France plays an important role in linking Vietnam with the European Union and in turn Vietnam is willing to serve as a bridge between France and ASEAN member countries and contribute more to the cooperation between the two regions.

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong has hailed the recent fast growing ties with the Czech Republic, citing the signing of a number of accords for long-term cooperation.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has urged the Cuban Ministry of Informatics and Communications to tighten cooperative ties with the Vietnamese Ministry of Posts and Telematics, particularly in network security to help fulfill socio-economic targets set by each country.

Buddhist dignitaries and followers in the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang have made great contributions to the country's development over the past five years, said a dignitary from the provincial Buddhist Sangha at its seventh Congress, which opened on April 1.

State Vice President Truong My Hoa received visiting Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Aboulnaga at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on April 2.

Legislative activities during the working term of the 11th National Assembly (NA) have made remarkable progress in the quality and number of adopted laws, said National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong.

A delegation of the Vietnam National Assembly, led by chairman Nguyen Phu Trong and his wife, will pay an official visit to China from April 8-15.

The Vietnam-Egypt Inter-Governmental Committee convened its third session in Hanoi on April 1 with the participation of a Vietnamese delegation, led by Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen, and an Egyptian delegation, led by Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Aboulnaga.

Vietnam is willing to share its experience in bird flu prevention and control, aquaculture and pharmaceutical manufacturing with Egypt, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung while receiving Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Aboulnaga in Hanoi on April 1.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung encouraged emulation movements to be launched in 2007 to fulfill socio-economic development tasks and better solve social pressing issues during a meeting with the Central Council on Emulation and Rewards in Hanoi on April 1.

The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of Hanoi organised a meeting in the capital city on April 1 to mark the 100th birth anniversary of the late General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Le Duan (April 7).

Minister of Construction Nguyen Hong Quan on March 31 answered National Assembly deputies’ questions focusing on areas such as housing management, violations of regulations on construction and the low quality of construction projects, as well as the ministry’s responsibility and realistic solutions.

During the past five years, the 11th National Assembly has played an important role in speeding up national industrialisation and modernisation, and building a law-governed State of the people, by the people and for the people.

A visiting Danish senior official has praised the results of cooperation between Denmark and Vietnam, including a support project for the Vietnamese National Assembly.

National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong praised Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Thien Nhan for coming straight to the point when responding to the NA’s education-related questions such as examination regulations, quality of secondary and higher education and financial management of the education sector.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung has called on ASEAN entrepreneurs to establish closer links to form large-scale groups and ASEAN trademarks in the world market.

”We are very pleased to see that the relations of friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries have been constantly consolidated and developed during the past years to bring about practical benefits for both sides”, said Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem.

Ambassador Le Luong Minh, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN has highlighted the importance of relations between the United Nations and regional organisations, particularly the African Union, in the maintenance of international peace and security.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has signed a decision on establishing the Vietnam Coordination Committee for Development Cooperation in the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam Triangle with the Minister of Planning and Investment as its chairman.

Vietnam and Australia should further strengthen high-level political dialogues as well as grassroots-level exchanges to help boost bilateral ties in the future, said State President Nguyen Minh Triet while receiving Tom Burns, a special envoy from the Queensland state governor in Hanoi on March 28.

Vietnam and Macau have agreed to boost cooperation in labour, tourism, air transport, education and culture. The agreement was reached during talks in Macau on March 28 between Chief Executive Officer of China’s Macau Special Administrative Region Admund Ho Hau and visiting Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem.

Danish Permanent secretary of State for Foreign Affair, Ulrik Federspiel, paid a courtesy call on permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung and held talks with permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Le Cong Phung on March 28.

A two-day seminar on the right to development and the rights-based approach was held in Hanoi on March 28 by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ford Foundation in Vietnam.

Vietnam has always ensured the implementation of international commitments on children's rights and considered it a priority in the country's socio-economic development strategy, said National Assembly Deputy Chairman Truong Quang Duoc.

King Haji Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei has praised Vietnam’s economic achievements in recent years and expressed his belief that the country will become one of the most dynamic developed economies in the region.

Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Phuc Thanh has reaffirmed Vietnam's considerable respect for ties with Russia.

Assistant to the Sudanese President and deputy chairman of the National Congress Party (NCP), Nafie Ali Nafie Ahmed, paid a visit to Vietnam from March 25-28. He was accompanied by the Minister of Aquaculture and Agro-Forestry and some senior officials of Sudan.

The Indian delegation led by Speaker of India’s House of the People, Somnath Chatterjee left Ho Chi Minh City on March 27, successfully concluding its official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of the Vietnam National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong.

Many National Assembly deputies at the March 26 debate session pointed out the need to develop a market economic institution, saying it must be considered as a key task for the Government during its coming term.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao reiterated that exchanges of visits and meetings between Chinese and Vietnamese leaders is one of the best ways to create a firm political foundation for the two countries' relations during his meeting with visiting Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem in Beijing on March 26.