Many businesses in the Southwest region have maintained production to ensure export growth, despite having to apply social distancing measures due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Việt Nam's export turnover in July to countries in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), reached US$3.98 billion, a 0.79 per cent increase from June and a 21.64 per cent increase from the same period last year.

Vietnam may attract about US$30 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2021, posting a year-on-year rise of 2%, economists forecast, pointing to positive signs in FDI attraction in the first eight months of 2021 despite the complexities of COVID-19.

Vietnam and the US signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on technical cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the US Grains Council (USGC) in Washington on September 22.

China’s request to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for CPTPP landed on the desk of the trade minister of New Zealand on September 16th.

China is unlikely to be accepted into a Pacific Rim trade deal in the short term, but its application seeks to position it as embracing cooperation and opening up.

Foreign investment into Vietnamese startups is predicted to increase although the pandemic has left negative impacts on the economy.

With many orders and good market signals, shrimp processing and exporting enterprises are looking forward to restoring production to take advantage of the peak months of the year to accelerate exports of this product.

Malaysia has given its commitment to completing the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) ratification process by mid-December this year.

The recent positive progresses in Vietnam’s COVID-19 prevention and control efforts are the important groundwork for policymakers to consider relaxing social distancing and reopening the economy step by step.