☕ Afternoon briefing on August 26

Party General Secretary and President To Lam's meeting with officials included in the leadership planning managed by the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, PM Le Minh Hung's meeting with Chinese businesses, and Vietnam winning the ASEAN Armies’ Open Volleyball Tournament 2026 are among news highlights on August 26.

☕ Afternoon briefing on August 26

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 Central Committee and President To Lam chaired a meeting in Hanoi on August 26 with officials included in the leadership planning managed by the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, during which he highlighted actual results, credibility, and trust earned in practice as the ultimate measures for each person.

Emphasising the significance of preparing officials in ensuring the Party’s leadership capacity for the country’s new development journey, General Secretary and President Lam said that officials must not be assessed merely on the basis of expected positions or previous posts, but by the difficult problems they have solved, bottlenecks they have removed, teams they have built, successors they have prepared and public trust they have earned. Read full story

– The Hanoi Party Committee held a ceremony on August 26 to present 80-year, 75-year and 70-year Party membership badges to 53 members of the municipal Party Organisation, as part of activities marking the 81st anniversary of National Day (September 2, 1945-2026). General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and President To Lam attended and delivered remarks at the event.

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General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam and veteran Party members receiving Party membership badges at the ceremony in Hanoi on August 26, 2026. (Photo: VNA)

This occasion, 20,920 members of the Hanoi Party Organisation were presented with the badges for 30 years or more of membership. Of these, 160 have been awarded those marking 70 years or more of Party membership. A total of 53 members who were in good health attended the ceremony. Read full story

– Prime Minister Le Minh Hung has urged Chinese companies to continue regarding Vietnam as a long-term production and trade base, while boosting investment into higher-quality projects with more advanced technologies and stronger spillover effects.

Chairing a meeting in Hanoi on August 26 with Chinese firms operating in Vietnam, PM Hung said he hoped that Chinese companies will continue working closely with Vietnam to better unlock the potential, strengths and complementarities of the two economies. Read full story

– President of the National Assembly (NA) Tran Thanh Man on August 26 called for the findings of a comprehensive review of Vietnam’s system of legal normative documents to be immediately translated into concrete legislative and executive action, stressing that the review must ultimately remove institutional bottlenecks and create new room for national development.

Chairing the second meeting of the Steering Committee for the Comprehensive Review of the System of Legal Normative Documents in Hanoi, NA President Man, head of the Steering Committee, said the review is a critically important task that has received close attention from General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and President To Lam and Standing Member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Tran Cam Tu. Read full story

– Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Environment Trinh Viet Hung proposed four key directions for cooperation at the 11th APEC Food Security Ministerial Meeting, which took place in Hangzhou, China, on August 25.

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An overview of the 11th APEC Food Security Ministerial Meeting in Hangzhou on August 25. (Photo: VNA)

The meeting, bringing together agricultural leaders from the 21 APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) member economies was regarded as one of the most strategically significant events in the APEC 2026 agenda, as the region accounts for nearly half of global food production and trade. Read full story

– The team of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) defeated the squad of Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Public Security in the final in Hanoi on August 25 to win the ASEAN Armies’ Open Volleyball Tournament 2026.

The victory saw the VPA squad successfully defend the title, following the previous edition of the tournament held in 2023. Read full story./.

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Vietnamese Consul General Le Duc Hanh (left) and Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region at the event (Photo: VNA)

August Revolution anniversary celebration highlights growing Vietnam–Hong Kong cooperation

Reviewing Vietnam’s remarkable 81-year journey, Vietnamese Consul General Le Duc Hanh highlighted its extraordinary transformation from a nation that endured prolonged wars and hardship into a dynamic middle-income economy deeply integrated into global markets. This progress has been underpinned by strong economic growth and new drivers of development, including science and technology, digital transformation, institutional reform, investment in strategic infrastructure, the strengthening of the private sector and deeper international integration.

PM Le Minh Hung and Chinese business executives at the meeting in Hanoi on August 26 (Photo: VNA)

PM urges Chinese firms to increase investment with higher quality, advanced technologies

The PM noted with pleasure that Vietnam-China ties have advanced steadily in recent years. Vietnam always considers developing its relations with China a consistent policy, an objective requirement, a strategic and natural choice, and a top priority in its overall foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification, he stressed.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam and veteran Party members at the ceremony in Hanoi on August 26, 2026. (Photo: VNA)

Top leader attends Party membership badge presentation ceremony in Hanoi

Top leader To Lam expressed his hope that veteran Party members would continue to maintain their health and draw on their prestige, wisdom, experience and revolutionary spirit to remain a source of spiritual support for Party committees, authorities and the people; offer frank and constructive opinions on Party and government building; and pass on revolutionary traditions to the younger generations.

President of the Vietnamese National Assembly Tran Thanh Man (right) and President of the Côte d’Ivoire National Assembly Patrick Achi (Photo: VNA)

President of Côte d’Ivoire NA concludes official visit to Vietnam

During the meetings with the Côte d’Ivoire NA President, Vietnamese leaders called for effectively implementating the cooperation memorandum between the two legislatures, considering the early establishment of parliamentary friendship groups in each country, and further sharing legislative and supervisory experience.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam addresses the meeting. (Photo: VNA)

Officials must be assessed through actual results, credibility: Top leader

Emphasising the significance of preparing officials in ensuring the Party’s leadership capacity for the country’s new development journey, General Secretary and President Lam said that officials must not be assessed merely on the basis of expected positions or previous posts, but by the difficult problems they have solved, bottlenecks they have removed, teams they have built, successors they have prepared and public trust they have earned.

At the talks between Politburo Member and Chairman of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee’s Commission for Inspection Tran Sy Thanh and a visiting delegation of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP)'s Inspection Commission led by its Chairman Vanhxay Phongsavanh in Hanoi on August 25, 2026. (Photo: VNA)

Inspection-supervision cooperation helps nurture Vietnam-Laos ties

The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee’s Commission for Inspection and its Lao counterpart will continue to effectively implement their 2022-2026 cooperation agreement, maintain high-level and professional delegation exchanges, and focus on sharing professional experience in inspection and supervision.

Singaporean Senior Minister of State for Defence Desmond Choo sees Standing Member of the CPV Central Committee’s Secretariat Tran Cam Tu off at Changi International Airport. (Photo: VNA)

Key Vietnamese leader concludes successful official visit to Singapore

Politburo Member and Standing Member of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee’s Secretariat Tran Cam Tu and a high-ranking CPV delegation left Singapore on August 25 afternoon, concluding their successful official visit to Singapore and co-chairing of the first Vietnam-Singapore Strategic Dialogue on August 24–25.

Politburo Member, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang (R) and outgoing French Ambassador to Vietnam Olivier Brochet in Hanoi on August 25, 2026. (Photo: chinhphu.vn)

Vietnam, France boost defence cooperation across multiple areas

Vietnam attaches importance to cooperation with France, an important member of the European Union (EU) and Vietnam’s first comprehensive strategic partner within the EU. Bilateral relations have made effective progress in a wide range of areas, including economy and trade, science and technology, education and training, culture and tourism, as well as defence and security.

Politburo member and Standing member of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee’s Secretariat Tran Cam Tu (L) meets with Secretary-General of the People’s Action Party and Prime Minister of Singapore Lawrence Wong on August 25. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnamese, Singaporean leaders agree to deepen bilateral ties

The two sides agreed that the dialogue will help establish a direct, regular and strategic channel for exchanges between the two Parties, through which they can conduct in-depth discussions on Party building, policy making, governance and national development, while sharing views on strategic issues of mutual concern, thereby strengthening the Party-to-Party channel’s role in providing strategic orientations for the bilateral ties.

Politburo Member and Standing Member of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee’s Secretariat Tran Cam Tu (L) and Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam in Singapore on August 25, 2026. (Photo: VNA)

Key Vietnamese leader meets Singaporean President

Vietnam consistently attaches importance to its relations with Singapore, one of its top partners in the region. The establishment of the Strategic Partnership in 2013 and its upgrade to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2025 were important milestones, reflecting the maturity of bilateral ties and the shared vision of the two countries’ leaders for long-term cooperation.