At the working session between the delegation of the Central Theoretical Council led by its vice chairman, Associate Professor. Dr. Pham Van Linh and representatives from Indonesia's Lemhannas Institute.

Vietnam, Indonesia exchange experience in national and religious solidarity

A delegation of the Central Theoretical Council led by its vice chairman, Associate Professor. Dr. Pham Van Linh, is on a working visit to the Indonesian capital of Jakarta from October 4 to October 8.

During the working visit, the delegation held a host of meetings and exchanged experience in resolving religious and ethnic issues with a number of leading agencies and research institutes of Indonesia.

At the working session held between the delegation and Indonesia's National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas Institute) on October 5, the two sides agreed that both countries share plenty of similarities in culture and have a history of fighting for national independence.

They also recalled the traditional friendly relations that exist between the two countries, ties which were originally and painstakingly nurtured by President Ho Chi Minh and President Sukarno.

Prof. Dr. Linh emphasized that having gone through a period of struggling for national independence and protection, the Vietnamese side understands the value of peace and always desires to maintain the country's stability for further development.

During this process, there are issues that must be further researched, such as ethnic and religious issues, he emphasised.

Briefly introducing the ethnic groups and religious belief of the nation, Prof. Dr. Linh affirmed that the Vietnamese Party and State always respects and implements policies which seek to ensure freedom of religious belief, exercises equality and solidarity between religions, while always paying attention to protecting and promoting national cultural identity and reinforcing great national unity.

For his part, Prof. Ikrar Nusa Bhakti of the Lemhannas Institute expressed his joy at the strong developments recorded in bilateral relations.

He expressed his desire to not only share Indonesian practices, but also learn more from Vietnam regarding managing and solving ethnic and religious issues, as well as exchanging experience in national construction and development.

At a working session held within the Indonesian Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities (ISSH) on October 6 under the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Prof. Dr. Linh said that Vietnam aims to become a developing country with a high middle income by 2030 and a developed country with a high income by 2045, cited VOV.

Therefore, there is high requirement for in-depth research across many fields in a bid to serve national development, he went on to say.

Assessing the scientific research between Vietnam and Indonesia as having many similarities and great opportunities for cooperation, Associate Professor, PhD. Pham Van Linh expressed his wish for the Indonesian side to share its operating mechanism, funding source, and mechanisms for selecting and ordering topics, especially those on urgent national issues.

The Vietnamese side also wants to learn about Indonesia's experience in solving ethnic-religious issues, eliminating inequality, preserving and promoting the cultural identities of ethnic groups.

Agreeing with the proposal of the Vietnamese side, ISSH President Ahmad Najib Burhani said that in the coming time, there are many issues on which the two sides can cooperate with each other such as developing human values, boosting economic development, and ensuring national security, especially maritime security.

According to Ahmad Najib Burhani, the two sides can start collaborating with small projects or specific research issues before implementing larger research projects.

Linh expressed his hope that the two sides will have more meetings and exchanges in many different levels in Indonesia as well as in Vietnam in order to gradually step up bilateral scientific research cooperation in the time ahead.

Vietnam attractive to European firms: seminar

A seminar was held by the Vietnam Trade and Industry Review in Hanoi on October 6 to discuss how to connect with the EU firms and make the best use of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).

Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Phuc Sinh Group Phan Minh Thong said the EVFTA, which took effect three years ago, has created numerous opportunities. Accordingly, non-EU companies investing in Vietnam could take advantage of the reduced tariffs when exporting from Vietnam to Europe, according to VNA.

Photo: VNA

Many coffee factories have been established by not only European investors but also those from Singapore, the US, and other Asian nations like India. These investments aim to produce "Made in Vietnam" products for export to Europe and benefit significantly from the reduced tariffs provided by the agreement, he said.

Ngo Chung Khanh, deputy head of the Multilateral Trade Policy Department at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), highlighted the importance of connecting Vietnamese firms with foreign partners - a significant task outlined in the Government's plan to carry out new-generation FTAs. This task is also reflected in the plans of various ministries, sector and localities.

He said on October 12, the MoIT will chair a conference involving leaders of the departments of industry and trade nationwide to review connections between domestic enterprises and foreign partners and EU businesses in particular. This will enable localities to learn from each other's experience and best practices.

According to him, leveraging European resources, raw materials, and technology to produce higher-quality goods and joining more deeply in the global supply chain is a significant expectation of the Vietnamese firms as the EVFTA enters a new phase of implementation. Achieving this requires collaboration from the State management agencies, industry associations, and especially appropriate support mechanisms, policies, and activities.

Khanh said businesses need to take a more proactive role in improving their competitiveness, actively seeking partners and seizing opportunities to cooperate with the European firms. By doing so, they could make more effective use of the opportunities presented by the EVFTA.

Typhoon Koinu continues to strengthen when moving to East Sea

Typhoon Koinu gained additional strength as it moved into the northern area of the East Sea on the morning of October 7, with maximum wind speeds reaching up to 149 km per hour, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

Forecasters said that on 10 a.m. the typhoon’s center was located about 180 km southeast of Hong Kong (China), with wind speeds reaching level 13.

The weather pattern is anticipated to move slowly westward at a speed of about five km per hour.

By 10 a.m. on October 8, the storm is expected to downgrade to level 12 when it is situated about 140 km south of Hong Kong.

The storm will then track in a westsouthwest direction before downgrading to level nine to 10 when it is located about 230 km east of Leizhou Peninsula (China), reported VOV.

Photo: VOV

On October 10, the storm will then travel at a speed of 10 km per hour and continue to weaken to level eight on the eastern coast of the Leizhou peninsula.

According to meteorologists, despite the change in intensity, Typhoon Koinu is less likely to affect mainland Vietnam, although it is still heading towards the Gulf of Tonkin.

Due to the impact of the storm, the northeastern waters of the East Sea are set to experience strong winds of between levels seven to 10 on October 8, with the strongest winds near the storm’s center reaching level 11 to 13 and sea waves reaching up to seven to nine meters.

The National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention recently sent a telegram requesting that coastal provinces from Quang Ninh to Khanh Hoa strictly monitor the developments of Typhoon Koinu to timely respond to any scenarios.

Typhoon Koinu is the fourth storm to hit the East Sea this year. Moving forward, there will be one or two storms and tropical depressions affecting mainland Vietnam this month, according to information provided by forecasters.

Vietnam among fastest growing emerging Asian markets in next five years: S&P Global

Over the medium-term outlook for the next five years, a number of key drivers are expected to continue to make Vietnam one of the fastest growing emerging markets in the Asian region, said an article published by the S&P Global Market Intelligence on October 5.

Accordingly, it noted that Vietnam will continue to benefit from its relatively lower manufacturing wage costs. The country has a relatively large, well-educated labour force compared to many other regional competitors in Southeast Asia, making it an attractive hub for manufacturing production by multinationals.

In addition, rapid growth in capital expenditure is expected, reflecting continued strong foreign direct investment by foreign multinationals as well as domestic infrastructure spending. Strong investment is expected in infrastructure sector over the next decade, cited VNA.

Over the medium-term economic outlook, a large number of positive growth drivers are creating favourable tailwinds and will continue to underpin the rapid growth of Vietnam's economy. (Illustrative photo: VNA)

The article assessed that many multinationals have been diversifying their manufacturing supply chains during the past decade to reduce vulnerability to supply disruptions and geopolitical events. Vietnam has been one of the preferred destinations for Republic of Korea and Japanese firms choosing to shift their production to the ASEAN region.

In conclusion, the author wrote over the medium-term economic outlook, a large number of positive growth drivers are creating favourable tailwinds and will continue to underpin the rapid growth of Vietnam's economy. This is expected to drive strong growth in the country’s total GDP as well as per capita GDP. The economic outlook from 2024 to 2026 is for rapid economic expansion.

With strong economic expansion projected over the next decade, Vietnam's total GDP is forecast to increase from US$410 billion in 2022 to US$500 billion by 2025, rising to US$750 billion by 2030. This translates to very rapid growth in Vietnam's per capita GDP, from US$4,150 per year in 2022 to US$5,000 per year by 2025 and US$7,300 by 2030, resulting in substantial expansion in the size of its domestic consumer market.

Still lot of ground to cover for Vietnam's logistics sector

There is still much to be done in order to develop Vietnam's logistic infrastructure and capacity despite improvement across the sector in recent years, heard participants at the Logistics Vietnam 2023 conference held yesterday in Hanoi.

Speaking at the event, deputy minister of planning and investment Tran Duy Dong said the development of the country's logistic infrastructure has been and will continue to be among the government's top priorities.

The sector has been among some of the fastest growing in the last few decades as a result. According to the World Bank's ranking, Vietnam currently ranks 64th out of 160 countries in terms of logistics development and is 4th in the ASEAN region, after Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

The number of logistics enterprises in the country has also been rapidly increasing. By the end of September this year, there were more than 3,000 Vietnamese domestic transport and logistics companies, along with 25 leading global freight forwarding corporations, in operation across the country, who have been providing all sorts of logistics services.

The country's logistics sector has been among some of the fastest growing around the world. According to the Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index, Vietnam rose to the global Top 10 last year in a ranking of logistics indices for emerging markets, demonstrating the country's success in developing its supply chain and readiness to adapt to the shifts by major multinational manufacturing companies worldwide.

The ranking showcased Vietnam's potential to attract large players in the industry, which will play an important role in the future as Southeast Asia is expected to become a large global manufacturing hub in the near future.

Industry experts and economists, however, have long voiced their concerns over limitations and shortcomings that have been hindering the development of the sector, preventing it from reaching its full potential, such as poor planning, inadequate connectivity among regions and an acute shortage of skilled labour.

In addition, Vietnam has not been immune to geopolitical tension and inflationary pressure. As the industry starts a transformation process due to technological advancements, the rising popularity of e-commerce and green initiatives by large multinational corporations around the world addressing the above-mentioned issues has become a key objective for the sector in the years to come, VNS reported.

Gemalink International Port in the Cai Mep Port Complex, located in the southern province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau. Photo: VNS

Dong said the sector's main development targets for the future include infrastructure, technology, and human resources.

In terms of infrastructure, the deputy minister pointed out the country must quickly build strategically located warehouses that synchronize with the port system, airports, national roads, and production facilities. Meanwhile, Vietnamese logistics companies, which consist of mostly small- to -medium-sized businesses, must continue to grow in size, improve efficiency and offer additional services in order to compete with foreign businesses. Another weakness was the country's lack of skilled labour, which must be addressed through providing extensive and formal training to workers in the sector.

"These existing limitations pose significant challenges for the future development of Vietnam's logistics sector. The question is how we can seize the opportunity to turn logistics into a crucial economic sector that meets domestic needs, competes internationally, and keeps up with the global development trend, focusing on green logistics and sustainable development," Dong said.

The path ahead

Edwin Chee, CEO of SLP Vietnam, an industrial and logistics infrastructure company based in Southeast Asia, said there is a need to focus on improving the country's existing network of road, rail, air, and sea.

In addition, he said the country must invest in building a system of smart warehouses, distribution centres and multi-functional facilities to allow more efficient cargo transportation. The application of the latest technological advances including Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), data analysis, and automation can also significantly enhance the sector's operational efficiency, inventory management, route optimisation, and customer services.

In order to realise such objectives, Vietnam should encourage and create favorable conditions for the adoption of these technologies, through investments in modern infrastructure. He urged the government to consider giving investment incentives, tax reductions to attract more domestic and foreign businesses to enter the sector.

Elias Braham, director-general of Zim International Shipping, said Vietnam must soon establish trading routes with additional markets including Australia, South America and Mediterranean countries, on top of traditional markets such as the US and the EU.

He said it's time Vietnam developed smaller ports to offer greater flexibility, reduce reliance on road networks and help bring down logistics costs for businesses. He urged local governments to work alongside logistics businesses to find solutions that help them adapt and respond quickly to developments on the international markets instead of a traditional management approach.

Meanwhile, Mai Hoang Phuong, cofounder and director-general of GHN Logistics, said businesses face difficulties staying close to urban centres as suitable locations and infrastructure have been increasingly difficult to come by.

While staying close to major cities and towns allows businesses to cut down operational costs, they must strike a balance between risk and expense. He said businesses must focus on applying the latest technologies to minimise risk and reduce shipping time, which is a vital battle to win in e-commerce.

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