A high-speed ferry service linking Ho Chi Minh City and Con Dao Island off the coast of the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau came into operation on May 13.

Vietnam’s total registered foreign investment reached nearly 9.27 billion USD in the first four months of the year, up 4.5% compared to the same period last year. The total import-export turnover of goods reached 238.88 billion USD, up 15.2%.

Facilitative visa policies and attractive tourism stimulus programmes have proven effective in attracting a high number of international visitors to Vietnam compared to the same period last year.

Some 51,600 new enterprises with total registered capital of nearly 508 trillion VND (20 billion USD) were established in the first four months of 2024.

May 8, 2024, marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Brazil. Since then, cooperation between the two countries has continually developed in all regards, including politics, defence, diplomacy, economy, culture, and people-to-people exchanges, and relations were then upgraded to a Comprehensive Partnership in 2007. Vietnam and Brazil boast substantial potential in bilateral trade and aim to raise turnover to 10 billion USD by 2023.

Banh bot loc (Vietnamese tapioca dumpling), a specialty originating from the former imperial capital of Hue, has been selected as one of the world’s 35 tastiest dumplings by CNN.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam exported 2.07 million tonnes of rice in the first quarter of 2024, earning 1.37 billion USD in revenue. This represents a 12% increase in volume and 40% in value compared to the same period of 2022.

Workplace well-being is on an "upward trajectory" throughout Asia-Pacific, with Vietnam leading the region (65.09), according to a recent study by Asia's largest mental health care company Intellect.

Da Lat, together with Da Nang, are two of the most searched-for domestic travel destinations by Vietnamese tourists for the five-day National Reunification Day and May Day holiday, according to Booking.com.

51.3 million people in Vietnam aged 15 and above were employed during the first quarter of 2024, an increase of 174,100 compared to 2023, or 0.34 percent. The unemployment rate among the country’s working-age population has fallen by 2.24% compared to the same period last year.

Vietnam climbed 8 spots from 115th to 107th in the latest Human Development Index (HDI) rankings, reaffirming its position among developing countries with high HDI scores.

In Decision No 262/QD-TTg dated April 1, 2024, the Prime Minister approved the implementation plan for the National Power Development Master Plan in the 2021-2030 period with a vision to 2050.

In its April 2024 Asian Development Outlook (ADO) report, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has maintained its earlier forecast for Vietnam’s economic growth this year, despite ongoing uncertainties from the external environment. Vietnam’s economy is expected to achieve a growth rate of 6.0% in 2024 and 6.2% in 2025.

Quang An Street in Tay Ho district, Hanoi, has been listed among the 30 coolest streets in the world by the British travel magazine Time Out.

The 10th National External Information Service Awards in 2024 continues to recognise works and products in 10 categories: video clips, initiatives and products with external information value, photos, TV broadcasts, radio broadcasts, books, print newspapers, electronic newspapers and websites in Vietnamese, and print newspapers, electronic newspapers, and websites in foreign languages.

Son Doong Cave in the central province of Quang Binh has been ranked sixth among the 10 most beautiful caves in the world by British travel magazine Time Out. With 38.5 million cubic metres of space, the 9-kilometre-long cave is the world’s largest natural cave.