☕ Afternoon briefing on June 29

Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency on June 29.

- National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue has said his visit to Hungary is an opportunity to deepen and promote the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and Hungary, especially the parliamentary ties.

The top legislator made the remarks as he met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on June 28 in Budapest.

- National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue arrived at Heathrow Airport in London on June 28 (local time), beginning his three-day official visit to the UK at the invitations of Speaker of the UK House of Lords John McFall and Speaker of the House of Commons of the UK Lindsay Hoyle.

National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue arrives at Heathrow Airport in London on June 28, beginning his three-day official visit to the UK. (Photo: VNA) 

The visit aims to maintain and deepen the cooperative relations between the two countries and affirm the importance Vietnam attaches to the Vietnam - UK Strategic Partnership. Read full story

- The 8th Ocean Dialogue took place in Hanoi on June 29 under the theme “40th Anniversary of UNCLOS: Promoting maritime cooperation in Southeast Asia”, drawing more than 150 direct and 100 online participants, including 15 speakers from 14 countries and territories, and representatives from the UN.

Addressing the event, Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Hieu underlined that the passing of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 40 years ago was a historical milestone in the development of international law, becoming the first comprehensive legal framework and a “constitution” of the sea. Read full story

- Vietnam’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of this year was estimated to increase 7.72% year-on-year, higher than the growth rates in the same quarters during the 2011-2021 period, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported at a press conference on June 29.

Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)

According to GSO General Director  Nguyen Thi Huong, the country's socio-economic development in the first six months of 2022 has prospered in most industries and fields, especially processing and manufacturing industry; retail sales of consumer goods and services; and exports. Read full story

- There were 76,233 newly-registered enterprises in the first six months of this year, an increase of 13.6% compared to the same period last year.

This is the first time that the number of newly-established enterprises in the first six months has exceeded 70,000. Read full story

- The number of foreign tourists visiting Vietnam in the first two quarters of 2022 increased 6.8 times over the same period of 2021, reaching 602,000, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Tourists in Phu Quoc city in Kien Giang province. (Photo: VNA)

Visitors coming by air accounted for 87% of the total and 9.4 times that of the same period last year. Read full story

- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in coordination with the Enterprise Development Agency under the Ministry of Planning and Investment, organised a training workshop in Ho Chi Minh City on June 29, aiming to provide information relating to greenhouse gas reduction as well as offering solutions to businesses.

The session is part of the project “Improving Private Sector Competitiveness”, with a budget of 36 million USD funded by USAID./. Read full story