President Tran Dai Quang hosted receptions in Hanoi on June 1 for Cuban Ambassador Herminio Lopez Diaz, and Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to Vietnam Bruno Angelet.

 The Group 7 (G7) industrialized nations recently issued a joint statement on maritime security, denouncing China’s reclamation of islands in the East Sea.

 Vietnam and Brunei have expanded their defence cooperation across levels, as viewed by the two countries’ officers at the 55th founding anniversary of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces. 

 Australia’s Ambassador to Vietnam Hugh Borrowman pledged to continue contributing to stepping up his country’s cooperation with Vietnam when saying farewell to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Hanoi on May 31.

 Leaders of Ho Chi Minh City and Laos’ Champasak province have agreed to further bolster their win-win partnership in various fields, especially economy.

 Vietnam has always attached importance to cooperation with the German state of Hessen and regards this as an example for relations between the country and foreign localities, affirmed Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

 The Vietnamese government will make efforts to complete a legal framework and policies to create a transparent, open and stable investment and business environment for foreign investors, including Japanese businesses, to succeed.

Vietnam highly appreciates the US Senate’s approval of a draft resolution that would repeal the US Department of Agriculture’s catfish inspection programme, said Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Hai Binh on May 31.

 A high-ranking Vietnamese delegation has met with Italian communist parties’ officials to cement ties between the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the Italian side.

Vietnam’s representative at the UN has called developed countries to boost their assistance for least developed countries via the increase of official development assistance, the removal of trade barriers.

The maintenance of peace and stability through strengthening regional cooperation and building trust among nations are crucial to develop an Asia of peace, prosperity and sustainable growth, Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung said.

 Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Dinh La Thang was received by Lao leaders on May 30 during his visit from May 29 – June 1.

Minister of National Defence Ngo Xuan Lich is paying an official visit to Cambodia from May 31 to June 1 at the invitation of Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Tia Banh.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has urged ministers, particularly newly-appointed ones, to prepare action plans that improve their management to fulfill socio-economic development targets.

 The monthly base salary for civil servants, public employees and those working in the armed forces has been officially stipulated to go up by 5 per cent to VNĐ1.21 million (nearly US$54), following a newly-signed Government decree.

 More than two third of the total 63 localities nationwide have announced the results of elections to the people’s councils at provincial levels for the 2016-21 term just a week after the five-yearly general election last Sunday.

 The Royal Australian Navy warship, HMAS Anzac, with a crew of 215 officers and sailors on board, arrived in Ho Chi Minh City on May 30, beginning its visit to Vietnam.

 Vietnam’s attendance at the expanded G7 Summit reflects Japan’s and other G7 countries’ acknowledgement of the position the Southeast Asian nation holds in the world arena, said Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son.

 Ho Chi Minh City is willing to cooperate with Lao localities, including Attapu province, in a more practical and effective way, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Dinh La Thang has said.  

 Thai Princess Maha Chaktri Sirindhon paid a visit to the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok and attended a ceremony to launch a pictorial book on Vietnam’s beauty on May 28.