Irish President Michael D. Higgins and his wife visited the central province of Quang Tri on November 9-10 as part of his State visit to Vietnam. 

 Vietnam strongly protests the use of force by Indonesia’s functional forces against Vietnamese fishermen and their fishing vessels, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Le Hai Binh said on November 10.

  Investigator should focus on bringing into light major economic and corruption cases that have caught public concerns, President Tran Dai Quang said.

 The central city of Da Nang is the next destination on the ongoing tour of Vietnam by Zhang Dejiang, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People’s Congress. 

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc called on Vietnam and Portugal to employ more solutions to raising their bilateral trade from nearly $400 million in 2015 to $500 million by 2020.

Vietnam always attaches importance to its friendship and cooperation with the US, the Foreign Ministry spokesman cited a November 9 message of Vietnamese leaders to President-elect Donald Trump. 

With 89.88 percent of votes, the National Assembly on November 10 approved a resolution on a medium-term public investment plan for the 2016-2020 period, which stipulates a maximum of $89.56 billion of five-year spending. 

 The global stock market, with the exception of Russia, woke up on Wednesday shaded a volatile red.

 Prosecutor General Le Minh Tri of the Supreme People’s Procuracy met with his Lao and Chinese counterparts in Laos’ Vientiane on November 8 to seek to step up bilateral cooperation in the field.

  President Tran Dai Quang and his spouse will pay an official visit to Cuba from November 15-17 and attend the 24th High-level Week of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum in Lima, Peru, from November 17-20. 

 A friendship meeting was held in Hanoi on November 9 on the occasion of the visit by Permanent Politburo member and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of China Zhang Dejiang. 

 President Tran Dai Quang had separate meetings with newly-accredited ambassadors following their presentation of credentials to the Vietnamese leader on November 9. 

President Tran Dai Quang has reiterated that Vietnam attaches great importance to developing stable, healthy and sustainable relations with China.

 Legislators approved a resolution on the five-year financial plan with 86.64 percent of “yes” votes during the ongoing second meeting of the 14th National Assembly on November 9. 

 The Party, State and people of Vietnam always attach importance to the friendship with China, considering this a persistent guideline, a strategic choice and a top priority in the country’s foreign policy, said Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The Vietnamese parliament always wishes to promote cooperation with the National People’s Congress of China towards increasing mutual understanding and trust between the two countries, National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said.

 Le Hien Van, deputy head of the General Political Department of the People's Army, met with Bunlieng Sengphachian, head of the Lao respective body’s inner security department, in Hanoi on November 8. 

With 85.02 per cent of delegates voting in favor, the NA on November 8 has adopted a resolution that sets three reform targets for the 2016-2020 period: public investment, State-owned enterprises, and financial institutions.

The Irish Government considers Vietnam an important partner in the region and wishes to enhance multifaceted cooperation with Vietnam, President Michael D. Higgins has said. 

 State budget overspending will be reduced to below 3.5 percent of GDP by 2020, while public debts, government debts and the country’s foreign debts will not exceed 65 percent, 54 percent and 50 percent, respectively, of GDP annually in 2016-2020.