☀ Morning digest on April 22 hinh anh 1
Hanoi, VNA - The following is a list of selected news summaries last night by the Vietnam News Agency.

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will lead a Vietnamese high-level delegation to attend the ASEAN-US Special Summit and pay a visit to the US at the invitation of President Joe Biden, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang told reporters during a routine press conference on April 21.

The ASEAN-US Special Summit will take place in Washington D.C from May 12 - 13 in celebration of the 45th anniversary of bilateral dialogue relations. PM Chinh will also take the occasion to meet with UN officials, Hang said, noting that Vietnam is actively preparing for the PM’s trip to the US. Read full story

– The Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission meted out disciplinary measures against many officials during its 14th meeting on April 19-20.

In an announcement issued on April 21, the committee said it gave a warning to the Standing Board of the Party Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Trading Cooperatives (Saigon Co.op) of the 2015-2020 tenure for its lack of responsibility, violation of the principle of democratic centralism, and lax leadership, inspection and supervision, which created conditions for the executive council, inspection board and many officials and Party members to violate regulations of the Party and laws of the State in signing investment contracts, mobilising capital, raising charter capital and organising the annual congress. Read full story

– The highest priority of the Vietnamese Party and State is to ensure security, life and property safety, as well as legal and legitimate interests of Vietnamese citizens and legal entities in Ukraine and related regions, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang told a press conference on April 21.

In that spirit, since the conflict in Ukraine has intensified, apart from citizen protection and evacuation, the Vietnamese Embassy in the country has regularly contacted local competent agencies, urging them to take necessary measures to protect assets of Vietnamese citizens and businesses there, according to the spokesperson. Read full story

- Vietnam stands ready to bolster bilateral trade with China towards stable, balanced and sustainable development for the benefits of both sides, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang told a routine press conference on April 21.

Commenting on the launch of several cross-border railway routes for the transport of goods between Vietnam and China, Hang said the rail routes, connecting Vietnam with the Chinese provinces of Sichuan and Anhui, opened on April 15-16. Read full story

- Vietnam hopes other countries and territories will simplify entry rules for Vietnamese travellers in order to boost economic recovery, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang during a routine press conference on April 21. She made the statement in response to a question from reporters regarding Taiwan (China)’s new requirement for all passengers from Vietnam to show a negative COVID-19 test within six hours of boarding a flight. Read full story
 
- Director-General of the Vietnam Social Security (VSS) Nguyen The Manh asked the World Bank (WB) to help the agency further improve the quality and effectiveness of its social and health insurance services during his meeting with WB Country Director for Vietnam Carolyn Turk in Hanoi on April 21. The two sides discussed plans for expanding cooperation in building and implementing social and health insurance policies. Read full story

- The State Audit of Vietnam (SAV) cooperated with its Lao counterpart to hold a workshop to exchange practices in building the public audit system via video teleconference on April 21.

The workshop took place as the two countries are celebrating the 60th founding anniversary of the bilateral ties (September 5, 1962 - 2022) and 45 years of the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (July 18, 1977 - 2022). Read full story
 
- Speaker of the Indian Lok Sabha (the lower house) Om Birla and his entourage left Ho Chi Minh City on April 21 evening, successfully wrapping up his three-day official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Vietnamese National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

While in Vietnam, Om Birla held talks with Hue and paid courtesy calls to General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong and President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and met with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Read full story

– One week after the start of a campaign to vaccinate children from 5 to under-12  against COVID-19, a total 88,820 children in the age group had received the first shot as of April 20. The Health Ministry has allocated over 2.3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine for children to localities. The northern province of Quang Ninh was the first locality in the country to inoculate children in the age group on April 14. Read full story/.
VNA