President Tran Dai Quang received outgoing Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Vietnam Martin Klepetko in Hanoi on December 29.

 Border guards of Vietnam’s southern Tay Ninh province and military officials and police from Cambodia’s Svay Rieng province held the first friendly exchange in Tay Ninh on December 29.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked central and local officials to have a political resolve and aspirations to develop the country in the new period although numerous difficulties remain.

 Chairman of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Association To Huy Rua has received the Order of the Rising Sun, the first national decoration of the Japanese government for his dedicated service.

 The 56th anniversary of Vietnam-Cuba diplomatic relationship and Cuba’s 58th National Day were marked with a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on December 28.

Vietnam welcomed many foreign leaders in 2016 including General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Bounnhang Volachith, US President Barrack Obama and France President Francois Hollande.

  Laos and Vietnam need to focus more on developing trade ties for mutual benefits, Lao Party General Secretary and President Bounnhang Volachith suggested to the new Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos, Nguyen Ba Hung. 

President Quang, who is also head of the Steering Committee for Judicial Reform, stressed the need for the procuracy sector to improve its role and position in fighting crimes and legal regulation violations, especially corruption and economic ones. 

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc highlighted 10 remarkable socio-economic achievements in 2016 and nine outstanding problems while chairing a conference of the government and localities in Hanoi on December 28. 

 The Prime Minister has approved the establishment of the Vietnam sub-committee in the Vietnam-Armenia inter-governmental committee on economic-trade and science-technology cooperation.

 Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has urged higher resolve and more drastic actions to better prevent and fight corruption, wastefulness and negative phenomena.

 Defence Minister General Ngo Xuan Lich received on December 28 Vice Defence Minister of the Republic of Korea Hwang In-moo, who is in Hanoi to attend the countries’ fifth defence policy dialogue.

 A conference was organised in Ban Lung city, the Cambodian province of Ratanakiri on December 26 to review security and social order in shared border areas of six provinces of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

 One of the solutions to prevent sexual harassment at school is to equip students with the necessary skills to identify signs of sexual abuse so that they are able to protect themselves, heard a workshop in Hanoi on December 27.

 Senior officials from six countries along the Mekong River have vowed to strengthen law enforcement and security cooperation.

 The fifth defence policy dialogue between Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) took place in Hanoi on December 27.

 Let’s review friendly images of US President Barrack Obama, France President François Hollande and Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge during their visits to Vietnam in 2016.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue the close cooperation with its Lao counterpart to keep solidifying the two countries’ special relationship for the sake of their peoples.

 Phnom Penh Governor Pa Socheatvong said on December 26 that he hopes Hanoi – the capital city of Vietnam – and its Cambodian counterpart will push ahead with cooperation in all aspects.

 The Prime Minister has decided a list of the National Steering Committee on International Integration.