Review on external affairs from May16-22: NA Chairman's visit to Laos, Greek President's visit to Vietnam, deepening ties with Singapore
Review on a number of news headlines on external affairs from May 16-22 by The World and Viet Nam Report.
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Leaders’ activities
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation have a number of activities during the trip to attend the ASEAN-US Special Summit, and pay the working visit to the United States and the United Nations from May 11-17, 2022.
On the morning of May 19, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation returned to Ha Noi, successfully concluding their trip to attend the ASEAN-US Special Summit and pay the working visit to the United States and the United Nations from May 11-17.
The Prime Minister's visit was successful in many aspects, such as contributing to the promotion of ASEAN - US relationship, promoting Viet Nam - UN relations, deepening the Viet Nam - US relations and affirming Viet Nam's position and prestige in the international arena.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended the ASEAN-US Special Summit in Washington D.C. (Photo: VNA) |
From May 15-17, at the invitation of Lao National Assembly Chairman Saysomphone Phomvihane, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue led a high-ranking delegation of the National Assembly of Viet Nam to pay an official visit to Laos.
The National Assembly Chairman held talks with Lao National Assembly Chairman Saysomphone Phomvihan; had meetings with the General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith, Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh; visited former General Secretary and President of Laos Bounnhang Vorachith, former Prime Minister, former Chairman of the Lao National Assembly Thongsing Thammavong; co-chaired the workshop to share experiences on mechanisms and policies for socio-economic recovery and development after the Covid-19 pandemic; visited BIDV office in Laos, Laos-Viet Nam Joint Venture Bank (LVB); visited the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos, meeting with Vietnamese community and representatives of the Vietnamese business community in Laos.
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| National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (L) and Party General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith at the meeting in Vientiane on May 16. (Photo: VNA) |
From May 15-19, at the invitation of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou paid an official visit to Viet Nam. The President of Greece held talks with President Nguyen Xuan Phuc; had meetings with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue; attended a tea party hosted by Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan; had a meeting with the press and witnessed the signing ceremony; visited the Temple of Literature and attended some other local events.
From May 18-20, during his official visit to Viet Nam, Singapore's National Assembly Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin held talks with National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue; had meetings with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh; visited Chu Van An High School (Ha Noi), Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam.
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| Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (R) receives Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou in Ha Noi. (Photo: VNA) |
Activities of the Foreign Affairs Minister
On May 21, on the occasion of Mrs. Catherine Colonna's appointment as Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son sent a congratulatory message.
Bilateral activities
Singapore Ambassador to Viet Nam Jaya Ratnam and Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Mai Phuoc Dung gave exclusive interviews to TG&VN about the official visit of Singapore Parliament Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin to Viet Nam (from 18-20// 5).
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| NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue (R) and Speaker of the Singaporean Parliament Tan Chuan-Jin in Ha Noi on May 18. (Photo: VNA) |
On the afternoon of May 18, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Minister Pham Quang Hieu had a phone conversation with Dr. Bashar Al-Jaafari, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Syrian expatriates.
The two sides agreed on many measures to further improve the effectiveness of bilateral multi-faceted cooperation, such as promoting delegation exchanges between all levels and sectors; strengthening coordination at international organizations; encouraging and supporting businesses of the two sides to participate in trade promotion activities, creating favorable conditions for the import and export of each other's outstanding products.
On the afternoon of May 16, on behalf of the leaders of the State and Government of Viet Nam, Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Quang Hieu paid tribute and signed the condolences book on the passing away of UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Ha Noi.
Multilateral activities
At the invitation of Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai will attend the 52nd Annual Meeting of WEF from May 23 - 24 in Davos, Switzerland.
In an interview with the World and Viet Nam Report (TG&VN), Ambassador Le Tuyet Mai, Head of Viet Nam’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other international organizations, shared that Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai’s attendance at this year’s WEF Meeting shows Viet Nam’s appreciation and desire to promote cooperation, as well as the commitment to join hands with the international community to solve global issues, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change response, emerging non-traditional security challenges such as food crisis, cyber security....
On the occasion of Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam attending the 78th session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok from May 23-27, Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand, Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to ESCAP Phan Chi Thanh shared the significance and main content of this meeting, as well as ESCAP's support for Viet Nam.
Speaking at an open debate on conflict and food security held by the UN Security Council (UNSC) under the chair of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on May 19, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Head of Viet Nam's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, emphasized that Viet Nam considers food security as the foundation of peace, stability and development.
On May 18, during a working session with Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Selwin Chalres Hart, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Climate Action, the Assistant Secretary-General for the Climate Action Team, handed over the Secretary-General's letter to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to affirm that the United Nations is ready to support Viet Nam for the establishment of partnership on energy transition with the Group of Seven (G7) nations.
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| Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General on Climate Action Selwin Hart handed over the letter to Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang. (Photo: TG&VN) |
On May 19, Vietnamese Ambassador to Denmark Luong Thanh Nghi attended the meeting of the ASEAN Committee in Copenhagen (ACC) with the Ambassadors of ASEAN countries to focus on the strengthening of the working mechanism as well as planning activities of ACC in 2022.
At the meeting between the ASEAN Committee in Switzerland and representatives of the World Football Federation (FIFA) on May 17, Vietnamese Ambassador to Switzerland Phung The Long asked FIFA to continue supporting the projects to develop facilities for Vietnamese football; supporting professional development, especially training of coaches, referees, developing youth football, school football, updating advanced football knowledge for professional football; at the same time, support to improve administrative management, organization of professional football tournaments in Viet Nam.
Other activities
Nearly 1,200 people participated in the 2022 Francophone running tournament with the message “Elle Peut!” (She can!), which took place at Hoan Kiem Lake on May 21. The Francophone race was organized for the first time by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ha Noi People's Committee, the International Organization of Francophonie (OIF) and the Francophone University Agency (AUF).
On the morning of May 19, on the occasion of the 132nd anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday (May 19, 1890 - 2022), the delegation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs laid a wreath, visited the Mausoleum to pay tribute to President Ho Chi Minh and offered incense and memorials at the Monument of Heroes and Martyrs on Bac Son Street.
On the occasion of the 132nd birthday of President Ho Chi Minh, many Vietnamese representative Missions abroad have organized memorial activities to express their respect and gratitude to President Ho Chi Minh for his great contribution to the cause of national liberation of Viet Nam as well as the national liberation movement in the world.
