saying that they believed the visit will make an important contribution to further promoting friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between Mexico and Vietnam in general and between the two countries' legislative bodies in particular.

Senior Mexican leaders affirmed that Vietnam is a leading important partner of Mexico in Southeast Asia, while expressed their pleasure at strides in bilateral relations. They affirmed that Mexico always wishes to strengthen ties with Vietnam on all channels, especially promoting bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation.

Agreeing that the two countries have huge potential to promote economic, trade and investment cooperation, the Mexican leaders highlighted the need to strengthen cooperation and exploit the advantages brought by the CPTPP Agreement to promote bilateral cooperation and bring practical benefits to the two coutnries' people.

Regarding parliamentary cooperation, NA Vice Chairman Phuong and leaders of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico agreed to promote cooperation between the two countries' legislatures within both bilateral and multilateral frameworks, increase the exchange of high-level delegations, continue to coordinate and support each other at multilateral parliamentary forums.

On this occasion, the NA Vice Chairman conveyed the greetings and invitation from National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue to the Presidents of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico to visit Vietnam.

Within the framework of the visit, NA Vice Chairman Phuong and the Vietnamese delegation met with representatives of Mexican agencies, visited the Vietnamese Embassy in Mexico, and met with representatives of Vietnamese agencies and community in Mexico.

The delegation also laid flowers at the President Ho Chi Minh Monument in the Freedom of Ethnic Park in the center of Mexico City.

Indian culture and tourism promoted to Hanoians

The Swami Vivekananda Culture Center under the Indian Embassy in Vietnam is attending the 2023 Hanoi Autumn Festival, which is taking place from September 29 to October 1 in Hoan Kiem District.

The center’s participation aims to respond to the efforts by Hanoi City to boost tourism promotion and contribute to the diverse cultural experience at the event.

India’s pavilion provides visitors with the latest information on the country’s tourism, including famous destinations, promotional tours and unique cultural features of India.

In addition, visitors to the event have the chance to enjoy traditional dishes and spices of India at the food stall with various climate-resilient and nutritious food.

At the event, the Swami Vivekananda Culture Center also display traditional costumes, garments, handicrafts mehndi and many other products, attracting a large number of both Indian and Vietnamese people, cited NDO.

Vietnamese people are experiencing henna arts. (Photo: Indian Embassy)

Notably, visitors to the festival are very interested in the experience of henna designing, an ancient art of decorating the body with henna which is a natural staining dye in India.

Through the event, Hanoi’s citizens and visitors can learn about the traditional cultural identity as well as the tourism industry of India.

India’s pavilion at the 2023 Hanoi Autumn Festival is an opportunity to celebrate the 51st anniversary of Vietnam – India diplomatic ties (1972-2023). The cultural values of India promoted in Hanoi are an important bridge to tighten the understanding between the two peoples, contributing to deepening the traditional friendship between Vietnam and India.

The 2023 Hanoi Autumn Festival, themed “Hanoi in Autumn – Come to love”, is taking place from September 29 to October 1 to honor Hanoi's tourism, culture, heritage, and nature.

The festival includes a wide variety of activities that are expected to provide visitors to the capital city with interesting and meaningful experiences.

Ministry of Health proposes to declare end of COVID-19 as Group A disease

The Ministry of Health has submitted to the Government a proposal to declare the end of the COVID-19 pandemic as a group A disease and abolish a number of pandemic prevention measures.

According to the ministry, for more than three years of COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control, the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, the National Assembly, the Government and the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Health and other ministries, branches and localities have issued several regulations guiding pandemic prevention and control activities.

Many specific and unprecedented measures were promulgated, so changing the disease group will require synchronous adjustments to currently applied epidemic prevention and control measures.

The ministry said that it has carried out procedures to adjust acute respiratory infections caused by a new strain of coronavirus from a Group A infectious disease to a Group B infectious disease.

Group A, the highest level, comprises infectious diseases are particularly dangerous diseases, capable of spreading very quickly and widely, and having a high mortality rate or of unknown causative agent. It includes the likes of influenza A-H5N1, plague, smallpox, cholera, SARS, etc.

Group B, meanwhile, comprises infectious diseases are dangerous and may spread fast and cause a risk of fatality. The list includes diseases like adenovirus, influenza, HIV/AIDS, mumps, malaria, chickenpox, herpes, leprosy, etc.

Accordingly, the ministry proposed abolishing Decision 447/QĐ-TTg by the Prime Minister so that COVID-19 is no longer in Group A.

The ministry has also developed a plan for control, supervision and treatment instructions related to the COVID-19 pandemic for localities to implement when declaring the end of the COVID-19 group A pandemic.

The ministry also proposed abolishing a number of measures on COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control issued by the National Steering Committee for Pandemic Prevention and Control and the Prime Minister, reported VOV.

Health workers at infectious disease department of a hospital in Hanoi. Photo: VNA

COVID-19 patients who are being treated before the effective date of this decision will be paid treatment costs as per previous regulations.

To ensure uniformity in the implementation of policies and measures to prevent and control the COVID-19 pandemic as it moves from group A to group B, documents issued by the Government and the Ministry of Health on the disease group transfer and the announcement of the end of COVID-19 will take effect at the same time.

By the end of August this year, the country recorded 97,628 cases of COVID-19 and the average monthly number of cases was 1.5 times lower compared to 2021 (about 144,000 cases per month) and eight times lower compared to 2022 (about 816,000 cases per month).

The death rate due to COVID-19 was 0.02%, 0.1% and 1.86% so far in 2023, in 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Death rates from a number of common group B infectious diseases recorded in Vietnam in the last five years include dengue fever at 0.022%, malaria at 0.017%, diphtheria at 0.102%, and whooping cough at 0.417%.

Hanoi Autumn Carnival spices up pedestrian space around Hoan Kiem Lake

The Hanoi Autumn Carnival took place in the pedestrian area around the Hoan Kiem Lake in downtown Hanoi on the morning of October 1 as part of the ongoing Hanoi Autumn Festival.

Opening the event was a lion-dragon dance performed by 600 people along with 30 drummers representing all 30 districts and towns in the capital city.

Following opening performance, more than 1,500 people from the city's agencies, schools, clubs, art troupes and artisans from craft villages joined a colourful carnival parade.

The carnival included the performance of vehicles decorated with flowers, people in ao dai (traditional dress), cyclos, puppeteers, flashmob dances, creating a colourful and cheerful atmosphere, cited VNA.

Hanoi Autumn Carnival takes place in downtown Hanoi on October 1 as part of the Hanoi Autumn Festival (Photo: VNA)

The highlight of the parade was a gong-performing team with more than 100 Muong people.

Nguyen Thi Mai Anh, deputy director of the Hanoi Promotion Agency (HPA), said that the carnival is a feature of the Hanoi Autumn Festival. It aims to promote Hanoi tourism image, thereby attracting more tourists to the city.

Presented by the Hanoi People's Committee, the Hanoi Youth Union, and the Department of Investment, Trade, and Tourism Promotion, the festival took place from September 29 to October 1 and brought a vibrant celebration of Hanoi's culture and community spirit during Autumn days to festival goers.

Hanoi has been listed among the 12 best places worldwide to travel in autumn by the US’s news channel CNN.

Vietnam’s commercial real estate remains competitive

Hanoi and HCM City continue to attract investors thanks to the competitive rental costs for offices and high-end retail spaces, accompanied by a high occupancy rate in the region, according to Savills Vietnam.

The Savills' Regional Office Prime Benchmark in the first half of 2023 showed that in terms of occupancy costs, HCM City ranked 12th and Hanoi 17th of the 21 studied Asia Pacific cities. Rent in both cities was competitive. For instance, rent in Hanoi was recorded at US$41.6 per sq.m per month, much lower than that in Seoul (US$97.6), Singapore (US$100) and Beijing (US$101.7).

Therefore, Savills experts believe that HCM City and Hanoi are highly promising Asian places, with consistently high office occupancy rates.

According to Savills Vietnam's report on Real Estate Price Index (SPPI), occupancy rates in Hanoi’s office market reached 82 per cent for Grade A, 85 per cent for Grade B, and 92 per cent for Grade C. In HCM City, the average occupancy rate of the entire market remained at 92 per cent in the second quarter of 2023.

Substantial office demand reflects strong business activity, burgeoning industries and a thriving corporate landscape in both cities. High occupancy rates and competitive rent underscore the attractiveness of HCM City and Hanoi to businesses seeking to establish or expand their operation within Asia, the experts said.

Meanwhile, the EuroCham report on Business Confidence Index (BCI) showed that Vietnam's economic outlook is soft, with headwinds likely to dampen the performance for the third quarter, VNS reported.

Photo: VNN

However, according to the report, Vietnam remains attractive to foreign investors when 36 per cent of 232 respondents still consider Vietnam within their top five investment destinations.

Besides that, in comparison to other markets in the Asia-Pacific, prime retail rents in Hanoi and HCM City are also competitive.

The average rental price of upscale retail space reached US$75 per sq.m per month in Hanoi and US$152.8 in HCM City, lower than other markets such as US$365 in Singapore, while Hong Kong is the most expensive market with the price at US$787.8.

Matthew Powell, director of Savills Hanoi, said: “Vietnam is always a very attractive destination for retailers, not only for luxury brands, but also for fashion retail, entertainment, and F&B activities. Vietnam’s demographics continue to support a robust demand. Demand for new product categories or new brands entering the market is driven by the middle class and young population.”

Regarding the prime retail segment, the Director of Savills Hanoi reported that stores and brands on the main streets of Hanoi and HCM City experienced robust business activity. Some stores have high operating efficiency, leading to greater demand for opening more flagships around streets such as Trang Tien and Ngo Quyen in Hanoi.

Lotte Mall West Lake is a recent example of a successful retail development in Hanoi. When the investor brings a modern, high-end design with guaranteed construction quality and an effective tenant mix, the project is regarded as the premier retail center in Vietnam, thereby attracting more tenants and brands to open stores, according to him.

Matthew also analyzed that in reality, the shopping malls that have difficulty finding tenants are all malls that follow the traditional model, predominantly focusing on sales functions. Currently, the shopping centers that attract tenants are those that feature experiential retail.

In other markets, such as the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States, the shopping center model has progressively evolved into a destination that offers more than just shopping.

According to Matthew, Vietnam has an excellent opportunity to benefit from these experiences and develop flexible retail models. In some respects, the pandemic is a significant force that hastened the transformation of the global retail landscape.

Regarding shophouse retail space, there is always a high demand for premier retail space in the city center. The situation of returning retail space on central streets in Hanoi and HCM City can be explained, despite their prime location, because the premises do not satisfy the growing design, technical, and legal requirements of brands, he said.

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