☀️ Morning digest January 4

Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a list of selected news summaries last night by the Vietnam News Agency.

- The 15th National Assembly’s second extraordinary meeting will open on January 5 and close on January 9, NA Deputy Secretary General Nguyen Truong Giang told a press conference in Hanoi on January 3.

During the sitting, legislators will consider and approve the revised Law on Medical Examination and Treatment and three Resolutions, including a Resolution on the National Master Plan for the 2021-2030 period with a vision to 2050, a Resolution on policies related to COVID-19 prevention and control and the continued use of certificates of circulation of medicines and medicinal ingredients which expired on January 1.Read full story

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has highlighted the motto of “Solidarity, Discipline - Mettle, Flexibility - Innovation, Creativity - Timeliness, Effectiveness” in order to realise the goals set for 2023.

At a teleconference between the Government and localities on January 3, PM Chinh said 2023 is a core year to fulfill the goals set in the 2021-2025 plan amid global risks and challenges as well as difficulties and limited economic resilience in the country. Read full story

- The Singapore-based United Overseas Bank (UOB) has kept its forecast for Vietnam's GDP growth in 2023 unchanged at 6.6% in line with the official forecast of 6.5%, although growth momentum is likely to be weaker.

In its report on Vietnam's economic growth in the last quarter of 2022 and prospects for 2023, the bank said Vietnam's real GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2022 returned to normal at 5.92% year on year, due to signs of a decline in external demand. There was a sharp increase of 13.67% in the third quarter.Read full story

- Total State budget collection was estimated at over 1,803 trillion VND (76.6 billion USD) in 2022, equivalent to 127.8% of the estimate, up 15% year on year, reported the Ministry of Finance (MoF) on January 3.

The domestic revenues to the State budget were 21.8% higher than the estimate, marking an annual increase of 9.9%. Meanwhile, those from crude oil and exports-imports rose by 74.3% and 32.7% year-on-year, respectively. Read full story

- The average salary bonus for Tet is estimated to increase by about 10% compared to the previous Lunar New Year.

Tong Van Lai, Deputy Director of the Labour Relations and Wage Department under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said that all provinces and cities had sent their reports on salary situations this year and plans for Tet bonus for their workers. Read full story

- The Ministry of Public Security is striving to complete investigations into the Viet A and rescue flight cases in January, Chief of the Office of the ministry Lieut. Gen To An Xo informed the press during the Government’s regular press conference in Hanoi on January 3.

The number of defendants in those cases may increase in the coming time, Xo said. Read full story

- Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong has emphasised the necessity to strengthen supervision and take more samples for COVID-19 testing at border gates besides maintaining the current pandemic prevention and control measures as usual.

Addressing a meeting on disease surveillance and response of the Public Health Emergency Operations Centres (PHEOC) under the Ministry of Health on January 2,  the official said Vietnam needs to make careful preparations to effectively control the pandemic, in the context of some countries changing their COVID-19 control policy./.Read full story