Twenty-eight years since officially joining the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on July 28, 1995, Vietnam's membership has left a profound mark with her positive contributions to the bloc’s common development, laying the foundation for the establishment of an ASEAN community with political unity, economic integration, and social responsibility sharing.

The Vietnam – Canada Bilateral Defence Consultation 2023 took place on July 27, co-chaired by the Director of the Foreign Relations Department under Ministry of National Defence Major General Vu Thanh Van and Assistant Deputy Minister of Canada’s Department of National Defence Peter Hammerschmidt.

Within the framework of his State visit to Italy, President Vo Van Thuong and his spouse attended a state banquet hosted by Italian President Sergio Mattarella and his daughter on July 26 evening (local time).

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

Representatives of two capital cities of Hanoi and Cairo on July 27 signed a friendship and cooperation agreement in the witness of Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang, on his official visit to Egypt.

President Vo Van Thuong on July 27 held separate meetings with General Secretary of the Italian Communist Party Mauro Alboresi, Vice President of the Italian Democratic Party Chiara Gribaudo, and General Secretary of the Italian Communist Refoundation Party Maurizio Acerbo, as part of his State-level visit to the European nation.

President Vo Van Thuong laid a wreath at the Altare della Patria, also known as the National Monument of Victor Emmanuel II, in Rome, Italy on July 27 morning (local time).

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang and Prime Minister of Egypt Mostafa Madbouly have agreed to continue cultivating bilateral traditional friendship and fine cooperation via further increasing the exchange of delegations, especially those at high level.

Vietnam and Italy have issued a Joint statement on strengthening their bilateral strategic partnership on the occasion of President Vo Van Thuong’s State visit to Italy.

The Ministry of National Defence on July 27 held a ceremony to hand over the President’s decision to an officer who will take on United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission in the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) Mission in Abyei on the border of South Sudan and Sudan.

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

Politburo member and Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Tran Tuan Anh received Maeda Tadashi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Special Advisor to the Cabinet of Japan, in Hanoi on July 27.

National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue hosted a reception for Special Advisor to the Cabinet of Japan and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) Maeda Tadashi in Hanoi on July 27.

Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong met with President of the Italian Senate Ignazio La Russa in Rome on July 26 as part of his State visit to the European country.

Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong had a meeting with Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri on July 26 afternoon (local time) as part of his State visit to Italy.

A delegation of the Party Central Committee, the National Assembly (NA), the State President, the Government, and the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee laid wreaths at the monument to war heroes and martyrs on Bac Son street and paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum in Hanoi on July 27.

Vietnam – Vatican relations have seen new positive progress, said Vietnamese Ambassador to Italy Duong Hai Hung.

Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong met President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Lorenzo Fontana in Rome on July 26, during which he affirmed Vietnam considers Italy as its important partner in Europe and is willing to work together with Italy to take the bilateral strategic partnership to a new height.

Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni discussed the two countries’ relations and measures for enhancing the bilateral strategic partnership during a meeting in Rome on July 26.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Egypt on July 26 held a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Egypt diplomatic ties (September 1, 1963 – September 1, 2023).