California keen to foster links with HCM City

California wishes to forge comprehensive links with Ho Chi Minh City on the basis of the increasing relations between Vietnam and the US, Governor of California Edmund Jerry Brown stated during his reception for the Secretary of HCM City’s Party Committee Le Thanh Hai in Oakland on July 14 (US time)
California wishes to forge comprehensive links with Ho Chi Minh City onthe basis of the increasing relations between Vietnam and the US,Governor of California Edmund Jerry Brown stated during his receptionfor the Secretary of HCM City’s Party Committee Le Thanh Hai in Oaklandon July 14 (US time)

Secretary of HCM City’s Party Committee LeThanh Hai and city representatives are currently on a working visit tothe US, according to the Sai Gon Giai Phong Newspape on July 16.

EdmundJerry Brown said the two sides should cooperate closely in the field ofenvironmental protection, with a particular focus on climate changemitigation and adaptation.

The Vietnamese official spoke highlyof the cooperation between HCM City and California on trade, investment,science and technology, and education and training, and agreed with hishost to boost links in the field of environmental protection.

Laterthat day, Vice Mayor of Sacramento Allen Warren welcomed the ViceChairman of HCM City’s People’s Committee Tat Thanh Cang.

The twocities’ leaders discussed issues of common concern, such as enhancingmutual understanding and connections in trade, investment and educationand training.

Vice Chairman Cang affirmed the meeting laid a foundation for the cooperation between HCM City and Sacramento.

AllenWarren thanked HCM City authorities for welcoming him so warmly duringhis visit to the city in February this year, adding that he wasoptimistic about the future links between the two cities and that helooked forward to his next visit.

On this occasion, the twolocalities signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the enhancementof their friendship and cooperation in the time ahead.

Thatsame day, Secretary of HCM City’s Party Committee Le Thanh Hai and hisdelegation visited California University in Davis (UC Davis), whererepresentatives of the Vietnam National University – HCM City and of UCDavis discussed the development of cooperation programmes.

Inhis speech, Secretary Hai stressed that the two universities shouldboost their links on sustainable urban planning and development,environmental protection, waste treatment, climate change adaptation,urban hi-tech agricultural development, and lecturer and studentexchanges.

The Vietnamese delegation also met with the Vietnamese business community in San Jose, the third largest city in California.

Duringthe meeting, Hai provided an update on Vietnam’s new policies andpotential opportunities for boosting cooperation between Vietnam and theUS in the future, while calling upon companies in San Jose and the USin general to invest in HCM City.

He affirmed that HCM City waskeen to address any challenges overseas Vietnamese businesses faced withregard to investing in the homeland, adding that the city also appliedpreferential policies to businesses interested in investing in the city.

Californiais Vietnam’s leading US partner, with the annual bilateral trade valueexceeding 10 billion USD. Close to 100 Californian firms operate inVietnam, while Vietnam has invested in more than 70 projects inCalifornia.

At present, HCM City is home to 25 projects worth nearly 173 million USD funded by Californian businesses.

Around 880,000 Vietnamese-US nationals are living in California.-VNA

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☀️ Morning digest on May 21

☀️ Morning digest on May 21

Party General Secretary and State President To Lam's meeting with the Party Committee of the Ministry of Health to look into traditional medicine, PM Le Minh Hung's phone talks with his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon, and the 2026 Ho Chi Minh City – RoK investment cooperation and business networking forum are among news highlights on May 20 evening.

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung (R) hosts the UK's Ambassador to Vietnam Iain Frew in Hanoi on May 20 (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam attaches great importance to ties with UK: PM

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung suggested that the two countries work together towards raising bilateral trade turnover to 10 billion USD in 2026 and eventually 15 billion USD through expanded market access for each other’s goods.

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung (right) and Ambassador of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to Vietnam Ri Sung Guk at their meeting on May 20 (Photo: VNA)

Prime Minister receives DPRK Ambassador

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung affirmed that the Party, State and people of Vietnam always attach importance to and wish to continuously nurture and promote the Vietnam–DPRK relationship in a more substantive and effective manner in the new development era, in line with the common aspirations of the two peoples and contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung (right) and Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Rogelio Polanco Fuentes at their meeting on May 20 (Photo: VNA)

PM vows to deepen Vietnam-Cuba special ties

At a reception for Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Rogelio Polanco Fuentes in Hanoi on May 20, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung stressed that the Party, Government and people of Vietnam always remember and treasure the solidarity and wholehearted support that the Party, Government and people of Cuba have extended to Vietnam during its past struggle for national liberation as well as the current cause of national construction and development.

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung has a phone conversation with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on May 20 (Photo: VNA)

PM holds phone talks with New Zealand counterpart

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung proposed six major orientations for future collaboration, including further strengthening political trust through increased delegation exchanges, high-level contacts and bilateral cooperation mechanisms, and promoting more substantive defence and security cooperation through enhanced exchanges and stronger naval and maritime security capabilities.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man addresses the working session on May 20 (Photo: VNA)

NA leader urged more substantive, professional deputy affairs work

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man asked the NA Committee for Deputy Affairs to shift strongly from procedural consultation to strategic consultation, moving beyond the mindset of merely “following procedures correctly” towards policy design, process standardisation, quality control and forecasting.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and State President To Lam speaks at the working session in Hanoi with the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Policies and Strategies and relevant agencies on assessing national development resources. (Photo: VNA)

Top leader orders decisive action to unlock idle resources for growth

Public resources must lead and activate private resources, while public investment should stimulate broader social investment. FDI, meanwhile, should move from quantity-based attraction toward quality-based absorption linked with technology transfer and stronger domestic linkages, said top leader To Lam.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang speaks at the event. (Photo: VNA)

Editorial team meets to begin review of 100-year Party leadership

Politburo member Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang described the review as a major strategic political task, adding that the process must deliver historical depth, theoretical vision, and strategic foresight to guide Vietnam toward fast and sustainable development in the decades ahead.

NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man speaks at the working session with standing members of the NA's Committee for Economic and Financial Affairs in Hanoi on May 20. (Photo: VNA)

NA Chairman asks for enhanced policy advisory to support double-digit growth target

National Assembly (NA) Chairman Tran Thanh Man has demanded the NA's Committee for Economic and Financial Affairs to enhance its policy advisory capacity, stressing that robust and evidence-based policymaking is essential to achieving the country’s ambition of double-digit economic growth while safeguarding macroeconomic stability.

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung (R) and Ambassador Rick Switzer, Deputy US Trade Representative, in Hanoi on May 20, 2026. (Photo: VNA)

Prime Minister receives Deputy US Trade Representative

The Vietnamese Government will continue to work closely with the US side to soon finalise the agreement, thereby further deepening economic, trade, and investment cooperation as the main driving force for bilateral relations, said Prime Minister Le Minh Hung.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung (R) and Swedish State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Dag Hartelius in Hanoi on May 19, 2026. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam sees Sweden one of leading European partners in innovation, green development

Discussing regional and international issues of mutual concern, both sides affirmed their support for multilateralism and free trade, as well as the peaceful settlement of disputes and conflicts in line with international law and the UN Charter. They also stressed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety, and freedom of navigation and overflight in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).