☀️ Morning digest April 6

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

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held a working session with his Lao counterpart Sonexay Siphandone in Vientiane on April 5 to review the implementation of the agreement between the two Politburos.

At the working session (Photo: VNA)

PM Chinh congratulated Laos on successfully hosting the fourth Mekong River Commission Summit, thereby improving its role and position in the region.Read full story

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh arrived in Hanoi on April 5, concluding his working trip to attend the fourth Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit in Vientiane, Laos.

A farewell ceremony held for Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the Wattay International Airport in Vientiane, Laos. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

At the summit, he delivered an important speech which outlined challenges facing the Mekong River and its basin; and assessed the operation of the MRC and the cooperation of its dialogue and development partners, international and regional organisations, as well as social organisations and communities. Read full story

- Ho Chi Minh City wants to strengthen cooperation with Australian localities in areas where it has demand and Australia has strength such as high-quality human resource development, digital economy, and innovation, finance, energy transition, climate change response, and logistics, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen said in a meeting with Australian Governor-General David Hurley in the city on April 5.

Nen said over the past five decades, Vietnam-Australia relations have been developing strongly in many fields, not only bringing positive results to their people but also making an important contributions to peace and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region. Read full story

- More than 1,300 businesses from 21 countries and territories are participating in the Vietnam Textile & Garment Industry Expo (Saigontex) 2023, the leading exhibition of the industry in Southeast Asia, which opened in Ho Chi Minh City on April 5.

Saigontex 2023 has the largest scale since 1991, with nearly 2,000 booths. For the first time, a separate "dye, yarn and chemicals" display area has been designed with the engagement of 75 international suppliers. Read full story

- Vietnam’s 70 sweet potato cultivation areas and 13 packaging facilities have been licenced to export to China, reported the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)’s Plant Protection Department.

General director of the department Hoang Trung said, on November 9, 2022, the MARD and the General Administration of Customs China (GACC) signed a protocol on quarantine requirements for sweet potato exports to China. Read full story

- The National Agricultural Cooperative Federation of the Republic of Korea (Nonghyup) announced on April 5 that it has opened an office in Vietnam to expand its exports to Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, and seek new projects as well as pave the way for its kimchi exports to Vietnam.

Nonghyup Chairman Lee Sung-hee pledged to make efforts to introduce high-quality farm produce from Nonghyup to Vietnam and explore foreign markets, thus creating conditions for Nonghyup's kimchi to become a representative product of the RoK. Read full story

- A Bell-505 helicopter, owned by the Northern Vietnam Helicopter Company under the Vietnam Helicopter Corporation, took off at 4:56pm and lost contact at 5:15pm on April 5 while carrying four Vietnamese tourists on a sightseeing tour of Ha Long Bay from above.

The Ministry of National Defence’s Department of Information and Training reported on April 5 that the helicopter was piloted by Colonel Chu Quang Minh./.Read full story