As spring is approaching, it’s time to review what has been done in the past year and discuss new prospects for Vietnam in 2015.

Last year saw significant Vietnamese achievements in politics, socio-economics, science and technologies, and global economic integration.

Vietnam concluded its negotiations on Free Trade Agreements with the Republic of Korea (RoK) and the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan in late 2014. The country is scheduled to complete several free trade negotiations in 2015, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the EU-Vietnam free trade agreement (EVFTA) and the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

2015 is forecast to be a year with more opportunities for development as Vietnam actively integrates into the global economy. Nguyen Huu Lam, director of the Arirang Tour Service Company, said Vietnamese economy will recover quickly once we sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

This is what businesses like us are looking forward to. Once Vietnamese businesses are able to join markets with the other 12 TPP member economies, our economy will prosper. The tourist sector will benefit from this, he added.

Vietnam’s unique cultural values have earned global recognition. In 2014, the UNESCO Heritage Committee recognized Vietnam’s Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex in Ninh Binh province as a World Heritage Site. Nghe Tinh Vi-Giam folk singing was officially recognized as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO late last year.

Earlier, imperial records from the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945) were granted a certificate by the Asia Pacific Region's Memory of the World Program. Following such success, Vietnam has just submitted its dossiers for UNESCO recognition of the Mother Goddess Worship and trance rituals as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

Do Van Giang, who has been a medium in trance rituals over the past decade, said it would be our great joy if the Mother Goddess Worship and trance rituals were recognized as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity this November. The recognition will prove the longevity of Vietnam’s unique cultural values, he shared.

This New Year, 60-year-old Nguyen Thi Sinh of Hanoi’s Hoang Mai district simply wished for health, happiness, and luck for herself and her family.

“I just want to be healthy so that I can live happily with my children and grand children. I hope that the health sector will conduct more reforms this year to improve the quality of public healthcare services,” Sinh stated.

Duong Minh Vuong, a 12-grade student of Hanoi’s Viet Duc High School, said, “This will be a very important year for me as I’ll take my graduation exams and then other entrance exams to the Post and Telecommunications University. I’ll do my best to achieve the best results.”