Science and technology play an important role in raising the competitiveness of the national economy, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung stressed during a working session with the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) in Hanoi on April 13.

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong has asked the Chinese city of Chongqing to increase investment and cooperation with Vietnamese localities in urban construction, development and management.

The close ties between the two legislative bodies will help boost the friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, said Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon while receiving Vietnamese delegation from the National Assembly’s Law Committee led by its president Vu Duc Khien.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem chaired a meeting to discuss celebrations for the upcoming 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Laos and the 30th anniversary of the Friendship and Cooperation Treaty in Hanoi on April 11.

Vietnam’s National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong called on the Chinese business community, particularly those from Heilongjiang, to intensify their investment platforms in Vietnam during the working visit to the capital city of Heilongjiang province, Harbin, on April 11.

It is essential to implement synchronous measures to raise the quality of education and training as well as the efficiency of State management in developing education and training, said PM Nguyen Tan Dung while having a working session with the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) on April 11.

External affairs have greatly contributed to boosting the country’s international integration process, said Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem at a conference on increasing the efficiency of external affairs for local socio-economic development held in Hanoi on April 11 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Major Chinese newspapers on Wednesday ran front-page news and pictures of Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong’s meeting with Chinese Party General Secretary and President Hu Jintao.

A Vietnamese representative to the United Nations has called for the complete dismantling of the global nuclear arsenal while attending the 2007 session of the UN Disarmament Commission (UNDC), in New York on April 9.

Overseas Vietnamese-related work should be focused on carrying out the policy of great national unity, considering them an indispensable part of the nation and creating more favourable conditions for them to contribute to the nation within their capacity, said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem.

State President Nguyen Minh Triet: Apart from admitting more veterans, the Vietnam Veterans’ Association should pay special attention to educating young generations about the patriotic tradition of Vietnamese nation.

In the context of deeply integrating into the world economy, the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA) should play an active role in uniting scientists and intellectuals inside and outside the country and proposing important issues related to science and technology, and education and training, said State President Nguyen Minh Triet.

“Vietnam is seen as an attractive potential market, said the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) General Director in Vietnam, Alain Cany, at a seminar on investment and business opportunities in HCM City held in Paris recently.

The visit will contribute to bringing time-honoured cooperative relations between the two countries to a new height, in line with the expectations of the two countries’ leaders and people.

The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) and the Solidarity Front for the Development of the Cambodian Motherland (SFDCM) have agreed to boost bilateral cooperation through experience exchanges with a view to increasing the two mass organisations’ role in their national political system.

A delegation from the US House of Representatives’ Armed Services Committee has paid a working visit to Vietnam from April 5-7 to exchange views on matters relating to the two countries' relations, particularly in the search for Americans Missing in Action (MIA), economy and trade.

The Government has adopted key measures to accelerate administrative reform and enhance urban construction and management, besides reviewing the country’s socio-economic development in the first quarter, during a monthly Cabinet meeting in Hanoi on April 5-6.

A seminar on the Indochina war and the late President Ho Chi Minh - one of the founders of solidarity movements against the colonialism in southern countries- was held in Paris on April 5.

A high-level delegation of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee's External Relations Commission, led by its Deputy Director Hiem Phommachan, concluded its five-day working visit to Vietnam on April 5.

The Czech Republic-Vietnam cooperative relations should be promoted not only between the governments and parliaments but also between provinces, districts and businesses of the two countries, said a Czech law maker.

The Government’s March meeting was held in Hanoi on April 5 under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Deputy Prime Ministers Nguyen Sinh Hung, Pham Gia Khiem and Truong Vinh Trong.

State President Nguyen Minh Triet on April 5 received Dr Johannes Hahn, Austrian Minister of Science and Research who is on a working visit to Vietnam.

Vietnam supports Russia’s efforts to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO) soon and does not propose having bilateral negotiations with the country on its WTO entry, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Dung at a regular press briefing held in Hanoi on April 5.

The Late Party General Secretary, Le Duan, was not only a brave and staunch communist, an outstanding leader and an excellent student of President Ho Chi Minh but also a lover of traditional performing arts such classical drama, popular theatre and renovated theatre.

National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong will pay an official visit to China from April 8-15 at the invitation of Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) Wu Bangguo.

New Zealand praises overseas Vietnamese's contributions and pledges to give support to the community while maintaining their cultural identity and ties with their homeland.

President of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia Vojtech Filip has expressed his hope for closer relations between the Vietnamese and Czech communist parties as well as between the legislative bodies of the two countries.

In the first quarter of this year, the capital city of Hanoi achieved a rather high economic growth rate of 10.6 percent and fetched US$972 million from exports, a year-on-year increase of 21 percent.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked the Chinese province of Yunnan to soon establish a joint working party with Vietnam’s Lao Cai, Ha Giang, Lai Chau and Dien Bien provinces to boost economic development between the two sides.

Bilateral consultations between Vietnam and the Russian Federation were held in Hanoi from April 1-3 to discuss measures for facilitating development and expansion of bilateral trade relations between the two countries.