Vietnam resolutely opposes actions that infringe on the country’s sovereignty and related rights over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly), stated Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang on May 18.

As a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country with diverse religious and belief life, the Vietnamese State consistently implements a policy of respecting and guaranteeing a citizen's right to freedom of religion and belief, and the right to follow or not follow any religion; ensuring equality and non-discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief; and protecting activities of religious organisations by law, stated the Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang on May 18.

The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

Katrin Kandel, Volunteer CEO of the Facing the World (FTW), a UK-based charity organisation that has been operating in Vietnam since 2007 to support children with congenital craniofacial deformities, has talked with the Vietnam News Agency about Ho Chi Minh's thought and his works on the occasion of his 133rd birth anniversary (May 19, 1890).

President Vo Van Thuong on May 18 received Abdulrahman Omar Kinana, Politburo member and Vice Chairman of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM - Party of the Revolution) of Tanzania, who is on a working visit to Vietnam.

More than 120 students specialising in Restaurant Management and Food Service, Female Technical Engineering, and students from other majors of the Ho Chi Minh City-based University of Technology and Education have excitedly competed to cook delicious dishes from US chicken.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on May 18 hosted a reception for Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who is on a working visit to Vietnam.

The military should strengthen the research and innovation in the fields of science-technology and social sciences and humanities, military science and the protection of the Party ideology protection, stated Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the awarding ceremony of the 23rd Military Youth Innovation Awards on May 18.

Leaders and formers leaders of the Vietnamese Party, State, National Assembly, Government and Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee laid wreaths in tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum in Hanoi on May 18, on the occasion of the late President's 133rd birth anniversary (May 19, 1890-2023).

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will lead a high-ranking delegation of Vietnam to attend the expanded summit of the Group of Seven (G7) and pay a working visit to Japan from May 19-21 at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio.

Vietnam has been invited to the expanded G7 Summit in Japan’s Hiroshima, slated for May 20-21, which demonstrates the importance the international community attaches to the country’s increasing role in the region and the world at large, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu.

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

The 20th ASEAN-China Senior Officials' Meeting on the Implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties (DOC) in the East Sea (SOM-DOC) was held in the northern province of Quang Ninh on May 17 after nearly two years of hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted a reception for Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Karl Van Den Bossche and Francois Michel, CEO of John Cockerill Group - a mechanical engineering firm of Belgium, in Hanoi on May 17.

Permanent Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man hosted a reception in Hanoi on May 17 for a delegation from the Committee for the Defence of the Revolution of Cuba (CDR) led by its National Coordinator Gerardo Hernandez Nordelo.

The 13th Party Central Committee has issued an announcement on its mid-term meeting, which wrapped up in Hanoi on May 17 after two and a half days of sitting.

Mongolia is proud to be a friend of Vietnam - a country with increasing international prestige and position in the region and the world, which has a vital position in Mongolia's foreign policy in Southeast Asia, Secretary of the National Security Council of Mongolia Jadamba Enkhbayar told President Vo Van Thuong at their meeting in Hanoi on May 17.

Dr. Joe Pateman from the Faculty of Politics and International Relations at the UK's University of Sheffield shared his opinion about President Ho Chi Minh’s thought on diplomacy and Vietnam’s foreign policies on the occasion of the late leader’s 133rd birthday (May 19, 1890 – May 19, 2023).

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang hosted a reception in Hanoi on May 17 for Nicholas Moore, Australia's Special Envoy for Southeast Asia, who is on a working visit to Vietnam.

The 13th Party Central Committee looked into some reports on May 17, the last working day of its mid-term meeting.