New year

The Hanoitimes – Ethnic groups in northeast mountainous area will showcase their colorful vibrant rituals at the festival.

On the occasion of the New Year’s Eve 2021, the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism will hold a special cultural exchanged program, taking place from December 31 to January 3, 2021.

Ha Nhi ethnic group/ Photo: Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism

Themed “Spring in mountain markets”, the cultural village will be divided into different spaces, including the one for purchasing and exchanging goods   among ethnic groups, an entertainment space where folk performances and games are organized; and a culinary area which serves dishes and products of the Mong, Ha Nhi and Lu ethnic groups.

During the three days of this cultural festival, ethnic minorities groups will introduce their unique colorful festivals and rituals imbued with their identities to visitors.

The Lu ethnic people in Lai Chau province will re-enact the Cam Muong festival,  praying the Gods of river, mountain and stream for bumper crops and good lucks to all villagers. Lu people often lives along rivers and streams in the mountainous regions of the northern part of Vietnam. They have the custom of dyeing teeth black and learnt the technique of wet-rice cultivation for very long time ago.

The Ha Nhi ethnic minority in Dien Bien province will perform the customs of the ‘Khu su cha’ Tet. This Tet ritual is usually celebrated by the Ha Nhi – La Mi ethnic people in the “dragon day” in the last month of the lunar year; meanwhile, the Ha Nhi- Co Cho organizes their own Tet three days earlier, on the “tiger day” of the same month.

Red Dao ethnic group in Sapa town/ Illustration photo

In addition to the spring market space, there is also a photo exhibition themed “Spring in mountain markets” showcasing beautiful landscapes and cultural traits of ethnic minority peoples in mountainous area of Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Bac Kan; as well as some typical photos of the last festivals that were organized at Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism.

Especially, the organizing committee will introduce to the public the folk performing arts of Khen dance – the national intangible cultural heritage of the Mong ethnic group in Bac Kan province.

Some demonstrations for traditional craftsmanship performances of upland ethnic groups will also take place, including: the embroidery technique of Red Dao group in Bac Kan province; ‘Khan pieu’ or Pieu scarf embroidery technique of Thai ethnic people in Son La province; and traditional knitting craft of the ethnic groups from Lai Chau, Bac Kan, Dien Bien provinces.

More than 18,000 new businesses were established in the first two months of 2021, a year-on-year decline of 4 per cent, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The number of employees registered by the newly-established enterprises rose 9.7 per cent to 173,000.

The months saw an addition of VND720.4 trillion (US$32.24 billion) in total registered capital, up 12.4 per cent. The average level in registered capital per enterprise surged 46.4 per cent to reach VND18.5 billion in the period.

About 11,030 enterprises resumed operations in the first two months, down 7.6 per cent while 33,611 others were dissolved, up 18.6 per cent.

In February alone, as many as 8,038 new businesses were set up with a combined registered capital of nearly VND179.74 trillion.

The number of new firms represented a year-on-year drop of 12.3 per cent while the amount of capital surged 85.6 per cent.

The number of workers registered by these businesses reached almost 57,000, down 22.1 per cent. — VNS

Yen Bai (VNA) – Tuy Loc commune in the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai is now a recognised model new-style rural area, making it the first commune in the northern province to obtain the accreditation.

After meeting the new style rural standard in 2014, Tuy Loc had worked on getting the advanced title. To date, it has effectively implemented 48 economic development projects, with its per capita income reaching 56 million VND in 2020, 1.5 times higher than that set by the new-style rural standard for the year. Currently, there is no poor household in the commune.

Chairman of the Tuy Loc People’s Committee Nguyen Minh Tuan said key tasks for the time to come include restructuring agriculture in association with building new-style rural building , as well as promoting technological application and green technologies.

After a ceremony to announce the recognition on March 1, work began on the construction of a road connecting Tuy Loc’s dyke to its centre. The project costs 14.5 billion VND and is scheduled to be fully operational in October.

The national target programme on building new-styled rural areas was initiated by the Government in 2010 with the aim of developing rural regions. The list of criteria includes the development of infrastructure, the improvement of production capacity, environmental protection, and the promotion of cultural values./.

VNA

Addressing the conference, the PM said the Government has managed to ensure people’s lives and livelihoods, describing its achievements last year as positive when every issue related to education, society, health care, security, and national solidarity received attention.

One of the important plans the Government has carried out include a stimulus package worth 250 billion RM (61.7 billion USD) issued on March 27, 2020, that was designed to protect people, support enterprises, and consolidate the economy.

Later, another 15 billion RM package was unveiled to cope with the COVID-19 outbreak, protect people’s welfare, and keep business activities uninterrupted under the pandemic’s impact.

Most recently, the Malaysian Government has launched the national COVID-19 vaccination plan with a view to giving injections to about 80 percent of the population. This plan will be carried out until February 2022 and divided into three phases, according to the PM.

To curb the coronavirus transmission, the Government has also tightened the movement control order but still allowed new business households to operate under strict standard operating procedures (SOP) in the areas recording high infections, known as “red zones”, so as to ease the pandemic’s impact on small-scale traders.

It is set to provide additional assistance for the poor and the businesses unable to reopen while paying focus on national digitalisation and reform.

The unemployment rate in Malaysia dropped to 4.8 percent in December 2020, and the country’s economy is expected to resume growth from the second quarter this year.

Source: VNA

The Hanoitimes – A trade deal in place will help ensure continuity in trade relations between the UK and Vietnam after Brexit’s transitional period ends on December 31, 2020.

Vietnam and the UK today [December 11] officially concluded the negotiation process for the UK – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA).

Overview of the signing ceremony. Source: MoIT.

The agreed minutes on the conclusion of the free trade agreement negotiation were signed by Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and the UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss in Hanoi.

“The agreed minutes signed today is a first major step towards the signing of the UKVFTA in the coming time,” stated Mr. Anh.

The Vietnam minister said both sides started the negotiation process for the deal since August 2018.

As the UK is set to leave the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) after the Brexit’s transitional period ends on December 31, 2020, a new FTA between Vietnam and the UK will help ensure the continuity in bilateral trade relations.

On her part, UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said the UKVFTA is a milestone for the country to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which remains a priority for the UK government next year.

The fact that most of the clauses stipulated in the UKVFTA are similar to those in the EVFTA, significantly shortening the negotiation process for the two sides.

Mr. Anh suggested with the UKVFTA, Vietnam will hold advantages compared to regional countries such as China, India, Thailand, or Malaysia, those do not have a similar deal in place with the UK.

Vietnam is set to have more opportunities in attracting investment capital, technology transfer, and tourists from the UK once the Covid-19 is rolled back, while the deal presages positive outlook for the Vietnam – UK relations on the occasion of 10 ^th anniversary of the establishment of strategic partnership.

Under the UKFTA commitments, six years since the coming into effect of the deal, the UK will remove import tariffs for 99.2% of goods imported from Vietnam, or 99.7% of Vietnam’s exports to the country.

The EU in its EVFTA with Vietnam provides the tariff rate quotas (TRQs) with 0% tariff rate for certain imported products. The UK, meanwhile, is set to review actual trade figure with Vietnam during the 2014-16 period to make a similar decision.

On the other hand, Vietnam will immediately remove tariff for 48.5% of goods from UK, or 64.5% of import turnover. The figure is set to rise to 91.8% or 97.1% of UK exports to Vietnam in six years.

The UK is Vietnam’s third largest trade partner in Europe, behind Germany and the Netherlands.

In 2019, Vietnam’s exports to the UK reached US$6.1 billion, the country imported nearly US$800 million worth of goods and products in return.

As of August 2020, the UK has 400 valid projects in Vietnam with total investment capital of US$3.6 billion, ranking 16 ^th among countries and territories having investment projects in Vietnam.

The Hanoitimes – Such a deal would ensure a more comprehensive bilateral cooperation in various spheres, especially economy and trade, stated the Spokesperson of Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang.

Vietnam and the UK are accelerating negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA), with a view to signing the deal by year-end, according to Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang. Photo: VNA.

“Such a deal would ensure a more comprehensive bilateral cooperation in various spheres, especially economy and trade,” said Mrs. Hang at a press conference on December 3.

The spokesperson stated that Vietnam will give top priority to cooperative relations with the UK, especially as this year marks 10 ^th anniversary of the UK – Vietnam strategic partnership.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab previously visited Vietnam from September 29  – 30 with the trade deal at the top of the agenda.

Though the EU–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) came into effect in August, the UK will, however, not be part of the deal as the transition period for its departure from the EU is coming to an end.

Without a new bilateral trade deal with Vietnam, imports from the UK would face higher tariffs from January 2021.

Vietnam is also hopeful of such an FTA with the UK as Covid-19 weighs on its export-driven economy. For this year, the country is aiming for economic growth of 2.5 – 3%, significantly lower than the previous forecast of 5% in May before a resurgence of the virus in July.

In 2019, bilateral trade turnover stood at US$6.6 billion while British investment in Vietnam reached US$3.7 billion.