☕ Afternoon briefing on February 10

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

– Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on February 10 as part of his official visit to Singapore.
The Vietnamese leader congratulated Wong on becoming the leader of the People's Action Party (PAP) fourth-generation (4G) team, expressing a hope that Wong will always support and promote Vietnam-Singapore cooperation in various fields, from politics, security – defence to economy, trade, investment, and people-to-people exchange.Read full text

– Vietnam encourages partners and investors to engage in digital transformation, green transition, circular economy, innovation, and hi-tech and low-emission development in the country, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stated while attending a Vietnam – Singapore business forum on February 10 as part of his official visit to Singapore.
In his remarks, the Vietnamese leader highlighted the fruitful development of the bilateral ties, saying that over the last 50 years, Vietnam and Singapore have understood and trusted each other more.Read full text

– The National Assembly (NA) of Vietnam is scheduled to host the ninth Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Forum of Young Parliamentarians in Hanoi this September.
NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue presided over a working session with the NA Committee for External Relations, the NA Office, and relevant agencies on February 10 to discuss the event organisation.Read full text

– The 8th Buon Ma Thuot Coffee festival aims to promote the local coffee brand and gradually turns Buon Ma Thuot into one of the world’s leading coffee destinations, thereby contributing to raising the value and position of Vietnamese coffee in the world market, an official has said.
Nguyen Tuan Ha, vice chairman of the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak’s People’s Committee, made the statement at a press conference introducing the upcoming festival in Hanoi on February 10.Read full text

– Vietnam exported goods worth 8.21 billion USD to the Americas in January and spent 1.64 billion USD on imports from this market, resulting in a trade surplus of 6.56 billion USD, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT).
The United States remains Vietnam’s leading trade partner in the region with Vietnam’s exports and imports to the market reaching 7.2 billion USD and 860 billion USD, respectively. It was followed by Canada with about 360 million USD and 45 million USD, respectively.Read full text

- With continuous strong growth in recent years, processed fruits and vegetables have officially entered the one-billion-USD export club.
According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, in 2022, although the export of vegetables and fruits reported a year-on-year decrease, that of processed products continued to grow well, with an increase of 9.8% to reach 1.014 billion USD, marking the first time it has surpassed the 1-billion-USD mark.Read full text

– Vietnam targets at least 100 gold medals and a place in the top three of the coming 32nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in May in Cambodia.
Vietnam will compete in 30 sports among the 36 with 444 contents out of the 583 in the Phnom Penh event.
In the preparation for national teams to join the games, the Vietnam Anti-Doping and Sports Medicine Agency are asked to strictly supervise the use of complementary foods and medicines to avoid possible doping incidents.Read full text/.