Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh will pay official visits to Chile, Brazil, Venezuela and Cuba in the coming time.

German President Horst Kohler and his wife pays an official visit to Vietnam from May 21-23 at the invitation of Vietnamese State President Nguyen Minh Triet.

Vietnam’s shipbuilding industry should play a key role in developing shipbuilding and seaborne equipment production sector in order to become one of the world’s leading shipbuilding industries and to boost the country’s industrialization and modernization process, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

Early on May 20, all voters including Party and State leaders went to the polls to elect outstanding deputies to the 12th NA – the most powerful body of Vietnam.

The implementation of the Laos-Vietnam Friendship and Cooperation Treaty has created a strong efficient relationship over the past 30 years.

As the hometown of late President Ho Chi Minh, central Nghe An province should actively respond to the campaign “Studying and Following President Ho Chi Minh’s moral example”, considering it a practical measure to build and strengthen local Party organisations, said Party General Secretary Nong Duc Mạnh

“Vietnamese and Chinese businesses signed economic deals, hitting a record high of nearly US$2.6 billion during the visit. This showed that the economic and trade ties between Vietnam and China are expected to make a big leap in the coming years,” said State President Nguyen Minh Triet.

A ceremony was held in Dinh Hoa district of the northern mountainous province of Thai Nguyen on May 19 to mark the 60th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh, the Party Central Committee and the Government’s return to the Dinh Hoa Safety Zone to lead the protracted resistance war against French colonialists.

Vietnam will do its utmost to develop friendship and comprehensive cooperation with China to a new height, particularly in the fields of science and technology, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung while receiving the director of the China Institute of Technology Xu Jiang Ding in Hanoi on May 18.

Pasason, an official newspaper of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee, ran an article on May 18 praising late Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh’s highly moral life and his struggle for national independence.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on May 18 sent congratulation to Francois Fillon on his appointment as Prime Minister of France and Vojislav Kostunica on his re-election as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Serbia.

President Nguyen Minh Triet and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao discussed measures to boost economic and trade ties between Vietnam and China in Beijing on May 18.

Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh has urged the entire Party, army and people to actively respond to the campaign “Studying and following President Ho Chi Minh’s moral example” to bring it to life through practical plans of action and patriotic emulation movements.

The Vietnamese Party and State will create the best conditions for the business circles of the two countries to establish and expand cooperation with the aim of strengthening bilateral relations, said State President Nguyen Minh Triet.

Vietnam and China have agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in various areas, particularly in economics, trade and investment, speed up the implementation of the “Two Corridors, One Economic Belt” programme and complete the land border demarcation and marker planting in 2008.

Leaders from the Party, State, National Assembly, Government and Vietnam Fatherland Front on May 17 paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum in Hanoi to mark his 117th birthday (May 19).

State President Nguyen Minh Triet called at the Beijing Economic and Technical Development Zone and the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Complex in the morning of May 17 as part of his current visit to China.

The UK-based World Business magazine on May 9 reviewed the Asian economy and selected its top 20 reformers in the region, of whom Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung was placed fifth.

State Vice President Truong My Hoa received the Special Envoy of the General Secretary of the International Organisation of Francophone Countries (OIF), Ousmane Paye, in Hanoi on May 16.

A press conference was held in Hanoi on May 16 to review the implementation of the campaign “Studying and Following President Ho Chi Minh’s moral example”.

State President Nguyen Minh Triet: The development of economic and trade ties between Vietnam and Yunnan province is in keeping with the two countries’ aspirations, contributing to raising trade turnover between Vietnam and China to US$15 billion by 2010.

State President Nguyen MInh Triet has asked the Chinese province of Yunnan to share experience and strengthen cooperation with Vietnamese ministries, branches and localities, including the four border provinces of Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Dien Bien and Lai Chau.

Vietnam attaches great importance to creating propitious conditions for Australian businesses to invest in Vietnam, affirmed State Vice President Truong My Hoa.

Lao National Assembly President Thongsing Thammavong said he was confident that Vietnam's upcoming 12th National Assembly (NA) election on May 20 will be a great success.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung, on May 15, urged the archives sectors of Vietnam and China to continue to implement their cooperative programmes.

During his current visit to China, President Nguyen Minh Triet on May 16 received representatives of the overseas Vietnamese community and attended the Vietnam-Yunnan Business Forum in Kunming city.

A high-level delegation led by State President Nguyen Minh Triet arrived at Kunming International Airport on May 15, beginning a four-day official visit to China at the invitation of President of the People’s Republic of China Hu Jintao.

Vietnam and Russia have agreed a draft list of priority tasks to promote the strategic partnership between the two countries in 2007.

A high-level Vietnamese delegation led by State President Nguyen Minh Triet began a four-day official visit to China on May 15 at the invitation of President of the People’s Republic of China Hu Jintao.

Vietnam and Laos should increase the use of jointly run workshops, talks and exchanges between central and grassroots organisations in order to preserve and develop the traditional rapport between the two nations.