VN seeks practical boost to Norway ties

Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon Magnus and his wife, Nowegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit visit the Temple of Literature in Ha Noi yesterday. — VNS Duong Giang

HA NOI (VNS)— Viet Nam will work closely with Norway to increase bilateral cooperation in a practical and effective manner, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon Magnus in Ha Noi yesterday.
Dung informed the guest about Viet Nam's vision to become an industrialised nation by 2020, while improving the standard of living of its citizens and addressing climate change challenges including rising sea levels.
To realise its goals, Viet Nam needs greater cooperation and assistance from the international community, he said, adding that the country seeks greater coordination with Norway, particularly in promoting economic, trade, and investment ties between the two countries.
He affirmed Viet Nam's willingness to facilitate Norwegian firms to do long-term business in the country, and requested Norway to create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community living in the country.
He thanked Norway for its official development assistance (ODA) and asked the country for its continued help, focusing on climate change resilience and environmental protection.
He expressed his wish that Norway contributes more towards accelerating negotiations on a free trade agreement between Viet Nam and the European Union.
Crown Prince Haakon Magnus remarked that diplomatic ties between the two countries have existed for more than 40 years and the countries have enjoyed fruitful cooperation, bringing benefits to both sides.
He claimed that his country laid special emphasis on boosting its partnership with Viet Nam and proposed that both sides should further increase their ties in the areas of economics, trade, investment, education, tourism, and culture.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung receives Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon Magnus in Ha Noi yesterday.— VNA/VNS Photo

The prince avowed to personally promote investment between both countries' businesses.
The same day, the crown prince also held talks with Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan, during which Doan stated that Viet Nam has consistently created conducive conditions for Norwegian businesses to help them intensify their presence in Viet Nam, particularly in the fields of ship-building, hydroelectricity, renewable energy, and oil and gas exploitation.
Meanwhile, Haakon expressed his admiration for Viet Nam's socio-economic achievements and its increasing role in the region and the world. He declared that the Norwegian royal family and government were always heedful to boosting Norway's partnership with Viet Nam.
The two sides agreed to maintain delegation exchanges and continue working together at international and multi-lateral forums, including at the United Nations, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), and ASEAN.
Haakon expressed his gratitude for Viet Nam's support in strengthening Norway's relationship with ASEAN and pushing for the approval of a joint statement on the ASEAN-Norway partnership.
In his position as an ambassador in charge of boosting Norway's trade and investment abroad, Crown Prince Haakon promised to back economic ties between his country and Viet Nam.
The presence of more than 50 leading businesses accompanying him during this visit reflects the country's determination to expand the economic, trade, and investment ties with Viet Nam, he emphasised.
The crown prince claimed that Norway will continue to maintain its ODA for Viet Nam, with focus on climate change adaptation, forest protection, natural resources management, and education. — VNS

Viet Nam continues to be an attractive destination for international tourists

(TITC) - According to the General Statistics Office, the number of int’l visitors to Viet Nam in the first two months of 2014 increased dramatically over the same period last year, which shows that Viet Nam continues to be an attractive destination for international tourists. 

The average int’l visitors per month in the first two months of 2014 gained 809,100 arrivals (equal to total number of arrivals in 1998), the highest level ever. The growth rate of the last 2 months recorded 33.4% over the same period of 2013, higher than many other sectors of the economy.

The above result is a good sign for the tourism sector heading towards a new record of 8,000,000 int’l arrivals in 2014 (7,572,000 arrivals in 2013). While the global economy has not recovered, even some countries still face decline and customers reduce their spending, the target number of 8 million int’l visitors in 2014 is more meaningful to the sector.

  The int’l visitors in the first two months increased highly by all purposes of trips, and there are also some remarkable changes in visitor structure by purposes. Specifically, the number of visitors by tourism purpose accounted the highest for 61.3%, up 33.4% comparing with the same period of 2013. Visitors for business (investment, trade, and working) accounted for 16.7%, up 32.2%. This result is due to positive signs from Viet Nam's trade and investment activities with foreign countries since last year. Visitors for relatives accounted for 16.6%, up 34.1%. Visitors for other purposes (study, health…) also increased 35.3%, the highest growth rate among all purposes of trips.

  Another noticeable point is tourism export turnover which has been increasing fast and accounts for over 2/3 of total service export turnover of Viet Nam. Tourism export turnover will contribute to national balance of payment, foreign exchange reserves, national liquidity and financial security, contributing to stabilize foreign exchange rate and to strengthen public trust in the national currency.

  To attract more tourists to Viet Nam, relevant authorities and travel businesses should enhance to promote Viet Nam’s destination; to preserve cultural and historical relics, beautiful landscapes and world heritage sites; to limit the fraud and overcharging against tourists…

Pham Thanh