Foreign tourists visit Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam welcomes over 1 million int'l visitors in fourth consecutive month

Vietnam welcomed 1.11 million international tourists in October, making the fourth consecutive month that the country has served more than 1 million foreign visitors, according to the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MoCST).

The total number of international visitors to the country in the first ten months of 2023 reached nearly 10 million, exceeding the target of 8 million for the whole year, cited VNA.

The Republic of Korea remained the biggest source of visitors to Vietnam with 2.9 million holidaymakers, followed by China. The two markets accounted for 42% of the total number of tourists to Vietnam. The US ranked third while Taiwan (China) and Japan ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.

In the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the top three markets were Thailand with 392,000 visitors, Malaysia with 372,000 tourists, and Cambodia with 326,000 holidaymakers.

In Europe, the three countries with the largest numbers of visitors to Vietnam were the UK, France and Germany.

VNAT attributed the higher-than-expected number of foreign tourist arrivals to Vietnam to efforts to develop new products, improve service quality, and promote activities.

The MoCST has adjusted the target of 8 million foreign tourists to 12 - 13 million for the whole of 2023 to accelerate the recovery and development of the tourism industry in an effective and sustainable manner.

VNAT has recently organized a tourism promotion program within the framework of the Vietnam Cultural Tourism Promotion Festival in the RoK.

It was an annual event, reflecting the close cooperative relationship between the two countries, especially in the fields of tourism and culture. It allowed Vietnam to introduce its traditional cultural identity and promote attractive destinations and tourism products to Korean tourists.

The program created opportunities for Vietnamese and RoK investors and tourism businesses to meet, explore cooperation and business opportunities, and enhance two-way tourist exchanges.

Vietnam’s growth engine is still in full swing: US website

Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth has been the highest in Southeast Asia over the last decade, according to the US-based website seekingalpha.com.

As its economy grew by 5.3% in the third quarter of this year, Vietnam’s growth engine is still in full swing, boosted by households deploying excess savings accumulated through the COVID-19 pandemic, the website said in an article posted on October 25.

The favorable geopolitical situation and sooner-than-expected rate cuts by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) are the factors that promote economic growth, helping Vietnam become the best-performing market in the region.

The article also pointed out that optimism in the first half of this year eased in September, as investors consider impact of weak demand in its major trading partners such as the US, the European Union and China. In addition, inflationary pressure from oil and rice prices – major components of Vietnam's consumer inflation gauge will inevitably delay rate-cut cycle for now.

Vietnam’s gross domestic product growth has been the highest in Southeast Asia over the last decade. (Photo: Vneconomy)

However, according to the article, these commodity pressures are temporary and will not affect the SBV’s interest rate policy. It is expected that after a short period of monetary tightening, interest rates will be lowered, thereby boosting lending activities and helping real estate firms address inventories.

While weaker trade and transitory inflation pressures have triggered a de-rating in H2 2023, Vietnam's structural earnings growth isn't impaired and should continue to surprise to the upside in the coming years, it said.

Despite the fact that trade has declined somewhat and inflationary pressures have increased, income growth according to Vietnam's economic structure has not decreased and will continue to increase unexpectedly in the coming years.

According to the article, recent news flow shows that Vietnam is very close to emerging market reclassification – an event that will bring more benefits to the country.

PM: Vietnam considers WB significant development partner

The Vietnamese Government always considers the World Bank (WB) a close friend and a significant development partner, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told WB Country Director in Vietnam Carolyn Turk during a reception in Hanoi on October 27.

Speaking highly of the WB’s support and active contributions to Vietnam's socio-economic development since 1993 through policy consultation and financial assistance for ODA projects and concessional loans, PM Chinh thanked the Country Director and her collaborators for their contributions to Vietnam.

The PM and the WB Country Director discussed specific issues related to innovative thinking and simplification of administrative procedures to step up significant, large-scale and ongoing projects.

PM Chinh informed his guest that Vietnam still has room for new ODA loans, as the Government is effectively controlling public and Government debts, and budget overspending within acceptable limits.

He suggested that the WB consider various flexible funding methods and models to meet Vietnam's diverse needs, give priority to key projects in the development of strategic transport infrastructure, such as the North-South high-speed railway, the Ho Chi Minh City-Can Tho and the Hanoi-Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park railways. Other priorities include renewable energy, smart agriculture, low-carbon emission, digital transformation, and climate change adaptation in the Mekong Delta.

Turk, for her part, agreed with the PM’s directions and priorities for key projects. She also commended Vietnam's vision, development orientations and commitments, especially in areas related to climate change adaptation and emission reduction.

She highlighted several important issues that need further attention, such as ensuring energy security in a rapidly growing economy, exploring the potential of carbon trading, advancing digital transformation agenda, responding to climate change in the Mekong Delta, and implementing a program to cultivate 1 million ha of high-quality rice aimed for low emissions, VNA reported.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) receives WB Country Director in Vietnam Carolyn Turk (L) in Hanoi on October 27. Photo: VOV

She believed that if successful, Vietnam could become a leader in this field.

The guest proposed specific measures to remove difficulties in the implementation of projects, especially large-scale ones. She promised to actively work with relevant Vietnamese agencies and accompany Vietnam in its socio-economic development, especially in areas suggested by the PM.

In reply, the PM agreed to establish a working group to review regulations and procedures with the aim of simplifying and streamlining processes between the two sides. This initiative is intended to remove bottlenecks, reduce implementation time, and improve the efficiency of projects.

He also assigned Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang to lead the efforts to clear obstacles, hasten the progress of projects, and disburse the WB’s capital effectively.

First Vietnamese café opens in Kuwait

On October 24, local time, the first Coffilia cafe in Kuwait was officially inaugurated at Al-Kout Hotel in Fahaheel district in Ahmadi province. This is the first Vietnamese coffee house in the country.

After a period of surveying the market and learning about locals’ tastes, Coffilia staff and Luai Al-Qataan, the Kuwaiti legal representative, designed and built a coffee house with Coffilia’s spirit and style, with characteristics of indigenous culture.

The decoration style not only reflects the image of a natural Vietnam with non la (conical straw hat) and the umbrellas of the ethnic minority groups in Vietnam but also shows the typical patterns and motifs of the locality bearing the ‘Middle East feeling’, specifically designed to fit locals’ taste.

Coffilia cafe in Kuwait is officially inaugurated.

The representative of Minh Tien Group (MTG), who was present at the opening ceremony, said he was happy to implement the plan on bringing Vietnam’s high-quality coffee products to the world to introduce to consumers from many countries and territories. Vietnamese coffee is also believed to help popularize Vietnamese images to the international community.

Luai Al-Qattan said he has high hopes doing business and operating the café, as well as the quality of Coffilia coffee. With the circular economy model applied by Minh Tien in coffee farming and production, he believes that this is an effective and significant model for Kuwait, especially in the context of the climate change which has had adverse effects on the global supply chain in many business sectors.

Attending the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Kuwait Ngo Toan Thang expressed his joy about the success of Coffilia, VNN reported.

The ambassador also showed his sincere thanks to the business affairs division in Kuwai in supporting to connect Vietnamese businessmen with Kuwaiti partners, thus fostering learning and business opportunities in Kuwait for Vietnamese enterprises, not only in the coffee sector.

The newly opened café is the fourth Coffilia branch of the system and the first branch in foreign markets.

The café opened at a time when more and more Kuwaiti people chose Vietnam as a new tourism destination. The café is hoped to attract many travelers in the Gulf market to learn about Vietnamese countries and people.

AI helps detect lung cancer early

Artificial intelligence (AI) can screen lung cancer early, analyze genetic data, suggest the most suitable therapies for every patient, and anticipate treatment results.

The 9th National Lung Disease Conference, jointly organized by the Vietnam Lung Association in Da Nang on October 20-22, had a thematic session on AI for lung disease diagnosis and treatment.

A report on building a system supporting diagnosis and giving geospatial epidemiology predictions of pulmonary tuberculosis with chest X-ray images was presented at the conference.

The scientific research project at the state level is carried out with the aim of building a digital X-ray image database about tuberculosis in Vietnam. At the same time, it also aims to develop software that supports the diagnoses, and software that gives geo-spatial epidemiology predictions. The software will be applied at some healthcare units at different levels.

The results of the study will support proactive screening of pulmonary tuberculosis using X-rays, and predict tuberculosis epidemiology through practical indicators.

The experts attending the conference said AI now plays an extremely important role in diagnosing and treating lung cancer, helping detect lung cancer in early age, analyzing gene databases, suggesting the most suitable therapies for patients. and anticipate the treatment results.

This allows patients to receive early treatment that can improve treatment efficiency, cited VNN.

Photo: VNN

The experts commented that AI won’t be able to replace physicians, but physicians applying AI will replace ones who don’t use AI.

At the conference, a series of scientific research works in new technology were awarded with Ho Chi Minh Prize in Science and Technology in 2022, which serves as the scientific foundation for the process of fighting and stopping tuberculosis.

To date, scientists have shown that AI is helpful in diagnosing and treating many non-communicable diseases.

AI has been applied to diagnose, detect, and treat musculoskeletal injuries, helping doctors quickly assess, predict, and perform surgeries accurately.

Associate Prof Doctor Nguyen Manh Khanh, deputy director of the Viet Duc General Hospital. said AI can help discover musculoskeletal wounds very early.

Also, AI helps personalize the treatment for every patient. For example, in joint replacement, AI assists doctors in drawing specific designs for every patient, based on his height, age, sex, and level of injuries.

According to the HCM City Health Department, in the near future, obstetric hospitals in the city, including Hung Vuong and Tu Du, will try AI in cervical cancer screening.

The AI tool is CerviCare AI, a South Korean startup. The system has been trained on a huge database of more than 100,000 cervical images with both normal and abnormal signs. The system using AI will to help detect signs of cervical cancer early.

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