☕ Afternoon briefing on November 10

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

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has ordered the diplomatic sector to continue its pioneering role and strongly renew its mindset and approaches in external affairs across all areas, proactively and actively deepen relations with neighbouring countries, major powers, other Southeast Asian nations, key partners, traditional friends, and potential partners to enhance trust and ensure long-term sustainability.

Addressing a patriotic emulation congress of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the 2025–2030 period, on November 10, the PM, who is also Chairman of the Central Council for Emulation and Commendation, asked the diplomatic sector to make full use of established partnerships and improve Vietnam’s role and contributions to international politics, global economy, and human civilisation. Read full story

- Vietnam’s ST25 rice has once again been crowned the world’s best rice, sharing the honour with Cambodia’s Phka Romdoul at the World’s Best Rice Award 2025 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

According to Lun Yeng, Secretary General of the Cambodia Rice Federation (CRF), the results were announced on November 9, with both Phka Romdoul, marketed under the brand name Malis Angkor, and Vietnam’s ST25 rice taking first place, surpassing over 30 entries from various countries. Read full story

- Vietnam’s tea exports in October were estimated at nearly 12,000 tonnes, worth 20.9 million USD, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment has reported.

In the first ten months of 2025, the country exported over 109,000 tonnes of tea, earning more than 188 million USD, down 10.2% in volume and 11.2% in value year-on-year. The average export price stood at over 1,723 USD per tonne, 1.1% lower than the same period last year. Read full story

- Vietnam’s pepper exports maintained strong growth momentum of over 25%, earning nearly 1.4 billion USD in the first ten months of 2025.

According to the Vietnam Pepper and Spice Association (VPSA), the country exported 19,430 tonnes of pepper in October, including 16,464 tonnes of black and 2,966 tonnes of white pepper, with a total value of 129.5 million USD. While export volume and value dropped slightly from September, both rose year-on-year by 5.1% and 7.7%, respectively. Average export prices stood at 6,443 USD per tonne for black pepper and 8,392 USD per tonne for white pepper. Read full story

- Vietnam Electricity (EVN)’s Northern Power Corporation (EVNNPC) has retained its long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating at “BB+” with a Stable Outlook, according to Fitch Ratings.

The rating reflects EVNNPC’s standalone credit profile of ‘BB+’, which is on par with both parent company EVN and Vietnam’s sovereign rating of ‘BB+/Stable’. Fitch said the alignment of EVNNPC’s rating with EVN’s reflects the state-owned parent’s full ownership and the high likelihood of government support, consistent with Fitch’s Parent and Subsidiary Linkage Rating Criteria. Read full story

- The Vietnam Red Cross Society has launched an emergency relief operation to support residents in Dak Lak, Gia Lai, and Quang Ngai provinces, severely impacted by Typhoon Kalmaegi and its aftermath.

The society has decided to allocate over 3.3 billion VND (125,472 USD) in cash and goods to assist the three provinces, with the funding from its H2025 relief account at Vietcombank and from the “Clean Water for Communities” project, sponsored by Procter & Gamble (P&G) through Americares. Read full story./.

VNA