☕ Afternoon briefing on February 15

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

– State President Vo Van Thuong launched a New Year tree planting festival in Tuyen Quang city of the province of the same name on February 15, or the sixth day of the first lunar month.

State President Vo Van Thuong speaks at ceremony to launch tree planting festival (Photo: VNA)

The annual activity has been held on the Lunar New Year – the biggest festival in a year of Vietnamese people. Read full story

– Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a meeting of permanent Government members on February 15, the first working day after the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, to review this year’s Tet situation and launch some focal tasks.

PM Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the meeting of permanent Government members on February 15. (Photo: VNA)

Officials reported that ministries, sectors, and localities cared for people’s material and spiritual lives by properly implementing social security policies along with activities of gratitude to war invalids, families of war martyrs, and revolution contributors. Tet gifts and assistance worth over 7.76 trillion VND (317.4 million USD) were presented to more than 13.9 million people of target groups. Read full story

– National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue held a Lunar New Year (Tet) meeting with heads of the NA Council for Ethnic Affairs, NA committees, and NA Standing Committee’s boards as well as officials and employees of the NA Office on February 15, or the sixth day of the first lunar month.

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (sixth, right) extends New Year wishes to officials and employees of the NA Office on February 15. (Photo: VNA)

Addressing the event, NA Chairman Hue highlighted achievements of the NA in 2023 and the first month of 2024, including the successful organisation of the NA's fifth extraordinary session, during which many important issues were decided, including the approval of the Land Law (revised) and Law on Credit Institutions (revised). Read full story

– The vibrant relations with Latin America have contributed to the successes of Vietnam’s diplomacy last year, according to an article ran by the El Popular (People) e-newspaper, the organ of the Communist Party of Uruguay.

The article highlighted the friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnam and Latin American nations, saying it made important, outstanding progress in the year. Read full story

– Ho Chi Minh City and Son La city in the northern mountainous province of the same name have joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC) as announced by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on February 14.

They were among the 64 new members from 35 countries recognised by the organisation for their outstanding efforts to make lifelong learning a reality for all at the local level. Read full story

– Vietnam’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) recorded a return to growth in early 2024, driven by an improved economic outlook that led to an increase in new orders, S&P Global has reported.

S&P Global’s report said that in January, the country’s PMI reached 50.3 points from 48.9 points in December last year. The result indicated an improvement in the health of the manufacturing sector for the first time in the last five months. Read full story

– A strong rise was seen in the number of foreign tourists in many localities across the country during the seven-day Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday from January 8-14, led by the central city of Da Nang with nearly 177,000 and Hanoi with nearly 103,000, reported the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT).

Foreign tourists at Ngoc Son Temple in Hanoi. (Photo: VNA)

The northern province of Ninh Binh welcomed nearly 100,000 visitors, while the central Quang Nam province served about 97,000 tourists, and the northern Quang Ninh province received nearly 90,000 travelers, according to the authority./. Read full story

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