Press digest – October 14
EVFTA helps boost VN’s integration
PM Nguyen Tan Dung and EC President Manuel Barroso have agreed that the conclusion of the Viet Nam-EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) will give a strong boost to Viet Nam's integration into the global economy.
The EC President restated the EU’s stance of advocating the settlement of disputes through peaceful measures, on the basis of international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The EU called on relevant parties to avoid unilateral actions that threaten peace and stability in the region; fully observe the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and work towards an early conclusion of the Code of Conduct in the East Sea.
On the occasion, the EC committed to providing €400 million in assistance for Viet Nam for the 2014-2020 period.
PM Dung holds talks with Belgian counterpart
PM Nguyen Tan Dung held talks with his Belgian counterpart Charles Michel on the occasion of his official visit to Belgium.
The two leaders agreed to enhance trade cooperation by creating favorable conditions for the two nations’ businesses to promote prioritized areas such as seaports, logistics, transportation, green technology, high technology, aviation and space.
They were unanimous in maintaining the meetings of the Joint Committee on economic cooperation with the aim of increasing the effectiveness of projects and cooperative mechanisms.
After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of an Agreement on Satellite on observing natural resources and calamity and a Memorandum of Understanding on the development of Hai Phong Port.
US Counselor Shannon visits VN
US Counselor Thomas A. Shannon visited Viet Nam following the Secretary Kerry’s December 2013 visit to the Mekong River.
During his stay in Viet Nam, Mr. Shannon paid a courtesy call to Vietnamese high-ranking leaders, agreeing on closer coordination for successful implementation of the joint cooperation programs within the Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) to contribute to the overall development of the Mekong region in a sustainable manner.
Plastics export earnings rise 18%
In the third quarter of 2014, the industry achieved a 17.9% year-on-year increase in total export value of plastic products to US$2 billion.
During the period, export value showed strong growth, posting year-on-year increases of 78.28% for the Myanmar market, 69.19% for the Belgian market and 67.73% for the Swedish market.
Japan was the largest export market for Vietnamese plastic products, accounting for 24.79% of total export value.
Entrepreneurship on the rise in VN
As of January 2014, the country had more than 750,000 businesses established in accordance with the Enterprise Law. Over 390,000 of them were established in the last five years and over half of them were established in the last ten years, Mr. Loc said.
Victoria Kwakwa, (WB) Country Director in Viet Nam said the rebound of the global economy bodes well for Viet Nam and the business community and expressed her confidence that the government will create improved economic conditions for business to flourish.
VN to receive world’s most advanced aircraft
The national flag carrier Viet Nam Airlines (VNA) will receive the world’s most advanced aircraft Airbus 350 XWB worth US$340 million in June 2015.
This is the first in an order contract for ten A350 aircraft that VNA has booked from European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.
The Airbus 350 XWB will be put into operation in the third quarter next year with direct air routes from Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh City to France and some other European countries.
Meeting marks Int’l Day for Disaster Reduction
More than 800 people, mostly older people, took part in a meeting to mark the International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR) in southern My Tho City, Tien Giang province.
Ayka Arai, Director of Save the Children Japan heightened close coordination among ministries, departments, localities and international organizations in disseminating information to raise people’s awareness on keeping calm to cope with natural disasters, expanding valuable lessons and protecting vulnerable groups like women, children and the elderly.
This year, the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang is chosen as one of three localities nationwide to host meetings to mark the IDDR with the theme “The elderly with disasters in 2014: Resilience for Life”.
HN plans 13 more industrial parks
The capital city of Ha Noi will have 13 more industrial parks (IPs) spread over 6,000 hectares by 2020, a 300% increase in comparison with the current number of parks.
In the first nine months of the year, the city got 10 new IPs covering over an area of 1,423 hectares. Four of these were fully occupied, while the land area left unused accounted for 31.5% of the total, a 0.5% decrease over the previous quarter.
By Thuy Dung
