☕ Afternoon briefing on August 6

Hanoi, August 6 (VNA) - The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned Vietnamese citizens not to travel to Lebanon, Iran, and Israel at this time, given the escalation of tentions between the three countries, posing risks to people’s safety and property.

While currently in Lebanon, people should move to a third country or return to Vietnam as soon as possible. Read full story

- The election of State President To Lam by the 13th Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee affirms solidarity within the party, Emeritus Professor Carl Thayer at the University of New South Wales has said in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency.

Lam stressed he will continue late Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s legacy, be resolve to fight corruption and other negative phenomena, and step up the Party building work, the Australian expert on Vietnamese studies highlighted, holding that Vietnam’s politics will remain stable while there will be no radical changes in its domestic and foreign policies till the 14th Party Congress, ensuring investors’ confidence. Read full story

- The Vietnamese Embassy in Russia hosted a get-together on August 5 to honour Soviet experts, especially those in military, who supported and accompanied the Vietnamese air defence and air force in their first days.

August 5, 1964, saw a marked victory of the young Vietnamese air defence and air force in the resistance war against the US as they shot down eight planes and captured pilots for the first time, with Soviet military experts making great contributions. Read full story

- The 27th ASEAN Directors-General of Immigration Departments and Heads of Consular Affairs Divisions of Ministries of Foreign Affairs Meeting (DGICM 27) and its related meetings will be held in Nha Trang city, the south-central coastal province of Khanh Hoa, from August 12-16, heard a press conference on August 6.

DGICM 27 will focus on challenges to the immigration and consular affairs work, aiming at building a common ASEAN house that stays firm in any circumstances, said the Immigration Department at the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security. Read full story

- Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang held talks with visiting Japanese Defence Minister Kihara Minoru in Hanoi on August 6, during which they touched upon cooperation orientations.

Giang highlighted the significance of Kihara's visit to deepening the Vietnam-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the World established last year, covering cooperation between the two defence ministries. Read full story

- Vietnam is experiencing a surge in cultural tourism, driven by a growing international appetite for heritage and culinary experiences. The trend is particularly embraced by the country's young generation.

Vietnam boasts 32 UNESCO-recognised world heritage items, including 5 cultural heritage sites, 24 intangible cultural heritage elements and documentary heritage items, alongside over 40,000 relic sites, nearly 10,000 of which are classified at the municipal and provincial level. Read full story

"Tinh hoa Bac Bo" (The Quintessence of Tonkin) show in Hanoi (Photo: VietnamPlus)

- Cultural tourism, with the promotion of the values of heritage sites and culinary culture, has been increasingly attractive for not only foreign tourists to Vietnam but also Vietnamese youngsters who wish to spread the national culture to international friends.

Ha Van Sieu, Vice Director of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT), held that the diversity in culture, ethnicity, lifestyle, and the fusion of Eastern and Western culinary cultures have led to a diversity of unique Vietnamese dishes and drinks, satisfying various tastes of foodies. Street food and traditional dishes are also becoming a strength of Vietnam, bringing unique experiences to tourists, he held. Read full story

- Vietnam is expected to maintain a trade surplus for the ninth consecutive year in 2024, given its export growth in the remainders of the year equal to that during January-July, according to experts.

During the seven-month span, the country’s export revenue rose 15.7% to 226.98 billion USD, with a trade surplus of 14.08 billion USD, according to the General Statistics Office. Read full story

- Vietnamese leading investors like Vingroup, TH Group, FPT, and Vinamilk have affirmed their intention to continue expanding their investments abroad in the coming time, given their effective business activities in the host countries.

In mid-May, TH Group started the construction of a dairy cow breeding and milk processing project in Russia’s Far East with a total investment of 5.2 trillion VND (206.9 million USD), as an effort to realise its plan to pour 2.7 billion USD into this market./. Read full story

VNA