And now we are going to be Vietnam’s gateway into Europe (and we have to find out about it from the Vietnamese press)
Vietnam is in negotiation with the European Union for a free trade agreement, but plans are already in hand to make Malta Vietnam’s gateway into Europe and Vietnam is negotiating with the Maltese government on this.
The Maltese government hasn’t released a statement about it (big press conferences with ministers, the prime minister and flags are for two cents off the price of petrol), and we are reduced to reading the Vietnamese English-language press to discover what our government is up to.
Think of all those newspapers in countries where we can’t read the language, which might be reporting on agreements with Malta that we don’t know anything about.
The prime minister said yesterday evening at a campaign meeting in Mellieha that more China deals will follow, but there are also going to be deals with “other Asian countries”, the Gulf States and the US.
So those other Asian countries include Vietnam, and thanks to the Vietnamese press we know that there was a Vietnam-Malta Economic Round Table in Valletta on Monday, 5 May.
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http://vietnamnews.vn/economy/254471/viet-nam-malta-seek-robust-tie-ups.html
http://www.vietnameconomy.org/business/vietnam-malta-boost-economic-cooperation/
http://www.talkvietnam.com/2014/05/vietnam-malta-boost-economic-cooperation/
Malta is rapidly turning into the dredger of dictatorships.
The cheaper the labour, the more miserable the working conditions, the stronger the ties.
One has to see what Muscat considers free trade, what conditions he’ll consider an obstacle to economic cooperation and the ‘national interest’
I don’t think the Chinese will like that.
I think Muscat needs to decide – China or Vietnam? Just yesterday: “Large-scale anti-Chinese riots took place in Vietnam and any shop with a Chinese sign was trashed,” reported a Beijing-based Sina Weibo blogger in a tweet.
Read more: http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2014-05-16/china-s-vietnam-problem
The last paragraph is true in more ways than one. “Lying strategically ……” Sounds like what been going on these last few weeks.
Vietnam? And attract China’s ire? Unlikely.
Will there be also a secret agreement with North Korea?
Qataghli nifsi. Kuljum b’ xi wahda. Daqqa froga, daqqa gidba, daqqa jaqbez ghal xi kriminal, daqqa xi ftehim sigriet ma’ gvern barrani. Hu break Joseph … u ibda iggverna.
Viet Nam News sounds more like BDSM News.
I had some work experience both in China (Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Zangiagang) and in Vietnam (Ho Chi Min City – Saigon). Vietnam copies the good decisions Communist China makes.
My impression is that Vietnam has a tendency to be more European, and they tolerate religion which automatically bring their culture closer to us.
If I had to choose between the two devils I would prefer working with the Vietnamese.
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/world/39128/china_evacuates_3000_nationals_from_vietnam