Vietnam News Today (Oct. 4): Vietnam Attends ICAPP Special Conference in Seoul

Illustrative photo. Source: VNA

Vietnam reports 796 new Covid-19 cases on October 3

Vietnam recorded 796 new Covid-19 cases on October 3, according to the Ministry of Health.

The new infections brought the country’s total number of Covid-19 cases to 11,481,314.

Meanwhile, 270 patients fully recovered from the disease on the same day, lifting the total number of recoveries to 10,593,181.

The death toll was kept at 43,149 as no fatality was logged on the day, cited VNA.

More than 260.21 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered so far.

Vietnam attends ICAPP special conference in Seoul

A delegation of the Communist Party of Vietnam attended a special conference of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, on September 28-29.

The gathering was attended by 22 political parties from 13 Asian countries and a number of observers from parties, regional and international organizations and diplomatic missions in Seoul.

RoK National Assembly Speaker KIm Jin-pyo delivers a congratulatory speech at the ICAPP special conference in Seoul on Sept. 29. Photo: Yonhap

ICAPP was established in September 2000 with the aim of promoting exchanges and cooperation between Asian political parties. To date, it has affirmed its active role in gathering political parties in the region and promoting connections with partners in many regions of the world. It has organized workshops with practical topics such as poverty alleviation, natural disasters and environmental protection, promotion of green development, and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 2022 special conference on political development in Asia aimed to further strengthen cooperation among political parties in maintaining peace, security, prosperity and development in the region and the wider world.

The conference adopted the Seoul statement, affirming the importance of promoting cooperation and coordination among political parties in Asia for the future political development in the region. It emphasized political parties’ role in the political arena and in promoting democracy in countries, and the relationship between the electoral system and the development of political parties, according to VOV.

The Vietnamese delegation actively engaged in discussions and delivered a speech at the session on political parties’ role in promoting democracy.

On the sidelines of the conference, the Vietnamese delegation had a number of meetings with political parties of some of the participating countries to discuss measures to promote cooperation in the coming time.

Vietnam announces first case of monkeypox

The Ministry of Health on October 3 announced the first case of monkeypox in Vietnam.

The female patient, 35, resides in Ho Chi Minh City. She fell ill on September 18 while traveling in Dubai with symptoms of fever, fatigue, chills, muscle aches, headache and a cough, as well as red, itchy bumps on her arms, body, and face. She returned to Vietnam on September 22.

On September 23, she was admitted to the city’s Tu Du Hospital and then transferred to the municipal Hospital of Dermato Venereology, where she was isolated.

Image of monkeypox virus under an electron microscope. Photo: AFP/VNA

Two days later, she tested positive for monkeypox and was transferred to the municipal Hospital for Tropical Diseases for further isolation, treatment and genetic sequencing.

Currently, she is in stable health with no fever.

The ministry has sent an urgent dispatch on prevention measures against monkeypox to authorities in centrally-run cities and provinces given the growing number of infections across the globe. As of September 26, there were 64,561 monkeypox cases logged across 105 countries worldwide, reported VNA.

Under the Prime Minister’s recent dispatch and the ministry’s guidance, localities have been requested to intensify monitoring of possible transmissions at border gates and health clinics, hold training sessions for health staff, and ensure infection prevention and control at testing and medical facilities.

In addition, they have been instructed to update their response plans, hold drills, and prepare resources.

Increasing activities to raise public awareness of preventive measures has also been recommended.

When a positive case of monkeypox is detected, the locality involved is required to conduct contact tracing and quarantine to prevent the epidemic from spreading in the community.

Petrol prices down in latest adjustment

Retail prices of oil and petrol dropped from 3 p.m. on October 3 following the latest adjustment by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Ministry of Finance.

Accordingly, the ceiling retail price of RON95 bio-fuel decreased by VND1,140 to VND21,440 (US$0.9) per liter, and that of E5 RON92 slipped by VND1,050 to VND20,730 per liter.

Retail prices of oil and petrol dropped from 3pm on October 3. Photo: NDO

The prices of oils also reduced, with that of diesel oil cut by VND330 to VND22,200 per liter, and that of kerosene down by VND760 to VND21,680 per liter. Mazut oil was priced at VND14,909 per kg, a decline of VND560.

The two ministries also determined to extract VND451-600 per liter from petrol price for the petrol price stabilization fund.

So far this year, petrol prices have been adjusted 26 times with 13 times up and 12 times down and one kept unchanged. The petrol prices are now at the lowest level this year.

Vietnamese GDP set to rank third in ASEAN by 2027

Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP) in ASEAN is expected to expand considerably over the next five years, with its rankings rising from sixth this year to third by 2027, according to the latest forecast made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Specifically, Indonesia’s GDP leads the way in the ASEAN region, reaching approximately US$1.29 billion, followed by Thailand with US$522.01 billion this year.

Photo: VOV

Elsewhere, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Vietnam will have GDPs of US$439.37 billion, US$424.43 billion, US$411.98 billion, and US$408.95 billion, respectively.

Moving forward to 2023 and 2024, the IMF forecasts that Vietnam’s GDP will rank fourth in the ASEAN-6, hitting US$462.64 billion and US$615.6 billion, respectively.

Throughout the 2025 to 2027 period, Vietnamese GDP is projected to continuously rank third among the ASEAN-6, grossing US$571.12 billion, US$629.62 billion, and US$690.11 billion in three years respectively, cited VOV.

Meanwhile, the Center for International Development at Harvard University, in its July report on Growth Forecast of Economies to 2030, listed Vietnam among the 10 fastest growing economies in the world over the next eight years, with GDP anticipated to expand 5.56% per year, ranking sixth in the world and second in the ASEAN-6.

According to Harvard Growth Lab, Vietnamese GDP is anticipated to rank sixth in ASEAN this year, fifth in 2023-24 and third in 2025-27.