Politics

☕ Afternoon briefing on April 23

The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.
☕ Afternoon briefing on April 23 ảnh 1
Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a brief review of the day’sevents as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should have a strategicand comprehensive vision, and improve its resilience capacity to graspopportunities and handle global headwinds for stable and sustainabledevelopment, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said on April 23.

In his opening remarks at the ASEAN Future Forum 2024 in Hanoi, PM Chinh calledon the bloc to be consistent with its global, all-people and comprehensiveapproach to stay strong in any circumstances, and realise its goal ofdeveloping a dynamic, connected and resilient community by 2045. Read full story

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted a reception in Hanoi on April 23 forIndonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, who is now on an official visit toVietnam and to co-chair the fifth meeting of the Vietnam-Indonesia JointCommittee on Bilateral Cooperation.

The leader conveyed Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's regard toIndonesian President Joko Widodo, congratulated Indonesia on the successfulholding of its general elections in February, and expressed his belief that thecountry will develop further, gain a higher position in the internationalarena, and achieve its goal of becoming a developed country by 2045. Read full story

- Nearly 300 soldiers and youth volunteers directly engaging in the Dien BienPhu campaign 70 years ago looked back on the 56-day battle, the victory ofwhich led to the signing of the Geneva Accords on ending the war and restoringpeace in Indochina, at a meeting in Hanoi on April 23.

The event was organised by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Association forVictims of Agent Orange/dioxin in coordination with the Ministry of NationalDefence, the Central Committee of the Association of Former Vietnamese YouthVolunteers, and the Hanoi Party Committee. Read full story

- Vietnam's economy is showing mixed signs of recovery in early 2024, withgrowth forecast to reach 5.5% in 2024 and gradually rise to 6.0% by 2025,according to the latest World Bank Taking Stock bi-annual economic updatereleased on April 23.

Addressing a press conference held by the WB on the same day, World Bank LeadEconomist for Vietnam Andrea Coppola said the country’s exports are recovering,and consumption and private domestic investment growing more gradually. Read full story

- Vietnam is an attractive destination for foreign investors thanks to itshigh, stable growth, large domestic market and young, well-educated humanresources, said Paulo Medas, head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) teamto Vietnam at the Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group (WB) heldrecently in the US.

According to Medas, despite rising geopolitical instability on theglobe, Vietnam’s economy experienced a growth rate of 5.66% in thefirst quarter of this year. Exports continue to see an upward trend,facilitating overall growth until the end of this year. Read full story

- The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) released the outcome of the gold bullionauction on April 23, with two winning bidders securing 34 lots, equivalent to3,400 taels of SJC-branded gold bars.

The two winners were Saigon Jewelry Company Limited (SJC) and Asia CommercialJoint Stock Bank (ACB). Read full story

- The volume of corporate bonds maturing in 2024, though lower than that in2023, is till at a high level, mostly in industries with payment risks such asreal estate and renewable energy, according to a report by the Ministry ofFinance (MoF).

The ministry said as of the end of 2023, the outstanding corporate bond debtstood at about 1 million billion VND, issued by 432 businesses. Among them, thetotal value of bonds maturing in 2024 is 240.1 trillion VND (9.43 billion USD),lower than the 261.6 trillion VND recorded last year. Read full story

- The two whale skeletons aged over 200 years preserved at the Lang Tan relicsite in Dong An Vinh village, Ly Son island in the central province ofQuang Ngai, which were completely restored in 2020, have been attractingtourists.

According to researchers, these are the two largest intact whale skeletonspreserved in Vietnam. Read full story./.
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