Many activities have taken place globally to mark the 119th birthday of late President Ho Chi Minh (May 19).

Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh has affirmed Vietnam’s consistent policy of developing relations with Cambodia and Laos and its determination to lift those relations to new heights.

Vietnam wants to further develop its cooperative ties with Thailand to bring practical benefit to the two countries and contribute to the development of the ASEAN community, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. 

The President of the Central African Republic, Francois Bozize Yangouvonda, began a five-day official visit to Vietnam on May 18 at the invitation of State President Nguyen Minh Triet.

A grand meeting was held in Hanoi on May 18 to mark the 119th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh’s birthday and the 50th anniversary of the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail.

A meeting was held at the headquarters of the Vietnamese Association in Paris, France, on May 17 to mark President Ho Chi Minh’s 119th birthday.

Bolivia’s Minister of Hydrocarbons and Energy, Oscar Coca Antezana, and leaders of Bolivia’s State Oil and Gas Company have expressed their admiration at Vietnam’s eco-socio achievements in the renovation process at a working session with a delegation from the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade’s on May 13-16 in Bolivia.

A delegation of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee (VFFCC), led by Huynh Dam, President of VFFCC and also member of the Party Central Committee, paid an official visit to Myanmar from May 13-17.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will pay a working visit to Japan from May 21-23, according to a communiqué released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on May 17.

A delegation of senior Party and State leaders, led by Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh, laid a wreath at the President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi on May 17 to mark the late president’s 119th birthday.

Defence Minister General Phung Quang Thanh on May 16 received a delegation of war veterans from Russia and Ukraine who had worked and fought in Vietnam during the resistance war against US imperialists.

Chilean President Michel Bachelet on May 15 received State Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan who is in Chile for the 19th Global Summit of Women.

The President of the Central African Republic, Francois Bozie Yangouvonda, will pay a five-day official visit to Vietnam, starting on May 18.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung has appreciated US businesses’ increased investment in Vietnam and said that the two countries still have great potential for expanding bilateral cooperation.

The 29th ASEAN Police Chiefs Conference (ASEANAPOL) concluded in Hanoi on May 15 after a three-day sitting.

An international court in support of Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin opened in Paris, France, on May 15.

Vietnam and Laos will build and plant national border marker number 281 at the Ten Tan-Xom Vang border gate and many other markers along the common border between Thanh Hoa and Houaphan provinces.

A business forum was held in the Uruguayan capital city of Montevideo on May 13 as part of Vietnamese State Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan’s official visit to the South American country to facilitate trade links between the two countries’ business communities.

Vietnam and Australia have agreed to strengthen bilateral relations for mutual benefit and for peace, stability and cooperation in the region and the world.

The National Assembly (NA) is scheduled to convene its 5th session in Hanoi on May 20 and expected to pass 12 bills, said NA Office Chairman Tran Dinh Dan at the closing session of the NA Standing Committee in Hanoi on May 14.

Defence Minister Gen. Phung Quang Thanh expressed his satisfaction at the close ties between Vietnam and New Zealand while receiving New Zealand Defence Secretary John Mckinnon in Hanoi on May 14.

Vietnam is set to make comprehensive changes in the education sector so that the country will have an advanced education system by 2020 to keep pace with national industrialization and modernization in the context of international integration, said PM Nguyen Tan Dung.

The 9th Asia-Europe Foreign Ministerial Meeting (FMM 9) will take place in Hanoi from May 22-25, announced Dao Xuan Hung, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, at a press conference in Hanoi on May 14.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung received the visiting United Nations (UN) Deputy Secretary-General, Asha Tose Migiro in Hanoi on May 13.

State President Nguyen Minh Triet welcomed Socrates Kokkalis and his football club Olympiakos to Vietnam, saying that their friendly match and the Vietnam national squad slated for May 14 will contribute to strengthening the Vietnam-Greece friendship.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Dung on May 13 rejected kidnapping and piracy charges against 10 Vietnamese sailors arrested by South African special forces off Cape Town recently.

The Lao Prime Minister Bouasone Bouphavanh has called on the Vietnamese and Lao people to preserve the special relationship between the two countries from generation to generation.

Vietnam will fully participate in comprehensive cooperation among the Association of National Police Forces in the ASEAN region (ASEANAPOL) as well as between them and the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol).

Vietnam and Uruguay on May 12 signed an agreement on investment promotion and protection during State Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan’s visit to the latter.

Vietnam’s National UPR Report was adopted by the Working Group of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 12.