Viet Nam and France will promote co-operation in scientific and medical research on HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis in the coming years.

 Political and security issues were tabled in the first plenary session of the 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-26) in Hanoi on January 19.

 Vietnam wants the international community to have an objective, comprehensive, and impartial view on its efforts and achievements in ensuring human rights, said Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his spouse will attend the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit and the 69th anniversary of the Republic Day in India from January 24-26 as guest of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong has urged Vietnam and Indonesia to step up bilateral cooperation in different fields as the two nations share many similar characteristics and interests.

Under-Secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with States Antoine Camilleri met with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and senior officials of Vietnam in Hanoi on January 18.

The 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-26) will feature two plenary sessions on politics-security and economics-trade matters on January 19, the second working day of the event. 

It is a great honour for Vietnam to host an APPF annual meeting for the second time and the country appreciates support from APPF members, said National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

 Viet Nam is optimistic about bilateral relations between Viet Nam and the US in 2018, Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc said at a seminar in HCM City on Wednesday. 

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan urged Vietnam and Indonesia to increase the exchange of visits and optimize cooperative mechanisms to raise bilateral trade to $10 billion in 2018 from $5.4-5.6 billion a year during the past three years. 

 National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan hosted a reception on January 18 for President of the Senate of Malaysia’s Parliament S. Vigneswaran M. Sanasee, who is in Hanoi to attend APPF-26.

The public investment restructuring scheme in 2017-20 will focus on core sectors of the economy and major projects that give impetus to socio-economic development and promote public and foreign investments under PPP practice.

The 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum is to open in Hanoi on January 18 with three key meetings scheduled for the day.

 More than 350 delegates from member nations have registered to attend the 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-26), heard a press conference in Hanoi on January 17.

The 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-26) will have an important mission of orienting member parliaments towards a shared future of bringing practical benefits for their countries and people. 

 Vietnamese Minister of National Defence General Ngo Xuan Lich held a meeting with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister General Tea Banh in Vientiane, Laos, on January 16.

Chairman of the Parliament of Mongolia Miyegombo Enkhbold and his spouse will pay an official visit to Vietnam from January 20 to 23.

 National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, who is the President of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) for the 2017-2018 tenure, chaired a dress rehearsal for the 26th Annual Meeting of the APPF (APPF-26) on January 16.

The Vietnamese Party, State and army always attach much importance to the relations with Laos, said Minister of National Defence Ngo Xuan Lich, who is visiting Laos from January 15-17.

 President Tran Dai Quang hosted separate receptions in Hanoi on January 16 for newly-appointed ambassadors of Sudan, Peru, Zambia, Afghanistan, Namibia and Bolivia.