Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (L) and Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang.

Vietnamese, Chinese FMs hold frank discussion on issues at sea

The Vietnamese and Chinese Foreign Ministers have exchanged sincere and frank opinions regarding issues at sea, as well as coming to an agreement to continue strictly implementing the common perceptions of senior leaders of the two Parties and countries, controlling disagreements, and properly dealing with issues at sea.

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son held a meeting with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang on June 25 at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, with this taking place within the framework of the official visit to the People's Republic of China by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh,

Amid an atmosphere of sincerity, friendship, and openness, the two sides held a detailed discussion on measures which seek to promote mutual relations between the two parties and the two countries.

FM Son emphasised that the Vietnamese side attaches great importance to the development of a comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership with China, adding that this represents a top priority in terms of the nation’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization, and diversification of external relations.

In response, the Chinese diplomat noted that China views its ties with Vietnam as a priority direction in its regional foreign policy, as well as in China-ASEAN relations.

The two sides agreed that PM Chinh's official visit to the northern neighbour is of great significance for further consolidating and solidifying the high-level common perceptions achieved during the official visit to China previously made by Party Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong back in 2022, as well as contributing to pushing up joint ties towards healthy and sustainable development, cited VOV.

The two FMs highly appreciated the positive development momentum of relations between the two parties and the two countries over recent times.

As the standing body of the Steering Committee for bilateral co-operation between both sides, the diplomats consented to continue working closely in terms of intensifying exchanges and meetings at all levels.

This is along with supporting ministries, sectors, and localities to deepen substantive linkages in multiple areas, enhance friendly exchanges between the people of the two countries, expand ties at multilateral forums, properly handling disagreements, and jointly maintaining a peaceful and stable environment in the region.

Emphasizing some Vietnamese interests in co-operation between the two countries, FM Bui Thanh Son suggested that economic and trade ties are boosted as part of balanced and sustainable development.

He therefore suggested that China open the door and create favourable conditions for Vietnamese goods, especially agricultural products, to be exported to the Chinese market. Other efforts include increasing its high-quality investment in Vietnam, collaborating to handle problems in some projects, and speeding up the use of some Chinese aid for Vietnam.

Expressing agreement with the co-operation proposals of FM Son, Chinese Minister Gang emphasised that both nations have become increasingly important economic and trade partners of each other.

The Chinese side is therefore willing to join Vietnam in promoting the complementary advantages between both economies in order to increase imports of Vietnamese goods, especially agricultural products, as well as working to facilitate the clearance of goods at the land border area between the two countries.

China will seek to maintain a smooth supply chain and a production chain, encourage reputable Chinese enterprises to invest in the Vietnamese market in fields suitable to the country’s development needs.

Minister Son asked the two sides to respect each other's legitimate interests in accordance with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The two sides also held an in-depth discussion on international and regional issues of shared concern.

Vietnamese culture popularised in France

A series of events were held in the French city of Saint Herblain over the weekend, aiming to promote the Vietnamese culture to the French.

The events included an international exhibit and workshops presenting paintings by Vietnamese children as well as those by their friends from 20 other countries. They also featured a collection by young artist Thao Nguyen of Hoi An ancient town, according to VNA.

Local children enjoy Vietnamese folk games (Photo: VNA)

This is part of the Toucher Arts project, which comprises a series of concerts, exhibitions, and workshops on Vietnamese culture at schools in France from June 20 to July 3, marking 50 years of diplomatic relations and 10 years of the strategic partnership between Vietnam and France.

Hosted by Art Space Association, in cooperation with the Vietnam Bretagne Sud Association and APPEL Lorient Association, Toucher Arts contributes to spreading Vietnamese culture to the world and also raising funds to help disadvantaged children and those with disability in Vietnam.

The project also organized events at three primary schools and a high school in Nantes and Saint Herblain cities from June 19-23, offering opportunities for French students to know more about Vietnamese culture.

Students experienced folk games such as lion dancing and learned about Vietnamese childhood toys like star lanterns and bamboo dragonflies. They also learned about Mid-Autumn Festival and the Vietnamese traditional Lunar New Year and participated in making star lanterns and red envelopes for lucky money.

Driss Saïd, Vice Mayor of Saint Herblain, said he is happy to attend events organized by Art Space, especially as their activities focus on promoting friendly relations between Vietnam and France through cultural activities.

He also expressed his pleasure to have learned more about Vietnam, a country with a special and rich cultural identity.

Strategic partnership with Indonesia records strong development

Vietnam- Indonesia relations have seen strong growth in a comprehensive and steady manner, with Indonesia currently being one of the leading important partners of the nation within the region.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Ta Van Thong made the statement in a recent interview granted to a VOV correspondent in Indonesia as part of the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the joint strategic partnership.

The diplomat outlined that Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong’s visit to Indonesia back in 2017 marked an important milestone in terms of bilateral relations, as it was the first made by a senior Party leader to Indonesia after that by President Ho Chi Minh in 1959.

In 2018, Indonesian President Joko Widodo paid a state visit to the nation, while PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc also visited Indonesia in the same year. In 2021, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, PM Chinh chose Indonesia for his first trip abroad after taking office, whilst last year saw President Phuc also make a state visit to Indonesia, he noted.

The diplomat outlined that the action programs signed between the two sides have contributed to deepening the bilateral partnership in all fields, from politics, diplomacy, and defense-security to the economy, tourism, culture, and people-to-people exchanges. They have finalized a joint action scheme for the 2024 to 2028 period for signing at an early date. Meanwhile, other cooperation mechanisms such as the committee for bilateral ties at the deputy foreign minister level, as well as the joint committee for economic and science-technology cooperation have also been implemented.

Indonesia is currently the nation’s third-largest trade partner in the region, while the country represents the fourth-biggest of Indonesia. Two-way trade tripled in the 2013 to 2022 period to more than US$14.4 billion in 2022, with the figure hitting US$4.2 billion in the first four months of the year as Vietnamese exports to the Indonesian market reached US$1.6 billion. This year, two-way trade is set to reach or exceed US$15 billion.

The two sides have enjoyed fruitful defense-security cooperation, with many high-level visits. The Vietnam Coast Guard signed a cooperation agreement with the Indonesian Maritime Security Agency in December 2021.

The two sides have worked together in aquatic farming, as well as fisheries exploitation and processing.

Bilateral ties in culture, education training, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges have also been strengthened, with localities of the two sides having also moved to advance the joint partnership. Each year sees the two countries welcome about 70,000 to 80,000 visitors from each other, he said, adding that both sides have resumed a number of direct air routes and are in the process of considering the opening of new ones.

Regarding the focus on joint cooperation moving forward, Ambassador Thong said that along with the sound partnership in politics-diplomacy, bilateral economic cooperation has also seen strong growth.

Moving forward, the two sides will continue to ramp up their traditional friendship, thereby paving the way for the development of the bilateral strategic partnership to a new height, he said. The diplomat added that the signing of a new joint action program for the 2024 to 2028 period will help the two sides further beef up their already stable partnership, while also opening new cooperation opportunities in new areas such as energy transition, digital transformation, and infrastructure building.

Ambassador Thong therefore highlighted the bright prospects ahead for mutual economic cooperation, particularly as Indonesia makes up the world’s 16th biggest economy, especially in trade and investment, reported VOV.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Ta Van Thong.

Regarding major priorities and orientations ahead in the joint partnership in the future, the diplomat underlined that the two sides will continue to collaborate closely at multilateral organizations and forums. In addition, they will seek to maintain and promote existing cooperation mechanisms and jointly work on policies following Indonesia’s priorities, thereby increasing delegation exchanges and further promoting collaboration in defense-security.

Simultaneously, the two countries will continue to bolster ties in economics, as well as trade and investment, with the goal of expanding bilateral ties to new and promising areas and offering more incentives for businesses to encourage them to explore each other’s market, he said.

The two nations will also seek to bolster ties in culture, education, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges, with the opening of more air routes connecting tourist destinations in the two countries, stated the Ambassador.

Concerning ties between the two countries within ASEAN, Ambassador Thong outlined that joint relations are important to the establishment of the ASEAN Community, as well as the role and position of the bloc in the current regional architecture. Historically, this is significant as Indonesia was the first to support Vietnam to join the ASEAN.

As active members of the association, the two countries have worked hard together for the development of the ASEAN Economic Community, he said.

The diplomat noted that in the bloc, Indonesia is the largest market with more than 280 million consumers, whilst Vietnam ranks third with 100 million people and impressive economic growth.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam, in the role of ASEAN Chair, coordinated closely with other ASEAN member countries, including Indonesia, to make positive contributions in responding to the pandemic. This is along with other efforts relating to recovering the supply chain, ensuring a safe environment for production and business activities, and promoting the self-reliance and intra-bloc strength of the association, he went on to say.

As the ASEAN Chair this year, Indonesia has focused on accelerating the recovery of member countries, as well as overcoming challenges amid difficult and unexpected developments in the world economic situation, the Ambassador said.

K-Pop phenomenon to storm Hanoi for two nights

Black Pink, the Republic of Korea’s girl group phenomenon, is storming Hanoi at My Dinh stadium for two nights on July 29 and 30.

The announcement was unveiled on their fanpage and official website. Tickets will be up for sale on July 7 at ticketbox.vn.

"Born Pink World Tour" is the ongoing second worldwide concert tour by the group in support of their second album “Born Pink”.

The group kicked off its tour in Seoul in October 2022, and since then it has head to North America, Europe and Asia.

According to statistics of Touring Data, Black Pink’s “Born Pink World Tour” became the highest-grossing tour by a female group in history, surpassing legendary British girl groups Spice Girls’ Spice World -2019 Tour which made 78.2 million USD over 13 sold-out shows.

Meanwhile, the Born Pink tour has made 78.5 million USD over 26 shows with 366,000 tickets and the tour has not yet finished, cited VNA.

Black Pink will perform in Hanoi on July 29 and 30. (Photo: YG Entertainment)

The girl group is formed by YG Entertainment, consisting of four members Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. The group debuted in August 2016 with their single album Square One.

Blackpink has broken numerous online records throughout their career. Their music video for "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du" was the first by a RoK group to surpass 1 billion views and is currently the most-viewed by a RoK group on YouTube.

Blackpink's music videos for "Kill This Love" (2019) and "How You Like That" (2020) each set records for the most-viewed music video within the first 24 hours of release, with the latter breaking three and setting two Guinness World Records.

Foreign Ministry gets plan ready for citizen protection in Russia

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has directed the Vietnamese Embassy and representative missions in Russia to prepare plans for protecting Vietnamese citizens in Rostov-on-Don and some areas in southern Russia where the security and order situation has shown complicated developments.

The ministry recommended overseas Vietnamese residing in southern localities and Moscow follow the laws and instructions of local authorities. They are advised to stay indoors and refrain from joining activities with large numbers of people or making long trips within the territory of Russia, cited VNS.

Wagner Group members stand on the balcony of a building in the city of Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on Saturday. Photo: AFP/VNA

The OVs should also make evacuation plans, and keep regular contact with Vietnamese associations and Vietnamese representative agencies in Russia for urgent support when in need, the ministry said.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Russia also urged Vietnamese expats in Russia not to go to Rostov, Voronezh and other provinces along the western and southwestern borders of Russia if not necessary.

They are also advised not to approach military areas, petroleum depots and other places where access is restricted; not comment and share on relevant issues on mobile phones and social networks.

For guidance and support in case of emergency or incidents of security and order, citizens can immediately contact the embassy via the hotline +79166821617 or call the Citizen Protection Hotline in Vietnam: +84 9 81 84 84 84.

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