Meeting President of the House of Councillors of Japan Otsuji Hidehisa, PM Phạm Minh Chính said his Việt Nam visit in September was one of the important and meaningful events in the year marking the 50th anniversary of bilateral  diplomatic ties, contributing to strengthening political trust, understanding and exchanges between the two legislatures and their parliamentarians.

The 21st national conference on foreign affairs wrapped up in Hanoi on December 18 with the adoption of action orientations for localities’ external relations and international integration.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his entourage arrived back in Hanoi on December 19morning, wrapping up their working trip to Japan for the Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation and bilateral activities from December 15-18 at the invitation of Japanese PM Kishida Fumio.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his entourage arrived back in Hanoi on December 19 morning, wrapping up their working trip to Japan for the Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation and bilateral activities from December 15-18 at the invitation of Japanese PM Kishida Fumio.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited the family of late Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo on December 18, within the framework of his trip to attend the Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation in Tokyo.

President Võ Văn Thưởng welcomed the Lao Deputy PM and a high-ranking delegation from the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) to Việt Nam to attend the 10th theoretical workshop between the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the LPRP.

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

President Vo Van Thuong hosted a reception in Hanoi on December 18 for visiting Lao Deputy Prime Minister Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune.

The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee had considered, given opinions and decided on20 specific issues at its three-day sitting that wrapped up in Hanoi on December 18, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue has said.

Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako expressed their delight to welcome Vietnamese leaders on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties, and thanked the Vietnamese State and people for their warm welcome to Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko during their visit to Việt Nam in September.

Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính had separate meetings with former Japanese Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in Tokyo on Monday within the framework of his trip to Japan for the Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation.

There should be a focus on promoting exchanges between friendship parliamentarians’ groups of the two countries, young lawmakers, as well as creating favourable conditions for over 520,000 Vietnamese living in Japan, including tax exemption for Vietnamese workers.

President Vo Van Thuong hosted a reception in Hanoi on December 18 for visiting Lao Deputy Prime Minister Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and other ASEAN leaders met Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Empress Masako, Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko in Tokyo on December 18 within the framework of his trip to Japan for the Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation, and bilateral activities.

The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee wrapped up its 28th meeting in Hanoi on December 18 after three days of sitting.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held separate meetings with President of the House of Councillors of Japan Otsuji Hidehisa and Speaker of the House of Representatives Nukaga Fukushiro, as part of his ongoing trip to Japan for the Commemorative Summit for the 50th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation and bilateral activities.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 18 held the 21st national conference on foreign affairs, with the aim of promoting the external work in service of local sustainable development.

Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen on December 18 visited and extended Christmas greetings to Nguyen Nang, Archbishop of the city’s Archdiocese and President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Vietnam.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended the first summit of the Asia Zero Emission Community in Tokyo on December 18, proposing some cooperation areas to be focused on to help reach the targets of AZEC.

A ceremony was held in Hanoi on December 18 to present Lao orders and medals to individuals from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)’s Government Committees for Religious Affairs and Ethnic Minority Affairs who made outstanding contributions to promoting the Vietnam – Laos friendship.