HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) Office for UN Peacekeeping Operations held an inauguration ceremony for the Việt Nam Police Peacekeeping Unit No.1 in Hà Nội on Thursday. "The establishment of this unit is a historic milestone and a testament to Việt Nam’s growing role and contribution to regional and global peace and security. According to Shahkar, formed police units (FPUs) now represent around 75 per cent of the UN police personnel deployed in peacekeeping operations. So far, Việt Nam has deployed seven police officers to UN peacekeeping operations, including six to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and one to the UN headquarters. Following the Party and State’s orientations, Việt Nam has sent personnel to UN peacekeeping missions, realising the country’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development.

STOCKHOLM — There is plenty of room for Việt Nam and Sweden to boost cooperation in many areas, especially those of each other’s strength and demand, stated Vietnamese Ambassador to Sweden Trần Văn Tuấn. Tuấn said he believes that with high mutual political trust, Việt Nam and Sweden will continue to effectively coordinate at multilateral forums, especially in coping with global issues. Along with strong political trust and friendship, Sweden and Việt Nam have shared sound economic cooperation, he said, noting that Sweden was the biggest North European provider of non-refundable aid to Việt Nam in the 1967-2013 period. Data from Statistics Sweden (SCB) released in December 2023 showed that Sweden was Việt Nam’s largest trading partner in North Europe and Việt Nam Sweden's largest import partner in Southeast Asia. However, Ambassador Tuấn held that the partnership between Việt Nam and Sweden in some areas have been modest, noting that as of June 2023, Swedish firms had invested $680.49 million in Việt Nam.

The Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit was conceptualised in 2003 under the visionary leadership of Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India (the then Chief Minister of Gujarat). This year’s biennial event drew the attendance of Indian leaders and businesspeople, and guests from more than 100 countries. Deputy Prime Minister Quang stressed the importance of topics discussed at the summit focusing on the theme of “Gateway to the future”, such as green economy, circular economy, digital economy, e-commerce and smart city, which are also Vietnam’s priorities during its development and international integration. He also shared Vietnam’s long-term strategies and plans in these spheres and the target of raising the digital economy’s contribution to national GDP to 20% by 2025 and 30% by 2030. Later the same day, Quang delivered a speech at the Vietnam-India Business Forum, in which he emphasised that the bilateral economic cooperation has yet to match the political ties between the two countries, as well as their potential and strengths./.

The bilateral friendship has been continuously nurtured by generations of leaders and peoples. The visit to Vietnam from January 11-13 by Indonesian President Joko Widodo is expected to deepen Vietnam-Indonesia cooperation. Two-way trade increased from 8.2 billion USD in 2020 to 14.1 billion USD in 2022, and was estimated at over 12 billion USD last year. The two countries are striving for 15 billion USD in two-way trade by 2028. The traditional and trusted friendship is a solid foundation for the Vietnam-Indonesia strategic partnership to look toward the future, and become more substantive and effective in all fields.

NEW DELHI — Việt Nam wishes to foster cooperation with India and its Gujarat state in particular in the areas of the Indian side’s strengths and Việt Nam's priorities, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Trần Lưu Quang affirmed while addressing the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit on Wednesday. The summit was conceptualised in 2003 under the visionary leadership of Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India (the then Chief Minister of Gujarat). He thanked India for its support to Việt Nam in personnel training, science-technology, energy transition and digital transformation, and affirmed that Việt Nam stands ready to create favourable conditions for Indian big groups to invest in and set up long-term cooperation with Việt Nam. Ample room remains for Việt Nam and India to boost their collaboration in the time ahead, particularly in such emerging areas as green economy, circular economy, digital transformation, software, semiconductors and AI, he noted. Also on Wednesday, Deputy PM Quang had meetings with foreign leaders and businesspeople attending the summit.

HÀ NỘI The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) aims to enhance trade and export promotion with key markets, maximising export opportunities and leveraging the effectiveness of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Trade promotion activities in 2023 achieved remarkable success by effectively leveraging opportunities presented by trade agreements. Trade promotion, through the National Trade Promotion Programme, has been carried out effectively with a focus on diversifying markets and export products, as well as maximising opportunities from free trade agreements (FTAs) and fostering regional and inter-regional trade. We will also work towards signing memorandums of understanding (MOUs) in trade promotion with foreign trade promotion agencies that are currently under negotiation or have agreed upon content, such as Australia and Chile. The rise in export trade fraud cases and the increasing imposition of trade barriers by countries pose challenges for businesses.

Organisers will present awards for fair-play, best scorer, best goalkeeper, best coach, most favourite player of each match, and most favourite player of the tournament. Việt Nam was among the first countries to successfully control newly emerging dangerous infectious diseases like SARS and avian flu A/H7N9. We believe that in the near future this special kind of football will grow strongly in Việt Nam, Southeast Asia and Asia. Việt Nam first came to Olympics at the 2020 Tokyo Games when Nguyễn Hoàng Phi Vũ and Nguyệt took their official slots. The state budget’s spending on education and health care for children has been rising over years, statistics show.

HÀ NỘI — The Government targets to create a favourable business environment to facilitate new business initiatives and innovations and to reduce costs and risks for businesses. 02 on major tasks and solutions to improve Việt Nam's business environment and competitiveness in 2024. This favourable business environment will boost development of businesses with innovation, green transformation, and digital transformation activities. It will lower input and regulatory compliance costs in investment and business activities, reduce policy risks, and enhance business resilience. It will also improve the quality of conditions for conditional investment and business industries and the quality of enterprise development services.

(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).