☀️ Morning digest April 20

Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a list of selected news summaries last night by the Vietnam News Agency.

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has suggested the US assist Vietnam in promoting the rapid, sustainable and modern development of agriculture that matches Vietnam’s conditions.

During a reception in Hanoi on April 19 for US Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack, PM Chinh sought the US’s support in building an ecological agriculture, modern rural areas and civilised farmers while improving the added value of agricultural products to bring benefits to consumers and the two economies, thus contributing to the Vietnam-US comprehensive partnership. Read full story

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received Belarusian Minister of Emergencies Vadim Sinyavsky in Hanoi on April 19, during which the host affirmed that Vietnam always attaches great importance to developing its traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Belarus and welcomes positive progress in the bilateral collaboration, especially in politics, diplomacy, economy and trade. Read full story

- National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and his entourage on April 19 morning (Cuba time) visited the Fidel Castro Ruz Centre in La Habana, within the framework of his official visit to Cuba.

The centre is a place to collect, store, preserve, and honour the legacy of the Cuban leader to research and popularise his ideological values. Read full story

- Politburo member and Minister of Public Security To Lam on April 19 held talks with a visiting high-level delegation from the Belarusian Ministry of Emergencies led by Minister Vadim Sinyavsky.

Welcoming the guests, Lam underscored that Vietnam always values its traditional friendship and cooperation with Belarus. In recent years, the countries’ collaboration in politics, economy, culture, society, defence, and security have been increasingly fortified, contributing to their stable and sustainable development, he said. Read full story

- Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai expressed his wish to promote multifaceted cooperation with Australia, from trade and investment to tourism, health care, education and green economic transformation during his meeting with Australian Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell on April 19. Read full story

- The French Embassy in Vietnam, the French Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, and the French Institute in Vietnam on April 19 opened a photo exhibition on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and Vietnam.

Nearly 20 photos on display show the crossed looks of Vietnamese and French professional and amateur photographers. Read full story

- The project "Vietnam – Improvement of National Statistical System”, funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), was completed with all project targets achieved since its launch nearly five years ago.

Speaking at a ceremony in Hanoi on April 19 to review the project, General Director of the General Statistics Office (GSO) Nguyen Thi Huong said technical support via the project has enabled the GSO to improve its statistical capacity, thus producing and disseminating up-to-date and reliable information on important topics for the country and international community such as energy, environment, sustainability and climate change, as well as institutional building, information dissemination, and information technology and communications. Read full story

- The first batch of 84 tonnes of sweet potatoes from Vinh Long bound for China was announced at a ceremony held in the Mekong Delta province on April 19. Read full story

- Ana Marina, the first international marina in Vietnam, was put into pilot operation in Nha Trang resort city, the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on April 19.

The marina, about 7km from downtown Nha Trang, is designed to house 200 yachts of different types. As it is located in the 40ha Marina Park of the Ana Marina JSC, it can receive domestic and international yachts and sailboats to visit, and organise tourism, sports and cultural events. Read full story

- A workshop discussing measures to promote trade links between Vietnam and Japan and the Republic of Korea (RoK) was held by the Centre of International Integration Support and the Investment & Trade Promotion Center of Ho Chi Minh City (ITPC) on April 19 in the city.

Addressing the event, Deputy Director of the HCM City Institute for Development Studies Pham Binh An said Japan and the RoK are the important trading partners of Vietnam, but the proportion of Vietnamese goods in the total import turnover of these markets is still modest, accounting for only 2.7% and 3.3%, respectively. Read full story

- Vietravel Airlines plans to increase its total routes to 13 to serve more than 1.3 million passengers this year, according to a representative from the airline.

In the first three months of this year, it operated nearly 1,600 flights with 91.2% of the seats filled. Read full story./.