☕ Afternoon briefing on October 20 hinh anh 1
Hanoi (VNA) – The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency on October 20.

- The 15th National Assembly (NA) convened its 4th session in Hanoi on October 20.

The opening of the session is broadcast live on radio The Voice of Vietnam, Vietnam Television (VTV1), and National Assembly TV channels. Read full story

- Vietnam’s economic growth this year is projected at nearly 8%, up 1.5-2% from the initial target, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh while delivering the 2022 socio-economic performance report and 2023 socio-economic development plan at the 14th National Assembly’s fourth session in Hanoi on October 20.

The Government leader said important results were achieved in socio-economic development in the first nine months of this year, with 14 out of the 15 targets being met. Read full story

- Singaporean President Halimah Yacob left Ho Chi Minh City on October 20, concluding her five-day state visit to Vietnam.

During her stay, the Singaporean leader paid tribute to late President Ho Chi Minh at his Mausoleum in Hanoi, held talks with President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, paid a courtesy visit to Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, and met Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue. Read full story

- Vietnam pledged to continue ensuring and promoting human rights at a meeting of the United Nations Committee on Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Issues, as part of the UN General Assembly’s 77th session on October 19.

At the discussion, Minister Counsellor Le Thi Minh Thoa, Deputy Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN, said though progress has been made, there remain difficulties and obstacles in the guarantee and enjoyment of human rights due to simultaneous impact of unprecedented crises on a global scale. Read full story

- Promoting economic diplomacy in Laos has become an important focus of the Vietnamese Embassy and representative agencies there as it not only strengthens bilateral economic and trade ties but also cements great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, according to Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Ba Hung.

In an interview recently granted to the Vietnam News Agency, Hung said economic diplomacy in Lao now focuses on trade and investment which has been growing. Read full story
 
☕ Afternoon briefing on October 20 hinh anh 2Delegates to  the 13th National Women's Congress (Photo: VNA)
- Despite the various improvements in the promotion of gender quality and women empowerment, much still remains for Vietnam to do to ease gender prejudice and enhance public awareness on women’s role, according to experts.

Over the years, gender quality and the liberation of women have received great attention of the Party, State, sectors and the entire society, Pham Vu Hoang, Vice Director of the General Department for Population and Family Planning under the Ministry of Health, said at a recent meeting. Read full story

- A woman returning from Dubai has tested positive for monkeypox, making her the second case detected in Vietnam, reported the Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Health on October 20.

The 38-year-old resident of the northern province of Tuyen Quang, who visited Dubai from September 29 to October 18, has shown symptoms such as fever, nausea and blisters since October 11. Read full story

- The confidence of European enterprises in Vietnam’s investment and business environment slipped further to 62.2 percentage points in the wake of a worsening global economic downturn but still remains strong, according to the recent Business Climate Index (BCI) survey published by the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) in Vietnam.

The survey, produced by YouGov Decision Lab, said that although Vietnam's economy grew at a record 13.67% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2022, the BCI declined for the second consecutive quarter, dropping 6.4 index points from the second quarter and 10.8 points from the first quarter. Read full story

- A series of investigative reports on ivory trade in the Central Highlands by reporters of e-newspaper VietnamPlus won the second prize in the journalism category at the VIEWS Awards Journalism Award 2022.

The authors were honoured at a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City on October 19./. Read full story
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