Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong held talks with the Slovak National Council Speaker Pavol Paska following an official ceremony to welcome his arrival in Hanoi on January 27.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Moscow held an informal meeting on January 26 for representatives of mass media agencies in Russia.

The consistent policy of the Vietnamese Party and State is to protect and promote human rights, said Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son at a workshop entitled “Vietnam and UN Mechanisms on Human Rights: Several Recent International Cooperation Activities” in Hanoi on January 26.

Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh received New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Murray McCully in Hanoi on January 26.

The central province of Thua Thien-Hue joined hands with its bordering Lao provinces of Salavan and Sekong to demarcate 13 permanent markers and four temporarily poles in 2009.

A symposium on “The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) –80 years of building and development” was held in Hanoi on January 26 by the HCM National Academy of Politics and Public Administration.

State President Nguyen Minh Triet on January 26 cut the red ribbon to open to traffic the Rung Sac road which will connect HCM city to the coastal district of Can Gio.

Vietnam is efficiently using ODA granted by New Zealand in education and training, poverty reduction and sustainable development, says Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pham Gia Khiem.

A delegation of the Slovak National Council, led by Speaker Pavol Paska and his wife, arrived in Hanoi on January 26 to begin an official friendship visit to Vietnam at the invitation of National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong.

An art exhibition was held in Vientiane, Laos on Jan. 25 to mark the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 3).

As ASEAN chair, Vietnam will work closely with other ASEAN countries to facilitate the Doha round of talks in the hope that the round would end in 2010 to achieve an equitable and practical result in the interests of developing and underdeveloped nations.

Vietnam has always respected multi-faceted relations with Egypt, said Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Politburo member Truong Tan Sang. 

Lao Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavat has applauded the results of Laos-Vietnam economic cooperation over the years. 

Vietnam and Egypt should tap their potential for cooperation in industry, construction, services, trade and banking.

New Zealand will increase its investment in Vietnam, especially in education-training and science-technology, Foreign Minister Murray McCully assured Vietnamese officials at receptions in Hanoi on January 25.

The implementation of the campaign of “Studying and following late President Ho Chi Minh’s moral examples” has helped realise Party guidelines and State policies on national development, says Party leader Nong Duc Manh.

Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Phu Trong received the Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and the Minister of Public Security, Thongbanh Sengaphone, in Hanoi on January 25.

The court sector should increase the quality of judgment and minimize unjust punishment, said State President Nguyen Minh Triet.

New Zealand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully arrived in Vietnam on January 25 for a two-day visit at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem.

Promoting democracy is an issue of great concern to former Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Nguyen Van An.

A high-ranking Vietnamese Government delegation led by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung left Hanoi on January 25 for the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, from January 25-31 at the invitation of WEF Chairman, Klaus Schwab.

Outstanding individuals around the country were praised for “Studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s moral example” at a meeting in Hanoi on January 24.

The party, state and people of Laos will do their utmost together with Vietnam to further promote the traditional friendship relations, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, said a ranking Lao official.

The ties with Vietnam bear special significance for Russia, a senior Russian official has said.

Around 114 outstanding individuals and representatives of 68 organisations gathered at a talk in Hanoi on January 24 to share experience in studying and following the late President Ho Chi Minh’s moral example.

The Algerian National People’s Assembly Chairman, Abdelaziz Ziari, left Ho Chi Minh City on January 23, wrapping up his week-long visit to Vietnam.

Ensuring occupational health and safety (OHS) is the responsibility of every worker and every production group, said Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai at a review conference in Hanoi on January 23 for the Vietnam National Coal-Mineral Industries Group (TKV)’s activities in 2009, and to outline tasks for 2010.

Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh has emphasised that the northern mountain province of Lai Chau should continue with efforts to eradicate hunger and reduce poverty in a sustainable manner.

An exhibition highlighting friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) opened in Hanoi on January 22.

Algeria’s National People’s Assembly Chairman Abdelaziz Ziari showed interest in the development model of Ho Chi Minh City, an economic hub of Vietnam, while visiting the city on January 22.