Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc and the US’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Tina Kaidanow co-chaired the ninth Vietnam-US Political, Security and Defence Dialogue in Hanoi on January 30.

 General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong was awarded the 50-year Party membership badge at a ceremony in Hanoi on January 29. 

 Mechanisms should be rolled out promptly in order to prevent corrupt acts, said Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh at a conference in Hanoi on January 29. 

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc highlighted Viet Nam’s significant achievements in 2017 in an article published in a special issue titled “The Year Ahead 2018: Hope Against Rage” of the international media organisation Project Syndicate. 

 The National Assembly (NA) has been working to fulfill assigned tasks for 2018, Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said in an interview with Vietnam News Agency.

 National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan hosted a reception for Mr. Tsutomu Takebe, Special Advisor to the Japan-Viet Nam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance on January 29 in Ha Noi. 

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc highlighted Vietnam’s significant achievements in 2017 in an article published in a special issue titled “The Year Ahead 2018: Hope Against Rage” of the international media organisation Project Syndicate.

 General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President Bounnhang Volachith has urged the Ministries of Public Security of Vietnam and Laos to further their cooperation in crime combat.

 President of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, has expressed his wish for strengthened friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnam and Honduras during his presidential term.

 Portugal backs the early signing of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs Augusto Santos Silva told Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue during their meeting in Lisbon.

 A delegation of the Vietnam Journalists Association (VJA) led by its President Thuan Huu attended the 19th General Assembly of the Confederation of ASEAN Journalists (CAJ) which took place in Bangkok, Thailand from January 24-28.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his entourage arrived in Hanoi on January 26 night, concluding their India visit to attend the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit. 

 Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue began his working visit to Portugal on January 26, where he met with President of the Portuguese National Assembly Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on January 26 met with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Indonesian President Joko Widodo on the sidelines of the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit.

 The Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission announced the outcomes of its 21st and 22nd sessions in Hanoi on January 26. 

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc hosted separate receptions for leaders of Adani Green Limited and Suzlon Energy Limited of India in New Delhi on January 26. 

 The US will send an aircraft carrier to Vietnam in a post-war first, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement on January 25; evidence of deepening military ties between the former enemies more than four decades after the American War ended.

 Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc joined other leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and India at a summit in New Delhi on January 25 to celebrate the 25th founding anniversary of ASEAN-India dialogue partnership.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue on January 25 concluded activities at the 48th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland.

 President: Vietnam treasures comprehensive relations with US, Party chief welcomes US Secretary of Defence, Vietnamese, US defence ministers hold talks