Politics

Afternoon briefing

☕ Afternoon briefing on May 20

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

☕ Afternoon briefing on May 20

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

- The 15th National Assembly (NA) convened its 7th sitting in Hanoi on May 20 morning, with the opening session broadcast live by several national and NA television and radio channels.

Legislators are set to review and pass 10 bills, including the draft amended laws on social insurance, archives, and the organisation of people's courts as well as the law on defence industry, security, industrial mobilisation, and the law on roads. Read full story

- Deputies to the 15th National Assembly (NA) on May 20 elected Tran Thanh Man, Politburo member and Permanent Vice Chairman of the NA, as the Chairman of the 15th NA as part of their ongoing seventh session.

With "yes" votes from the 457 attending deputies, or 97.54% of the total deputies, the NA passed a resolution on Man’s election as the Chairman of the legislature in the 2021-2026 tenure. Read full story

- Rising prices of essential goods, the shortage of drugs and medical equipment, and corruption are among the issues of voters’s concern, according to a report presented to the National Assembly (NA) by President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Do Van Chien on May 20, the opening day of the 15th legislature’s seventh session.

The report says voters and people praised the Party and the State, led by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, for their timely and comprehensive direction over important national matters, and that people's confidence in the Party and the State has continued to be fostered. Read full story

- Member of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)’s Central Committee and deputy head of its Commission for Information and Education Lai Xuan Mon paid a working trip to Algeria from May 14 to 19.

Mon had meetings with Secretary General of Algeria’s National Liberation Front (FLN) Party Abdelkrim Benmbarek, Chairman of the Algeria-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group Salah Dieghloul, Minister of Communications Mohamed Laagab, and Director General of Algeria Press Service (APS) news agency Samir Gaid. Read full story

- Many activities have been held by overseas Vietnamese in different countries to celebrate the 134th birth anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh (May 19, 1890 - 2024).

As part of the Vietnamese Week in St. Petersburg, nearly 500 people participated in a wreath laying ceremony in front of the monument to the late leader in Vyborg district on May 19. Read full story

- The Vietnam Festival will take place at Yoyogi Park, Tokyo, on June 1-2, expected to help to enhance mutual understanding and strengthen bonds between the two peoples, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quag Hieu said at a press conference on May 20.

Featuring a kaleidoscope of cultural activities, the festival has become an indispensable event for the Vietnamese people there and locals for years, he said, highlighting this year's event is held to concretise the Vietnam-Japan Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity in Asia and the world, with cultural and people-to-people exchange being an important pillar. Read full story

- Vietnam Airlines has been ranked among the top five airlines with the highest on-time performance (OTP) in Asia-Pacific last month, according to a report from the London-based aviation analytics company Cirium.

The performance is defined as an aircraft’s arrival at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time. As per the April report, the Vietnamese national flag carrier secured the fifth spot with an OTP of 81.85%, a near-three-point increase over March (78.98%). Other airlines in the regional top five were Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Peach Aviation, and Air Asia. Read full story

- Outbound travel from India has seen a significant spike, with Vietnam emerging as a favoured international destination, according to Mint, a New Delhi-based business publication.

A report from Mastercard’s Economics Institute, entitled “Travel Trends 2024: Breaking Boundaries”, said Indian outbound travel to Vietnam during January-March skyrocketed by 248% against the same time in 2019, followed by the US and Japan. Read full story./.

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