Vietnam Today

Vietnam has received more than 4 million doses of vaccine supported by the German Government, more than 2 million doses by the UK Government, nearly 160,000 doses by the Portuguese Government, and nearly 100,000 by the Luxembourg Government through the COVAX Mechanism. Vietnam has now received more than 51 million doses through the mechanism.

Vietnam has available foreign exchange reserves of more than $100 billion and debts below 40 per cent of GDP, which are mostly soft loans from supranational lenders on favorable terms. Such debts do not increase the country’s vulnerability to tightening global monetary policy. Experts from VinaCapital believe that Vietnam is in a favorable position and will be under no pressure when the US Fed hikes interest rates this year.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, who is also Chairman of the National Committee on Digital Transformation, chaired a nationwide video conference on a project developing the application of a population database, e-identification, and e-authentication for national digital transformation in the 2022-2025 period and vision to 2030. He affirmed that project implementation is an essential content of the government’s Digital Transformation Program in 2022 and subsequent years.

After more than ten years of implementation, the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights is being revised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT). A separate chapter is to be added on protecting the interests of consumers in specific transactions, such as remote transactions, direct selling, and multi-level selling. The MoIT is also reviewing a number of other existing laws, such as the Law on Electronic Transactions and the Law on Cybersecurity, to introduce new regulations relating to consumers.

The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) has announced it has signed contracts with 27 medicine manufacturers in eleven countries, now including Vietnam, to produce the Molnupiravir Covid-19 treatment. The UK, the EU, the US, Japan, and many other countries have recently licensed the use of the medicine.

At a ceremony to announce the first winners of the VinFuture Prize, initiated by VinGroup Chairman Pham Nhat Vuong and his spouse Pham Thu Huong to honor scientists worldwide with outstanding research of high application, held in Hanoi on January 20, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that Vietnam identifies science and technology development as a national priority and a strategic breakthrough for socio-economic development. The promotion of science, technology, and innovation also expresses Vietnam’s responsibility to the international community in the current context of deep international integration.