☕ Afternoon briefing on March 27

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

– Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang received Executive Senior Vice President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Yamada Junichi in Hanoi on March 26.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang (R) hosts JICA Executive Senior Vice President Yamada Junichi in Hanoi on March 26. (Photo: VNA)

Welcoming the JICA official to Vietnam to attend the launch of the first phase of the Vietnam-Japan joint initiative in the new era, Deputy PM Quang briefed the guest on Vietnam’s national budget management mechanisms as well as the country’s recent efforts to remove difficulties and obstacles to speed up the progress of projects using Japanese ODA. Read full story

– Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha hosted a reception on March 27 for Mary L Schapiro, vice chairwoman of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ).

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha (right) and Mary L Schapiro, vice chairwoman of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam is facing difficulties in establishing mechanisms and policies for green transformation, the Deputy PM said, noting that many investors have expressed interest in renewable energy projects but have yet to solve technology-related challenges concerning ensuring the balance and stability of the national power grid, producing and using green hydrogen and ammonia, energy storage solutions and electricity export.  Read full story

– Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son attended and delivered a speech at a seminar on Vietnam-US relations at Brookings Institute in Washington D.C. on March 26, within the framework of his official visit to the US to co-chair the first foreign ministerial-level dialogue between the two countries.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (sixth from right) and the Vietnamese working delegation pose for a photo with Jeffrey Goss, Associate Vice Provost/SE Asia at the Arizona State University (sixth from left). (Photo: VNA)

In his speech, Son said that amidst latent traditional and non-traditional security challenges in the region, Vietnam consistently implements its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, multilateralisation and diversification of foreign relations, comprehensive and extensive international integration, and being a friend, a trusted partner and an active and responsible member of the international community. Read full story

– The close-knit relationship between Cuba and Vietnam, founded by President Ho Chi Minh and Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro and nurtured by the two countries’ generations of leaders and people, is a symbol of the era and of solidarity, said President of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba Esteban Lazo Hernández.

At the reception (Photo: VNA)

During a reception in Havana on March 26 for the new Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba, Le Quang Long, Hernández committed all possible support for the diplomat to fulfill tasks assigned by the Vietnamese Party and State. Read full story  

– Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen Hoang Xuan Chien received newly-appointed Cambodian Military Attaché in Vietnam Maj. Gen. Leang Sovannara in Hanoi on March 27.

Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen Hoang Xuan Chien (R) and newly-appointed Cambodian Military Attaché in Vietnam Maj. Gen. Leang Sovannara in Hanoi on March 27. (Photo: VNA)

Chien expressed his delight at the results of bilateral defence cooperation over the past time, particularly in delegation exchanges, human resources training, border management and protection, and seeking and repatriation of remains of Vietnamese volunteers and experts who sacrificed in Cambodia during the war. Read full story

– Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Pham Hung Tam met with Senator Tim Ayres, Assistant Minister for Trade and Manufacturing of Australia, in Canberra on March 27, during which the Australian official spoke highly of positive developments in the relations between the two countries, especially the elevation of their relationship to comprehensive strategic partnership on the occasion of an official visit to Australia by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in March.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Pham Hung Tam (right) meets with Senator Tim Ayres, Assistant Minister for Trade and Manufacturing of Australia, in Canberra. (Photo: VNA)

Ayres affirmed that the Australian Government's leadership and he personally hold positive views on the current situation and prospects of the Vietnam-Australia relationship. Therefore, they are interested in and support the further development of the relationship for the benefit of both countries, for peace, stability, and prosperity in the region./. Read full story

VNA