8 outstanding economic and social events in 2019

Hanoi hosts US-North Korea Summit

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un decided to hold their second summit in Hanoi on February 27-28, after much speculation about the venue.

Being the host of the historic meeting shows that Vietnam has received the trust of both the US and North Korea in terms of logistics and security capabilities in its role as an intermediary promoting international peace. The summit events took place as scheduled over two days. Hanoi provided accommodation for 1,500 members of the US delegation, 220 members of the North Korean delegation and about 3,000 foreign reporters.

Despite not reaching an agreement, the two leaders left on friendly terms. Mr. Trump praised Vietnam as a "wonderful place" and Mr. Kim thanked Vietnam for its "warm and thoughtful welcome."

Observers say that Vietnam has shown great prestige in the international community, proving the correctness of its policy of multilateralization and diversification of diplomatic relations, and being a trusted friend to all countries. Vietnam has also created the impression of being a business and tourist destination in the world.

Vietnam - EU signedFree trade agreement

On June 30, in Hanoi, Vietnam and the EU signed the Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and the Investment Protection Agreement (IPA) after 9 years of negotiations. EVFTA opens up great opportunities for two-way trade between Vietnam and the EU, and is the most ambitious trade agreement the EU has ever signed with a developing country like Vietnam.

With the commitment to eliminate import taxes up to more than 99% of the tariff and trade value that the two sides have agreed, the opportunity to increase exports for Vietnamese products with advantages such as textiles, footwear, agricultural and aquatic products (including rice, sugar, honey, vegetables and fruits), wooden products... is very significant. According to calculations, the FTA between Vietnam and the EU will help Vietnam's exports increase by an average of 4-6% per year in the first 10 years since the agreement comes into effect.

The IPA includes modern rules on investment protection and will replace the bilateral investment agreements that 21 EU member states have signed with Vietnam. When it comes into force, the agreement will create a new legal framework to ensure the prevention of conflicts of interest and increase transparency.

After signing, Vietnam and the EU are still waiting for the EU Parliament and the Vietnamese National Assembly to ratify these agreements so that they can be implemented.

Two former Ministers of Information and Communications arrested

More than half a year after initiating a case of price hike of Global Audiovisual Corporation (AVG) to sell to MobiFone, causing the state to lose nearly 6,600 billion VND, on February 23, the Ministry of Public Security prosecuted and arrested two former Ministers of Information and Communications, Mr. Nguyen Bac Son and Mr. Truong Minh Tuan.

Mr. Son was accused of being the mastermind of the case, receiving a bribe of 3 million USD (nearly 66.5 billion VND), Mr. Tuan received 200,000 USD (more than 4.4 billion VND) from AVG Chairman Pham Nhat Vu. Also charged with bribery were former MobiFone Chairman Le Nam Tra (2.5 million USD, equivalent to 57 billion VND), former MobiFone General Director Cao Duy Hai (500,000 USD, more than 11 billion VND).

For the first time in the history of litigation, two former ministers were arrested for the same crime.Accept bribesin a case. Both men were prosecuted under Clause 4, Article 354 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of death.

In court, Mr. Truong Minh Tuan said, being convictedAccept bribesis a "shame" that affects the reputation of civil servants in the information and communications sector. "This trial may end, but the court of conscience will follow us until the end of our lives. That is the most painful thing."

In connection with the case, 12 other people were tried, including 7 senior leaders of MobiFone. The case once again proved the "burning furnace" spirit of fighting corruption "without forbidden areas" of the Party leader.

African swine fever is raging.

From the first outbreak detected in Hung Yen province on February 1, within seven months, African swine fever has spread to all 63 provinces and cities. According to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, this is a historic epidemic, causing an unprecedented decline in the industry, forcing Vietnam to review its 10-year livestock strategy. The epidemic has caused the growth rate of the agricultural sector to reach only 2.7% instead of the previously forecast 3.5-4%.

About 6 million pigs, weighing nearly 325,000 tons, were culled, reducing the country's pork output by over 8%. Many localities had to spend thousands of billions of dong to prevent the epidemic. The total damage has yet to be fully measured.

The production shortage has caused pork prices to nearly double in just a few months. In the first 10 months of 2019, Vietnam had to import nearly 100,000 tons of pork, an increase of more than 101% in volume and nearly 95% in value.

Facing the risk of a shortage of 200,000 tons of pork at the end of the year, the Government plans to continue importing pork and organize price stabilization measures. Other items such as seafood, poultry, eggs, buffalo, cattle, etc. are prepared to compensate for the shortage of pork during the Lunar New Year.

Series of environmental incidents in Hanoi

On the evening of August 28, a fire at the Rang Dong Light Bulb and Thermos Company warehouse (Ha Dinh Street) released mercury from millions of light bulbs into the environment. There were no fatalities, but the warehouse’s location in the middle of the most densely populated residential area in Thanh Xuan District affected hundreds of families.

After the fire, authorities at all levels and experts gave inconsistent assessments of mercury contamination in the air, causing panic among the people. While waiting for official results, hundreds of households evacuated themselves, and many schools closed. Thousands of people went for health check-ups, overloading some hospitals. The city had to send doctors to each locality to take blood samples for free to relieve tension.

Half a month later, on September 12, the decontamination of the Rang Dong warehouse was carried out. Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha affirmed that the parameters of air quality and the environment around the area were safe.

As soon as the mercury concern subsided, on October 10, about 280,000 households in Thanh Xuan, Hoang Mai, Nam Tu Liem districts... were again affected by the clean water crisis.

9 tons of waste oil was spilled into a stream in Hoa Binh. The oil spread into the canal of the Song Da clean water plant and then flowed into the taps of residential areas. The Song Da plant had to cut off the water to flush the pipes, and urban areas and households had to clean their tanks.

The city had to transport clean water from other factories to rescue the contaminated water areas. People lined up all night to get water from water trucks like in the subsidy period, and bottled water was looted in most supermarkets, a scene that lasted for a week from October 15 to 22.

Hanoi Party Secretary Hoang Trung Hai admitted that the city was confused and reacted slowly because it did not have a specific response process. The incidents also exposed gaps in policies to control environmental pollution from factories in residential areas and protect water security.

Vietnam becomes a powerful country inSEA Games 30

Winning 98 gold medals, 85 silver medals and 105 bronze medals, Vietnam ranked second overall after host Philippines, and far surpassed regional sports powerhouses such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Men's football made a strong impression with an undefeated record, winning the first gold medal after nearly 30 years of reintegration into the region. Women's football won their sixth gold medal - dominating the region. Olympic sports such as athletics, swimming, weightlifting, fencing... contributed 60% of the gold medals.

The above statistics have portrayed a completely new face, marking the maturity of Vietnamese sports. At the ceremony to commend the athletes, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc emphasized: "The achievements at SEA Games 30 are a boost to the country's development."

Many major drug rings were discovered.

The raid on the head of the transnational drug ring Wu Heshan (Chinese nationality) in Binh Tan district (HCMC) on March 20 concluded the Ministry of Public Security's Project 218LP, with the total weight of drugs seized being 1.1 tons. Other "huge" drug warehouses were also discovered in the suburbs of Saigon and the provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Kon Tum, Binh Dinh...

The "unprecedentedly large" amount of evidence, 10 times larger than last year, was determined by the Ministry of Public Security to have been transported by foreign criminal rings from the Golden Triangle (Myanmar) to Vietnam, then sent to other countries by sea.

According to Minister of Public Security To Lam, Vietnam has become a drug transit area. Of which, about 20% of drugs are consumed domestically, 80% are shipped to third countries such as Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, even Europe, Australia and Latin America. The cases also show that transnational criminals have found loopholes in maritime customs and business management in Vietnam to set up drug lines disguised as import-export activities.

Trade surplus record

According to the General Department of Customs, total import-export turnover in 11 months was about 472 billion USD and is forecast to exceed the 500 billion USD mark in the second half of December.

Vietnam recorded a trade surplus of about 11 billion USD, the highest since 2012. Of which, export turnover reached nearly 242 billion USD, import was approximately 231 billion USD. 2019 was the fourth consecutive year that Vietnam had a trade surplus. Export growth reached 7-8%.

Achieving a record trade surplus has a significant contribution from the foreign enterprise sector with 167 billion USD in 11 months, up 4% over the same period; the economic restructuring process has shifted positively, the proportion of the industrial sector, especially the processing and manufacturing industry is increasing. At the same time, increasing exports to some countries in the CPTPP such as Canada, Mexico... also creates leverage for Vietnam's exports to increase rapidly.

This result is a great effort in the context of the world economy in 2019 growing slowly with risk factors, global trade also slowing down, exports of countries in the region all decreased compared to the same period last year. In addition, disagreements between major countries on the shape of the global trade system are increasingly deepening, especially the US-China trade conflict and the UK's exit from the European Union (EU). The trend of trade protectionism is increasing, some countries are willing to violate WTO regulations to protect domestic production.