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Party General Secretary and State President To Lam (right) welcomes President of the Australian Senate Sue Lines in Hanoi on August 27. (Photo: VNA)

Top leader of Vietnam welcomes President of Australian Senate

Party General Secretary and State President To Lam received President of the Australian Senate Sue Lines and a high-ranking delegation of the country’s parliament, who are on an official visit to Vietnam, in Hanoi on August 27.

Lines once again offered deep condolences over the passing of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who reserved warm sentiment towards Australia and strongly supported the elevation of bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Informing her host about the outcomes of her talks with National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man and the meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Lines affirmed Australia views Vietnam as an important partner in Southeast Asia, and that its parliament supports the enhancement of the comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam.

With the recent upgrade of bilateral ties, the two countries have become priority and important partners of each other, thus creating conditions for them to bring into play the cooperation achievements obtained so far and expand connections in new areas, particularly climate change response, digital transformation, energy, mineral, and peacekeeping operations, she said.

She also shared her host’s view on the importance of bilateral cooperation while highly valuing contributions by the Vietnamese community to Australia as well as the two countries’ friendship, cited VNA.

General Secretary and President Lam thanked Lines, who represented the Australian Government, Parliament and people, for attending the state funeral for General Secretary Trong in July. He described the act as a demonstration of the close-knit ties and high level of the countries’ relations.

Vietnam treasures its relationship with Australia, one of the priorities in its foreign policy, he remarked.

Underlining the significance of the Senate President’s visit – the first high-level official trip between the two countries since the establishment of the new partnership, Lam appreciated Lines’ substantial contributions to bilateral ties.

He noted that the Vietnam - Australia relations have been growing well. Their political trust has been increasingly promoted, much cooperation potential remains, and they also share many similar viewpoints on regional and international issues.

The leader suggested the two sides increase exchanges and meetings at all levels between their States, parliaments, and parties.

He also pointed out the importance of further strengthening economic collaboration, welcomed the new cooperation fields the Senate President mentioned, and pledged that Vietnam will continue creating optimal conditions for Australian businesses to make investments.

Lam also took this occasion to propose that his guest provide favorable conditions for Vietnamese people who are living, working, and studying in Australia to continue actively contributing to the development of their host nation as well as bilateral relations.

Int'l passenger volume via airports sees strong growth in 8 months

The volume of international passengers passing through the country’s airports has seen significant growth in the first eight months this year, reported the Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV).

According to the ACV, the transport output for the first eight months has maintained good growth. The domestic market suffered a slight decline, but the international market has been doing well.

The total volume of take-offs and landings reached 460,135 flights, accounting for 65.2% of the annual plan, a decrease of 7.9% compared to the same period in 2023, of which international take-offs and landings reached 170,362 flights, up 22% and domestic take-offs and landings reached 289,772 flights, down 19.5% compared to the same period in 2023.

The total passenger volume reached 75,852,267 passengers, making up 66.6% of the annual plan, a decrease of 4.3% compared to the same period in 2023, according to VOV.

Photo: VOV

Notably, international passengers reached 27,472,661, up 32.4%, while domestic passengers reached 48,379,606, down 17.3% compared to the same period in 2023.

The ACV has directed airports to continue performing well in operations, ensuring no serious incidents occur in airport operations, prioritizing good service for chartered flights, official delegations, and international guests.

The quality of security and safety services in operations is improving, with incident indicators trending down compared to the same period in 2023, according to the report.

Across all 22 airports there were 186 security incidents recorded in the first eight months of this year, a decrease of 43 incidents compared to the same period last year.

Incidents and accidents in all three areas of airport operations, flight management and aircraft operations have decreased by 20% compared to the same period in 2023, according to the ACV’s report.

Vietnam treasures relations with Chile: Deputy PM

Vietnam attaches importance to further consolidating and developing the traditional friendship with Chile, which was founded by late Presidents Ho Chi Minh and Salvador Allende and has been cultivated by many generations of leaders and people of the two countries over the past five decades, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son said on August 27.

At a reception for Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs Alberto Van Klaveren, who is in Hanoi for an official visit from August 25-27, Son said Vietnam wishes to further deepen its comprehensive partnership with Chile and will implement specific measures to promote bilateral ties, in terms of politics-diplomacy, trade and investment, agriculture, culture, tourism and people-to-people exchange, reported VNA.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (right) and Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs Alberto Van Klaveren (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

He suggested that the two sides coordinate to arrange and ensure the success of high-level visits, strengthen trade and investment relations on the basis of the strengths of Vietnam and Chile and make full use of opportunities brought by the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) as well as the bilateral free trade agreement.

The two countries should facilitate market access for goods of each other's strengths such as electronics and agriculture-forestry-fishery products and enhance business connections between the two sides to soon raise the annual bilateral trade to 3 billion USD from the current 2 billion USD.

Klaveren shared the results of his discussions with a number of Vietnamese ministries and agencies during the visit, suggesting that Vietnam consider facilitating procedures for licensing Chilean agricultural products to be imported into the Southeast Asian nation, and promote the exchange of business delegations between the two countries.

He conveyed Chile's message of hoping to strengthen cooperation with Vietnam and supporting it in enhancing relations with the Latin American region. He affirmed that Chile is ready to coordinate with the Vietnamese side to arrange high-level visits to bring Vietnam-Chile ties to a new height.

The same day, the Chilean diplomat also met with Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of its Commission for External Relations Le Hoai Trung and Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Pham Tan Cong.

Numerous Hanoi activities to celebrate National Day

The capital city will hold a wide range of activities as part of efforts to mark the build up to the 79th anniversary of the National Day of Vietnam (September 2, 1945-2024).

The municipal Department of Tourism, working in collaboration with the Thang Long Heritage Conservation Center Hanoi and the Dinh Lang Viet (Vietnamese Communal Houses) Club, will organize the “Ao Dai connecting Hanoi tourism and heritage 2024” program.

The scheme will take place from 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. on September 1 on several streets around Ba Dinh, Hoan Kiem, and Long Bien districts, cited VOV.

Ao Dai parade will be held on September 1 to celebrate National Day. (Photo: anninhthudo.vn)

An exhibition of calligraphic works will get underway at the Temple of Literature from August 31 to September 25.

The free puppet shows at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel on September 1 and September 2 are expected to bring wonderful experiences for both locals and foreign tourists to enjoy.

The Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism will introduce a typical highland market session in Hanoi’s outlying district of Son Tay during the upcoming four-day holiday marking the country’s 79th National Day on September 2.

A model of a typical highland market session will be erected introducing a range of specialties from the northwest and northeast regions across 50 booths. Furthermore, special music programs will be held at 8 p.m. on September 1 across the capital to celebrate the 79th anniversary of National Day.

Vietnam expects early signing of Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with UAE

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called on Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to upgrade the bilateral ties and promptly finalize the Vietnam-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations.

The Prime Minister made the call during his reception for United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Hanoi on Monday.

Pham welcomed the visit of the UAE's officials who were accompanied by leaders of 19 major UAE corporations, adding that the visit will create a chance for both sides to seek for further cooperation opportunities in areas of mutual interests.

Vietnam attaches importance to the friendship and multifaceted relations with the UAE, one of Vietnam's top economic partners in the Middle East, Pham emphasized.

The Prime Minister suggested that the two sides increase all-level delegation exchanges, especially high-level and encourage their businesses to increase investment.

The Vietnamese leader urged the UAE to consider reducing tariffs on several commodities in a bid to realize the two sides' goal of raising the bilateral trade value to US$10 billion, reported VGP.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (R) hosts a reception for United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Hanoi, August 26, 2024. Photo: VGP

The two nations should work closely to realize signed agreements and make preparations for the organization of the 6th meeting of the Vietnam-UAE Inter-Governmental Committee in 2025, Pham suggested.

Pham called on the UAE to support the establishment and development of the International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City.

He also recommended that both sides bolster stronger ties in labor, culture, and sports (including the establishment of youth football training centers in Vietnam), tourism, and people-to-people exchanges with favorable visa policy and opening more direct flights.

Vietnam considers the UAE as a gateway to enhance cooperation with the Middle East region, he noted, adding that the Southeast Asian country stands ready to help the UAE to step up cooperation with ASEAN.

Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, for his part, affirmed that UAE ministries and agencies are actively working with Vietnamese counterparts to finalize and sign the CEPA.

The UAE expects to strengthen collaboration with Vietnamese firms in Halal food production, he said, adding that the UAE plans to establish a council of business cooperation with Vietnam to deepen and improve the effectiveness of Vietnam-UAE cooperation, remarkably in trade and investment.

In the first seven months of this year, two-way trade reached nearly US$4 billion, a year-on-year increase of 47 percent.

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