President Tran Dai Quang asked the Supreme People’s Court to seriously deal with major criminal cases, especially those regarding economic activities and corruption, during a teleconference held in Hanoi on January 9. 

 Vietnam welcomes and supports measures related to the Korean Peninsula to foster dialogue and maintain peace and stability in the region, stated Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang.

 Effective defence cooperation between Vietnam and Japan, including the ties between the two ground forces, has contributed importantly to the bilateral friendship.

 The Office of the National Assembly picked out ten prominent events of the parliament in 2017 on the 72th anniversary of the first general elections.

 Vietnam’s Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien and China’s Minister of Culture Luo Shugang agreed to continue realising the common perception of the two countries’ leaders on enhancing bilateral cooperation in culture.

 National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan chaired a meeting on January 8 to review the preparation of the 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF-26).

Vietnam’s hosting of the 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) is expected to enhance legislative ties between the Vietnam National Assembly (NA) and its counterparts.

 The Vietnamese Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau held a ceremony on January 5 to launch a consulate office in Macao Special Administrative Region of China.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc will lead the Vietnamese delegation to the second Mekong-Lancang Cooperation (MLC) Summit, to be held on January 10 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

 National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan has written an article, recalling the NA’s achievements over the last 72 years and outlined tasks that need to be done in 2018 on the occasion of the 72 years of the first General Election (January 6).

 Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh hosted a reception for UK Foreign Office Minister for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field in Hanoi on January 5, where they commended active developments of the Vietnam-UK strategic partnership. 

 The Vietnam Peacekeeping Department, which was upgraded from the Vietnam Peacekeeping Centre of the Ministry of National Defence, made its debut at a ceremony held in Hanoi on January 5.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has recently assigned socio-economic development targets to the ministries of Planning and Investment, Agriculture and Rural Development, Industry and Trade, Public Health, and Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs. 

 The naval forces of Vietnam and Cambodia organised their 49th joint patrol on January 3-4.

 President Tran Dai Quang received Chief Justice Khamphanh Sithidampha and a delegation of the People’s Supreme Court of Laos in Hanoi on January 4.

 In recent years cooperation between Vietnam and the United Kingdom has flourished. 

 2017 is one of the most successful years of Vietnam’s diplomacy, said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in a recent article. 

 Vietnamese and Lao air defence and air forces will step up delegation exchanges and cooperation in training and technology. 

 A delegation of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) led by Nguyen Xuan Thang, Secretary of the CPV Central Committee, is on a working visit to Japan from December 24-28.

 The Government is capable of curbing the 2018 inflation rate at less than 4 percent as set by the National Assembly, according to Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue.