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| Customs clearance of goods into Laos at Cau Treo border gate in Ha Tinh province. (Photo: hatinh.gov.vn) |
Vietnam and Laos are strategically located on the East West Economic Corridor and share a border of more than 2,300 km, spanning administrative boundaries of 10 localities of each side.
Both sides take advantage of incentives from the Vietnam – Laos Bilateral Trade Agreement and the Vietnam - Laos Border Trade Agreement to promote trade in goods and services.
Every year, the Ministries of Industry and Trade of the two countries sign a document under which Vietnam pledges to support Laos in showcasing goods and services at major fairs and exhibitions held in Vietnam such as Vietnam Expo and Vietnam Foodexpo.
According to the Asia-Africa Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the trade turnover between Vietnam and Laos has always grown positively over the years. Their goods are quite diverse and highly complementary.
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Textile is one of Vietnam’s main export items to Laos. (Photo: VOV)
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Statistics show bilateral trade turnover reached US$1.37 billion last year, up 33.3% year on year. Of the total value, Vietnamese exports brought back US$594.7 million, up 4%, while the imports fetched US$778.2 million, up 69.8%.
The first half of 2022 saw Vietnamese exports to Laos fall 6% year on year to US$309.4 million. Major export items to Laos were iron and steel products; means of transport and spare parts; other machinery, equipment, tools and spare parts; fertilizers; plastic products; and vegetables.
Meanwhile, Vietnam also imported US$514.6 million worth of commodities from Laos in the first six months, up 45.3% year on year. Major import items were rubber products; wood and wood products; fertilizers; vegetables; ores and minerals.
The two sides have facilitated Vietnamese investment in Laos in organic agriculture, manufacturing & processing, and other fields of strengths in the region along the border.
To date Vietnam has poured a total of US$4.3 billion into 417 projects in Laos, ranking third among 54 countries and territories investing in the country.
Progress of Long Thanh int’l airport project must be ensured: Deputy PM
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| A corner of the construction site of the Long Thanh International Airport project (Photo: VNA) |
Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh chaired a meeting of the Government's Steering Committee for the implementation of Long Thanh International Airport project on July 16, during which he asked for more efforts to ensure the project’s progress, reported Vietnam News Agency.
According to reports presented at the meeting, the construction bidding packages of piles and foundation are likely to have been completed by September 20 this year, 30- 45 days ahead of the schedule. The preparation of total estimate for the design work is also being urgently sped up and is expected to be completed in July 2022.
The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) reported that the ground of most of the main construction areas have been basically handed over to the investors.
According to the Ministry of Transport, the construction progress for drainage, foundation and piling works in passenger terminal meets the plan.
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| A corner of the construction site of the Long Thanh International Airport project (Photo: VNA) |
Deputy PM Le Van Thanh applauded efforts by units in accelerating the progress of he project, noting that this is a national key project, so no stage can be delayed.
He asked the ACV to take measures to further speed up the progress on the construction site, and demanded the authorities of the southern province of Dong Nai to complete the site clearance - Phase 1 within this month.
He underlined the necessity to renovate the administration of the project’s management board. For other component projects, the Deputy PM requested a thorough review and detailed progress reports at the meeting of the committee next month.
Covering more than 5,580 hectares, the Long Thanh International Airport will spread across six communes in Long Thanh district, Dong Nai province. Its construction has been divided into three phases.
In the first phase, a runway and one passenger terminal, along with other supporting facilities, will be built to serve 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo each year. This phase is scheduled to be completed in 2025.
The project started in 2021. Once fully completed in 2050, the airport will be able to handle 100 million passengers and 5 million tonnes of cargo annually.
Located 40km to the east of HCM City, the airport is expected to relieve overloading at the southern metropolis’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport, which is currently the largest in Vietnam.
Vietnamese doctors save Nigerian woman with severe malaria
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| Dr. Ngo Chi Cuong and the Nigerian patient (Photo: VNA) |
The Centre for Tropical Diseases of Bach Mai Hospital recently saved the life of a 32-year-old female Nigerian patient with severe malaria, who had been hospitalised in a critical condition, reported Vietnam News Agency.
Dr. Ngo Chi Cuong, who directly treats the patient, said that on July 6, the centre received the Nigerian who has lived in Vietnam for 4 years. She returned to her hometown in Nigeria on April 30 and came back to Vietnam on June 19.
After being checked-up in Medlatec Hospital and treated in Dang Van Ngu Hospital, the patient was admitted to Bach Mai Hospital in a state of irritability, high fever of 39 degrees Celsius, pale mucous membranes, low blood pressure, and oliguria. The initial diagnosis was severe malaria with acute renal failure.
After five days of treatment, the patient had no fever, no malaria parasites in peripheral blood smear tests, and no sign of anemia, her rental failure gradually improved, and urine output returned to normal.
According to Assoc. Prof., Dr. Do Duy Cuong, Director of the Centre for Tropical Diseases, malaria is a rare infectious disease in the northern region because Vietnam has successfully controlled it. However, recently the number of malaria cases has increased, mainly from people returning or coming from Africa./.