(Photo: VNA)Brasília (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador to Brazil Bui Van Nghi has affirmed that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is highly interested in advancing bilateral relations with Vietnam. With two-way trade reaching nearly 7 billion USD last year, surpassing the 2022 figure of 6.7 billion USD, commitments were made to increase it to 10 billion USD in 2025 and 15 billion USD in 2030. Vietnam looks forward to President Lula da Silva’s second visit to the country, following his first one in 2008. PM Chinh will also attend the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro in November at the invitation of the Brazilian President, he said. In conclusion, he hoped that ties between Vietnam and Brazil will reach a new height in the current year./.

He believed this is another unique aspect of Vietnamese culture, in that it perceives the people at the heart. The researcher said through its growing ability to show the world its unique culture, Vietnam has also been able to increase national construction in multiple ways. “It’s been particularly because the 50th anniversary, there has been a huge number of visitors to Vietnam, which also reflects the importance of Vietnam. Australia also expects to help Vietnam in building “trusted cables that connect Vietnam to the world,” he said. Visiting Vietnam for the first time in 1997, she was invited by the Vietnam Women's Union to attend its eighth Congress to honour her contributions to the solidarity movement with Vietnam and Vietnamese women in particular.

The sanctification ceremony for the great Maitreya Buddha statue at Ba Den Mountain on January 28th, 2024 (December 18th, Year of the Water Cat) will be the largest-scale spiritual cultural event ever held on Ba Den Mountain. This will be the most spectacular and magical night of flower garlands and coloured lanterns ever held on the top of the sacred Ba Den Mountain. The Great Maitreya Buddha Statue at Ba Den Mountain is the world's largest sandstone Maitreya Buddha Statue when compared to other Maitreya Buddha statues created from stone in terms of height and weight. Thus, Maitreya Buddha is also known as the Laughing Buddha. Therefore, the sanctification ceremony of the great Maitreya Buddha statue on the top of Ba Den Mountain became an extremely meaningful spiritual and cultural event for the most sacred mountain in the South.

(Photo: AFP/VNA)Bangkok (VNA) - Thailand is poised to exceed its 2023 rice export target of 8.5 million tonnes thanks to a surge in purchases in November, according to the Thai Rice Exporters Association. Polished rice exports in November amounted to 659,694 tonnes, an increase of 31% against October’s figure. Main markets for Thai polished rice include Indonesia, the Philippines, Algeria, Iraq, Malaysia, Japan, Brazil, and Cameroon, Charoen said. Thailand exported 7.945 million tonnes of rice between January and November last year, up 14.7% from a year earlier. The association anticipates that between 800,000 and 900,000 tonnes of rice was exported in December, and is upbeat that the kingdom will surpass its initial export target of 8.5 million tonnes of rice for 2023, Charoen added./.

HÀ NỘI Tuesday's market witnessed a subdued atmosphere as the weight of declining large-cap stocks exerted pressure on overall trading activities. The index's downtrend was mainly driven by losses in large-cap stocks. The downward movement of prominent stocks contributed to the overall bearish tone observed throughout the trading session, said vietstock.vn. The decline in large-cap stocks, traditionally considered market leaders, had a significant impact on investor confidence. These stocks play a crucial role in influencing market trends and investor sentiment, and their downward movement can sway market dynamics, it said.

HCM CITY — Vietjet has received four wet-leased aircraft to expand its fleet of 103 airplanes, offering more opportunities for passengers at affordable prices. The fleet addition aims to serve the travel demands of people during the peak season, the airline said in a statement. Passengers flying with Vietjet during this time will receive attractive benefits with international tickets from zero đồng on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from now until February 10, 2024. The promotion codes "SBBUIN" provide 20 per cent off for direct flights between India and Việt Nam, while "SBBUALL" offers 10 per cent off for other international flights. The service is available on domestic flights to and from Hà Nội, HCM City, Đà Lạt, Đà Nẵng, and Hải Phòng.

In addition, Nestlé is also the largest coffee purchasing company with total annual purchasing from Việt Nam reaching up to $700 million. Sharing about this investment, Binu Jacob, General Director of Nestlé Vietnam, said: “The project is a testament to Nestlé's long-term investment commitment in Việt Nam. ​Nestlé Group has invested nearly $830 million through Nestlé Vietnam Co Ltd with four factories and two distribution centres. In Đồng Nai Province alone, the company is operating three factories, of which Nestlé Trị An is one of Nestlé's largest manufacturing factories in Việt Nam. In December, Nestlé Vietnam was ranked first in Top Most Sustainable Enterprise in Việt Nam in the manufacturing sector by the Việt Nam Business Council for Sustainable Development (VBCSD), voted and announced by the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

According to the Ambassador, Deputy PM Quang is the first high-ranking Vietnamese leader to attend the event, marking the first high-level exchange between the two nations this year. Members of the Vietnamese delegation will actively join discussions on various topics at the summit. During these meetings and working sessions, the Deputy PM will introduce Vietnam's socio-economic development policies, emphasising incentives for investment, trade and tourism. He will also highlight the potential of cooperation between Vietnam and India, and with Gujarat specifically; and share Vietnam’s policy-making experiences concerning the fourth industrial revolution, technology and innovation, and sustainable development, Hai said. To further bolster bilateral economic and trade ties, he suggested enhancing more meetings between leaders and actively realising signed agreements, including those reached at the 18th meeting of the Vietnam-India Joint Commission in October 2023, and the framework agreement on agricultural cooperation.

Resolution No. 42/2017/NQ-QH14, which piloted handling of bad debt of credit institutions, is proposed to be extended until December 31, 2024 to create conditions for credit institutions to effectively handle bad debts, including the handling of collateral assets of real estate projects. (Photo vneconomy.vn)- The HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA) recently sent a written petition to the Prime Minister proposing an extension of a resolution on piloting bad debt settlement until the end of 2024.Under the petition, the HoREA requests the Government to propose to the National Assembly (NA) an extension of Resolution No. "Therefore, HoREA proposes the Government coordinate with the NA Standing Committee to propose the NA consider an extension of Resolution No. 42/2017/NQ-QH14 for another 12 months until December 31, 2024 to create conditions for credit institutions to effectively manage bad debts, including the collaterals of real estate projects," it said in the petition./.

HÀ NỘI Ongoing tension in the Red Sea has hiked freight rates and increased the possibility of delays, warned the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The tension in the Red Sea could lead to additional costs of US$1,000 to $2,000 for a container passing through to Europe. Similarly, shipping company CMA CGM is considering charging $2,700 per container to cover the costs of loading or unloading at ports in the Red Sea. Even before the Red Sea crisis, shipping companies had planned to raise freight rates or even double them in some cases before the Lunar New Year in February. Recent incidents of attacks on cargo ships in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea have led some shipping companies to announce the suspension of cargo transportation through the Red Sea, rerouting around the Horn of Africa.

Passengers from neighbouring provinces also take flights from Dien Bien to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Duong Anh Duc delivered a speech at the conference. Art exhibition aims to strengthen Vietnam -US relationshipA cultural and art exhibition to strengthen friendly ties between Vietnam and the United States is now being held in Ho Chi Minh City. Diversities of books in the place include Ho Chi Minh's journey from Sen village to Ba Dinh, Following in Uncle Ho's footsteps, Nguyen Ai Quoc - Ho Chi Minh on the path of the Communist Party plus documentaries such as Ho Chi Minh in the land of Lenin, Vitality of a manifesto, Torch of the century, Ho Chi Minh - portrait of a politician guest. At the same time, it meets the powerful digital transformation trend in Ho Chi Minh City.

HÀ NỘI Businesses need to be cautious with new information and contact import-export management information focal points to avoid international trade fraud. However, instances of commercial fraud taking advantage of import-export information with very sophisticated procedures have appeared. This incident shows signs of fraud targeting small and medium-sized businesses that do not clearly understand import and export paperwork regulations and lack experience in preventing and dealing with international trade scams. According to a survey by PwC Việt Nam up to 52 per cent of Vietnamese businesses said they had been scammed when participating in international trade in 2022. Therefore, businesses need to be cautious about new information and contact import-export management authorities to avoid international trade fraud.

At the smart operation centre of Binh Phuoc province. (Photo: VNA)The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) recently gave an update on the e-Government Architecture Framework (version 3.0), an important document to be applied in ministries, governmental agencies, and centrally-run cities and provinces.Version 3.0 supplemented its previous version with an electronic identification and authentication platform and system, a national database centre , a human resources data warehouse, among other items.Besides, updates were made on reference models, database and applications.The MIC said that during the process of building and implementing the e-Government Architecture Framework, competent quarters should comply with basic principles of the framework, and relevant guidance documents.Their architecture framework must ensure investment for effective implementation of digital government, new digital technologies and cyber security measures, supply of database for online public services and innovation services, and smooth database sharing among agencies, the ministry said./.

Ganjar Pranowo (L), Prabowo Subianto (C), and Anies Baswedan strike a pose for the cameras after the first presidential debate 2024 concluded in Jakarta on December 12, 2023. (Photo: ANTARA)Candidates in Indonesia ’s presidential election held the second debate on January 7 where they discussed defence, geopolitics and diplomatic issues. The candidates are Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, former governor of Central Java province Ganjar Pranowo and former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan. Prabowo is ahead of his rivals in opinion polls since choosing Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the eldest son of President Joko Widodo, as his vice presidential candidate. If none of the three candidates obtains a majority of votes in the first round, a second round will be held in June between the two candidates who receive the largest number of votes./.

Inflation stood at 3.25%, compared to the 5.5% worldwide. The core inflation fell to 4.16% from the previous figure of 5.1%, showing that inflation decreased rather sustainably. Food security was guaranteed; while the stock, corporate bond, and real estate markets also gradually recovered though many risks remain. It was reversed right from the end of the first quarter, from a solid policy to a flexible, eased, and prudent one. Interest rates were reduced and businesses and people’s debts permitted to be restructured.