The ASEAN 28th Senior Officials of Energy Meeting (SOME 28) opened in Da Lat city in the Central Highlands Lam Dong province on July 19 as part of the 28th ASEAN Ministers on Energy Meeting (AMEM 28), entitled “Energy savings and climate change”.  

Vietnam plays an increasingly important role in the region, said Dr. Richard Cronin, Director of the Southeast Asia Programme of the Washington-based Henry L. Stimson Centre.

Nearly 400 representatives from the Ho Chi Minh Young Pioneer Organisation gathered in Hanoi’s Cultural Friendship Palace on July 18 for the 7th National Congress of Uncle Ho’s Good Children.

Vietnam has been building laws to mobilise resources for the country’s heathcare sector to perform effectively. 

The 15th anniversary of the normalisation of Vietnam-US relations was celebrated by Vietnam Consulate General in Houston, Texas with the participation of representatives from the Houston administration, US organisations and businesses and overseas Vietnamese living in the US.

The Pasason daily, the organ of the Laos People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP), has published out an article highlighting the Laos-Vietnam traditional friendship on the 33rd anniversary of the signing of the Vietnam-Laos Cooperation and Friendship Treaty (July 18).

Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nguyen Phuong Nga on July 16 condemned the recent bomb attacks in Iran.

On July 16, the Khanh Hoa provincial People’s Committee celebrated the 80th anniversary of the Revolutionary Traditional Day (1930-2010).

Vietnam and China hold great potential and have many opportunities for further cooperation, Vietnam pledges to create favourable conditions for foreign businesses to invest in the country, said a ministry official.

The government of Vietnam has always supported and created favourable conditions for ActionAid International to operate effectively in Vietnam, said Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan at a reception for the organization’s general director Joanna Derobah Kerr in Hanoi on July 16.

Next week’s visit to Vietnam by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be a great opportunity to renew and expand the US government’s response to addressing the legacy of Agent Orange, said a senior official from the Aspen Institute, a Washington DC-based non-profit organisation.

Our current task is to protect national independence and freedom and pay tribute to those who have rendered great service to the nation, said President Nguyen Minh Triet.

A Vietnamese delegation led by Minister of Information and Communications Le Doan Hop paid a working visit to Malaysia on July 15-17.

Numerous cultural activities will be held on the sidelines of the 43rd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM-43) and the 17th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF-17), said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nguyen Phuong Nga at a regular press briefing in Hanoi on July 15.

Vietnam spares no effort to boost cooperation with Australia, especially in trade and investment, bringing benefit to both sides, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

A group of Canadian parliamentarians led by Thai Thi Lac, a Vietnamese-Canadian parliamentarian, is on a working visit to Vietnam.

Fifteen years ago, US President Bill Clinton’s announcement on the normalisation of US ties with Vietnam opened a new chapter in the two countries’ relationship, said the Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Le Cong Phung.

The Hanoi municipal People’s Committee has abandoned the idea of building five entrance gates in celebration of the capital's 1,000th anniversary.

A National Assembly Finance and Budget Committee delegation, led by its vice chairman Phung Quoc Hien, has paid a four-day visit to the US.

Italy wanted to strengthen relations with Vietnam, said Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on July 14 while receiving Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung, who is on visit to Italy.

Representatives from the Information and Education Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and seven border provinces on July 15 attended a conference on border demarcation with China.

State President Nguyen Minh Triet granted the Gold Star Order to the Vietnam Voluntary Youth Force at a meeting to mark its 60th anniversary. 

French Ambassador in Hanoi Jean Francois Girault hosted a reception to celebrate the 221st National Day of France on July 14.

The first issue of the Vietnam Human Rights Magazine came out on July 14, with a focus on the Party’s standpoints and guidelines and the State’s policies and laws on human rights.

Vietnam has always been an active and responsible ASEAN member which has greatly contributed to the peace, stability and the prosperity of ASEAN.

A Vietnamese delegation led by National Assembly Law Committee Vice Chairman, Tran Dinh Long, paid a working visit to Ukraine from July 8-12.

Vietnam and China have announced that their three border agreements come into effect as of July 14.

The Christian Fellowship Church of Vietnam held a ceremony in HCM City on July 14 to receive a legal recognition from the government.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung arrived in Milan on July 9 to start his week-long official visit to Italy.

Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nguyen Phuong Nga has condemned the bomb attacks in the Ugandan capital of Kampala.