VOV.VN - The year 2003 has witnessed many outstanding milestones in Vietnamese diplomacy, with foreign relations on bilateral and multilateral levels continuing to be expanded and deepened, including those with many important partners which has been raised to new heights resulting in new qualitative developments.

Politburo member, Permanent member of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee's Secretariat Truong Thi Mai on December 25 held talks with Chairman of the Presidium of the Japanese Communist Party (JCP) Central Committee Shii Kazuo who is paying an official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of CPV Central Committee.

Pope Francis’s appointment of Archbishop Marek Zalewski as the first Resident Papal Representative in Vietnam marks a historic moment in the diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the Vatican, said Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Vu Chien Thang.

VOV.VN - Both Vietnamese and Indian scholars and experts gathered together to take part in a conference on December 22 in Hanoi aimed at discussing achievements recorded in bilateral relations over the past 50 years and outlook for the bilateral ties in the future.

VOV.VN - A high-ranking Vietnamese delegation led by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh arrived at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo on December 15 to attend a commemorative summit marking half a century of the friendship and cooperation between ASEAN and Japan at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Authorities of Ho Chi Minh City had a roundtable with Japanese businesses on December 14 to tackle difficulties facing the firms and share information about the southern economic hub’s investment cooperation demand.

A Vietnam-Egypt business matching was held in Giza city on December 13, as part of the activities to mark the 60th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic relations.

There are at least 40,000 deaths caused by tobacco-related diseases in Vietnam each year, heard a conference held by the Health Ministry in Hanoi on December 12 to review 10-year enforcement of the Law on Prevention and Control of Tobacco Harm.

VOV.VN - Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping and his wife left Hanoi on December 13 afternoon, concluding a two-day State visit to Vietnam at the invitations of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Vo Van Thuong.

VOV.VN - Vietnam holds a special position in China’s neighbourhood diplomacy policy, Chinese President Xi Jinping told Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong during their talks in Hanoi on December 13.