The Vietnamese and Lao chairpersons of the two countries’ joint committee for border marker planting held a meeting in Hanoi on March 1 and 2.

 The National Assembly Committee for Social Affairs convened its 14th plenary session in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on March 2 to prepare for the upcoming National Assembly sitting.

 President Truong Tan Sang presented the Friendship Order to President of the Supreme Court of Russia Mikhailovich Lebedev in Hanoi on March 2 in honour of his dedication to ties between Vietnamese and Russian court sectors.

 Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu is leading a delegation to attend the 22nd ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting Retreat and related events, which take place on March 2-3 in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

 Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Cao Chinh Thien toured the European country’s Veneto region and its capital city of Venice, whose officials voiced their readiness to expand cooperation with Vietnam.

Hanoi Party Secretary Hoang Trung Hai has hoped that Hanoi and Hessen state of Germany will further bilateral partnership across education-training, vocational training, medical science and hi-tech industry.

 Dialogue and cooperation are the most effective ways to address human rights issues, said Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc at the 31st regular session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Switzerland on March 1.

 The 110th birth anniversary of late Prime Minister Pham Van Dong, a prominent leader of Vietnam’s revolution in the 20th century, was marked at his memorial site in Duc Tan commune, central Quang Ngai province, on March 1.

 Vietnam and Singapore have agreed to strengthen wide-ranging defence cooperation to further contribute to the bilateral strategic partnership.

While the US President and the ASEAN leaders were discussing issues of regional security at Sunnylands estate in California, in the East Sea, Beijing started the construction of large-sized works in the Hoang Sa Archipelago of Vietnam.

 The Prime Minister has asked the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee not to put the demonstration bill in the working agenda of the 13th NA’s 11th session slated for late March.

 More leaders of political parties, countries and international organisations worldwide have conveyed their congratulations to Nguyen Phu Trong on his re-election as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

 The Netherlands is ready to share its experience in countering severe saltwater intrusion with Vietnam in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular, Dutch Ambassador Nienke Trooster said.

A trip to the US by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong deepened the US-VN partnership. This year President Barack Obama will pay a visit to Vietnam in May. We should take advantage of current momentum and build the foundation for a long partnership. 

 The Vietnamese and Cambodian judicial ministries signed a 2016 cooperation agreement following talks between their ministers in Phnom Penh on February 29.

 Hundreds of overseas Vietnamese in Frankfurt am Main and its neighbouring regions on February 28 staged a demonstration at the Chinese Consulate-General in Germany to protest China’s military actions in the East Sea, which have escalated tension.

  Politburo member and Vietnam Fatherland Front President Nguyen Thien Nhan met with Thomas Oppermann, Chairman of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) parliamentary group, in Hanoi on February 29.

  China attaches importance to its relations with Vietnam and is consistent in developing the ties sustainably, said Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping.

 The German State of Hessen has paid heed to enforcing ties with Vietnam, particularly in education, said Professor Gambiz Ghawami, a local representative, during his meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Hanoi on February 29.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung suggested Cabinet members raise the national GDP growth rate target from 6.7% to 7% in 2016.