- Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son received Chinese Assistant Ministerof Foreign Affairs Nong Rong, who is also Secretary General of the China -Vietnam Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation, in Hanoi on February5.
The host expressed his delight at the sound development and historicachievements of the two countries’ relations since the visit to China by PartyGeneral Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in late October 2022 and the trip to Vietnamby Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping in December 2023.
- Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang hosted a reception inHanoi on February 5 for Archbishop Marek Zalewski, the first Resident PapalRepresentative in Vietnam.
Highlighting the growing ties between Vietnam and the Holy See, Hang noted thepositive developments fuelled by high-level visits and exchanges. Shespecifically pointed to the approval of operating regulations for the ResidentPapal Representative and the Office of the Resident Papal Representative inVietnam during President Vo Van Thuong's 2023 visit to the Holy See as acrucial milestone.
- The National Wage Council has proposed to the Government a 6% increase in theregional minimum wage, equivalent to 238,000 VND per month on average, startingfrom July 1.
The increase, which was agreed by all 16 members of the council after twonegotiation sessions in 2023, was suggested in the context that more than18,300 new businesses were established and return to the market each month, andthe number of orders rose quarter by quarter.
- The index of industrial production (IIP) in January fell 4.4% month on monthbut still went up 18.3% year on year, reported the General Statistics Office(GSO).
In particular, the processing - manufacturing sector expanded 19.3% from a yearearlier, contributing 15.1 percentage points to the overall growth.
- The northern port city of Hai Phong is rolling out measures to makebreakthroughs in the development of economic zones (EZ) and industrial parks(IP) to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI).
The city plans to build 15 more IPs with a total area of over 6,200 hectares.To date, the construction of two has been approved by the Prime Minister,covering nearly 1,200 hectares.
- The Department of Transport of Lao Cai province and the Yunnan provincialDepartment of Transport have decided to resume an irregular passenger transportroute between Gejiu of China and Sa Pa of Vietnam.
According to Director of the Lao Cai Department of Transport Nguyen Quoc Huy,the route was operated from July 20, 2018 to late 2019, and suspended from 2020due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The Vietnam National University, Hanoi ranked 649th in the latest WebometricsRanking of World Universities 2024, placing at the 11th position in SoutheastAsia and 140th in Asia.
In terms of impact rank, the VNU, Hanoi entered the top 500 for the first time,ranking at the 495th position.
- When Tet (Lunar New Year) comes, hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City are oftendecorated with flowers to encourage the spirit of their employees and patientswho have to stay at the hospitals during the Vietnamese people’s biggest andlongest festival.
This year, the floral arrangements were designed to stretch along majorpedestrian zones at hospitals like Cho Ray, Tu Du, and Children’s Hospital 2,bringing a cheerful vibe to every corner.
- After five years of restoration and upgrade, Kien Trung Palace in HueImperial Citadel (Dai Noi) is set to open its door to visitors during theupcoming Lunar New Year (Tet holiday).
The palace, built between 1921 and 1923 under the reign of King Khai Dinh(1885-1925), once served as the living and working space of Bao Dai(1913-1997), the last king of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802 – 1945). ./.
VNA
