Politics

☀️ Morning digest on January 6

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

☀️ Morning digest on January 6

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

- State President Luong Cuong on January 5 signed a decision approving cash gifts for people with meritorious service to the revolution on the occasion of the Lunar New Year 2026, with two levels set at 600,000 VND (nearly 23 USD) and 300,000 VND per person.

Under Decision No. 01/QD-CTN, the gift level of 600,000 VND will be presented to individuals who participated in revolutionary activities before January 1, 1945 and are receiving monthly allowances; those engaging in revolutionary activities from January 1, 1945 until the August Revolution of 1945 and are receiving monthly allowances; Heroic Vietnamese Mothers receiving monthly preferential allowances; Heroes of the People’s Armed Forces and Labour Heroes during the resistance wars who are receiving monthly allowances. Read full story

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called on Russian conglomerate AFK Sistema to enhance partnerships with Vietnamese firms, turning high-level bilateral agreements into concrete outcomes during a reception in Hanoi on January 5 for its founder Vladimir Petrovich Evtushenkov.

PM Chinh emphasised that Vietnam deeply values its long-standing friendship with Russia and is committed to strengthening it. He commended AFK Sistema’s swift growth and its collaboration with leading Vietnamese groups and enterprises to enhance broad cooperation, following the direction set by Party General Secretary To Lam during his May 2025 visit to Russia. These initiatives, he noted, are effectively driving the Vietnam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership toward more practical outcomes and greater influence. Read full story

- An exhibition titled “National Assembly of Vietnam – 80 Years of Construction and Development” opened at the National Library of Vietnam in Hanoi on January 5 to mark the 80th anniversary of the first general election (January 6, 1946 – 2026).

The exhibition features more than 800 valuable documents selected from a wide range of archival sources, presenting a vivid historical journey charting the National Assembly’s 80-year process of doi moi (renewal), development and service to the nation and its people. Read full story

- Vietnam’s economy maintained strong growth in 2025 despite facing severe natural disasters and a volatile global environment, with gross domestic product (GDP) estimated to have increased 8.02% year on year, meeting targets set by the National Assembly and the Government, according to Nguyen Thi Huong, Director General of the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Finance.

Speaking at a press conference in Hanoi on January 5 to release socio-economic statistics for the fourth quarter and the whole of 2025, Huong said the results demonstrated the high determination of the whole political system, effectiveness of timely and decisive direction by the Government, the Prime Minister, ministries, sectors and localities, alongside the resilience and efforts of the business community and the public. Read full story

- Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into Vietnam continued to show resilience in 2025, with total newly registered capital reaching 38.42 billion USD, up 0.5% year-on-year, according to the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Finance.

The figures were released at a press conference on January 5, announcing Vietnam’s socio-economic statistics for the fourth quarter and the whole of 2025. Notably, disbursed FDI reached an estimated 27.62 billion USD, a year-on-year increase of 9% and the highest level recorded over the past five years. Read full story

- Vietnam’s aquatic product exports staged a remarkable finish in 2025, setting a new record with turnover reaching 11.34 billion USD, despite facing reciprocal tariffs and the risk of unusually high anti-dumping duties on shrimp, and increasingly stringent technical barriers.

In December alone, shrimp exports reached nearly 336 million USD, up 3.1% from November, while tra fish exports levelled off at just over 182 million USD. Notably, exports of molluscs recorded a dramatic year-on-year surge of 296% in December to around 2 million USD. By contrast, tuna exports fell sharply in the final month of the year, plunging 33.3% to 57 million USD, while exports of other fish species declined 8% to 156.5 million USD. Read full story

- The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology, in collaboration with the Saigon Hi-Tech Park Management Board and tech companies Saolatek, Real-time Robotics Vietnam, and Di Dong Viet, has kicked off a pilot programme using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for delivery services.

The pilot is to be conducted under a flight permit issued by the Operations Department under the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, valid from January 1 to December 31, 2026, and fully complies with regulations on flight management, aviation safety, national defence, security and social order. Read full story./.

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