Vietnam Today

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will co-chair the Vietnam National Strategic Dialogue between Vietnam and the World Economic Forum (WEF) on October 29, via video conference. The dialogue is expected to be an opportunity for Vietnam to call for investment and at the same time mobilize resources to realize development goals.

Vietnam’s roads have 111 automated toll booths where vehicles do not need to stop. The system has some problems, however, and is yet to have many users. Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh has asked the Ministry of Transport to propose solutions to resolve the difficulties and improve the system’s operational efficiency.

Despite the negative impact of Covid-19, thanks to the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) agreement, two-way trade continued to grow handily in the first seven months of this year, with turnover reaching $3.88 billion, up 26.92 per cent. During phone talks on October 26, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed to soon recognize each other’s “vaccine passports”, to facilitate the resumption of trade and tourism.

During her official visit to Bulgaria, Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan suggested that the two countries make good use of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EUVFTA) and asked that Bulgaria soon ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EUVIPA). Bulgarian President Rumen Radev affirmed that the country is willing to be a gateway for Vietnam to promote relations with the EU.

Vietnam’s infrastructure network, especially its traffic network, is yet to meet the requirements of socio-economic development. The National Assembly (NA) is considering piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies for expressway development in the 2021-2025 period. It is necessary to help localities and the private sector build these expressways.

Now before the National Assembly (NA), amendments to the Law on Intellectual Property after 16 years of implementation would create a solid foundation for protecting Vietnam’s brand in the international market.