The Austrian Consulate General opened in Ho Chi Minh City at No. 8, Nguyen Hue Street, District 1, on May 5.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Dung has described a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report as biased, saying it does not reflect the truth in Vietnam.

A delegation from the Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission led by Vice Chairman Nguyen Minh Quang is on a week-long visit to Laos from May 4-10 to strengthen cooperation with their Lao counterparts.

State Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan on May 5 met with a Chinese delegation of former military consultants and war veterans visiting Vietnam during celebrations of the 55th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu Victory and the 34th anniversary of Southern Liberation Day.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on May 4 approved an agreement on cooperation in agriculture between Vietnam and Rwanda, which was signed in Hanoi on May 23, 2008.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has urged ministries, sectors and localities to continue with urgent and comprehensive solutions recently adopted by the Government to curb economic slowdown, maintain steady growth and ensure social welfare.

A ceremony was held in the north-western province of Dien Bien on May 5 to celebrate the Vietnamese army’s victory over the French colonialists at Dien Bien Phu 55 years ago.

Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh on May 5 paid a visit to well-known General Vo Nguyen Giap, who was the first commander-in-chief of the Vietnam People’s Army and the Commander of the Dien Bien Phu campaign against the French colonialists.

A delegation of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) led by its President Dang Ngoc Tung is on a working visit to Cuba from April 30-May 4.

State President Nguyen Minh Triet received a delegation from the Venezuela-Vietnam Friendship and Solidarity Association (VVFSA) led by its President Octavio Isabel Beaumount Rodriguez in Ho Chi Minh City on May 3.

Vietnam takes note of the conduct over the past six months of the first phase of negotiations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

China will help Vietnam assess the quality of its tertiary education and train 1,000 PhDs from now until 2020.

The second national convention of the spiritual council of the Baha’i community was held in the central city of Da Nang on May 1-2, drawing the participation of 200 delegates. 

A Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh attended a ministerial conference of the Joint Coordinating Committee of the Non-Aligned Movement (NOAL) in Cuba on April 29-30.

State President Nguyen Minh Triet on May 1 extended sympathy to his Mexican counterpart Felipe Calderon Hinojosa over great human losses caused by a deadly new influenza strain A/H1N1.

A delegation of the Vietnam National Assembly led by its chairman Nguyen Phu Trong returned to Hanoi on May 1, concluding a trip to Russia, the Czech Republic and Belarus. The trip is expected to open up new prospects for cooperation between Vietnam and these European nations.

A delegation of leaders from the Institute of Public Administration under the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Public Administration is working with its partners in the US from April 26 to May 7 to boost bilateral cooperation in the field.

A Vietnamese delegation led by Finance Minister Vu Van Ninh attended the 2009 Global Emerging Markets Summit (GEMS) in London on April 29.

Leaders of the Vietnamese border provinces of Tay Ninh and Long An and the Cambodian province of Svay Rieng have held a working session to review their joint collaboration programme on border protection.

Belarus attaches great importance to promoting multifaceted cooperation with Vietnam, said Belarus Prime Minister Sergei Sidorsky while receiving National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong in Minsk on April 30.

Brazil’s naval ship Garcia D’Avila carrying 283 officers and crewmen on aboard docked at the Saigon port in HCM City on May 1, beginning an official five-day visit to Vietnam.

Diverse activities were held on April 30 throughout the country to mark the 34th anniversary of southern Vietnam’s Liberation Day. They aimed to provide fresh impetus for young generations to uphold the glorious historic tradition of their ancestors and make a greater contribution to the nation’s development.  

Vietnam has found Brazil to be a good and trusted friend to cooperate with in all fields, and also to learn from, stressed State President Nguyen Minh Triet.

Vietnam attaches great importance to relations with traditionally friendly countries such as Belarus, said National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong during his talks with Vladimir Andreichenko, Speaker of the House of Representatives (the Lower House) of the National Assembly of Belarus, in Minsk on April 29.

The Party and State respect Buddhism and other religions and create the best possible conditions for them to practice their faith, said a Party Secretary.

General Le Van Dung and senior officers of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) attended a solemn ceremony held at the National Defence Ministry Headquarters on April 29 to welcome a high-level delegation from the Korean People’s Army (KPA).

A meeting was held in the central province of Ha Tinh on April 29 to celebrate the 105th birth anniversary of Tran Phu – the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Vietnam and Indonesia should increase the exchange of parliamentary visits in the years to come, said National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Duc Kien.

Vietnam wishes to develop its multifaceted and long-term cooperation with the Czech Republic for their mutual benefit, said National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong.

The Hanoi People’s Committee has received a petition over a land dispute from Father Vu Khoi Phung, a member of the clergy, not just an ordinary Catholic.