The 8th session of the 13th National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee opened in Hanoi on May 4 to discuss issues related to the State budget, Government bonds and to prepare for the third meeting of the 13th legislature.

The Vietnamese Government has always attached importance to developing the special friendship with Laos and will continue to strengthen comprehensive cooperation in trade and economics with Laos.

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Huynh Dam on May 3 visited Most Venerable Thich Pho Tue, Patriarch of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha’s Patronage Council, at Vien Minh pagoda in Phu Xuyen district, Hanoi, on the occasion of the Buddha’s 2556th birthday.

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung has emphasised the significance of education and training for the national construction and development.  

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has asked the Vietnam and Laos Women’s Unions to uphold their tradition and effectively implement signed agreements.

The National Assembly Office and the UNDP on May 3 held a seminar in Hanoi discussing the organization and operation of the support system of the Vietnam NA.

On May 2, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung presided over a national online conference on receiving citizens and dealing with complaints and denunciations.

On May 2, State President Truong Tan Sang met with voters in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, to hear their opinions and complaints.

A ceremony was held in Dong Ha city, Quang Tri province on May 1 to mark the 40th anniversary of its liberation day (May 1).

A delegation from Lao province of  Savannakhet led by its Governor Suphan Keomixay, paid an official visit to the southern province of Phu Yen on May 1.

A flag-raising ceremony was held at historic Hien Luong Bridge across the Ben Hai River on April 30 to mark the 40th anniversary of the liberation of Quang Tri province and the 37th anniversary of the Liberation of South Vietnam.

An official ceremony was held in Ho Chi Minh City on April 29 to celebrate the 37th anniversary of the Liberation of South Vietnam and the 126th anniversary of May Day.

On April 27, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung extended his condolences to his Pakistani counterpart, Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani, after the country’s recent air crash.

The Mekong Delta holds a very important position in Vietnam’s strategy for socio-economic development and international integration, in addition to having great potential for development in various areas.

Countries across the world need to take measures to accelerate global economic governance and national economic restructuring so as to lay a foundation for comprehensive and sustainable development.

A banquet was given in Hanoi on April 27 to mark the 18th National Day of South Africa by Nontalu Skolo, Charge D’affaires of the South African Embassy in Vietnam.

Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh proposed European Union (EU) members increase cooperation with ASEAN in coping with challenges of non-traditional security, climate change, natural disasters mitigation, Mekong sub-region water source security, energy and maritime security.

A Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Defence Minister, Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh, attended the ASEAN Defence Senior Officials’ Meeting Plus (ADSOM+) in Cambodia on April 26. 

On April 26, Singapore’s President Tony Tan Keng Yam visited two Vietnam-Singapore industrial parks in the southern province of Binh Duong as part of his four-day official visit to Vietnam.

The Vietnam-Laos relationship is an invaluable asset of the two nations which should be upheld and passed to future generations, said Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

Vietnam is deeply concerned about the recent dispute over the Scarborough Shoal between the Philippines and China, said a spokesman for the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry on April 25.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has said all ministries, agencies and localities must consider corruption prevention and detection their central, regular and constant task.

The special solidarity between Vietnam and Laos is an invaluable asset that both countries should nurture and develop for their future generations.

Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and the UK Foreign Secretary William Hague have agreed to further strengthen the two countries’ strategic partnership in the 2011-2015 period to fully tap their potential.

The increase in the number of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meetings Plus (ADMM+) reflects the aspirations of ASEAN member countries to support this cooperation mechanism, Deputy Minister of Defence Nguyen Chi Vinh has said.

A delegation from the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Mass Mobilisation led by its deputy head Nguyen The Trung is visiting Italy from April 22-26.

The defense ministries of Vietnam and Cambodia need to strictly implement the memorandum of understanding on bilateral co-operation, which was signed in March.  

China must immediately cancel its national plan on islands protection, strictly follow DOC and take no more actions that may complicate the situation in the East Sea.

Outgoing Mongolian ambassador to Vietnam, Palam Sundev, paid a farewell visit to State President Truong Tan Sang on April 24 before officially ending his term of office in Vietnam.

A ground-breaking ceremony was held for the construction of the Vietnam-Laos revolutionary historic site on April 24 at Lao Kho village in the northern province of Son La, attended by National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung and his Lao counterpart, NA Chairwoman Pany Yathotou.