Vietnam's top leaders congratulated their Indian counterparts on the occasion of India’s 62nd Republic Day (January 26, 1950 - January 26, 2012).

Vietnam-Republic of Korea (RoK) relations have grown and flourished in recent years and 2012 will represent a landmark in the 20-year diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Vietnamese ambassador to Russia Pham Xuan Son on January 24 visited the Moscow World Trade Centre where thousands of Vietnamese people do business.

Since the Doi Moi (Renewal) process was initiated in 1986, the entire Vietnamese nation has joined hands to build a socialist-oriented market economy and achieved initial results.

Improved diplomacy to serve economic development is one of five major tasks of Vietnam’s national foreign affairs this year and in its new period of development.

On the occasion of the Lunar New Year Festival (Tet), State President Truong Tan Sang extended his New Year's greetings to people throughout the country. VOV presents the full text of President Truong Tan Sang’s 2012 Tet message below:

National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung has extended his best New Year wishes to all Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) staff in the Year of the Dragon.

On January 21, President Truong Tan Sang visited and offered his New Year wishes to residents and Party members of Ho Chi Minh City and the southern provinces of Long An and Dong Thap. 

More than 300 guests from Japanese political circles, organizations and businesses, along with members of the overseas Vietnamese community in Japan, gathered at the Vietnamese embassy in Tokyo on January 20 for a reception to celebrate Vietnam’s Lunar New Year Festival.

On January 20, the Vietnamese Consulate General in the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions (SAR) celebrated the 62nd anniversary of Vietnam-China diplomatic ties.

The agreement to allow visa exemptions for Vietnamese and Italian diplomatic passport holders took effect on January 20, 2012, according to the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

China’s unilateral fishing ban in the East Sea violates Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, and its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its exclusive economic zones and continental shelf.

President Truong Tan Sang applauded the navy forces’ resolve in national defence and maintaining a peaceful environment during his Tet visit to the Navy High Command on January 20.

A pre Tet get-together with diplomatic corps and international representatives was held in Hanoi on January 19 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Hanoi municipal People’s Committee.

On January 19, Vietnam and Bhutan officially set up diplomatic relations at the New York-based headquarters of Vietnam’s permanent mission to the United Nations.

Vietnam considers the US as one of its leading partners and wants to bring the two countries’ relations to a new height.

Vietnam-US cooperation has made remarkable progress in various fields, particularly since bilateral relations were normalized, said National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung at a January 19 reception for Senator John McCain.

On January 19, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong hosted a pre-Tet get-together with Party and State leaders and revolutionary war veterans.

On January 19, a delegation of the Party Central Committee, the State President’s Office, the National Assembly, the Government and the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) paid floral tribute to the late President Ho Chi Minh at his Mausoleum in Hanoi.

The third preliminary conference for the second Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) was held in New Delhi on January 16-17.

The Foreign Ministry of Thailand has officially confirmed that 10 crewmembers of fishing vessel CM 99219 TS which sank in the Gulf of Thailand earlier this month were arrested by a Royal Thai naval ship.

Vietnam’s top leaders have exchanged congratulatory messages with their Chinese counterparts to mark the 62nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries (January 18).

State President Truong Tan Sang visited the central province of Ha Tinh on January 18 on the occasion of the Lunar New Year Festival (Tet).

The Vietnamese embassy in China commemorated the 62nd anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-China diplomatic relations on January 18 in the presence of many senior Chinese officials.

General and Minister of National Defence Phung Quang Thanh received Japanese Vice Minister of Defence Shimojo Mitsu in Hanoi on January 17.

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung asked members of the 1992 Constitution Revision Committee to carefully analyze and study any amendments to ensure the document meet the needs of the current situation.

On January 17, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung lit incense in commemoration of President Ho Chi Minh at the HCM Relic Complex inside the Presidential Palace in Hanoi.

Vietnam attaches great importance to developing relations with Qatar, its important partner in the Gulf, said Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.  

The Ho Chi Minh City Union of Friendship Organizations met on January 16 to celebrate the 62nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and China (January 18, 1950).

Vietnam wishes to receive more official development assistance (ODA) from Switzerland, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung while receiving newly-accredited Swiss Ambassador, Andrej Motyl, in Hanoi on January 16.