Politics

☕ Afternoon briefing on January 16

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

☕ Afternoon briefing on January 16

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

- Party General Secretary To Lam on January 16 urged the northern province of Nam Dinh to carry out socio-economic development solutions to achieve a double-digit GRDP growth rate this year, focusing on utilising all resources to invest in socio-economic infrastructure.

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Party General Secretary To Lam speaks at the working session. (Photo: VNA)

At a working session with the provincial Party Committee as part of his visit to the locality, Lam requested the drastic implementation of the plans and projects for the restructuring of the political system to make it streamlined, strong, and efficient in accordance with the spirit of Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW of the 12th Party Central Committee. Read full story

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his spouse Le Thi Bich Tran, and a delegation of Vietnam arrived at Frédéric Chopin Airport in Warsaw on the evening of January 15 (local time), beginning an official visit to Poland from January 15 to 18 at the invitation of Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse Le Thi Bich Tran at Frédéric Chopin Airport in Warsaw. (Photo: VNA)

PM Chinh and his entourage were greeted at the airport by Secretary of State at the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski and other officials of the ministry, along with Vietnamese Ambassador to Poland Ha Hoang Hai, embassy staff, and representatives of the Vietnamese community in the European country. Read full story

- State President Luong Cuong visited, offered Lunar New Year (Tet) greetings and gifts to officers and soldiers of Military Region 9 on January 16, as part of his ongoing working visit to southern provinces.

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State President Luong Cuong visits staff of Military Region 9 (Photo: VNA)

In his speech, President Cuong lauded staff of the Military Region 9 for working closely with local Party committees, authorities and people of southwestern provinces to fulfil assigned tasks. Read full story

- The Prime Minister has approved investment policy for infrastructure development at the Nam Trang Cat industrial zone in the northern port city of Hai Phong.

Spearheaded by Vinhomes Industrial Zone Investment JSC, the project will span 200.39ha in Trang Cat ward, Hai An district, boasting an investment of over 2.25 trillion VND (88.6 million USD), with Vinhomes pouring in 337.9 billion VND. Read full story

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed an official dispatch on January 15, ordering ministries, sectors, and localities to strengthen oversight and address real estate market manipulation and speculation.

Despite the Government’s drastic directions and measures to remove roadblocks in the real estate sector, the market still faces several issues such as limited housing supply, especially affordable housing for middle- and low-income people, high property prices due to speculative activities and market manipulation by certain investor groups and brokers, and insufficient and opaque market information. Read full story

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has required accelerating the development of the domestic market and the stimulation of consumption on the occasion of the Lunar New Year (Tet) 2025.

In an official dispatch sent to ministers of several relevant ministries, the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, and chairpersons of the People’s Committees of centrally-run cities and provinces, the Government leader called for the drastic and effective implementation of the tasks and solutions assigned by the Government and the Prime Minister in the Decisions, Directives, and official dispatches regarding the promotion of economic growth, the development of the domestic market, the stimulation of consumer demand, and the organisation of the Tet festival. Read full story

- Vietnam and India have long maintained a strong and sustainable relations, built on a shared historical foundation, cultural exchanges, and common strategic interests.

In a recent interview granted to Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the New Year 2025, Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Sandeep Arya shared insights about the future of the Vietnam-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, as well as potential areas of cooperation that will help further deepen the bilateral relations. Read full story

- Immediately after the phone talks between General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President of China Xi Jinping on January 15, Chinese media simultaneously reported on this important event.

According to Xinhua News Agency, Xi said he is glad to hold phone talks with Lam at the turn of the year and on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties, recalling that during Lam's state visit to China last August, the two leaders had in-depth exchanges and reached broad consensus on deepening relations between the two Parties and countries, as well as jointly promoting the development of socialist cause. Read full story

- With 7.82 billion USD in foreign direct investment lured in 2024, the port city of Hai Phong and the northeastern province of Quang Ninh continued affirming their strong attraction as the two pillars of the northern economic triangle, that includes Hanoi.

Specifically, Hai Phong attracted 4.94 billion USD and Quang Ninh 2.88 billion USD, ranking second and fourth among localities nationwide, respectively. Read full story

- The Vietnam Trade Office in Algeria held a meeting with representatives from several Algerian trade promotion organisations and businesses on January 15 to look back on bilateral trade and chart a course for future collaborations.

The event brought together representatives from the National Economic Development Organisation of Algeria (ONDE), the Arab-African Centre for Investment and Development (CAAID), the Algerian Forum for Import, Export, International Trade and Investment (AFIETI), along with 15 firms specialising in trade, export-import of agricultural and food products, forestry and industrial goods. Read full story

- The spouse of the Party General Secretary, Ngo Phuong Ly, on January 16 joined female ambassadors and diplomats of foreign countries in Hanoi in wrapping ‘banh chung’ (glutinous rice cake) – a traditional dish on the occasion of Vietnam's Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

The event is part of activities in the cultural diplomacy programme themed A Concert of Vietnamese Tet, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. /.Read full story

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