Hanoi (VNA) – The following is a list of selected news summaries reported last weekend by the Vietnam News Agency.
- Party General Secretary To Lam has accepted the invitation from US President Donald Trump to join the Gaza Peace Council and affirmed Vietnam’s readiness to participate as a founding member state of the council.
On January 16, President Trump sent a letter to General Secretary Lam, inviting the Party chief and Vietnam to participate in the Gaza Peace Council as a founding member state, alongside the international community, to promote a sustainable peaceful solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine in the Gaza Strip. Read full story
- Party General Secretary To Lam on January 17 attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Hanoi Medical University Elderly Health Care - Medical Complex in Hanoi, as part of activities celebrating the 14th National Party Congress.
The project, developed by a consortium comprising the Hanoi Medical University Hospital (authorised by the Hanoi Medical University), the Hanoi Housing Development and Investment Corporation (HANDICO), and NGS Equipment and Communications JSC, is located at the Hoang Mai campus of the hospital in Hanoi. Read full story
- Law-making for development is fundamental, strategic, and long-term while law-making for prevention and control remains regular and important, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on January 17.
Chairing the seventh meeting of the Government's Steering Committee for reviewing and untangling knots in the legal document system in Hanoi, the PM, who leads the steering committee, noted that efforts to build and refine laws and remove institutional bottlenecks achieved notable results, especially in 2025. Read full story
- Vietnamese and Chinese leaders have exchanged congratulatory messages to mark the 76th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations (January 18, 1950 - 2026), reaffirming their commitment to deepening bilateral ties. Read full story
- Hanoi’s Department of Health on January 16 launched a medical response campaign in preparation for the 14th National Party Congress, marking an important step in ensuring medical services, health care, disease prevention and control, and emergency response throughout the congress.
Addressing the ceremony, Dr Nguyen Trong Dien, Director of the municipal Department of Health, said that ensuring medical security, disease prevention and control, food safety, environmental hygiene, and readiness to handle all medical contingencies is among the key tasks directly contributing to the success of the congress. He stressed that relevant units must maintain round-the-clock duty and be fully prepared to receive and treat patients, provide emergency care, and effectively control disease outbreaks and food safety risks during the event. Read full story
- The Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (or High Seas Treaty), which took effect on January 17, opens up unprecedented opportunities for Vietnam to advance marine biodiversity conservation and sustainable growth of its marine economy, said Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu.
In an interview recently granted to the Vietnam News Agency, Vu, who also serves as Chair of the 35th Meeting of the States Parties to the UNCLOS, described the treaty as the first comprehensive legal framework governing marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, which account for roughly 61% of the world’s oceans and 43% of the Earth’s surface. Read full story
- The “Tet Viet – Tet Pho” (Vietnamese Tet in the Old Quarter) 2026 festival opened in Hanoi on January 17, designed to revive, preserve, and spread the cultural essence of the traditional Lunar New Year (Tet) within the historic setting of Hoan Kiem Lake and Hanoi’s iconic Old Quarter.
In her opening speech, Vice Chairwoman of the Hoan Kiem ward People’s Committee Nguyen Hong Trang said the public would not only observe but also directly experience and “live within the heritage” through spiritually rich traditional rituals, such as the procession to the communal house gate, ceremonial offerings at the Imperial Citadel, and the raising of Tet pole. Read full story./.
