By the end of 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development approved projects with a total investment of US$840 million.
The Ministry is in the process of co-operating with enterprises to propose 14 projects with a total capital of US$3.2 billion.
This year, the sector will largely focus on green and circular agriculture.
As a means of improving international linkages and integration moving forward, the Ministry has asked agencies to continue to increase the quality of institutional work, especially those relating to foreign trade in a bid to ensure Vietnamese laws and regulations' compliance with international commitments and practices.
Under the terms of the country’s international agricultural co-operation strategy, the sector aims to raise the export turnover of agro-forestry-fisheries products to US$70 billion by 2030.
Vietnam has joined a total of 15 free trade agreements (FTAs) and is in the process of negotiating fresh deals with Israel and Canada.
It has signed FTAs with all of its key agro-forestry-fishery export markets, a factor which helps Vietnamese exporters enjoy a competitive advantage in terms of prices in the global market thanks to a range of tax incentives.
Furthermore, the Ministry will continue strengthening activities in market forecasting, policies, and solutions in relations with international partners.
It will also further co-ordinate alongside agricultural associations and industries to nominate candidates to become involved in trade associations in major Vietnamese import markets.
Australian newspaper dubs Phu Quoc Mediterranean town in Vietnam
Australian travel newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald has described Phu Quoc Island in the southern province of Kien Giang as a “Mediterranean town” in Vietnam, reported the Voice of Vietnam.
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| Phu Quoc Island in the southern province of Kien Giang |
According to the media outlet, everything visitors typically associate with Italy can be on Phu Quoc Island, such as epic fountains, vast mosaics, delicious pasta, and pots of red geraniums.
“This 30-hectare part-folly, part private investment, part tourist attraction includes villas, big and small hotels, apartments and shophouses along a path leading to the new Kiss Bridge and will delight and confuse,” says The Sydney Morning Herald.
“Eventually this project, by the giant Vietnamese Sun Group, will be full of apartment dwellers, businesses and holiday-makers but the day we visit painters, builders and gardeners are making final touches to Truman Show-esque streets where there is not a leaf out of place and hardly a person to be seen,” it added.
The newspaper also suggested that holiday goers pay a visit to Hon Thom by heading to An Thoi Station where they can then take a ride on the Phu Quoc cable car.
“The ride itself is quite fast at 30 kilometres an hour, so brace yourself as you dip and glide over beaches and fishing villages for eight kilometres (it's the longest cable car of its type in the world), eventually landing on Hon Thom - dubbed Pineapple Island, a much-loved Vietnamese nature and water park,” it shared.
Phu Quoc Prison is also a location suggested by The Sydney Morning Herald as must-visit destination when enjoying a trip to the island.
The prison is a historic site that had been used to confine Vietnamese revolutionary soldiers. During their incarceration they were subjected to barbaric forms of tortures; such as nailing of the hands, feet, and even their head; along with stabbing burned copper wires into the skin; drilling teeth; and even burning or burying people alive.
“Rows of dummys in stifling cells illustrate cruel and bizarre methods of torture carried out on inmates while crudely dug tunnels highlight the heroism and desperation of those incarcerated,” it noted.
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| The miniature city of Venice is located in the Grand World entertainment and resort complex of Phu Quoc United Center (Photo: Internet) |
Furthermore, the newspaper also hailed fish sauce in Phu Quoc, an item that is greatly sought after by lovers of both Vietnamese and Thai cuisine from across the world.
“Phu Quoc traditional fish sauce is made from anchovies that feed off particular types of local seaweed and plankton,” it described.
Visitors are also recommended to sample fruits of the sea and coconut ice-cream for desert at the Night Market in Duong Dong, Phu Quoc's biggest town.
The Sydney Morning Herald also introduced visitors to Phu Quoc National Park in the island's north-east which includes more than 27,000 hectares of forest and 20,000 hectares of surrounding ocean area.
“It has white-sand beaches, mountains, jungle treks, waterfalls, the rare slow loris, monkeys and other wildlife for those in search of some nature nurturing,” the newspaper concluded.
Vietnam enjoys boom in foreign visitor numbers
Despite the global tourism sector facing numerous difficulties, the year ahead is anticipated to witness outstanding growth in terms of the number of foreign arrivals to the nation, reported the Voice of Vietnam according to industry insiders.
Although the Vietnamese tourism industry failed to reach its target of welcoming five million international visitors last year, the sector is determined to receive eight million foreign arrivals this year.
In fact, since the beginning of this year there have been a large number of foreign delegations travelling through international border gates. With optimistic signals ahead, the tourism industry is striving to restore the international tourism market this year, with measures being taken in order to fulfill the set plan.
Dao Thi Nga, head of the Sales Department under Little Charm Hanoi Hostel, said her company often receives foreign visitors from various countries such as the Netherlands, the UK, France, and the Republic of Korea, while the number of Chinese visitors has begun to return thanks to China’s recent reopening.
According to details given by the General Statistics Office, the number of international visitors to the nation in January reached over 870,000, representing an increase of more than 23% compared to December last year.
Currently, the majority of international visitors to the country mainly come from the Republic of Korea, the US, Japan, and countries throughout Southeast Asia, of which there has been a rise in the number of visitors from emerging markets such as India and Cambodia.
Vu The Binh, chairman of the Vietnam Tourism Association, emphasised the importance of designing new products and services to further attract international customers, adding that the tourism sector should also aim to target visitors from further afield, as opposed to only focusing on regional countries.
Furthermore, although China reopened its border on January 8, the number of visitors from the northern neighbour to Vietnam in January remain modest at an estimated figure of nearly 16,000.
As part of efforts create the best conditions possible to attract tourists from this market moving forward, Phung Quang Thang, vice president of the Vietnam Travel Association, pointed out that the tourism industry must devise relevant solutions for effective management, adding that local firms should create quality tourism products for the Chinese market. Indeed, this will ensure an effective source of revenue for businesses, as well as boosting the image of Vietnamese tourism.
This year, the Vietnamese tourism industry hopes to swiftly welcome ASEAN delegations to attend major tourism events in the country, such as the Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Moreover, there are a wide range of events taking place, including the 2023 National Tourism Year in Binh Thuan province and Hue Festival 2023.
These activities are anticipated to create opportunities to promote Vietnamese tourism to a large number of international friends, whilst simultaneously helping to ramp up co-operation with other countries, strengthen connectivity with tourism businesses, and promote the expansion of tourism markets in the region and throughout the world.
Vietnamese scientists win China-ASEAN innovation contest
A group of Vietnamese researchers has won the second prize of the 2022 China-ASEAN Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition (CAIEC) for their Brain Analytics project, AI software to detect Alzheimer disease by analysing MRI brain images, reported Vietnam News Agency.
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| Pham Thi Nhu Trang speaks on behalf of the Vietnamese team at the awarding ceremony. (Photo: VNA) |
The team from the International University (IU), one of seven members of the Vietnam National University - Ho Chi Minh City, consists of about 20 members, including doctors, engineers, and students.
Speaking on behalf of the group at the awarding ceremony held in Jakarta, Indonesia, on February 17, Pham Thi Nhu Trang, a senior at the university’s faculty of biomedical engineering, said Brain Analytics initially aimed to gain support from the Asian startup and medical community in order to develop the project outside of Vietnam in the future. The team also wants to look for funding to build local database to improve their product’s efficiency, she added.
Also obtaining the second prizes, the highest for projects from ASEAN, were the ‘Castomize - Casts Made with 4D Printing’ and ‘FormaCyte Therapeutics - Injection-free Cellular Implant for Diabetes Management’ projects, both from Singapore.
Meanwhile, two third prizes were presented to enterprises from Cambodia and Myanmar for their works in the fields of digital economy and modern agriculture.
The Creativity Stars prizes and other certificates were also handed over to collectives and individuals at the ceremony./.