Vietnam is among the five countries in the world that will be most seriously affected by climate change especially rising sea levels. To respond to this situation, action needs to be taken right now.  

Danish Queen Margrethe II will pay an official visit to Vietnam from November 1-9 at the invitation of State President Nguyen Minh Triet.

The President of the Republic of Korea (RoK), Lee Myung-bak, will pay an official visit to Vietnam from October 20-22 at the invitation of State President Nguyen Minh Triet. The visit is Mr Lee’s first visit to Vietnam aimed at bringing bilateral ties to new heights.

“The storm of integration cannot dampen the will of Vietnamese entrepreneurs,” said Vu Tien Loc, director of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) at the 2009 Thanh Giong Cup Awards ceremony for 100 prominent businesses in 2009.

When natural disasters occur, a huge effort is made to deal with their aftermath. However, what is most needed is a long-term, systematic way of dealing with climate change. If we do not treat the planet well from now on, more unpredictable calamities are likely to affect the future generations.

Vietnam’s trade deficit may reach 11 percent of the country’s GDP (equivalent to 20 percent of the export turnover) in 2009, and this would be a disaster for Vietnam’s exports, said Dr. Vu Dinh Anh, deputy director of the Market and Price Research Institute under the Ministry of Finance.

The Vietnamese economy is showing signs of recovery as it recorded an economic growth of 3.11 percent in the first quarter, 4.46 percent in the second quarter and 5.6 percent in the third quarter of this year.

There will be a wealth of opportunities for Vietnamese businesses to boost exports of agro-forestry-aquatic products in the remaining months of the year, but to take advantage of them, snags in exports must be ironed out.

Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet will pay official visits to Cuba from September 26 –29 and Chile from September 29 to October 1 at the invitation of Cuban President Raul Castro and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.

Despite the real estate market seeing signs of recovery, investors still enjoy high profits as a result of the market lacking available properties and transparency, according to economic experts.  

The General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Nong Duc Manh, began an official visit to Australia on September 6 at the invitation of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

On September 2, 2009, Vietnam’s national flag – red with a five-pointed golden star in the middle – was once again hoisted at the headquarters of San Francisco’s municipal administration in the US State of California to the music of Vietnam’s national anthem being played in the background.

Nearly 20,000 prisoners have been granted amnesty in 2009. This figure speaks volumes.  

The August Revolution in 1945 put an end to one millennium of feudalism and nearly one century of French colonialism in the country, giving birth to the first people’s democratic regime in Vietnam.

Tra and Basa fish exporters and processors are coping with more difficulties after the US extended technical barriers against the import of these products from Vietnam.

The US has classified Vietnamese tra and basa as "catfish" to enact a new law on the Vietnamese fish imported into the country. This has raised public concern over the “laugh today and cry tomorrow” rules of conduct imposed by a superpower.  

At the monthly Cabinet meeting for June, the government concluded that the national economy has shown positive signs of recovery and inflation is being kept in check. However, there is no room for complacency, it warned. 

The national economy showed positive signs of recovery in the first six months of this year thanks to the government’s effective solutions and all-out efforts by businesses and other sections of society to overcome challenges.

As of July 1, five key Vietnamese farm products, namely litchi, longan, dragon fruit, water melon and banana, will require a certificate of origin (CO) before being exported to the Chinese market.

Five years after Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange (AO)/Dioxin filed a class action suit against US chemical companies in the US courts, the pain and suffering caused by the toxic chemicals still linger on in their daily lives.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung left Hanoi on May 21 for a three-day working visit to Japan where he is scheduled to attend the 15th international conference on “The Future of Asia” in Tokyo by Nikkei newspaper.

Better export management is considered an effective way of promoting the image of Vietnamese businesses and their products around the globe.

Many Vietnamese people have preferred to use foreign currencies to the domestic currency for a long time without knowing that the practice is illegal, and this habit must change as soon as possible.

According to the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM), the rate of inflation remains high despite being lower than the 2008 level and it is impossible to resolve the high trade deficit in a short period of time.

In its recently released annual report, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has recommended that Vietnam be designated as a country of particular concern, reasoning that the country still prohibits, monitors and discriminates religious activities, including Christianity. However, the recommendation does not reflect the true situation in Vietnam.

Domestic and foreign analysts say that the Vietnamese economy is showing 'green shoots' of recovery and that the government should carry on with its current stimulus packages and prevent inflation from rising in the post-crisis period.

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong left Hanoi on April 22 to pay official visits to Russia, the Czech Republic and Belarus. The trip aims to further strengthen the traditional friendship and multifaceted and mutually beneficial cooperation between Vietnam and these European countries.

Approximately 80,000 hectares of farmland are reclaimed annually to build industrial parks, residential areas and public works. Using some agricultural land for industrial development is essential, however, this has been carried out beyond sustainable limits in some localities.

By rolling over loans, businesses can pay off old loans at higher interest rates, thus reducing their financial burden and decreasing the amount of bad debts to banks nationwide.

The Government has approved a 4-percent interest rate subsidy programme to help businesses in difficulties access bank loans to maintain production. But rumours of a rollover of subsidised loans among eligible businesses are going around.