☀️ Morning digest on April 23

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

☀️ Morning digest on April 23

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

- General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam on April 22 held phone talks with President of the African National Congress (ANC) and President of the Republic of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa.

Ramaphosa affirmed that South Africa highly evaluates the brotherly solidarity and good cooperative relationship as well as the mutual support between the ANC and the CPV, a relationship that has been cultivated by leaders and the people of the two countries since the period of fighting against colonialism and continues to be consolidated and developed in the current cause of national development. Read full story

- Party General Secretary To Lam, Secretary of the Central Military Commission, requested the Tank-Armored Corps of the Ministry of National Defence to continue enhancing its quality and combat strength toward the goal of building an elite, streamlined and strong unit, truly becoming a strong attack force of the Vietnam People’s Army.

At a working session with officers of the corps on April 22 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification (April 30, 1975 - 2025), the Party leader highlighted the important role played by the unit in implementing the tasks, while praising its efforts to obtain significant achievements in recent years. Read full story

- Secretary of the Government's Party Committee and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Secretary of the National Assembly (NA)'s Party Committee and NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man co-chaired a conference between the standing boards of the two Party committees on April 22 to discuss the coming 9th session of the 15th NA.

In his remarks, NA Chairman Man said the 15th NA’s 9th session is scheduled to open on May 5, 2025, and will be divided into two phases to review and make decisions on a large number of issues, including many urgent and important matters that were recently agreed upon in principle by the Party Central Committee at its 11th meeting. Read full story

- Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung affirmed the Government’s unwavering support for innovation, pledging to collaborate with stakeholders to foster a dynamic ecosystem at the Vietnam Innovation and Private Capital Investment Forum 2025 (VIPC Summit 2025) in Hanoi on April 22.

In his keynote speech, Dung highlighted an unprecedented wave of investment in hi-tech sectors and innovation, with artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI, emerging as a strategic focus for global investors. He noted that sustainable development, green growth, and circular economy have become inevitable global trends, driving nations to prioritise innovation. Read full story

- Lao Minister of Foreign Affairs Thongsavanh Phomvihane has underscored the extreme significance of the state visit to Laos by Vietnamese President Luong Cuong to the two countries' robust relations.

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency on the threshold of the visit from April 24 to 25, the Lao official stressed that the trip, to be made at the invitation of General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith and the first by Cuong as the State leader of Vietnam, will create new momentum for and substantially contribute to the great friendship between the two countries, making it develop in a deeper and more substantive and effective fashion to bring prosperity to the people of each country in the coming time. Read full story

- Veteran German journalist and historian Gerhard Feldbauer, in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s resident correspondents in Berlin on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Vietnam’s reunification (April 30, 1975 – 2025), shared his views on the historic significance of Vietnam’s victory and its far-reaching global impact.

Feldbauer, who served as the Hanoi-based correspondent for the German Democratic Republic’s ADN news agency from 1967 to 1970, highlighted that the ultimate success of the Ho Chi Minh campaign in April 1975 was rooted in the unyielding revolutionary will of the Vietnamese people. This resolve, he said, stemmed from a long tradition of anti-colonial resistance under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and President Ho Chi Minh. Read full story

- Vietnam always values the traditional friendship with Azerbaijan, which has been cultivated by generations of leaders from both countries, Vice State President Vo Thi Anh Xuan stressed while hosting a reception for Leyla Aliyeva, Vice President of Azerbaijan’s Heydar Aliyev Foundation, in Hanoi on April 22.

At the event, Xuan recalled the pivotal visit to Vietnam by late President Heydar Aliyev in 1983, when he served as First Deputy Chairman of the Soviet Union Council of Ministers, as well as the official visit by President Ilham Aliyev in 2014. Read full story

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Madame Ngo Phuong Ly (R) hosts a reception for Leyla Aliyeva, Vice President of Azerbaijan’s Heydar Aliyev Foundation, in Hanoi on April 22. (Photo: VNA)

- Madame Ngo Phuong Ly, spouse of Party General Secretary To Lam, welcomed Leyla Aliyeva, Vice President of Azerbaijan’s Heydar Aliyev Foundation, at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum in Hanoi on April 22.

Ly introduced her guest to Vietnam's artistic works that reflect Vietnam’s cultural traits and history, including nine national heritage items. Among these were the 16th -century Statue of the Bodhisattva Avalokisteshvara and renowned paintings such as “Two young women and a child” (1944) by master artist To Ngoc Van and "Little Sister Thuy" (1943) by Tran Van Can, alongside traditional lacquer works and modern Vietnamese paintings rich in national identity. Read full story./.

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Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UN. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam nominated to chair 2026 NPT Review Conference

Vietnam will work collaboratively with all parties to ensure a successful review process that meets international expectations. It will engage in broad consultations with countries, regional groups, and relevant stakeholders to help bridge differences and promote consensus.

Party General Secretary To Lam shakes hands with a Belarusian veteran with outstanding contributions to Vietnam. (Photo: VNA)

Party chief calls for closer friendship between Vietnam, Belarus

Vietnam consistently attaches importance to its traditional friendship with Belarus and wishes to further strengthen cooperation across all fields for the mutual benefit of the two nations, and for peace, cooperation, and development in the region and around the world.

Russian Deputy PM Dmitry Chernyshenko (L) bids farewell to Party General Secretary To Lam and his spouse. (Photo: VNA)

Party General Secretary To Lam wraps up official visit to Russia

The visit also showed that Vietnam wants to further strengthen political trust between the two countries, identify orientations to bring the traditional friendship and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Russia to new heights, strengthen the cooperative relationship between the Communist Party of Vietnam and major political parties in Russia.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee To Lam meets with Russian intellectuals, scholars, and experts who had supported Vietnam in the past. (Photo: VNA)

Party General Secretary meets with Russian experts, intellectuals

General Secretary Lam expressed heartfelt gratitude for the significant and sincere support from Soviet Union and Russian experts during Vietnam's past struggle for national liberation and reunification as well as its current national construction and development process.

The private economic sector is the most important momentum of the national economy. (Photo: VNA)

Party leader highlights new momentum for economic development

In Vietnam, the multi-sector economy was officially recognised in the documents of the 6th National Party Congress; the encouragement and facilitation of private economic development was affirmed at the 7th congress, and further emphasised at the 8th congress.

Party General Secretary To Lam (R) and Chairman of the "A Just Russia – Patriots – For Truth" Party Sergey Mironov. (Photo: VNA)

General Secretary To Lam meets with Russian Party leader

General Secretary To Lam affirmed that the foreign policies of independence and self-reliance of Vietnam and Russia are an important pillar, and its cooperation with Russia, including collaboration via the Party channel, is significant to Vietnam's development in the new era.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee To Lam (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin Palace in Moscow on May 10 (local time). (Photo: VNA)

Vietnamese Party chief holds talks with Russian President in Moscow

President Putin affirmed that the Russia-Vietnam relationship has stood the test of time over the past 75 years since the establishment of relations, and the two countries have stood side by side not only during the war but also in the current period of peace.