The Secretariat of the Party Central Committee has ordered stronger leadership, inspections, supervisions and actions against wrongdoings in personnel work in general and in the recruitment of officials and public employees in particular.

Deputy Foreign Minister and head of the ASEAN Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) Vietnam Nguyen Quoc Dung on April 6 held phone talks with acting Australian Deputy Foreign Minister and head of the SOM Australia on ASEAN and East Asia Summit (EAS) Justin Hayhurst to discuss joint work via regional cooperation mechanisms amid the complicated developments of COVID-19.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) on April 4 sent a message of condolences to the board of leaders of the Sandinista National Liberation Front of Nicaragua over the death of its Politburo member and Secretary of Foreign Affairs Jacinto Suarez Obregon.

Permanent Cabinet members deliberated the social welfare package for people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic during their meeting in Hanoi on April 5.

Vietnam has lodged an official complaint with China following the sinking of a Vietnamese fishing vessel near the former’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang said on April 3.

The British Embassy in Vietnam said on April 3 that amid the complicated developments of COVID-19, it is working closely with the Vietnamese authorities to provide consular support for affected UK citizens.

Relevant agencies of Vietnam have been actively assisting representative agencies of foreign nations in the country to carry out citizen protection measures amid rapid developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang said on April 3.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged Vietnamese representative agencies abroad to raise the sense of responsibility and keep staying in the host countries to fulfill all assigned tasks amid the complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son emphasised the importance of international cooperation in the COVID-19 fight during the third phone talks with leaders of the ministries of foreign affairs of the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), India, Australia and New Zealand on April 3.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on April 3 afternoon held phone talks with the Republic of Korea (RoK)’s President Moon Jae-in to discuss the COVID-19 prevention and control in each country and bilateral cooperation in this field.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc talked over the phone with his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang on April 2, discussing cooperation in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vietnam has decided to extend temporary residence permit for foreigners who are currently in the country and unable to leave because of travel restrictions or quarantine order related to COVID-19, according to the Immigration Department under the Ministry of Public Security.

The Government will take more drastic actions to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the next one month, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said while concluding the government's regular meeting for March on April 1.

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan on April 1 sent a letter to NA deputies, asking them to carry forward their wisdom, enthusiasm and responsibility to stand side by side with the people, authorities and Party organisations at all levels in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on April 1 sent letters of sympathies to European leaders over the COVID-19 pandemic which is developing complicatedly in the continent.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and authorities of Vietnam are willing to work closely with the Czech Embassy to support the country and handle issues related to its citizens who are staying in Vietnam amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said Deputy Foreign Minister To Anh Dung on April 1.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed a decision on April 1 officially declaring a nationwide COVID-19 epidemic.

The Vietnamese Government has made efforts to ensure that social welfare for the public is maintained, especially for the poor and the unemployed, amid the challenges posed by COVID-19, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said.

Vietnam has reaffirmed support for peace process led by Afghan people at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)'s teleconference on March 31 discussing Afghanistan situation and activities of the UN Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of Vietnam’s Permanent Mission to the UN, has called all concerned parties to continue pursuing dialogue and seeking long-term political solutions for the situation in Syria.