A conference was held on January 17 in Hanoi to discuss Vietnam’s readiness for open data and digital government (ODDG), as part of a World Bank (WB) support programme to speed up the development of e-government in the country.

 The curtailing is part of the government’s target to whittle down state personnel by 10% by 2021.

 The 22nd Meeting of ASEAN Tourism Ministers opened in the northern province of Quang Ninh on January 17 as part of the ongoing ASEAN Tourism Forum 2019.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will lead a high-level delegation of Vietnam to the annual conference of the World Economic Forum (WEF), to be held in Davos, Switzerland, from January 22-25.

 President of the Australian Senate Scott Ryan will pay an official visit to Vietnam from January 20-25 at the invitation of National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, according to the NA Committee for External Relations.

 Deputy Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung hosted a reception  in Hanoi on January 17 for Toshiko Abe, member of the Japan House of Representatives and Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, who has been in Vietnam to attend the sixth Japan-Vietnam Festival.

 Foreign Ministers from the 10 ASEAN member countries will gather in Chiang Mai, Thailand on January 17-18 for their 2019 retreat (AMM Retreat 2019) to discuss intra-bloc cooperation and international and regional issues of mutual concern. 

 The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China has exempted Vietnamese diplomatic and official passport holders from visa requirements in the territory for 14 days. 

 Vietnamese Ambassador to Mexico Nguyen Hoai Duong on January 16 assumed position of Chair of the ASEAN Committee in Mexico City (ACMC), replacing Philippine Ambassador Demetrio R.Tuason.

 The newly-appointed ambassadors of Bulgaria, Italy, Brazil, Tunisia, Iceland, Lesotho, Syria, Benin, Malta, and Ghana on January 16 presented their credentials to Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.

 Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh received former US Secretary of State John Kerry in Hanoi on January 16.

 The Politburo has issued a directive on enhancing the Party’s leadership in protecting those who detect, denounce and fight corruption, wastefulness and wrongdoings. 

The 27th annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum wrapped up in Siem Reap ancient city, Cambodia on January 16 and its chair, President of the Cambodian National Assembly Samdech Heng Samrin, declared it a success.

 Vietnam’s economy is growing at a rapid rate and attracting most of world’s leading IT companies, including Microsoft.

 The Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) stands ready to share its experience in dealing with specific topics regarding question and answer and inspection work with its Lao counterpart, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan has said. 

 Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan has called on member parliaments of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) to continue with their comprehensive and close cooperation in all spheres.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has affirmed that the Vietnamese Government will continue to always create favourable conditions for foreign firms to do business in Vietnam, including those from Japan. 

 Vietnam has called for help from Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Cambodia to search for 10 fishermen who have been missing since December 2018.

Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The requested all citizens and contractors to call the Ministry’s hotline 024.39413313 or leaders of the Ministry’s anti-corruption department when discovering corrupt public sector employees.

 Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, chairwoman of the HCMC People’s Council, today, January 14, received a decision on her retirement from the municipal Party Committee, the local media reported.