International support is of great importance to Vietnam’s national liberation struggle and development.

 State employees and workers will return to work on February after a week-long lunar new year (Tet) holiday.

 Vietnam was elected as Chair of the Group of Francophone Ambassadors (GAF) in Switzerland in 2018 during the 8th meeting of the group in Bern on February 19.

 General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong extended the best wishes to officials and people of Hung Yen while visiting the northern province on February 19 - the fourth day of the lunar New Year.

 ASEAN member nations and China are committed to completing a code of conduct (COC) to handle disputes in the East Sea, said Singaporean Minister of Defence Ng Eng Hen.

Vietnam fully supports Singapore as chair of ASEAN in 2018 and will coordinate with the country as well as other ASEAN members to push forward priorities and initiatives of ASEAN this year for further progress in building the ASEAN Community.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc visited and extended New Year wishes to the armed forces and residents in the central city of Da Nang on February 16, or the first day of the Year of the Dog. 

 General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong on the night of February 15 (the last day of the last lunar month) visited and extended Tet (Lunar New Year) greetings to Hanoi’s Party Committee, authorities and people.

 The major task of the Central Military Commission and the Defence Ministry of Vietnam in 2018 is to reorganise the army forces to make the Vietnam People's Army elite, streamlined, strong and flexible by 2021.

 On the occasion of the Lunar New Year 2018, President Tran Dai Quang offered greetings to all Vietnamese nationwide and in foreign countries, wishing them and people around the world a new year of peace, friendship, happiness and prosperity.

The Vietnamese Embassy in France has sent a working team to Coquelles commune in France’s Pas de Calais region where local authorities are detaining 12 people believed to be Vietnamese to verify the information.

A Vietnamese delegation attended the 41st Session of the Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome, Italy on February 13-14.

 Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung presented Friendship Order, a noble distinction of the Vietnamese State, to Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Hong Xiaoyong in Hanoi on February 12.

A Blueprint for Fisheries Management and Environmental Cooperation in the East Sea was introduced by the US’s Center for Strategic and International Studies last year.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s working group has issued a plan on implementing tasks given by the Government and the PM in 2018.

 This year, the Vietnamese Government intends to further slash business costs and regulations as well as fostering co-operation between domestic enterprises and their foreign direct investment (FDI) counterparts.

 As many as 17 out of 19 ministries and ministry-level agencies have provided online public services at levels three and four, while 58 out of 63 cities and provinces have supplied 13,830 public services on the Internet.

 The Government of Vietnam always creates favourable conditions for Korean firms, including the Hyosung Group, to invest in the country, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed that the Vietnamese Government always creates favourable conditions for football to develop healthily and sustainably in the country while welcoming Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA on February 8.

The Government has issued Resolution 10/NQ-CP launching an action programme on implementing Resolution 18-NQ/TW on reforming and reorganising the apparatus of the political system towards streamlined, effective and efficient operation.