Department of trade and investment

For Viet Nam, FSIS has inspected eight out of the 13 facilities that are exporting catfish to the US and found out no shortcomings that could directly harm public health. — VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) under the United States Department of Agriculture has proposed continuing Viet Nam’s eligibility to export Siluriformes fish, commonly known as catfish, and fish products to the United States. The US Federal Register has published a draft of a proposal to recognise three countries—Viet Nam, China and Thailand—as maintaining their eligibility to export catfish and fish products to the United States as proposed by FSIS. In the draft recommendation, FSIS has recognised the catfish inspection system in Viet Nam, China and Thailand as equivalent to the US system. If this draft is approved, these three Asian countries will officially be allowed to continue exporting catfish to this market, according to the Vietnam Association of … [Read more...] about US proposes maintaining VN eligibility to export catfish

Bat Trang village’s ceramic products Vietnam has some 5,400 craft villages, spanning many different crafts, such as lacquer, ceramics, gold, silver, embroidery, bamboo, rattan, weaving, paper, folk paintings, wood, and stone. Their handicraft products are diverse in design and quality. Van Phuc silk, Bat Trang pottery, and Dong Xam silver carving have been recognized as national brands. Dam Tien Thang, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade, said that despite their economic value, the potential of traditional craft villages hasn’t been fully tapped. He said “Hanoi craft villages’ annual production is estimated to be nearly 1 billion USD and annual export turnover is approximately 200 million USD a year. So far this year Hanoi has earned about 160 million USD.” No agency or organization is responsible for buying all the products made by traditional craft villages. The villages’ brand registration and product designs … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s traditional crafts promoted as national image

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha In his speech delivered at the CLMVT forum in Bangkok on June 24, the PM said despite the CLMVT region becoming a main player in the global value chain, the region faces threats from rapid technological development and geopolitics. These new technologies will render the existing production network, he said. According to Prayut, contract manufacturing and production will slowly decline as new production networks in different regions, which embrace the modern value chain, take their place. In terms of geopolitical threats, countries in the region must have effective risk management in place to cope with the changes in the global market, he added. The sectors most vulnerable to disruption are agribusinesses, textiles, automobile, and electronics, all traditional strengths of the CLMVT region, he said, adding the service industry within the CLMVT region will also be affected by these trends. He urged the governments to work together to support … [Read more...] about Thailand calls for regional countries’ modernization to increase competitiveness

This conference aims to comprehensively assess the results attained by the Government in implementing the 11th Politburo’s Resolution No. 22-NQ/TW dated April 10, 2013 on international integration, and the 12th Party Central Committee’s Resolution No. 06-NQ/TW dated November 5, 2016  on effectively implementing the process of international integration and maintaining socio-political stability in the context of Vietnam’s participation in new-generation free trade agreements,” with a focus on the period of 2014-2019. The conference will also draw lessons and propose appropriate measures to strengthen international integration in the coming time. Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son granted reporter of the People’s Army Newspaper on the outcomes of the country’s international integration in recent years, with a focus on the defense and security fields. Reporter: What political, defense and security outcomes do you think the international … [Read more...] about International integration contributes to national defense and security

A women harvests avocado in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong. — VNA/VNS Photo The banking sector needs solutions to provide more funding for agriculture and rural areas to ensure sustainable development, according to experts. The statement was made at the workshop ‘Pro-poor Rural and Agriculture Finance Best Practices: Experiences of Viet Nam’ held by the Viet Nam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP), the Asia-Pacific Rural and Agricultural Credit Association and the International Fund for Agriculture Development in Ha Noi on Wednesday. The Party, the Government and the banking sector have always paid special attention to finance for farming areas in Viet Nam, Dao Minh Tu, deputy governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) told the workshop. In addition, the Government and the SBV have directed preferential credit programmes for agriculture and countryside areas in domestic credit institutions, he said. Since 2006, credit programmes of the banking sector for … [Read more...] about Banking sector works on funding for farmers