Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue expressed his hope that Vietnam – US ties will continue to grow strongly during the tenure of the new President, during a meeting on November 16 with US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius. 

 President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan has expressed his wish that Germany will share experience in developing small- and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). 

Vietnam and Japan have agreed to enhance their political trust through the regular exchange of high-ranking visits and meetings in the time ahead.

 Vietnam’s Defence Minister Ngo Xuan Lich has called for stronger cooperation among ASEAN member nations, along with more effective ties with other countries, including China and the US, to address the East Sea issue. 

Viet Nam has made efforts to protect wildlife and its intensified law enforcement against traffickers is likely to make the country a role model in the field, said the UK’s Prince William.

Hot issues in the APEC Summit 2016 are Brexit and the rise of populism in politics, especially in the US after Donald Trump was elected the new president, which appears to have added strength to the voices protesting globalization.

 Voters nationwide appreciated the answers of Cabinet members during question-and-answer sessions of the ongoing second plenum of the 14th National Assembly which were broadcast live on television and radio. 

 The ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) Retreat opened in Vientiane, Laos, on November 16, seeking to boost defence cooperation for a dynamic ASEAN.

 Defence Deputy Minister Be Xuan Truong met with Smolsky Gennady Aleksandrovich, Vice Chairman of the State Military-Industrial Committee of the Republic of Belarus, in Hanoi on November 15. 

 Public Security Minister General To Lam met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on November 15, during which he thanked the PM for directing Israel’s agencies to cooperate with Vietnam’s Public Security Ministry in past years. 

 Malaysia believes that all sides with sovereignty claims in the East Sea must solve disputes in line with international law, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said in an interview with Japan’s Asian Nikkei Review on November 15. 

 The Japanese Government wants to enhance its relationship with Vietnam towards a more practical way, said newly-appointed Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Umeda Kunio.

 Ho Chi Minh City and Slovakia’s eastern city of Kosice on November 15 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on setting up bilateral friendship and cooperation in various fields. 

President Tran Dai Quang arrived in Havana on November 15 (local time) to begin the official visit to Cuba from November 15-17.

The eighth International Conference on the East Sea wrapped up in Nha Trang city, the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on November 15, stressing the need to promote ASEAN’s central role in managing disputes in the East Sea.

 Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha were grilled about issues within their remit by National Assembly (NA) deputies on November 15. 

 Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha took the floor to field deputies’ questions at the ongoing second session of the 14th National Assembly in Hanoi on November 15. 

 A Vietnamese delegation led by Defence Minister General Ngo Xuan Lich attended the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) Retreat in Vientiane, Laos, from November 15-17 at the invitation from the Lao Defence Ministry.

 Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh was the first Cabinet member to go before the National Assembly on November 15 to answer questions about issues under his charge.

International experts and scholars have forecast that the situation in the waters will remain stable in the near future although the year 2016 witnessed significant changes to the status quo in the region.