Hanoi: The following is a list of selected news summaries reported last night by the Vietnam News Agency.

– The 29th session of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee opened in Hanoi on January 8, which is scheduled to last for one and a half days.

In his opening remarks, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said the session, the first of the committee in 2024, will focus on preparations for the 5th extraordinary meeting of the 15th legislature slated for January 15.

– President Vo Van Thuong has extended a warm welcome to Speaker of the Bulgarian National Assembly Rosen Dimitrov Jeliazkov on his official visit to Vietnam at the outset of the new year, saying that the trip showcased the high level of political trust in the cooperative relationship between the two nations.

At a reception for the Speaker in Hanoi on January 8, President Thuong believed that the visit will generate an impetus to bolster the Vietnam-Bulgaria traditional ties and mark a significant milestone for the beginning of celebrations for
the 75th founding anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties in 2025, thus elevating the bilateral relations to a new height.

– Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has expressed his belief that that the ongoing visit to Vietnam by Speaker of the Bulgarian National Assembly Rosen Dimitrov Jeliazkov will be a success, opening up a new chapter in the long-standing relations between the two countries.

Meeting with the Speaker in Hanoi on January 8, PM Chinh said Vietnam always treasures its fine, loyal, enduring friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Bulgaria and remembers the European country’s valuable support during its struggle for national independence and reunification, as well as in the current process of national construction and development. Vietnam considers Bulgaria one of its key partners in Central and Eastern Europe, he said.

– Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has assigned relevant ministries and agencies to remove any existing obstacles as soon as possible, thus providing unwavering support for the
Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam) to further develop and ensure national energy security.

Addressing a hybrid conference in Hanoi on January 8, convened to evaluate Petrovietnam’s performance in 2023 and outline tasks for this year, PM Chinh commended the group for its substantial contributions to the State budget, emphasising its role in safeguarding national independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.

– Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on January 8 requested the comprehensive development of a carbon credit market when chairing a meeting on the establishment of the market in Vietnam.

Ha stressed that the market is an opportunity for Vietnam to switch to an appropriate development model in the future.

– An article by the business and financial news site CNBC has named Vietnam among Asia-Pacific’s three top-performing markets in the first half of this year, besides India and Japan.

As per the article, Vietnam expects to see a GDP growth rate of between 6% and 6.5% in 2024 on the back of
robust imports and exports, as well as stronger manufacturing activity. The optimism in the Vietnamese market has also led to a more than 14% surge in foreign direct investments last year compared with 2022.

– The Vietnamese market is expected to welcome 230,500 more enterprises, both newly established and those resuming operations, in 2024, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Accordingly, the number of freshly established firms is projected to rise by 2% year-on-year, reaching approximately 162,500. Concurrently, around 68,000 others will be back to operation, marking a 16% increase. The statistical agency’s forecast is based on the registrations of businesses in 2023 and the anticipated global and domestic economic outlook in the coming period.

– The People’s Committee of the southern province of Dong Nai presented investment certificates to eight foreign-invested projects worth nearly 500 million USD on January 8.

Of these projects, four were newly-registered projects valued at over 155 m
illion USD, and the rest had their capital added./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency