Illustrative photo (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Israeli press have spotlightedVietnam’s policy for external diplomacy and its economic growth in the firsteight months of this year on the occasion of the Southeast Asian nation celebratingthe 75th anniversary of its August Revolution (August 19) and National Day(September 2).
The Jerusalem Post carried an article titled “Vietnam: Abright star in Asia” on August 30 lauding the country’s the foreign policy ofindependence, self-reliance, openness, diversification and multilateralisationof external relations and active international integration.
It noted Vietnam has to date established a network of 30strategic partners and comprehensive partners. “The country effectivelyimplemented the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-PacificPartnership (CPTTP). The first new generation FTA in the world has helpedVietnam’s export turnover to members such as Japan, Canada and Mexico increasesignificantly compared to 2018,” the article said.
The article mentioned the Vietnam-EU Free Trade Agreement(EVFTA) and Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) signed last yearand approved by the Vietnam National Assembly in June 2020. It cited the EuropeanCommission as calling the EVFTA “the most ambitious” FTA the EU has everreached with a developing country.
The country’s relations with the US were also highlighted inthe article. It said the sides managed to overcome their past animosity tonormalize relations in 1995, adding that they are now comprehensive partners,with bilateral trade increasing from 450 million USD in 1994 to 77 billion USDin 2019.
In particular, the article mentioned the positive forecastsof the IMF and the WB on Vietnam’s economic growth despite the COVID-19pandemic.
“Vietnam has garnered international praise for its swift andeffective response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Although the country is not immuneto the global economic downturn, its prospects for recovery remain positive andare brightest among Asian countries,” it said.
The same day, the Forbes magazine in Israel also publishedan article assessing Vietnam growth between January and August this year. Itcited Edward Teather, ASEAN economist at UBS Research, as saying “Vietnam issuffering some pain from the impact of COVID-19, but the outlook is looking oneof the brightest in the region”.
The article reported that the Vietnamese government hassought to increase public and private investment since January to help theeconomy emerge from the coronavirus pandemic. In June, the country approved itsbiggest commercial project this year, a 9.3 billion USD tourist resort byVingroup, Vietnam’s largest private conglomerate, with foreign investors alsoparticipating in the project.
According to the article, there have been many reports thata large number of major foreign companies would choose Vietnam as theirs nextmanufacturing hub. Apple looked for managers and engineers in Hanoi and Ho ChiMinh City, while Google began production of its low-cost smartphone withVietnamese partners.
It cited statistics that showed 18.82 billion USD in FDI waspoured into Vietnam in the first seven months of this year, equivalent to 93.1percent of the figure of the same period in 2019. July alone saw 3.15 billionUSD flowing into Vietnam in the form of FDI and share purchase, up 79.8 percentyear on year./.
VNA
