Politics

☕ Afternoon briefing on May 18

The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.
☕ Afternoon briefing on May 18 ảnh 1

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

- President Vo Van Thuong on May 18 received Abdulrahman OmarKinana, Politburo member and Vice Chairman of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi(CCM - Party of the Revolution) of Tanzania, who is on a working visit toVietnam.

☕ Afternoon briefing on May 18 ảnh 2President Vo Van Thuong (R) receives Abdulrahman Omar Kinana, Politburo member and CCM Vice Chairman. (Photo: VNA)

Welcoming the delegation right after the CCM’s10th National Congress, Thuong said that this is an opportunity for leaders ofthe two Parties and countries to exchange ideas and evaluate the internationalsituation, bilateral relations and orientations for cooperation in the comingtime. Read full story

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on May 18 hosted areception for Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) NgoziOkonjo-Iweala, who is on a working visit to Vietnam.

☕ Afternoon briefing on May 18 ảnh 3Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) shakes hands with Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. (Photo: VNA) 

At the meeting, PM Chinh spoke highly of the roleand efforts of the WTO Director-General in managing and promoting theorganisation’s activities, and congratulated Okonjo-Iweala on her remarkableachievements since she took office in March 2021. Read full story

- Vietnam has been invited to the expanded G7 Summit inJapan’s Hiroshima, slated for May 20-21, which demonstrates the importance theinternational community attaches to the country’s increasing role in the regionand the world at large, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu.

Vietnam is among the eight countries that havebeen invited by Japan, which is holding the rotating presidency of the G7 majorpowers, to the event. Notably, Vietnam is one of the two Southeast Asian guestnations, apart from Indonesia – ASEAN Chair 2023, the diplomat told the VietnamNews Agency (VNA). Read full story

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will lead ahigh-ranking delegation of Vietnam to attend the expanded summit ofthe Group of Seven (G7) and pay a working visit to Japan from May19-21 at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.

☕ Afternoon briefing on May 18 ảnh 4Japanese Ambassador Yamada Takio (Photo: Japanese Embassy in Vietnam)

On this occasion, Japanese Ambassador to VietnamYamada Takio granted an interview to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA). Thefollowing is the full text of the interview. Read full story

- Vietnamese Ambassador to the Netherlands Pham Viet Anh,permanent representative of Vietnam to the Organisation for the Prohibition ofChemical Weapons (OPCW), is attending the fifth review conference on theChemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in The Hague from May 15 to 19.

Over the recent past, member countries of theconvention have destroyed 99% of the declared chemical weapons and pledged todo the same for the remainder in the near future, heard the conference heldevery five years. Read full story

- Despite an overall export decline due to the shortage oforders, foreign direct invested (FDI) businesses still posted more than 14billion USD in trade surplus in the first four months, further affirming theirrole as the main growth driver of the economy.

Trade turnover totalled 206.76 billion USD duringJanuary - April, down 15.3% year on year, with those of FDI and domesticbusinesses at 144.02 billion USD and 62.74 billion USD, respectively dropping15.1% and 15.8%, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs. Read full story

- At the Future Mobility Asian 2023 summit and exhibitiontaking place from May 17-19 in Bangkok, Vietnam's automaker VinFast on May 17revealed its intention to expand into the Southeast Asia electric mobilitymarket with its full range of electric vehicles (EVs), planning to introduceits first four right-hand drive models.

☕ Afternoon briefing on May 18 ảnh 5VinFast to expand into Southeast Asia electric mobility market (Photo: VNA)

The Future Mobility Asia 2023 marked VinFast's official debut ofits brand and products in Asia, representing a significant milestone in thecompany's regional market strategy and the next phase of its globaldevelopment. Read full story

- The Vietnamese women’s football team will play against Japan,Uzbekistan and India in Group C of the 2024 Paris Olympic second qualificationround to be held in October and November this year, according to the draw heldby the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) on May 18.

Meanwhile, Group A includes hosts Australia, Taiwan (China), thePhilippines and Iran while Group B comprises hosts China, the Republic ofKorea, Thailand and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea./.Read full story

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