Vietnam News Today (Oct. 6): Vietnamese GDP Growth in Q3 Projected at 5.3%

	Vietnam News Today (Oct. 4): Vietnam-France Trade, Investment Ties Expected to Grow Further
	Vietnam News Today (Oct. 5): Vietnam's Top Leader Attends 19th Francophonie Summit in France

General Secretary and President To Lam of Vietnam (L) meets with Secretary-General of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) Louise Mushikiwabo in Paris on October 5 on the sidelines of the 19th Francophonie Summit. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam and the OIF enhance cooperation

General Secretary and President To Lam of Vietnam had a meeting with the Secretary-General of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF), Louise Mushikiwabo, in Paris on October 5 on the sidelines of the 19th Francophonie Summit.

To Lam spoke highly of the positive cooperative relationship between Vietnam and the OIF, as well as the contributions of the OIF and Mushikiwabo personally to promoting solidarity and cooperation within the Francophone community for peace, stability, and development.

Both sides discussed ways to enhance cooperation between Vietnam and the Francophone community, particularly in economic, trade, investment, and sustainable tourism cooperation, cited VOV.

To Lam suggested that the OIF promote tripartite cooperation models to support African countries in agriculture, and South-South cooperation, while also continuing to implement programs and projects in education, French language teaching, scientific research, and entrepreneurship in French.

He urged the OIF to further support the ongoing effort of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in maintaining peace, security, and stability in the region, including in the East Sea, as well as in peacefully handling disputes based on respect for international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Mushikiwabo for her part welcomed Vietnam’s engagement in the Francophonie Summit at the highest level, affirming that Vietnam is an indispensable member of the Francophone community. She appreciated Vietnam’s role and positive contributions, including the significant positions held by Vietnamese individuals within Francophone institutions.

At the end of the meeting, To Lam extended an invitation to Louise Mushikiwabo to visit Vietnam in the near future.

Vietnamese language and culture day held in Brunei

The Vietnamese Embassy in Brunei in collaboration with the University Brunei Darussalam (UBD) organized a Vietnamese language and culture day in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam on October 2, drawing crowds of UBD lecturers and students, international friends, Brunei visitors, and representatives of the Vietnamese community in the country.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador in Brunei Tran Anh Vu said the areas of education, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges are priorities in an action programme for implementing the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and Brunei in the 2023-2027 period, and they are also areas that attract the active interest and participation of the youth and students of the two countries.

The diplomat said educational cooperation between the two countries has recorded significant progress with the effective implementation of a Vietnamese language teaching programme at UBD, training collaboration and the exchange of lecturers and students.

He expressed his hope that Brunei students studying Vietnamese will serve as a bridge to spread Vietnamese culture and language to Brunei people, thus further enhancing the cooperation and friendship between the two countries, according to VNA.

Vietnamese Ambassador in Brunei Tran Anh Vu speaks at the event. (Photo: VNA)

Dr. Juliana Shak, Director of the UBD Language Centre, said since the Vietnamese language programme was implemented at UBD in 2022, the number of Brunei students studying Vietnamese has rapidly increased from an initial registration of 12 students to an average of 60 to 90 students in subsequent semesters.

Shak and representatives of the UBD management board showed their desire to further strengthen cooperation activities, student and lecturer exchanges, and training and research cooperation with Vietnamese universities.

Within the framework of the event, a video introducing the Hoi An Ancient Town, which is recognised as a World Cultural Heritage site by the UNESCO in 1999; and the National Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hoi An, was screened. An exhibition featuring traditional cultural items related to the Mid-Autumn festival such as star lanterns, paper folding lanterns, Mid-Autumn masks, was also organized.

In recent years, UBD has implemented several cooperation programs with Vietnamese universities in the fields of teaching Vietnamese and English, providing master's and doctoral scholarships for Vietnamese students, and facilitating lecturer and student exchanges. During his official visit to Brunei in February 2023, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited UBD and interacted with Brunei students studying Vietnamese at the university.

Vietnamese GDP growth in Q3 projected at 5.3%: Standard Chartered

Vietnam’s GDP growth in the third quarter of the year is projected to moderate to 5.1% compared to 6.9% recorded in the second quarter amid September’s inflation likely slowing down, according to Standard Chartered Bank’s recent macroeconomic update about Vietnam.

In the report, the bank’s economists expected domestic retail sales growth to ease to 5.2% and export growth to slow to 6.2%, while electronics exports would continue to improve.

Imports and industrial production are likely to grow by 4.0% and 4.2% year on year, respectively, whilst the monthly trade surplus would moderate to US$2.5 billion.

Vietnam has enjoyed trade surpluses for several months his year and the external sector has stayed relatively solid, said Tim Leelahaphan, economist for Thailand and Vietnam at Standard Chartered Bank.

Disbursed FDI rose by 8.0% year on year during the first eight months of the year, with pledges to FDI rising by 7.0% year on year, led by the manufacturing sector.

Inflation may dip to 2.7% in September from the previous 3.5% in August, marking the second straight month that inflation stood at below 4%, VOV reported.

Photo: VOV

Higher prices for education, housing and construction materials, health care, food, and transport have kept inflation above 4% until recently, with this potentially remaining as a source of upward pressure over the coming months.

“Credit growth has been subdued to 7.4% as of 17 September 2024 compared to an average of 9.0% for the comparable period of 2013-2023,” said Tim Leelahaphan. “We now see a risk to our call for a 50 basis point interest rate hike in the fourth quarter of the year given recent lower inflation, VND appreciation in the third quarter and the expected economic moderation”.

Not only Standard Chartered, but Singapore’s UOB Bank has recently revised its GDP growth forecast for Vietnam in the third quarter of 2024 down to 5.7% from its previous 6% projection and 5.2% for the fourth quarter, down 0.2% from its previous projection. The annual forecast has been slightly revised down to 5.9% due to the impact of Typhoon Yagi and recovery efforts.

In contrast, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has maintained its GDP growth forecast for Vietnam at 6% for 2024 and 6.2% for 2025, based on the recovery of new orders and consumer demand. HSBC has also held an optimistic outlook, projecting a growth rate of 6.5% for both 2024 and 2025, thanks to supportive government policies.

Vietnam, France boost cooperation in public services, administrative modernization

Vietnamese Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra and French Minister for Public Servants, Simplification and Transformation of Public Action Guillaume Kasbarian discussed cooperation programs and signed bilateral cooperation documents at their meeting on October 4.

The meeting took place on the occasion of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and State President To Lam's trip for attendance at the 19th Francophonie Summit and an official visit to France from October 3-7.

Tra highly valued the effectiveness of the cooperation between the two ministries over the past period (2016 - 2024) in improving the quality of public services, particularly in training young officials and female staff; the exchange of bilateral delegations at all levels; and the organization of annual seminars and conferences with the participation of many international experts. She emphasized that the cooperation between the two sides has been truly deepened, becoming more practical and bringing practical benefits.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Home Affairs hopes to continue promoting the implementation of cooperative activities with the Ministry for Public Servants, Simplification and Transformation of Public Action in the next phase, Tra said.

She took this occasion to cordially extend an invitation to Kasbarian to visit Vietnam and work with the Ministry of Home Affairs in the near future, towards further tightening the relationship between the two countries in general and between the two ministries in particular, cited VOV.

Vietnamese Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra and French Minister for Public Servants, Simplification and Transformation of Public Action Guillaume Kasbarian sign bilateral cooperation documents on public services, administrative modernization. (Photo: VNA)

For his part, Kasbarian stated that he considers the meeting with Tra and the Vietnamese delegation an important event that contributes to deepening the Vietnam-France strategic partnership in an intensive and practical manner, based on the positive development of the bilateral relations over the last five decades.

He spoke highly of cooperation activities between the two sides that have been implemented in recent times, which have helped strengthen the ties between the two ministries and opened up many promising prospects for future collaboration.

The two ministers signed an administrative agreement between the two ministries on cooperation in public services and administrative modernization in the 2025-2028 period.

Under the agreement, the two sides agreed to carry out joint activities in exchanging experiences and practices across various fields, with priority given to developing e-government and promoting digital transformation of the public administration; managing digital records and documents in public service activities; focusing on gender equality policies and equal and responsible access to career opportunities; sharing experiences and practices in organizing local administrations tailored to the characteristics of urban, rural, and island areas.

They will also cooperate in training and providing further training for civil servants, especially local civil servants and those involved in strategic planning, and advising on training policies for civil servants and public employees based on job positions; developing online training systems E-learning and distance learning; and building legal frameworks and systems for public service ethics control.

Kasbarian affirmed that the signing of the agreement marked an important milestone for the two sides to continue exchanging, sharing, and learning from each other, and promoting trust in bilateral cooperation to achieve the best results.

Hanoi recreates the day of the victorious army’s return

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Liberation Day of Hanoi and the 25th anniversary of Hanoi being honored by UNESCO as a “City for Peace”, on October 4, at the Phung Hung Street mural space, the People's Committee of Hoan Kiem District organized a program entitled “Memories of Hanoi - 70 years”.

The event includes a series of displays, exhibitions and other cultural and artistic activities at the Phung Hung Street mural space to recreate old Hanoi in the Hanoi Old Quarter during the national resistance war of Hanoi's army and people until the day of taking over the Capital city, through decorative spaces, installation of models of the old quarter, welcome gates, flags, banners, slogans and screening documentary films about Hanoi, NDO reported.

Recreating the image of the victorious army returning home.

Visiting the program, people and tourists can participate in experiential activities, interact with researchers about the day of taking over the capital with activities to experience military uniforms, make rubber sandals, and enjoy songs about Hanoi.

On the morning of October 4, the public witnessed the reenactment of soldiers returning to the capital city on October 10, 1954.

The program is scheduled to run until October 13.

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