Vietnamese Ambassador to Canada Le Sy Vuong Ha presided over the 228th session of the ASEAN Committee in Ottawa (ACO) held at the “Vietnam House” in Canada on September 12.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on September 12 signed a decision on new personnel for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and Government Office.

The Vietnamese Party and State always attach great importance to developing friendly neighbourliness and comprehensive cooperation with China.

The Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Public Administration on September 12 opened a training course on organisational work for 17 key leaders and officials of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LLRP), in Hanoi.

More than 100,000 Cao Dai followers and visitors flocked to Tay Ninh Church in the southern province of Tay Ninh on September 12 for the sect’s grand ritual, Hoi Yen Dieu Tri Cung.

Ireland and Vietnam should exchange high-ranking delegations, share experiences in legislative work, establish a parliamentary friendship group and develop cultural and trade relations.

The Vietnamese National Assembly delegation led by its Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung will visit Cambodia and attend the 32nd AIPA in the near future.

Solemn memorial ceremonies of Vo Chi Cong, former President of the State Council, were held on the early morning of September 12 in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Quang Nam province.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will lead a Vietnamese delegation to visit Indonesia on September 13-14, at the invitation of Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Leaders of the Party and State, diplomatic corps, international organisations and people in and outside the country continue to pay tribute to Vo Chi Cong, former President of the State Council, in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Quang Nam province, his homeland. 

A funeral was held at the Thong Nhat (Unification) Hall in Ho Chi Minh City on September 11 for Vo Chi Cong, former President of the State Council, Chairman of the National Defence Council and Deputy Prime Minister.

The friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Laos have consistently developed in both scope and scale, especially in economics, trade, investment and tourism.

A funeral was held in Hanoi on September 10 for Vo Chi Cong (Vo Toan), former President of the State Council, Chairman of the National Defence Council and Deputy Prime Minister, who died on Septembe r 8 at the age of 99.

Vietnamese nationals in Laos should play a greater role in strengthening the special solidarity between the two countries, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

The French daily newspaper La Marseillaise has run an article on President Ho Chi Minh on its front page on the occasion of 100 years since his arrival in the southern coastal city of Marseille, as part of his journey for national salvation. 

Lao’ major newspapers, including Pasaxon and New Vientiane, have run the biography of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and articles praising the Laos-Vietnam special solidarity on the occasion of PM Dung’s visit to Laos from September 9-10.

US Ambassador to Vietnam David Bruce Shear has said that the top priority in his term of office is to boost economic cooperation between the two countries.

The Human Rights Watch’s recent report on forced labour and abuses in drug detention centres in Vietnam is groundless and distorts the reality in Vietnam with bad intention, the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nguyen Phuong Nga said in Hanoi on September 9.

Vietnam strongly condemns recent consecutive terrorist attacks in India, said a Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman.

Vietnam-Laos cooperative relations have been developing strongly in both scale and depth for the mutual benefit.

Uruguay has decided to open its embassy in Vietnam in order to increase its ties with the country, especially in economics and trade.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will visit Indonesia on September 13-14.

A seminar was held in Hanoi on September 9 to celebrate the 38th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the United Kingdom (UK).

State President Truong Tan Sang has sent a message of congratulation to Kim Yong Nam, President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, on the occasion of the 63rd National Day of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) (September 9). 

Theodore Christian Engelbrecht, former Head of the US’s Lutheran Church-Mission Synod Office (LCMS) in Vietnam, was awarded with the insignia “For Peace and Friendship among Nations” for his contributions to Vietnam’s health care and education sectors. 

Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on September 8 held talks with his Singaporean counterpart K. Shanmugam on his official visit to Vietnam starting the same day.

Vo Chi Cong (real name Vo Toan), former President of the State Council, former Chairman of the National Defence Council and former Deputy Prime Minister, died on September 8 at the age of 99.

Lieut. Gen. Tran Quang Khue, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, received President of the US-ASEAN Council for Business and Technology (USACBT) Frances Zwenig in Hanoi on September 8. 

The Vietnamese Party, State, Government and National Assembly leaders continued to receive congratulatory messages from foreign leaders on the country’s 66th National Day (September 2). 

A high-ranking delegation from the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security led by Minister Tran Dai Quang, currently on a working visit to Cambodia, held talks with Sar Kheng, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior on September 8.