President Tran Dai Quang pays State visits to Russia, Belarus
President Tran Dai Quang and a high-ranking delegation of Vietnamese officials made official visits to Russia and Belarus from June 26 to July 1 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
During the visits, Vietnam signed 14 cooperation agreements with Russia and nine deals with Belarus in various fields, including economy, defence, security, sports and tourism, natural resources and the environment, science-technology and cooperation between localities.
Following the visits, Vietnam and Russia issued a joint statement, while President Tran Dai Quang and his Belarusian counterpart A. Lukashenko signed a joint declaration on the comprehensive and extensive development of the bilateral partnership.
Cambodian NA President concludes Vietnam visit
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National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (R) receives Cambodian NA President Heng Samrin ahead of their talks (Photo: quochoi.vn)
A high-ranking delegation of the Cambodian National Assembly (NA), led by President Heng Samrin on June 26 concluded his four-day official friendship visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Vietnamese NA Chairwoman, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.
During his talks with Vietnamese leaders, the two sides agreed to maintain relations in all Party, State and people-to-people diplomacy channels. They also agreed to press ahead with friendship activities and to educate people from all walks of life, especially younger generations, on the Vietnam-Cambodia solidarity, friendship and comprehensive cooperation.
They also reached a consensus on continuing negotiations between the two countries for the prompt signing of the Vietnam-Cambodia Border Trade Agreement, which will replace the Agreement on Trade and Exchange of Goods and Services in Border Areas signed in 2001.
Deputy FM co-chairs 15th East Asia Forum
Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung, head of the Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) ASEAN Vietnam, co-chaired the 15th East Asia Forum in the Chinese province of Hunan from June 29 – July 1.
Themed “20 years of ASEAN+3 cooperation: Towards the East Asia Economic Community”, the event attracted nearly 60 delegates from governmental agencies and scholars from 13 regional countries.
Participants agreed to improve the operational efficiency of existing mechanisms, give priority to cooperation in stabilising finance, developing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, narrowing the development gap, strengthening regional connectivity and integration while handling emerging non-traditional security challenges such as terrorism, cyber security, population aging, poverty reduction, food and energy security, and epidemic prevention.
Vietnam’s growth quickens to 6.17% in second quarter
Vietnam's economy grows 5.73% in the first half of 2017.
The Vietnamese economy has accelerated in the second quarter of 2017, expanding by 6.17% compared with 5.15% in the previous quarter, the General Statistics Office (GSO) has announced.
Overall Vietnam’s GDP in the first half of the year grew by 5.73%, of which the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector rose by 2.65%, industry and construction by 5.81% and services at 6.8%.
In June, the consumer price index (CPI) fell 0.17% against the previous month, as a result of plunging transport costs (down 0.71%), post and telecommunications (down 0.01%) and catering services (down 0.59%).
According to the GSO, the price index in June 2017 rose by 0.25% over the previous month and 4.39% from a year ago.
Viettel products honoured at 2017 IT World Awards
Six products of military-run telecom group Viettel were honoured at the 2017 IT World Awards held in San Francisco, the US, on June 27, making it the second time a Vietnamese IT product has been honoured with the prestigious award.
Among the six products, the ‘Healthcare Ecosystem’ product won the gold prize for the ‘Best IT Products and Services in Healthcare’ category.
In addition, five other products of Viettel were also honored at the 2017 IT World Awards, including vOCS 3.0 software; Customer Insight; Mocha application; National vaccination information management system; and Network security solutions (including Viettel Mobile Security and TAD).
The IT World Awards, organised by the US-based Network Product Guide, aims to honour outstanding names in the ICT sector, along with such internationally well-known names as Samsung, Dell, Cisco and Foxit Softward.
Vietnam moves up one place in FIFA women’s rankings
Vietnamese players celebrate Tuyet Dung's opener in their last 2018 Asian Cup qualifying match against Myanmar.
The Vietnamese women’s football team climbed up one place to 32nd position with 1,644 points in the latest FIFA women’s world rankings for the second quarter of 2017.
The team finished atop Group D with 12 points after four victories, claiming the group’s solitary ticket to the final round of the Asian Cup in Jordan next year.
In Asia, Vietnam remained in seventh place, behind Japan (world no. 6), Australia (world no. 7), the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (world no. 10), China (world no. 14), the Republic of Korea (world no. 16) and Thailand (world no. 29).
Vietnam named among world’s top 20 fastest growing travel destinations
Vietnam was ranked seventh on the list of the world’s top 20 fastest growing travel destinations, which was recently announced by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
The UNWTO’s list was based on the assessment of upsurges in tourist arrivals. Accordingly, Vietnam saw a 24.6% surge in the number of foreign visitors in 2016 compared to the previous year.
Among Asian countries present on the list, Vietnam (seventh place) ranks third, behind Nepal (second place, 39.7%) and the Republic of Korea (fourth place, 30.3%).
Hanoi trials double-decker sightseeing bus
Hanoi’s leading bus operator Transerco has commenced with the trial of sightseeing bus tour services using double-decker buses, offering tourists a new choice to explore the capital city.
Known as City Tour, the service follows a loop route that starts at the Hanoi Opera House and takes tourists to the city’s famous destinations such as the Temple of Literature, Thang Long Citadel, Tran Quoc Temple and the Old Quarter.
The double-decker’s second storey is open and equipped with a retractable roof to shelter tourists from the sun and rain. The double-decker bus is also equipped with a Wi-Fi system and devices to fix wheelchairs to the floor, making it accessible to those with disabilities.
