Vietnam takes Argentina as its most important partner in Latin America and hopes to consolidate and strengthen its comprehensive partnership with the country, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on February 20.

 Vietnamese Minister of Public Security Gen. To Lam held talks with his Lao counterpart, Sen. Lieut. Gen. Vilay Lakhamfong, following a welcome ceremony for the latter in Hanoi on February 20.

 Russia is willing to assist Vietnam in developing its e-government via free-of-charge consultancy, technology transfer, and training of experts, said a Russian official.

 The 14th National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee will hold its 31st meeting in Hanoi on February 21 to discuss several draft laws.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has underlined that the Government, ministries, sectors and localities of Vietnam are always willing to meet and talk with investors from the Republic of Korea.

 Over the recent days, many foreign journalists have been in Vietnam for the US - DPRK summit, scheduled for February 27-28 in Hanoi.

 A ceremony was held in Hanoi on February 20 to welcome President of Argentina Mauricio Macri and his spouse, who are paying a State visit to Vietnam from February 19-21 to deepen the ties between the two countries.

 Party General Secretary and President of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong and President of Argentina Mauricio Macri have agreed to intensify the countries’ comprehensive partnership towards a strategic partnership in the future.

 Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong and President of Argentina Mauricio Macri witnessed the signing of some cooperation documents between Vietnamese and Argentine ministries and agencies on February 20. 

 Thousands of young people nationwide are leaving home to join the army for their military service in late February.

 A ceremony was held in Thanh Khe district of the central city of Da Nang, on February 20 to receive the certificate recognising the district’s Cau Ngu (whale worship) festival on the national list of intangible cultural heritage.

 Bamboo Airways has submitted a proposal to the Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam to allow the airline to exploit flight routes from Hanoi and HCM City to South Korea and Taiwan in 2019.

 A US Boeing C-17 Globemaster III has landed at Noi Bai International Airport to prepare for US President Donald Trump’s tour to Hanoi for the coming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. 

 Viet Nam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) proposed launching mobile money services to allow customers to use their telecommunications accounts to pay for goods and services.

Vietnam National Petroleum Group (Petrolimex) has made a second attempt to sell 12 million treasury stocks, equivalent to 1 per cent of its charter capital, from February 27 to March 28.

 Some banks have been given the green light from the State Bank of Viet Nam to enlarge their network size in the first days of Lunar New Year.

 Many banks have seen their employee efficiency increase significantly, with each member of staff earning them more than VND1 billion (US$43,000) in pre-tax profit on average last year.

 Investors have pledged to invest more than VND36.1 trillion (US$1.5 billion) into 19 tourism projects in the central and Central Highland regions.

 The Ministry of Finance has urged measures to improve the efficiency of State capital at the Construction and Infrastructure Development Corporation (Licogi).

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has recently asked the Ministry of Transport to approve its detail planning adjustments for Phu Quoc and Pleiku Airport.