☕ Afternoon briefing on October 22

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

- The Presidential Office on October 22 held a ceremony for the transfer of work between Party General Secretary To Lam and State President Luong Cuong.

Lam officially handed over the tasks of the State President to Cuong. He asked the Party Central Committee’s Office, the Presidential Office and relevant agencies to report detailed affairs to the new State President right after the handover ceremony. Read full story

- Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has affirmed that Vietnam is an important partner of his country in the region.

At his October 21 meeting with Vietnamese Vice State President Vo Thi Anh Xuan, the Indonesian leader also said ample room remains for the two countries to boost their cooperation, and that the potential should be optimised to advance the collaboration, both bilaterally and multilaterally. Read full story

- Chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee Vu Hai Ha has held meetings with representatives from Canada, Norway, and Ukraine on the sidelines of the 45th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-45) in Vientiane.

At the October 20 meeting with Canadian Senator Yuen Pau Woo, the two sides shared the view that the Vietnam-Canada cooperation has been growing strongly across spheres since the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic ties in 1973. Read full story

- Vietnam’s coffee exports exceeded the 5 billion USD mark for the first time in the 2023-2024 crop year that lasted from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024.

Chairman of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (VICOFA) Nguyen Nam Hai said that during the 2023-2024 crop year, Vietnam exported about 1.46 million tonnes of coffee, a 12.1% decrease compared to the previous crop year. Read full story

- The Education for Nature – Vietnam (ENV), Vietnam’s first non-governmental organisation focused on wildlife conservation, organised a press conference on October 22 to review its efforts over the past two decades to end bear farming for bile in the country.

At the event, ENV Deputy Director Bui Thi Ha said the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in collaboration with the World Animal Protection (WAP) carried out a campaign to manage the forests and end bear farming for bile after some 4,000 bears were discovered on hundreds of farms across Vietnam for the extraction of the liquid which is believed to be of some medical use. Read full story

- Sorting, collecting, and recycling packaging is one of the solutions that not only helps regenerate products but also effectively reduces environmental pollution, heard a conference on circular economy held within the framework of the Green Economy Forum and Exhibition (GEFE) 2024 in Ho Chi Minh City on October 22.

The GEFE is being jointly held by the European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT)’s Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) on October 21-23. Read full story

- A cultural festival has been held in Uijeongbu city of the Republic of Korea (RoK)'s Gyeonggi province to mark the 10th anniversary of the Vietnam Women’s Association (VWA) in the country.

In her opening speech on October 20, Chairwoman of the VWA in Gyeonggi Mai Thi Hong Ngoc said that the festival aims to deepen the understanding of Vietnamese and Korean cultures among the two countries' people. Read full story

- Artists of Hanoi-based Le Ngoc Theatre won a Gold Plus and two gold awards at the 2024 Asia Pacific Arts Festival held in Singapore from October 19 - 20.

The Gold Plus went to People’s Artist Le Ngoc with the “Co doi thuong ngan” (Goddess of Forest) performance while the two gold awards were presented to Meritorious Artists Nguyen Van Hai and Pham Thi Hong for “Beo dat may troi” (When Earth and Sky Unite) folk song performance. Read full story

- The award ceremony of the Vietnam International Awards took place in London on October 20 to honour Vietnamese and foreign organisations and individuals with outstanding contributions to the community.

This year's Vietnam International Awards includes 12 categories with 60 nominations that are organisations and individuals from the UK, Vietnam and European countries, focusing on the fields of health, education, law, business, innovation as well as community and volunteer activities. Read full story./.

VNA