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Viet Nam has climbed three spots to rank 47th out of 105 countries in Brand Finance’s Global Soft Power Index Report 2021.

Viet Nam was the only country among the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to improve its ranking this year.

Its overall score was 33.8 out of 100 points, 2.5 points higher than last year, putting it ahead of the Philippines (53rd), Cambodia (89th) and Myanmar (90th).

Among other ASEAN countries, Singapore was 20th, Thailand 33rd, Malaysia 39th, and Indonesia 45th.

According to Brand Finance, the improvement was largely due to the fact that Viet Nam has managed the COVID-19 pandemic extremely well.

“Viet Nam was spared a year of lockdowns and besieged hospitals, and has one of the lowest COVID-19 infection and death rates in the world,” the report said. “Not only is the response to the pandemic impressive – given its shared border with China – but Viet Nam also experienced one of the highest economic growth rates globally in 2020 – one of a handful of countries with positive growth in 2020.”

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has approved the Viet Nam National Brand Programme from 2020 to 2030, which aims to increase the value and ranking of the national brand while targeting more than 1,000 products to become strong national brands.

The brands from the country are managed through efforts and initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s Department of Trade Promotion (Vietrade), under their ‘Viet Nam Value’ programme.

At a national level, Viet Nam has established diplomatic relations with 187 out of 193 member states of the United Nations and completed the process of negotiating and signing new-generation free trade agreements, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), making the country an important factor in regional and intraregional economic links.

At the same time, Vietrade and the MoIT have supported Vietnamese enterprises to improve their capacity through consulting business development, establishing information systems and updating branding knowledge.

All these initiatives and efforts have helped increase the awareness of the public, international consumers, and customers about the programme and Viet Nam Value products through various domestic and international media channels.

The MoIT also focuses on promoting geographical indications and collective marks of Viet Nam in foreign markets and helping improve the competitiveness of businesses based on quality reputation, environment-friendly production, and professionalism.

The Brand Finance Global Soft Power Index is a research study on the perceptions of 100 nation brands from around the world. It surveys the public as well as specialist audiences, with responses gathered from more than 75,000 people across some 100 countries. — VNS

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 25: Lorraine Harvey, an in home care worker, receives her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from registered nurse Rudolfo Garcia at a clinic at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in South Los Angeles on February 25, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. African Americans and Latinos comprise a majority of the South LA community and are dying of COVID-19 at a rate significantly higher than whites. Vaccine equity has also lagged in South Los Angeles relative to some more wealthy areas. (Mario Tama/Getty Images/AFP)

Brazil hit 250,000 fatalities — the second-highest national death toll after the US — while the worldwide vaccine campaign received the royal endorsement of Queen Elizabeth II, 94, who urged people not to be wary of the injection.

President Joe Biden declared the US rollout is now “weeks ahead of schedule” as he celebrated 50 million vaccines administered since he took office on January 20, but he warned Americans to keep masking up.

“We’re moving in the right direction despite the mess we inherited,” Biden said, referring to the program under his predecessor Donald Trump.

The United States is the world’s hardest-hit country, with coronavirus deaths crossing the 500,000 mark earlier this week.

Biden said that there would be “enough supply” for all adult Americans by the end of July.

The EU announced Thursday it expected to vaccinate 70 percent of adults by the end of the summer, after months of problems and friction.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said fully vaccinating just under three-quarters of adults by late summer was a “goal that we’re confident with.”

But in Brazil, the grim quarter-million deaths milestone came one year after the first Covid-19 case was confirmed in the country, which is struggling with severe vaccine shortages and a devastating second wave.

– Mass graves –

The coronavirus has hit especially hard in Brazil’s impoverished “favelas,” among indigenous communities and in the Amazon rainforest city of Manaus, where there have been haunting scenes of mass graves and patients suffocating to death with no oxygen.

President Jair Bolsonaro has flouted expert advice on managing the pandemic, railing against lockdowns and face masks and instead touting the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, despite studies showing it is ineffective against Covid-19.

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth said in a video message Thursday that her coronavirus jab “didn’t hurt at all” and encouraged those reluctant about receiving the vaccine to “think about other people.”

The monarch was vaccinated along with her husband Prince Philip in January.

In total, 2,500,172 deaths and 112,618,488 cases have been reported, with almost half of the fatalities occurring in just five countries: the United States, Brazil, Mexico, India and Britain, according to an AFP count based on official figures.

Vaccine rollouts have been patchy so far, and most of the 217 million vaccine doses administered globally have gone to wealthier countries.

In China, where the virus first emerged in late 2019, the national drug authority approved two more vaccines made by domestic companies for public use, bringing the number of Chinese vaccines to four.

Two Cuban vaccines will undergo advanced clinical trials from March after they reportedly elicited a “powerful immune response” in early tests, one of the scientists in charge of the project said Thursday.

– Focus on long-term symptoms –

In further vaccine developments, frozen vials of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine may be stored at temperatures commonly found in pharmaceutical freezers for up to two weeks, the US Food and Drug Administration said Thursday.

The move loosens a previous requirement that the vaccine should be stored at ultra-low temperatures, between -112 and -76 degrees Fahrenheit (-80 to -60 degrees Celsius).

The World Health Organization (WHO), meanwhile, urged governments to try to better understand the long-term consequences of coronavirus on some sufferers who have prolonged symptoms such as tiredness, brain fog, and cardiac and neurological disorders.

“It’s a clear priority for WHO, and of the utmost importance. It should be for every health authority,” said Hans Kluge, regional director for WHO Europe.

Britain, which has forged ahead with its vaccine drive, said Thursday it was lowering its alert level from the highest tier, citing a dip in cases.

In France, hopes of a return to normal on the sports front were dashed after more than a dozen rugby players and staff tested positive, forcing Sunday’s Six Nations match against Scotland to be scrapped.

In another sign of the toll the pandemic is taking on populations, the number of babies born in France in January also fell by 13 percent, the biggest drop in 45 years.

And in Japan, organisers of the delayed Olympic torch relay said fans could line the route when it kicks off next month, but cheering is strictly banned and social distancing will be enforced.

Some sex workers in Bangladesh’s largest brothel started getting their vaccines, a health official said Thursday.

Beauty, 40, who goes by one name, said she was initially hesitant about getting the shot.

“But the health officials reassured us. Now we understand it is important as we meet many people every day,” she said.

Syria will start giving coronavirus vaccines to its healthcare workers across the war-ravaged country from next week.

Viet Nam’s trade balance posted positive US$1.29 billion in the first two months of the year, the General Department of Customs has said.

The country’s trade turnover during January-February topped some $95.81 billion, a year-on-year surge of 25.4 per cent. Of the total, exports amounted to $48.55 billion, a yearly hike of 23.2 per cent, while imports were estimated at $47.26 billion, or 25.9 per cent higher than the same time last year.

Foreign-invested companies accounted for 76.4 per cent, or $37.07 billion, of Viet Nam’s total export turnover. Meanwhile, the domestic sector shipped abroad $11.48 billion worth of products.

There were nine commodities joining the billion-USD export club, including telephones and parts ($9.3 billion, up 22.8 per cent year-on-year); electronics, computers and parts ($6.9 billion, up 27.3 per cent); equipment, machines and parts ($5.5 billion, up 72.6 per cent); footwear ($3.2 billion, up 15.4 per cent); and wood and wooden products ($2.4 billion, up 51 per cent). They made up 73 per cent of the country’s export turnover.

Viet Nam also saw strong surge in shipments of several agricultural products, such as fruits and vegetables ($610 million, rising 14.6 per cent), rubber ($516 million, increasing 109.7 per cent), cashew ($442 million, up 21.5 per cent), and cassava ($256 million, up 78.2 per cent).

The US was Viet Nam’s biggest importer as it splashed out $14.2 billion on Vietnamese products, or 38.2 per cent higher than the amount it spent the same time last year. China came second with $8.5 billion, followed by the EU with $6.3 billion, ASEAN $4.2 billion, South Korea $3.4 billion, and Japan $3.2 billion.

Meanwhile, the country spent big ($47.26 billion) on imports, with the foreign-invested sector purchasing $31.64 billion worth of products from abroad for production, up 31.4 per cent, while that of the domestic sector surged 16 per cent to $15.62 billion.

In the two-month period, China was the largest exporter of Viet Nam, with revenue estimated at $17.3 billion, up 85.7 per cent year-on-year, followed by South Korea with $8.4 billion, ASEAN $5.6 billion, Japan $3.1 billion, the EU $2.3 billion, and the US $2.1 billion.

In a bid to support local firms in promoting production and exports, the Ministry of Industry and Trade said that it will work to capitalise on opportunities from the signed free trade agreements to seek measures for market development. Additionally, it will keep a close watch on the global market to identify key export products, while paying due heed to penning measures for market development.— VNS

Speaking at the kick-start ceremony, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister, Truong Hoa Binh highly appreciated the provincial government that has created advantages for the implementation of the project, towards the sustainable development associated with benefits of business and the community.

He hoped the project will become a typical dairy farm in the region and asked ministries and State units to support An Giang and the investor, TH Group to complete the project on time.

The project costing VND2,655 billion (US$115 million) will have a herd of around 10,000 cows that are expected to produce 135 tons of milk per day.

Besides, the investor plans to build an eco-accommodation site and focus on organic farming and growing to provide agricultural products meeting Global GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) standards.