Vietnam News Today (May 28): Viet Nam suspends int'l flights to Tan Son Nhat airport
	Vietnam News Today (May 27): National symposium marks 110 years since Uncle Ho left the country to find a way to save the nation
	Vietnam News Today (May 26): Congratulations extended to Argentina on 211th anniversary of May Revolution

Vietnam wants to deepen ties with Cuban, Russian Parties

Vietnam always wishes to deepen relations between the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the Communist Party of Cuba and the United Russia Party.

The statement was made by Le Hoai Trung, head of the CPV Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations, while chairing online conferences to inform outcomes of the 13th National Congress of the CPV to the two Parties on May 28.

The official briefed the Cuban and Russian sides on achievements and challenges facing the country, as well as its development targets by 2030 with a vision towards 2045.

The Cuban and Russian sides congratulated the CPV for the successful organisation of the congress, and expressed their belief that under the CPV’s leadership, the Vietnamese people will realise guidelines adopted at the congress and reap greater achievements in socialism, according to VOV.

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

The Communist Party of Cuba and the United Russia Party always attach importance to cooperation with the Vietnamese Party, considering this an important political foundation to promote and deepen the Vietnam-Cuba special friendship, and the Vietnam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership, their representatives said.

Vietnamese FM holds talks with U.S. Secretary of State

Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed ways to boost Viet Nam-U.S. relations, regional and international issues of shared concerns over the phone on Friday.

Bui congratulated Blinken on his country’s recent successful efforts in containing the COVID-19 pandemic and rebooting economic recovery.

He thanked the U.S. Administration for assisting Viet Nam in the fight against the pandemic, especially its access to vaccine sources, highly valuing Blinken’s contributions to the bilateral ties, and expressing his willingness to work closely with Blinken to further promote the comprehensive partnership between the two countries.

(Photo: VOV)

Viet Nam will continue striving to take measures towards a stable and harmonious trade tie with the U.S., reassured Bui.

Blinken restated the U.S. support for a strong, independent, and prosperous Viet Nam, promising to collaborate with Vietnamese counterparts to further advance the Viet Nam-U.S. relationship to a new height.

The U.S. will continue support for Viet Nam to access COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX facility as President Joe Biden had pledged to donate 80 million vaccine doses to the rest of the world, said Blinken.

He pledged to continue support for Viet Nam to fulfill its role as a non-permanent member of the United Nation Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure, affirming that the U.S. attaches importance to and back the ASEAN centrality as well as the Mekong-US partnership launched in 2020 as an expansion of the Lower Mekong Initiative.

Both sides noted with pleasure at the positive development of bilateral cooperation across fields based on respect for each other’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political systems.

Appointment decision presented to Vietnam’s Honorary Consul General in Ukraine’s Odessa

Vietnamese Ambassador to Ukraine Nguyen Hong Thach on May 27 presented the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ decision to appoint Nguyen Van Khanh as the Honorary Consul General of Vietnam to Odessa province, as reported by VOV.

At the ceremony, Ambassador Thach congratulated Khanh, and expressed his hope that with his devotion, capacity and prestige, Khanh will make contribution to consolidating and enhancing the traditional Ukraine – Vietnam friendship, as well as support the development of the Vietnamese people community in Odessa.

For his part, Khanh described the appointment as a great honour for him, and committed to doing his utmost to nurture the fruitful relations between the two countries and build a stable Vietnamese people community, bringing practical benefits to both nations.

Khanh, the former President of the Vietnamese people association in Odessa, was sent to the Ukraine province for further study in 1979, and has lived in the port city of Odessa since then.

In 2003, the Vietnamese community in Odessa was recognised as a minority ethnic group in Odessa, and Khanh contributed greatly to the result.

Governor of Odessa province awarded an honourable medal to Khanh for his devotion and contribution to the development of Odessa city and Ukraine as a whole in 2011. Four years later, he was named among the top ten doctors in the south of Ukraine. In 2017, Dumskaya, the largest newspaper in Odessa, selected Khanh as one of the five most influential foreigners in the city.

Friday’s COVID-19 cases reach 254

The Ministry of Health has just confirmed 124 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total infections on Friday to 254.

The latest patients include one Vietnamese brought home from Malaysia on May 6.

The others are domestic cases recorded in Bac Giang (123), Ho Chi Minh City (25), Bac Ninh (20), Ha Noi (three), and Lang Son (two).

With these cases, the national patient tally rose to 6,570, including 2,896 recoveries and 46 fatalities, according to VGP.

(Chart: VGP)

Vietnam to temporarily halt importing live pigs from Thailand

Vietnam is to temporarily suspend the import of live pigs for slaughter from Thailand as of June 30 in an effort to prevent the African swine fever (ASF) from spreading among local herds, according the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

The MARD made the decision after a batch of 980 live pigs imported from Thailand were infected with ASF during health quarantine procedures on May 19.

The MARD therefore sent a document to the Thai Embassy in Hanoi on May 28 to notify them of the case and its decision to suspend the import of live pigs from Thailand.

(Photo: VOV)

The MARD will continue to permit the import of batches of live pigs that have been signed by businesses from the two countries which are scheduled to be transported to Vietnam from now till June 29.

The ministry has dispatched a veterinary unit to intensify control over the disease and food hygiene, whilst ensuring safety for these batches.

The MARD has also assigned the Department of Animal Health to co-ordinate alongside competent authorities from Thailand to closely evaluate the epidemic situation for pig herds in the neighbouring country before allowing the resumption of pig imports in the future, according to VOV.

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