☕ Afternoon briefing on August 20

The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

☕ Afternoon briefing on August 20

Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

- General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and State President To Lam visited and had a working session with the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in Beijing on August 20 morning as part of his state visit to China.

The meeting was attended by Li Shulei, Politburo member, Secretary of the CPC Central Committee’s Secretariat and head of the CPC Central Committee’s Publicity Department, along with leaders, professors, lecturers, and students of the school. Read full story

- General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and State President To Lam, his spouse and a high-level Vietnamese delegation arrived in Hanoi on August 20, concluding a three-day state visit to China at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President of China Xi Jinping, and his spouse.

The top leader and his entourage were seen off at Beijing Capital International Airport by member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, member of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong, Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Xiong Bo, officials of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with Vietnamese Ambassador to China Pham Sao Mai, and representatives from the Vietnamese community in the country. Read full story

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has demanded relevant sides mobilise every resource to speed up the construction of the Circuit-3 500kV power transmission lines so as to inaugurate the entire network before September 2.

He made the request at a recent teleconference on the construction of the lines in central Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces, according to the Government Office’s announcement on August 19. Read full story

- Vietnam News Agency (VNA) General Director Vu Viet Trang and President of China’s Xinhua News Agency Fu Hua held talks in Beijing on August 20, underlining the role of the agencies in the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

They also highlighted the significance of an agreement on professional cooperation signed between the VNA and Xinhua one day before in the witness of Party General Secretary and President To Lam and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Read full story

- Nhan Dan (People) Newspaper on August 20 launched a special page on late Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, at http://nguyenphutrong.nhandan.vn.

At the ceremony, participants observed a minute of silence to commemorate the late leader. Read full story

- The Indonesian Navy’s KRI Bung Tomo - 357 corvette, with 86 officers and sailors on board, docked at the Nha Rong port in Ho Chi Minh City on August 19, starting its five-day friendly visit to Vietnam.

The naval forces of the two nations are set to conduct joint exercises at sea, as part of their second joint training session this year. Read full story

- The Government Office on August 19 issued a document announcing the conclusion by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, head of the State steering committee for national key transport projects, at the 13th meeting of the committee.

Accordingly, the Government leader urged competent ministries, sectors, and localities to make concerted efforts and resolve to complete 3,000km of highways by 2025 when the country will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Southern Liberation and National Reunification, and the 80th anniversary of the National Day. Read full story

- A 4.2-magnitude earthquake hit Kon Plong district, the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum, on August 20, the Earthquake Information and Tsunami Warning under the Institute of Geophysics reported.

It occurred at 13:05 at 14.913 degrees North latitude, 108.226 degrees East longitude, and a focal depth of about 8.1 km. The level of natural disaster risk is zero. Read full story./.

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