☀️ Morning digest July 18

The following is a list of selected news summaries last weekend by the Vietnam News Agency.
☀️ Morning digest July 18 ảnh 1
Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a list of selected news summarieslast weekend by the Vietnam News Agency.

- The Presidential Office held a press conference in Hanoi on July 17 to announcethe President’s order on the promulgation of the laws adopted at the fifthsession of the 15th-tenure National Assembly.

They consist of the Law on Civil Defence 2023; the Law on Cooperatives 2023;the Law on Bidding; the Law on Protection of Consumer Rights 2023; the Law onElectronic Transactions; the Law on amending and supplementing a number ofarticles of the Law on  Public Security;the Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on exitand entry of Vietnamese citizens and of the Law on entry, exit, transit andresidence of foreigners in Vietnam; and the Law on Pricing 2023. Read full story

- National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue suggested Quang Tri, one ofthe fiercest battlefields during the war, organise a peace festival to attractmore tourists at a working session with the Standing Board of the provincialParty Committee as part of his trip to the central locality on July 17.

The top legislator lauded Quang Tri for its achievements in socio-economicdevelopment, national defence and security, and Party building despite a hostof challenges. Read full story

- Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, President of the Vietnam Union of FriendshipOrganisations (VUFO), presented the insignia "For Peace and Friendshipamong Nations" to French Ambassador to Vietnam Nicolas Warnery, inrecognition of his contributions to strengthening the relationship between thetwo countries. Read full story

- The European Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) in Vietnam announced on July17 that it had proposed the expansion of Vietnam's visitor visa exemption listto encompass all 27 EU member countries.

At present, the visa exemption list includes only seven EU member countries,namely Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland. Read full story

- Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) Dinh Viet Thangsaid on July 17 that he has sent a dispatch to relevant units in the aviationindustry to continue with proactive measures in response to storm Talim, thefirst to hit Vietnam this year.

Accordingly, the CAAV asked the Northern Airports Authority (NAA) tosuspend aircraft arrivals and departures at Noi Bai international airport inHanoi from 11:00 to 20:00 on July 18, at Van Don international airport in QuangNinh province from 9:00 to 19:00 on July 18, and at Cat Bi internationalairport in Hai Phong city from 9:00 to 19:00 on July 18. Read full story

- Ho Chi Minh City’s health sector plans to offer free annual health check-upsfor elderly residents aged 60 and above in an effort to reduce medical costsfor them and improve their quality of life.

The initiative, led by the Department of Health, also aims to effectivelymanage and detect non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among this population. Theplan, set to begin in 2024, has been submitted to the People’s Committee forapproval and budget allocation. Read full story

- Vietnam was placed fourth among the ten safest places to retire in Asia forless than 2,000 USD per month, according to a list released by GOBankingRates,a personal finance publication run by US-based financial services corporationNasdaq. Read full story./.
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National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man (left) and Yerlan Koshanov, Speaker of the Mazhilis - the lower house of Kazakhstan’s parliament, during their in Istanbul, Türkiye, on April 16 (Photo: VNA)

NA Chairman meets with Kazakhstan’s lower house speaker in Türkiye

The two sides also consented to continue close coordination at multilateral parliamentary forums, particularly the IPU, promoting the role of legislatures in advancing multilateralism and respect for international law, and contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development regionally and globally.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and State President To Lam (L) receives Chen Gang, member of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Secretary of the CPC Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (Photo: VNA)

Top Vietnamese leader receives Secretary of Guangxi’s Party Committee

Vietnam is a close neighbour, trusted friend and one of Guangxi’s most important partners. The Party organisation and authorities of China's autonomous region attach great importance to friendship and cooperation with Vietnamese localities; and will continue to take the lead in thoroughly implementing the important common perceptions reached by the two top leaders, thereby deepening cooperation and friendship between China and Vietnam.

Vietnam’s National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at their meeting in Istanbul on April 16, 2026. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnamese NA Chairman meets Turkish President

Vietnam’s National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasised that economic, trade, and investment ties should serve as key pillars of the relationship. They agreed to create favourable conditions to raise bilateral trade turnover to 4 billion USD, while continuing to encourage Turkish enterprises to invest in Vietnam and contribute to its economic development.

Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Tran Thanh Man speaks at the general debate of the 152nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-152) in Türkiye on April 16, 2026. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam's top legislator addresses general debate at 152nd IPU Assembly

Vietnam is striving with confidence and self-strengthening to enter a new stage of development, aiming to become a developing country with modern industry and upper-middle income by 2030, and a high-income developed country by 2045, said NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man at the general debate of the 152nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-152).

Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Tran Thanh Man speaks at the policy dialogue aimed at promoting Vietnam–Türkiye cooperation (Photo: VNA)

NA Chairman attends policy dialogue promoting Vietnam–Türkiye cooperation

Türkiye is one of Vietnam’s key partners in the region, serving as a strategic bridge between Asia and Europe. Conversely, Vietnam, with its dynamic and fast-growing economy, is an important gateway for Türkiye to access Southeast Asian and Asia-Pacific markets. These complementary advantages provide a solid foundation for the two countries to further deepen their cooperation in the coming period.

Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Tran Thanh Man (R) presents a commemorative gift to Chairman of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili during their meeting in Istanbul on April 16, 2026. (Photo: VNA)

NA Chairman meets Georgian parliament speaker on IPU-152 sidelines

NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man underlined that there remains ample room to further expand cooperation between Vietnam and Georgia in areas where both sides have strengths and potential, including education and training, culture, tourism, sports, logistics and transport, particularly rail transport.

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung (C, first row) and representatives from 52 leading US enterprises (Photo: VNA)

Prime Minister meets delegation of leading US businesses

At the meeting, representatives of USABC, the US Embassy in Vietnam and participating businesses commended Vietnam’s socio-economic achievements and improving investment climate, as well as its strategic development orientation toward rapid and sustainable growth driven by science, technology, innovation and digital transformation.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra (R) receives President and CEO of Japan’s erex Co., Ltd. Honna Hitoshi (Photo: VGP)

Deputy PM hails cooperation in personnel training with Japan

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra highly valued the training programme jointly implemented since 2022 by Vietnam’s Ministry of Home Affairs and Japan’s erex Co., Ltd, which focuses on enhancing public administration capacity, particularly for grassroots officials, young civil servants and female cadres. Through the initiative, nearly 300 local-level officials and leaders from Vietnam have been sent to Japan for training and professional development.

☕ Afternoon briefing on April 16

☕ Afternoon briefing on April 16

Vietnamese PM Le Minh Hung's phone talks with his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong, NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man's attendance at the opening of the IPU-152, and the presentation of the 20th Devotion Awards are among news highlights on April 16.

President of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Lee Jae Myung (Photo: Yonhap)

RoK President to pay state visit to Vietnam

President of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Lee Jae Myung and his spouse will pay a state visit to Vietnam from April 21 – 24 at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and State President To Lam and his wife./.

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung holds phone talks with his Singaporean counterpart Lawrence Wong on April 16. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnamese Prime Minister holds phone talks with Singaporean counterpart

PM Hung noted that Vietnam is preparing new policies to attract greater foreign investment, including from Singapore. He called Singapore’s support in developing international financial centres in Vietnam, as well as expanding and upgrading next-generation Vietnam–Singapore Industrial Parks (VSIP) in tandem with high technology transfer.

☀️ Morning digest on April 16

☀️ Morning digest on April 16

Party General Secretary and State President To Lam's meetings with Chinese leaders, PM Le Minh Hung's attendance at the expanded online summit of the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) on energy security, and EuroCham's release of the Business Confidence Index (BCI) for Q1 are among news highlights on April 15 evening.

Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly Tran Thanh Man and other heads of delegations at the opening ceremony of the IPU-152 in Istanbul on April 15 (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam’s top legislator attends opening of IPU-152

Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye Numan Kurtulmus described the IPU-152 as an event of historical importance with a highly relevant theme, not only globally but also directly related to important developments in regions.