Politics

☕ Afternoon briefing on March 14

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

☕ Afternoon briefing on March 14

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

- Both regional and international public opinion and experts have appreciated the upgrade of Vietnam's relations with Indonesia and Singapore to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, affirming that this is a significant step forward and demonstrates Vietnam's proactive stance and readiness to enhance its position in a new stage.

They held that the state visit to Indonesia and official visits to the ASEAN Secretariat and Singapore by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam from March 9-13 achieved all the set objectives at a high level, with the most notable accomplishment being the upgrade of Vietnam’s relations with the two countries. Read full story

- Party General Secretary To Lam’s state visit to Indonesia has brought tremendous benefits to both nations, resulting in closer and broader cooperation across economy, politics, security, and people-to-people exchange, an Indonesian scholar has said.

Beni Sukadis, Senior Researcher at the Jakarta-based Indonesia Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies (LESPERSSI) told the Vietnam News Agency that the Vietnamese Party chief’s visit, made at the invitation of President of the Republic of Indonesia and Chairman of the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra) Prabowo Subianto, affirms Vietnam’s commitment to deepening relations with Indonesia – an important partner and the largest economy in the region. Read full story

- Party General Secretary To Lam, accompanied by his spouse and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, successfully concluded his state visit to Indonesia, official visit to the ASEAN Secretariat, and official visit to Singapore from March 9-13. The trips achieved all its set objectives at the highest level, notably elevating Vietnam’s relations with the two key ASEAN member states.

During the trips, the Party leader joined more than 40 activities, including meetings, talks, dialogues, and engagements, delivering policy speeches, meetings with the Vietnamese community, and visiting several economic and cultural institutions in the two nations. On this occasion, ministries, sectors, localities, and businesses of Vietnam and their counterparts from the two countries signed numerous cooperation agreements in many fields such as education - training, combating transnational crime, fisheries, digital economy, digital transformation, green transition, and finance. Read full story

- The official visit to Singapore by Party General Secretary To Lam, his spouse, and the high-level delegation of Vietnam was successful, highlighted by the upgrade of the countries' relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership – a strategic move reflecting their strong and close-knit ties.

So said Professor Bilveer Singh, deputy head of the Political Science Department at the National University of Singapore, in an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency. Read full story

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on March 13 signed a decision on establishing a government steering committee for the development of science, technology, innovation and digital transformation, and Project 06.

PM Chinh chairs the committee, with Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh serving as his standing deputy. Other deputy chairpersons are Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung, Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang, Minister of Public Security General Luong Tam Quang, Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung, and Minister of Home Affairs Pham Thi Thanh Tra. Read full story

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has called on international partners to help Vietnam advance its technological capabilities and transform its development trajectory, particularly in emerging fields like artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor.

Addressing the policy forum “Taking the Lead: Vietnam’s Proactive Strategy for Semiconductor & AI Advancement in the New Era” held on March 14 within the framework of the AI-Semiconductor Conference (AISC 2025), PM Chinh laid stress on Vietnam’s commitment to rapid and sustainable growth driven by science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation. Read full story

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Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival wraps up on March 13. (Photo: VNA)


- The 9th Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival concluded on March 13 after five days of vibrant activities in Buon Ma Thuot city, the Central Highlands of Dak Lak.

Speaking at the closing ceremony, Nguyen Thien Van, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said the festival celebrated Vietnamese coffee, particularly the Buon Ma Thuot Coffee brand and its geographical indication, while promoting high-quality and specialty coffee to global markets and attracting investment and trade. Read full story

- Special Envoy of the Prime Minister, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien had a working session with US Trade Representative Jamieson L. Greer on March 13 to advance bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade on March 14 said that this marked the first official ministerial-level meeting between the two countries since the new US administration took office. Read full story

- The Vietnam National Innovation Centre (NIC) and Meta on March 14 launched the Vietnam Innovation Challenge 2025, the third edition of the annual programme, to advance artificial intelligence (AI) development.

This year's theme centres on Project ViGen, an endeavour to create high-quality, open-source, Vietnamese datasets for the training and enhancement of large language models (LLMs) so AI models can better understand Vietnamese culture, context, and expressions. This will enhance Vietnamese language representation in AI, while also fuelling rapid and sustainable economic growth in Vietnam./. Read full story

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