Politics

☀️ Morning digest January 8

The following is a list of selected news summaries reported last night by the Vietnam News Agency.

☀️ Morning digest January 8

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

- Vietnam will continue facilitating activities of foreign investors, including those from the US, while prioritising bilateral cooperation in education, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, said Party General Secretary To Lam.

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Party General Secretary To Lam (R) receives Founder and Chairman of Berggruen Holdings and Berggruen Institute Nicholas Berggruen (C) and Director of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at the US’s Columbia University Nguyen Thi Lien Hang. (Photo: VNA)

At a reception in Hanoi on January 7 for Founder and Chairman of Berggruen Holdings and Berggruen Institute Nicholas Berggruen and Director of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at the US’s Columbia University Nguyen Thi Lien Hang, the Party leader spoke highly of their support for the development of Vietnam-US ties over the past years. Read full story

- Berggruen Holdings is willing to cooperate with, invest in, and support Vietnam in personnel training, affirmed Founder and Chairman of the US-based company Nicolas Berggruen while he and Director of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute at the Columbia University Nguyen Thi Lien Hang were received by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi on January 7 evening.

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Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) and Founder and Chairman of Berggruen Holdings and Berggruen Institute Nicholas Berggruen at their meeting in Hanoi on January 7. (Photo: VNA)

At the reception, the PM Chinh lauded Hang’s active contributions to the organisation of Vietnamese high-ranking leaders’ policy dialogues in recent times as well as her attendance at these events. Read full story

- Technological innovation, technology transfer, and workforce training form the core strategy for transforming the nature of Vietnam’s economic growth in the coming years, Deputy Prime Minister Ho Duc Phoc remarked at the 17th Vietnam Economic Scenario Forum’s spring 2025 plenary session in Hanoi on January 7.

In his speech, he said all the 15 socio-economic targets set for 2024 were successfully achieved. The economy grew by 7.09%, with the GDP reaching approximately 476.3 billion USD, placing Vietnam 33rd globally. Total trade turnover was estimated at nearly 800 billion USD, with a trade surplus of 24.77 billion USD. State budget revenue exceeded projections by 19.8% to exceed 2 quadrillion VND (78.83 billion USD), while the poverty rate was reduced to just 1.95%. Read full story

- Newly-appointed Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Tran Phuoc Anh on January 7 presented his credentials to Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.

President Tharman expressed his delight at the comprehensive development of the bilateral relationship in the recent past, stressing that Singapore wants to boost cooperation with Vietnam in such promising areas as clean energy, artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductor, carbon credit, finance, education and training. Read full story

- Vietnam's total retail sales of consumer goods and services reached 6.39 quadrillion VND (251.87 billion USD) in 2024, marking a year-on-year increase of 9%, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Of this total, revenue from retail sales of goods were estimated at 4.92 quadrillion VND, an 8.3% increase compared to the previous year. Key categories saw notable growth, with food and foodstuffs up 10.8%, household appliances and tools rising 3.6%, garments increasing by 8.4%, vehicles (excluding cars) up 5.4%, and cultural and educational products growing by 9.1%. Read full story

- An online booth introducing products of the northern province of Thai Nguyen on Shopee platform was launched at an event on January 7, marking Thai Nguyen as the first locality in the country to offer its products for sale on an e-commerce platform.

On this occasion, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation between Thai Nguyen and Shopee Vietnam Co., Ltd. was inked. Read full story

- Malaysia and Singapore on January 7 inked an agreement to create a new special economic zone for business and investment.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim witnessed the exchange of the agreement for the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) at the 11th Malaysia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat in Putrajaya, Malaysia./. Read full story

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State President Luong Cuong (left) meets with Angolan President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço during his state visit to Angola in August 2025. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam, Angola mark 50 years of enduring friendship, cooperation

Vietnam was the second country in the world to establish diplomatic relations with Angola, just one day after the African nation declared independence. Since then, the two nations have nurtured a traditional friendship through Party, Government, parliamentary and people-to-people channels, and have supported each other at multilateral forums, including the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement.

A consumer chooses seafood products at a supermarket (Photo: VNA)

Secretariat calls for stronger Party leadership in consumer protection

Party committees, Party organisations, and all-level state management agencies are urged to focus their leadership and direction on key tasks, including protecting consumer rights on cyberspace; clarifying inter-sectoral responsibilities in goods control; analysing and assessing consumption trends in the digital era; and effectively combating the production and trade of counterfeit goods and imitations.

At Go Thang Long supermarket (Photo: VNA)

Lawmakers debate key legal reforms on November 12

The 15th National Assembly are discussing several draft laws, including the revised Law on Enforcement of Criminal Judgments; the Law on Temporary Detention, Custody, and Restriction of Movement; the Law on amendments and supplements to a number of articles of the Law on Prices, and the revised Civil Aviation Law.

☀️ Morning digest on November 12

☀️ Morning digest on November 12

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's reception for the Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade of the Solomon Islands, the eighth ministerial-level negotiation on a reciprocal trade agreement between Vietnam and the US, and the AHA Centre's emergency relief for Da Nang are among news highlights on November 11 evening.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung (right) and Solomon Islands Minister for Foreign Afairs and External Trade Peter Shanel Agovaka at their meeting on November 11. (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Vietnam treasures relations with Solomon Islands: FM

Both ministers welcomed the continued positive development of the bilateral relations over nearly three decades since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1996, particularly in close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums, including the United Nations.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (right) receives Lao Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Phosay Sayasone in Hanoi on November 11. (Photo: VNA)

PM urges stronger Vietnam – Laos cooperation in labour, social affairs

The PM suggested the two sides develop new orientations for Vietnam – Laos cooperation in labour and national contributor affairs suited to the evolving context, paving the way for the signing of an agreement in this field to deepen and expand collaboration in the areas within their remit.

Prof. Dr Nguyen Xuan Thang (right), Politburo member, President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (HMCA) and Chairman of the Central Theory Council, meets with Dr Ace Hasan Syadzily, Governor of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) of Indonesia, in Hanoi on November 11. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam, Indonesia promote collaboration in personnel training

To formalise cooperation in personnel training and development between the two countries, as well as between the HCMA and Lemhannas, the Vietnamese official suggested that the international cooperation units of both sides create a priority cooperation framework and prepare to sign a memorandum of understanding.

A corner of Hanoi (Illustrative photo: VNA)

📝OP-ED: Non-local leadership – Both challenge and opportunity for reform

In Conclusion No. 201, issued on October 31, the Politburo and the Secretariat outlined requirements for the provincial and municipal Party congresses for the 2025–2030 term. They stated that by December 15, all positions of provincial People’s Committee chairpersons, heads of inspection commissions, and chief inspectors must be filled by officials who are not from the local area.