Hanoi (VNA) – The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.
– Party General Secretary and State President To Lam attended and delivered a speech at a ceremony held in Ho Chi Minh City on July 2 to mark the 50th anniversary of Saigon-Gia Dinh city being officially named after President Ho Chi Minh (July 2, 1976–2026).
The event, jointly organised by the municipal Party Committee, People’s Council, People’s Committee and Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, brought together current and former Party and State leaders, revolutionary veterans, representatives of central agencies and localities, and people from all walks of life. Read full story
– Prime Minister Le Minh Hung on July 2 called on the military to strengthen its strategic advisory role, improve long-term forecasting capacity and proactively prepare for emerging traditional and non-traditional security challenges in a rapidly evolving global and regional environment.
The remarks were made at a national political-military conference held in Hanoi by the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence to review military and defence tasks in the first six months of 2026 and outline priorities for the remainder of the year. Read full story
– Security and public order must be closely integrated with socio-economic development, with efforts to safeguard them linked to expanding the national development space, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung said at a conference reviewing public security work in the first six months of 2026 and one year of operating the two-tier local public security model under the new administrative boundaries.
Addressing the conference held in Hanoi on July 2, the Government leader said the review meeting was of particular significance not only for the people's public security force but also for the country’s socio-economic development. He stressed the need to immediately implement the priorities set out at the recent conference of the Central Public Security Party Committee, particularly the directions issued by Party General Secretary and State President To Lam. Read full story
– Ho Chi Minh City officially began construction of the first major component of Metro Line No. 2 (Ben Thanh – Tham Luong) on July 2, marking the project's transition from the preparation phase to full-scale construction.
The first construction activity involves lowering a reinforced steel cage for the diaphragm wall at the underground ST10 (Pham Van Bach) station, one of the line's key stations. Diaphragm walls are deep reinforced concrete structures that support excavation and form the outer walls of underground stations. Read full story
– The World Bank (WB) has reclassified Vietnam as an upper-middle-income country after years of sustained rapid economic growth, a move that experts say marks an important milestone and is likely to further strengthen international investor confidence in one of the region’s fastest-growing economies.
According to the bank’s latest update released on July 1, Vietnam’s gross national income (GNI) per capita reached 4,970 USD in 2025, exceeding the institution’s 4,636 USD threshold for upper-middle-income economies. Read full story
– Vietnam's agro-forestry-fishery product exports brought home an estimated 35.88 billion USD in the first half of 2026, up 6% year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment.
Export turnover in June alone stood at 6.34 billion USD, rising 3% from May and 10.1% from the same month last year. Read full story
– Vietnam is well-placed to reinvent itself from a low-cost manufacturing base into one of Asia’s leading high-value technology production hubs, according to international financial organisations.
Reports released in June chart an economy moving fast beyond, now increasingly fueled by engineering, technology and innovation, a pivot clearly visible in the changing mix of foreign direct investment. Read full story./.
