Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has issued a dispatch urging ministries and localities to intensify counter initiatives against smuggling, trade fraud and fake commodities, especially during the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) has disbursed the first credit package of VND61 billion (US$2.8 million) for fishermen in central Binh Dinh province to build new ships serving off-shore operations.

Vietnam won a gold medal at the Asia Latin Championship recently held in Singapore during the International Latin Festival.

“Small Utopias”, an exhibition on Italian modern architecture, will run in Hanoi from February 6 to March 2.

Ho Chi Minh City has set a target of welcoming 4.7 million international arrivals and raking in VND 94.6 trillion (US$4.43 billion) in total revenue in 2015, according to the municipal Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

An one-hour experimental music concert on February 7 will feature dan tranh (16-chord zither), dan bau (monochord) and bamboo flute played by German composer and percussionist Burkhard Beins and Vietnamese traditional musicians.

Vietnamese businesses could face losses in the domestic market as the country opens to the ASEAN member imports later this year in compliance with the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), according to experts.

Invaluable instructions that the late President Ho Chi Minh gave on ruling Party throughout his 24 years of leadership have been crucial for guiding the building and development of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) both in the past and currently, an expert from the CPV Central Committee’s Theory Council stated. 

Vietnam has great tourism potential with its myriad of fascinating destinations attracting international visitors, Vietnamese Ambassador to Iran Nguyen Hong Thach told Iranian Safar Magazine.

The Health Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) was inaugurated at a ceremony on February 3 at the Ministry of Health’s General Department of Preventive Medicine, attended by Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien and American Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius.