Politics

☕ Afternoon briefing on January 8

The Government's conference reviewing its 2025 performance and set tasks for 2026, Vietnam – Japan trade exceeding 50 billion USD for the first time, and five cultural practices listed as national intangible cultural heritage are among news highlights on January 8.

☕ Afternoon briefing on January 8

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

– The Government held a hybrid conference on January 8 to review its 2025 performance and set tasks in 2026 for the central and local administrations.

The event saw the participation of top leaders of the Party, the State, the Government, the National Assembly, and representatives from ministries, agencies and localities. Read full story

– Party General Secretary To Lam on January 8 delivered a keynote address at a national conference reviewing the Government’s performance in 2025 and outlining tasks for 2026.

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Party General Secretary To Lam speaks at the national conference reviewing the Government’s performance in 2025 and outlining tasks for 2026. (Photo: VNA)

He called for a strong and substantive shift from a management-oriented mindset to one that actively creates development, while firmly ending buck-passing and the avoidance of responsibility. Read full story

– Vietnam will need radical economic restructuring and a fresh growth model powered by science – technology, innovation and digital transformation to deliver double-digit expansion starting in 2026, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh declared.

Addressing a national conference on January 8 reviewing the Government and localities’ 2025 performance and launching 2026 tasks, PM Chinh said the Government will fully and seriously follow the “highly important, thoughtful, in-depth and hands-on” directions from Party General Secretary To Lam, including fixing eight shortcomings and focusing on seven key tasks head-on. Read full story

– The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has put forward a proposal to Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son, head of the Steering Committee for National Fairs, outlining preparations for the organisation of national fairs in 2026.

Under the proposal, the ministry seeks Government approval to take charge of four major national fairs in 2026, including the second National Fair – Spring 2026; the third National Fair – an international specialised exhibition covering construction, building materials, transport, real estate, industrial machinery and equipment, and interior and exterior decoration; the fourth National Fair – Summer 2026; and the fifth National Fair – Autumn 2026. Read full story

– In 2025, Vietnam – Japan trade exceeded 50 billion USD for the first time, marking a key milestone in bilateral trade growth and reaffirming Japan as one of Vietnam’s most important and stable trading partners amid global economic uncertainty.

Citing statistics from the Department of Vietnam Customs, the Vietnam Trade Office in Japan noted total trade between the two nations surged by 11.28% year-on-year to 51.43 billion USD last year. Read full story

– Vietnam, long a top-10 global destination for remittances, is gearing up for its yearly rush of money sent home by overseas workers and family members as the Lunar New Year, known as Tet, gets closer.

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Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

With more than 16 billion USD flowing in each year, these funds have become vital "soft capital" that delivers broad and enduring benefits across the economy. Read full story

– Five cultural practices in the northern provinces of Hung Yen and Ninh Binh, and the central province of Nghe An, have been newly recognised as part of Vietnam’s national intangible cultural heritage list, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The freshly listed heritages include the traditional folk knowledge of cultivating Hung Yen longan and processing its fruit in Hong Chau and Son Nam wards as well as in Tan Hung, Khoai Chau, Trieu Viet Vuong, and Tien Lu communes. Read full story./.

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