Press digest – June 01

Party, State leaders welcome US Secretary of Defense

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and State President Truong Tan Sang on Monday welcomed US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter in Ha Noi.

Meeting with the US official, the Party chief reiterated the Vietnamese Party and State’s unwavering policy of respecting ties with the US and acknowledged efforts made by the US government, Congress, independent organizations and people in dealing with the war aftermaths in Viet Nam.

At a reception for the US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter the same day, President Truong Tan Sang said the Viet Nam-US Joint Vision Statement lays a firm foundation for other bilateral cooperation agreements on this regard to become more practical.

Both host and guest also discussed regional and global issues of mutual concern.

VN, US ink joint vision statement on defense relations

Minister of Defense Phung Quang Thanh and his US counterpart Ashton Carter morning signed a Joint Vision Statement on Defense Relations in Ha Noi.

Speaking after the signing ceremony, the two sides stressed the importance of the statement, demonstrating a new stage in the two countries’ defense ties.

The statement will guide the bilateral defense cooperation on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding on advancing defense cooperation inked by the two countries in 2011.

It will help enhance friendship ad mutual understanding and trust, deepen the Viet Nam-US comprehensive partnership for the sake of the two countries, and contribute to maintaining for peace and stability in Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific.

PM briefs Algerian investors about business environment

PM Nguyen Tan Dung called on Algerian investors to invest in such fields like mineral exploitation, energy, telecommunication, information technology, construction, agriculture in Viet Nam amid stable foreign investment inflows and expanding international integration.

Presiding over the Viet Nam-Algeria Business Dialogue in the Algerian capital, Algiers, on Sunday, PM Dung said Viet Nam has been an attractive destination for foreign investment.

The PM expected that the Algerian Government and partners will create favorable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to invest in infrastructure and housing projects and provide more workforce for Algeria.

Visa exemption for Belarusian citizens

The Government has issued a Resolution to exempt visa for Belarusian citizens.

Accordingly, citizens from Belarus entering Viet Nam within 15 days will be exempted from visas regardless of passport types and purpose of visit.

The policy will take effect for five years from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2020.

WB finances public transport project in HCMC

The World Bank has decided to provide a credit loan worth US$124 million to support Ho Chi Minh City to improve the performance and efficiency of the city’s public transport.

The loan will be used to develop a bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor between An Lac in the Southweast and Rach Chiec in the Northeast, following the Vo Van Kiet and Mai Chi Tho boulevards, stretching about 23km, with 28 stations.

The system, once completed, will be able to transport up to 28,300 passengers a day.

VN consumer confidence unchanged in May: ANZ

The Viet Nam consumer confidence index is unchanged at 140.2 in May, well above its long-term average of 135.2, according to research by the ANZ Bank. 

In terms of current personal finances, 36 % (up 1 %age point) of Vietnamese said their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, compared to just 18 % (down 1 % age point) who said their families are ‘worse off’ financially (the lowest for this indicator since March 2014). 

Glenn Maguire, ANZ Chief Economist for South Asia, ASEAN & the Pacific, said he foresees the Vietnamese economy enjoying an ongoing recovery for 2015 and 2016. This should create an environment where households become more confident to spend, further strengthening the recovery in domestic demand, he claimed.

Foreign firms pour almost US$1 billion in Dong Nai

From the beginning of 2015 to May 20, southern Dong Nai province recorded more than US$998 million in foreign direct investment.

Accordingly, there were 37 new projects worth more than US$812 million and 31 existing projects gaining additional funds.

Jetstar Pacific runs first HN-Da Lat flight

The first flight of the budget carrier Jetstar Pacific linking capital Ha Noi with the resort city of Da Lat in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong landed in Lien Khuong airport at 9:05 am, carrying nearly 180 passengers.

As planned, the carrier will operate one round-trip flight daily with each taking one hour and 50 minutes.  

According to the carrier, over 10,000 passengers have booked the new flight services so far.

(Source: VNA/VGP/VOV)

By Thuy Dung