Hanoi, (VNA)🍬 - The following is a list of selected news summaries reported last weekend by the Vietnam News Agency.

-The 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam held a meeting in Hanoi on August 3 to discuss the personnel work.

In the morning, under the chair of Politburo member and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the committee nominated and elected the new General Secretary of the 13th Central Committee of the CPV.Read full story

-Vietnam will continue to strengthen relations with neighbouring countries, major powers, comprehensive strategic partners, traditional friends, and other key partners in a profound, substantive manner, constantly consolidating political trust and ensuring a stable, peaceful foreign landscape to create the highest facilitation for national development.

This affirmation was made by Party General Secretary and State President To Lam at an international press conference held immediately after the 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s conference on the morning of August 3 in Hanoi.Read full story

-Leaders of foreign Parties and countries have congratulated President To Lam on his election as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee.

In their congratulatory letter, Cuba’s General Raúl Castro Ruz and First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee and President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez expressed their belief that under the sound leadership of Party General Secretary and President To Lam, the CPV will continue to lead the Vietnamese people to carry forward the glorious victories in the struggle for national independence as well as the cause of national development, and promote the reform process, for wealthy people, a strong country, democracy, and a fair and civilised society.Read full story

-Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta left Hanoi on August 3 afternoon, wrapping up his 4-day state visit to Vietnam at the invitation of President To Lam.

During his stay, he attended a red-carpet welcome ceremony and held talks with President To Lam. Following the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of an agreement on bilateral visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders. They visited the Ho Chi Minh Museum and attended a honour banquet.Read full story

-Vietnam requests the US to continue implementing its commitment to broad, strong and constructive coordination and to soon recognise the market economy status of Vietnam, Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang has said.

Hang made the statement on August 3 while answering a reporter's question about Vietnam's reaction to the US Department of Commerce (DOC)'s decision on continuing to identify Vietnam as a non-market economy.Read full story

-Politburo member, Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Chairman of the Central Theory Council Nguyen Xuan Thang highlighted the comprehensive, rapid developments of the Vietnam-US relationship during his working visit to the US from July 31 to August 4.

While in the US, Thang met with Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, Senior Advisor to the US President for International Climate Policy John Podesta, Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology Anne Neuberger, and US Department of Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia and the Pacific Robert Kaproth.Read full story

-Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung paid a working trip to the Republic of Korea (RoK) in early August, aiming at bolstering cooperation between the two countries in the areas of digital transformation and AI.

At a working session with Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho, Hung stressed that Vietnam is promoting economic growth based on digital technology, as well as boosting the development of IT and communications, particularly Artificial Narrow Intelligence and Specialised AI - the areas that need international cooperation in policy sharing and human resources training.Read full story

-Vietnam Report and VietNamNet newspaper announced the Top 50 prestigious and effective public companies (VIX50) in Vietnam 2024 during a ceremony on August 2.

Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) topped the ranking, followed by tech giant FPT Corporation, real estate developer Vinhomes, Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB), Ho Chi Minh City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HDBank), Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MBBank), Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), Vietnam Technological and Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank), Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) and Gemadept Corporation.Read full story

- Vietnam boasts potential to attract investments in pioneering industries, and solutions are needed to materialise such opportunities, insiders have said.

Earlier this month, Foxconn Group received the green light from the northern province of Quang Ninh’s authorities to launch two projects worth 551 million USD in the locality. These projects, aimed at producing smart entertainment products and smart systems, fall within Quang Ninh’s target industries for investment in processing and manufacturing.Read full story

-Foreign media has highlighted the election of Politburo member and State President To Lam as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)’s 13th Central Committee.

On August 3, many online publications of major newspapers of Laos reported news of congratulations to Party General Secretary and State President To Lam.Read full story

--Dr. Andrew Wells-Dang, a senior expert of Southeast Asia at the US Institute of Peace (USIP), said most US politicians have shared the view that the war in Vietnam was a mistake.

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) on August 3 over the Gulf of Tonkin incident 60 years ago and the war raged by the US in the Southeast Asian nation, Wells-Dang recalled the criticism to the war of African-American activist Martin Luther King.Read full story/.