Vietnam always attaches great importance to strengthening ties with Singapore for mutual benefits and for the sake of peace, stability, and development in the region, said Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

A ceremony was held in Bangkok on August 23 to mark the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Thailand.

Vietnamese Defence Minister General Phung Quang Thanh received his Singaporean counterpart Ng Eng Hen, who is on an official visit to the country. 

Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam Pitono Purnomo gave a reception in Hanoi on Aug. 23 to mark the 66th anniversary of his country’s Proclamation of Independence (August 17). 

State President Truong Tan Sang has received a delegation of Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian veterans who helped Vietnam during its resistance war.

The Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, Lieutenant General Nguyen Song Phi, has received General Director of the North Industries Corporation (NORINCO) of China in Southeast Asia, Cao Yi.

Deputy Minister of Defence Lieutenant-General Nguyen Chi Vinh received a delegation of Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian veterans who helped Vietnam during its struggle against the US imperialists.

The tenth session of the Vietnam-Cambodia Joint Committee on Economic, Cultural, Scientific and Technological Cooperation opened in Hanoi on August 23.

The Vietnamese embassy in Russia organised an ASEAN flag raising ceremony in Moscow on August 23 to mark the 44th anniversary of ASEAN and 16 years since Vietnam officially became a member (July 28, 1995).  

Vietnam and Laos should step up cooperation in combating illegal drugs, an issue of growing mutual concern for the two countries for years, Deputy Minister for Public Security Pham Quy Ngo said on August 22.

The Navy held a ceremony on Aug. 22 to receive a Gepard 3.9 class frigate at Cam Ranh Port in the central province of Khanh Hoa.

The President of the National Assembly of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Pany Yathotu, will lead a high-ranking delegation to pay an official visit to Vietnam in the near future.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has sent a message of congratulation to Yingluck Shinawatra, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has commended former UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsura for his important contributions to developing the relationship between Vietnam and UNESCO in education and culture during his term of office.

National Assembly (NA) deputies discussed plans to revise the operations of the 13th legislative body at the NA Standing Committee’s first session which opened in Hanoi on August 22.

State President Truong Tan Sang has decided to appoint 63 diplomats as Vietnamese ambassadors abroad.

The 13th National Assembly Standing Committee opened its first meeting in Hanoi on August 22.  

A delegation from the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) paid a working visit to Mexico from August 15-18 to further tighten cooperation between the CPV and the Mexican Labour Party (PT). 

The northernmost province of Ha Giang celebrated its 120th anniversary on August 20 in the presence of Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Vice Chairperson of the National Assembly (NA), and Trieu Tai Vinh, Secretary Ha Giang provincial Party Committee.

The Cambodian prime minister has pledged his government will step up defence ties between Vietnam and Cambodia on par with the special relationship of solidarity between the two countries.

Laos’ Pasason daily newspaper on August 19 ran an article highlighting the significance of Vietnam’s August Revolution victory in 1945 and praising Vietnam policy in building a law-governed state. 

The southern province of Tay Ninh and its three neighbouring Cambodian provinces will strive to complete border demarcation and marker placement by the end of 2012. 

The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) and the Government Public Relations Department of Thailand (PRD) have agreed to continue exchanging information, photos and video clips and implementing projects in relevant fields. 

President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Vu Xuan Hong presented the “For Peace and Friendship among Nations” insignia to outgoing Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam Pitono Purnomo in Hanoi on August 19. 

The eighth congress of the World Federation of UNESCO Clubs, Centres and Associations (WFUCA) opens in Hanoi on August 19.

Major dailies in Vietnam in August 19 ran editorials highlighting the great significance of the August Revolution victory, which led to the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the first State of workers and peasants in Southeast Asia, 66 years ago.

The Ho Chi Minh City chapter of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations held a meeting in the city on August 19 to mark Hungary’s National Day (August 20).

An exhibition themed “66 years of the Vietnamese Government” opened in the central highland province of Gia Lai on August 19 to mark the 66th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day (September 2).

The Ho Chi Minh City-based Supreme People’s Court on August 18 opened its second instance trial of Tran Thi Thuy and her accomplices on charges of “working to overthrow the people’s administration” pursuant to Clause 2, Article 79 of Vietnam’s Penal Code. 

Lieutenant General Do Ba Ty, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, on August 18 began an official visit to Cambodia at the invitation of the Cambodian Defence Ministry.