Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Gennady Stepanovich Bezdetko shares information about the situation in Russia at the event.

President Putin to visit Vietnam soon: Russian Ambassador

President Putin will visit the nation in the near future, said Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Gennady Stepanovich Bezdetko at a recent conference held to share information about the situation in Russia and cooperation between the two countries.

The event was jointly organized by the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO), the Russian Embassy in Vietnam, and the Vietnam-Russia Friendship Association.

In his speech at the event, Russian Ambassador Bezdetko said that the Russian President has accepted an invitation to visit the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, cited VOV.

Asked about the upcoming visit, Ambassador Bezdetko confirmed that President Putin will visit the nation in the near future. He said currently he cannot announce the definite time of the visit, but the information will be shared soon.

The Russian diplomat noted that Vietnam holds a significant position in Russia's foreign policy, with relations governed by a comprehensive strategic partnership framework.

During the conference, the Russian Ambassador presented Russia's political and diplomatic trends in the current period.

Furthermore, Kharinov, Russian Trade Representative in Vietnam introduced information about the Russian economy, as well as the economic and trade co-operation between both sides.

In addition, Murashkin, director of the Center for Science and Culture in Hanoi, spoke about Russian-Vietnamese co-operation in the fields of culture and education.

Earlier on March 26, the Party Central Committee's Commission for Foreign Affairs announced that Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong had a phone call with Russian President Putin, during which the Vietnamese Party chief respectfully invited President Putin to make an official visit to Vietnam soon and the invitation was graciously accepted.

Vietnam, Laos, China enhance border management cooperation

A trilateral meeting between Vietnam, Laos and China was held at the shared border mark of the three countries on May 15.

The event was attended by representatives from the A Pa Chai border station and Sen Thuong border station of the northwestern province of Dien Bien, the police department of Nhot Ou district, and Phongsaly province in Laos, and the border management authorities of China’s Jiangcheng district and Pu’er city.

Delegates at the meeting (Photo: VNA)

The three sides evaluated the outcomes of the coordination across border management and protection as well as prevention of cross-border crimes and illegal immigration. They identified the key contents of their coordination work, and agreed to maintain the implementation of the legal border and land documents that each government signed and bolster trilateral collaboration in the time ahead.

They shared a common perception and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), according to VNA.

The meeting was based on the agreement of high-level cooperation among the Vietnamese Ministry of Defense, Lao Ministry of Public Security, and Chinese Ministry of Public Security, and the minutes signed among the border guard forces of the three nations.

Vietnam supportive of UNESCO’s role in education promotion

As a member of the UNESCO Executive Council, the nation always supports the organization’s role in promoting education globally, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Vietnam's permanent representative to the UN, said at an ambassador-level session of the Group of Friends for Education and Lifelong Learning held on May 15 in New York.

The Vietnamese diplomat also hailed the group’s efforts in pushing ahead with contents and commitments relating to education, VOV reported.

Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Vietnam's Permanent Representative to the UN (first from right) attends the meeting.

He suggested launching activities between the group and UN member countries as part of efforts to step up dialogues and share information, initiatives, and experience in education.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J.Mohammad underlined the need to focus on ensuring finance for education and rights for teachers, whilst also working to optimize digital transformation in this field.

Launched on January 24, 2019, the group champions advocacy and outreach relating to global commitments on education, including through concrete contribution to intergovernmental processes, as well as the organization of high-level and expert-level meetings.

Vietnam sees impressive growth in Taiwanese tourists

About 418,000 tourists from Taiwan (China) came to Vietnam in the first four months of this year, posting an impressive growth of 116.3%, said the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism.

With this result, Taiwan ranked third among the 10 largest sources of foreign travelers to the Southeast Asian nation during the period, statistics show.

Businesses of Taiwan said Vietnam is a leading choice of Taiwanese tourists, of whom 45% visit places in the central region like Hue, Hoi An, and Da Nang, 40% to the north, and 15% to the south.

Destinations in the central region are recording good tourist growth thanks to the variety of air routes operated by Taiwanese carriers and the short flight time – less than 2 and a half hours, cited VNA.

Foreign visitors in downtown Ho Chi Minh City in January 2024. (Photo: laodong.vn)

For example, Da Nang International Airport is serving four direct flights from Taipei, one from Kaohsiung, and one from Taichung each day.

Le Phuoc Khanh, General Director of the EMM hotel chain of TMG, noted that Hue city witnessed a boom in the Taiwanese visitor number last year, helping increase the room occupancy rate for the hotel sector of Hue as well as the central region and generating good tourism revenue.

The number of Taiwanese tourists is forecast to stay high in Hoi An and Da Nang cities in 2024, he added.

Tourism businesses and associations of Taiwan and Vietnam have been enhancing cooperation in recent years with a view to raising the annual number of visitors to each other’s destinations to 2 million in the near future.

CNN hails Vietnam’s luxury train route

CNN Travel has published an article hailing a new luxury train route that connects the popular resort destinations of Nha Trang City in the southern coastal province of Khanh Hoa and Quy Nhon city in the south central province of Binh Dinh.

The article by CNN outlines that Anantara, a luxury hospitality brand for modern travelers, offers a new five-hour luxury train experience in southern Vietnam.

It is also the second route in the country after the first "The Vietage by Anantara" luxury train carriage which was launched back in 2020, with the route being a six-hour journey connecting the central city of Da Nang and Quy Nhon.

CNN quoted Kate Jones, head of PR and marketing for Vietnam of Anantara, as saying that the new carriage heads in the opposite direction and aims to expose travelers to even more of the nation’s beautiful views.

The Quy Nhon-Nha Trang route offers guests plenty of time to enjoy their complimentary afternoon tea set (Photo: Anantara)

Like the first Vietage carriage, it will also be attached to the national state-run commercial railway that runs up and down the country.

“The main difference is that the new route connecting Nha Trang and Quy Nhon passes through many more coastal areas than the journey between Da Nang and Quy Nhon,” says Jones.

According to CNN, this is slow travel at its best, with the train reaching an average speed of 51.9 kilometers per hour, equivalent to 32.2 mph.

The travel website stressed that it gives guests on the Quy Nhon-Nha Trang route plenty of time to enjoy their complimentary afternoon tea set, which includes local caviar, Vietnamese artisanal cheeses, a selection of cold cuts, and premium Vietnamese teas.

For the six-hour journey between Da Nang and Quy Nhon, it noted that passengers are served a pre-ordered three-course gourmet meal.

“Guests on either route also get complimentary snacks, free-flow wine, cocktails, mocktails, teas, coffee and soft drinks, plus a 15-minute head and shoulder treatment,” CNN wrote.

The Vietage carriage is fitted out with a sit-up bar and restroom facilities. In addition, it has six private booths that seat two, each of which comes with power outlets, charging stations, free Wi-Fi, and amenity baskets with pillows, blankets, and other essentials.

According to CNN, the cost of a one-way Vietage journey is US$420 per person.

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