Vietnam Today

While delivering a presentation at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington D.C. on May 11 (local time), as part of activities during his working visit to the US, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized three important areas with potential for cooperation between Vietnam and the US: green growth, technology innovation, and digital transformation and supply chain diversification.

At the invitation of US President Joe Biden, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will lead a Vietnamese delegation attending the ASEAN-US Special Summit in Washington D.C. and then make a working visit to the United States and the United Nations from May 11 to 17. Ahead of the visit, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son answered questions from the Associated Press on the relationship between Vietnam and the US. Trade and investment are important and potential drivers of Vietnam-US relations into the future, he answered. The US is Vietnam’s second-largest trading partner, while Vietnam is the ninth-largest trading partner of the US and an important destination for US investors.

According to a report from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), autonomy in domestic steel production is an indispensable requirement of self-reliance in raw materials for production and consumption as well as the process of urbanization and modernization of national facilities. It has therefore proposed the “Strategy to develop the steel industry to 2030 and vision to 2050”, in which it is necessary to develop high-quality fabricated and alloy steel. Total steel demand in Vietnam’s manufacturing industries is forecast to reach $310 billion by 2030.

A range of important matters regarding socio-economic development were approved at the 5th Plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee on May 10, including on effective land management and the 2013 Land Law and related laws being prioritized for amendment and supplement. The Plenum agreed that agriculture is a pillar of the economy, and prioritizing investment in the sector and striking a harmonious balance in development between sustainable rural areas and urbanization is needed.

Deputy Ambassador of Australia to Vietnam, H.E. Mark Tattersall, handed over 7,223,200 Covid-19 pediatric vaccine doses for children from 5-12 years old to Vietnam on May 10 at the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE). Support from Australia has helped Vietnam post among the fastest vaccination rates in the world.

Real estate contributes some 8 per cent of annual GDP, and the Ministry of Construction (MoC) has proposed four key solutions to promote its role in economic development, including completing the legal corridor in credit and financial investment.