☕ Afternoon briefing on March 17

-Permanent Vice Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly (NA) Tran Thanh Man held separate talks with Vice President of the Senate Cristina Narbona and First Vice President of the Congress of Deputies of Spain Alfonso Rodriguez in Madrid on March 16.
Man, who is on a visit to Spain, congratulated the country on its holding of the rotating European Council Presidency in the second half of 2023 and asked it to further promote and turn the ASEAN - EU cooperation into a priority in the EU’s agenda.Read full text

-Vietnam always treasures and wants to promote its traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation with Poland, one of its prioritised partners in Central Eastern Europe, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Nguyen Duc Hai said while receiving Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Zbigniew Rau in Hanoi on March 17.
Welcoming the Polish official’s visit, Hai affirmed that the Vietnamese NA always supports the comprehensive cooperation between the two governments.Read full text

-Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha hosted a reception in Hanoi on March 16 for Tien Quoc Hao, Chief Executive Officer of Asia Region of Japan’s Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and President of Toyota Motor Asia Pacific (TMAP), during which he asked for Toyota’s technical support to help Vietnam catch up with and even lead the digital transformation and sustainable energy transition process, and realise the goal of net-zero emissions.
Later the same day, Deputy PM Tran Hong Ha received Kirsten Schuijt, Director General of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), who highly valued the directions given by the Government of Vietnam in domestic and global conservation efforts.Read full text

- As a member of ASEAN and the United Nations Human Rights Council for 2023-2025, Vietnam will continue its close coordination with the 10-member grouping and the international community to help Myanmar overcome difficulties, promote dialogues, enhance understanding and narrow differences, the Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN has said.
Speaking at an informal meeting of the 77th UN General Assembly in New York on March 16, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang noted Vietnam’s concern over the situation in Myanmar which saw no improvements over the past two years, with a fragile economy and a severe humanitarian crisis which have greatly impacted women and children.Read full text

- A delegation of the Supreme People's Procuracy of Vietnam, led by Nguyen Huy Tien, Permanent Deputy Prosecutor General, attended the 15th International Meeting on Criminal Science and the 3rd conference on the rule of law, law and society, organised in Havana on March 15-17.
The official affirmed that the Communist Party and the Government of Vietnam determine that the fight against corruption is an important, urgent and complicated task that plays a vital role in the construction and development of the country.Read full text

-A delegation of the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence participated in DSEI Japan 2023, the only large-scale, fully integrated defence event in Japan, from March 14-17.
First launched in 2019, the biennial event was suspended until this year due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.Read full text

-Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vu Quang Minh paid a working visit to Hannover city, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) state on March 15-16.
In meetings with local officials, Minh reviewed the situation and prospects of the Vietnam-Germany relations, affirming that the bilateral Strategic Partnership has been strongly promoted in various fields.Read full text

-The 2023 Vietnam Business Forum (VBF) opened in Hanoi on March 17 under the theme of “Business Community in Partnership with Government of Vietnam in Fostering Green Growth”.
The annual forum, co-organised by the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment and the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), serves as an uninterrupted and close dialogue mechanism between the Government and the domestic and foreign business communities in order to improve business conditions to promote the development of the domestic private sector and facilitate the investment environment, thus contributing to Vietnam's sustainable economic growth.Read full text

-Vietnamese film lovers will have a chance to enjoy outstanding cinema works from the Francophone community at the 13th Francophone Film Festival which is set to run in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City from March 18 to 24.
As part of cultural activities on the occasion of International Francophone Day, the festival will present seven films from nine countries including Vietnam, Switzerland, France, Canada, Tunisia and Belgium-Wallonie-Bruxelles.Read full text/.