Politics

☀️ Morning digest February 13

The following is a list of selected news summaries last weekend by the Vietnam News Agency.
☀️ Morning digest February 13 ảnh 1

Hanoi, (VNA) - The following is a list of selected news summaries last weekend by the Vietnam News Agency.

-PrimeMinister Pham Minh Chinh held talks with Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiahright after meeting with members of the House of Bolkiah in Bandar SeriBegawan capital on February 11 morning.

Sultan Bolkiah affirmed that Brunei alwaystreasures and wishes to keep developing its partnership with Vietnam,especially in economy, trade, investment, education and agriculture.Read full text

-Vietnamese PrimeMinister Pham Minh Chinh also held a roundtable discussion with Brunei energy andoil and gas enterprises in Bandar Seri Begawan capital on February 11, as partof his ongoing visit to Brunei.

Delegates discussed and proposed new businessideas and opportunities to lift bilateral economic, trade and investment ties,especially in energy and oil and gas.Read full text

-The same day Chinh received Minister of Finance andEconomy II of Brunei Dato Seri Setia Dr Awang Haji Mohd Amin Liew Abdullah, thelast activity in his two-day official visit to the country.Read full text

-Theofficial visits to Singapore and Brunei by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, hisspouse and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation from February 8-11 have beensuccessful, contributing to lifting Vietnam-Singapore strategic partnership andVietnam-Brunei comprehensive partnership to a greater height, said Minister ofForeign Affairs Bui Thanh Son.

Talking with the press about the outcomes of thevisits, Minister Son said they were the first visits to the Southeast Asiancountries by the Vietnamese PM since the 13th National Party Congress and theCOVID-19 outbreak. It was also the first visit to Singapore by the PM afternearly five years and the first to Brunei after nearly 16 years.Read full text

-PrimeMinister Pham Minh Chinh on February 12 asked to the Red River Delta region tomake most of its potential and advantages for rapid and sustainable developmentso as to lead the country’s economic restructuring and growth modeltransformation.

The PM made the requirement while chairing aconference in Quang Ninh province on the implementation of the Government’sAction Programme to realise the Politburo’s Resolution on directions forsocio-economic development and defence and security assurance in the Red RiverDelta to 2030, with a vision to 2045.Read full text

-Ship378 of Brigade 167 under the Naval Region 2 and HMS Spey, the British RoyalNavy’s offshore patrol vessel, conducted a joint exercise on the waters of BaRia-Vung Tau province on February 11.

The two sides exercised together in terms ofmobilising the squad, carrying out procedures for greeting each other at seaand exchanging information, and implementing the Code for Unplanned Encountersat Sea (CUES) of the navies of Western Pacific countries.Read full text

-Therescue mission of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security discovered and coordinated with internationalforces to rescue a victim trapped in the rubble caused by the 7.8 magnitudeearthquake in Turkey on February 11, the first day of their rescueoperation in Adiyaman city.

All76 Vietnamese military personnel together with about 40 tonnes of relief goodsand equipment are now ready to depart for Turkey to assist the country inrecovery efforts following the devastating earthquake.Read full text

-During a conference in Hanoi on February 11, theGeneral Department of Logistics assigned tasks to the military medicine teamdispatched to Turkey.Read full text

-VietnameseAmbassador to Italy Duong Hai Hung has held working sessions with leaders ofcredit group CDP, Simest credit institution of CDP, credit and insurance groupSACE and the General Confederationof Italian Industry  (Confindustria) of Italy as part of theembassy's economic diplomacy activities of in 2023.

According to Pasquale Salzano - President ofSimest, General Director in charge of European and international affairs of CDPGroup, Vietnam is in the strategic priority list of Simest.Read full text

-TheMinistry of Health (MoH) has officially added COVID-19 to the list ofoccupational diseases, meaning that certain employees will be able to makesocial insurance payment claims if they contracted the coronavirus.

According to Circular 02/2023/TT-BYT amendingCircular 15/2016/TT-BYT stipulating occupational diseases entitled to socialinsurance recently issued by the MoH, COVID-19 will become the 35thoccupational disease, starting from April 1, 2023.Read full text

-Vietnamhas been elected vice chair of the 24-member UNESCO IntergovernmentalCommittee of the 2005 Convention for the Protection and Promotion of theDiversity of Cultural Expressions, representing the Asia-Pacific region, aspart of the committee’s 16th session.Read full text

-NguyenThi Oanh made a triumphant statement by securing a gold medal in the women's1,500-metre event at the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Astana City,Kazakhstan, on February 11.Read full text/.

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Vietnamese Ambassador to Brazil and Suriname Bui Van Nghi (second from right) meets with representatives of Suriname’s national oil company Staatsolie. (Photo: Embassy of Vietnam in Brazil)

Vietnam, Suriname promote substantive cooperation across multiple fields

Surinamese President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons spoke highly of the friendship between the two countries and expressed her desire to expand cooperation with Vietnam in agriculture, aquaculture, expert exchanges and technical training, thereby enhancing production capacity and ensuring food security.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam (sixth from right, front row) visits the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen on October 19 afternoon (local time). (Photo: VNA)

Top Vietnamese leader visits Niels Bohr Institute in Denmark

Joachim Mathiesen, head of the institute, briefed the Vietnamese guests on its history and research activities. He said that as a leading physics research centre at the University of Copenhagen, the institute is renowned for its foundational contributions to atomic physics and quantum mechanics.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung (right) and Liechtenstein Prime Minister Brigitte Haas (Photo: VNA)

Liechtenstein Prime Minister concludes official visit to Vietnam

The two sides also agreed to expedite the ratification of the Vietnam-EFTA Free Trade Agreement and accelerate its implementation once it enters into force, while strengthening cooperation in green transition, the circular economy, renewable energy, emissions reduction and climate change adaptation.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam (second from right) and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly meet with King Frederik X and Queen Mary. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam treasures time-tested friendship, multifaceted cooperation with Denmark: Top leader

Both leaders welcomed the positive development of the bilateral relations, particularly since the establishment of the Comprehensive Partnership in 2013 and the Green Strategic Partnership in 2023. Economic, trade and investment cooperation has continued to expand, with Danish companies such as LEGO, Pandora and Carlsberg operating and expanding their business in Vietnam, contributing to socio-economic development, job creation, technology transfer and sustainable green growth.

Minister of Industry and Trade Le Manh Hung (L) meets with Swiss President Guy Parmelin. (Photo: Ministry of Industry and Trade)

Vietnam–EFTA Free Trade Agreement targeted for implementation in 2027

Switzerland is Vietnam’s largest trading partner within the EFTA. Swiss statistics showed that bilateral trade reached approximately 3.5 billion USD in 2025, up nearly 26%. According to Vietnam's Department of Customs, two-way trade totalled 806.2 million USD in the first nine months of 2026. As of September 30, Switzerland had 247 valid investment projects in Vietnam, with total registered capital of around 2.5 billion USD, ranking 20th among 154 countries and territories investing in the Southeast Asian country.

King Frederik X (L) presents the Order of the Elephant to General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam (second from left). (Photo: VNA)

Top Vietnamese leader receives Denmark’s highest-ranked honour

General Secretary and President Lam said he wishes to dedicate this great honour to the Vietnamese people, generations of Vietnamese and Danish people who laid the foundations for and have nurtured the two countries’ friendship over the past 55 years, and those in both countries who are carrying this legacy forward and ushering bilateral relations into a new chapter of development.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and President To Lam and Danish King Frederik X review the guard of honour. (Photo: VNA)

Top leader arrives in Copenhagen, beginning State visit to Denmark

The top Vietnamese leader’s visit to Denmark is expected to strengthen political trust, set long-term cooperation priorities and further deepen bilateral relations. It also offers an opportunity to promote economic, trade and investment ties, as well as cooperation in science-technology and innovation, in line with the development priorities and needs of both countries.