ANNOUNCEMENTS

+ President of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue pays an official visit to the Republic of Cuba, the Republic of Argentina and the Eastern Republic of Uruguay (19 - 28 April)

At the intivation of President of the National Assembly of People’s Power Esteban Lazo Hernándes, the President of the Chamber of the Deputies of Argentina and the President of the Senate of Uruguay, President of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue led the high-level delegation of the National Assembly of Viet Nam on an official visit to the Republic of Cuba, the Republic of Argentina, and the Eastern Republic of Uruguay from 19 to 28 April 2023.

The official visit by President of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue aims at implementing the foreign policy of the 13th National Party Congress, promoting effective and meaningful cooperation between Viet Nam and its Latin American partners in all areas.

As part of the visit, President of the National Assembly Vuong Dinh Hue will hold talks with the President of the National Assembly of People’s Power of Cuba, the President of the Chamber of the Deputies of Argentina, and the President of the Senate of Uruguay, and meet with other high-level leaders of Cuba, Argentina, and Uruguay.

+ Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala pays an official visit to Viet Nam (20 - 22 April)

At the invitation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic will pay an official visit to Viet Nam from 20 to 22 April. This is the first visit by a Czech Head of Government to Viet Nam in 15 years.

The visit takes place as the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Viet Nam and the Czech Republic have been flourishing. Both sides have maintained regular exchanges at all levels, both in-person and via videoconference. Economic and trade cooperation have witnessed positive developments, with bilateral trade turnover in 2022 reaching 848 million USD, a 15% increase from 2021. Regarding security and defense cooperation, both sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on defense cooperation in 2012. Both countries are also closely cooperating at regional and international multilateral forums.
 
 During the visit, Prime Minister Petr Fiala will hold talks with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and meet with high-level leaders of Viet Nam, among other activities.

+ The 12th Viet Nam - Cambodia Conference on Cooperation and Development Between Border Provinces (23 - 25 April)

Implementing the agreement between the Governments of Viet Nam and Cambodia, from 23 to 25 April, the 12th Conference on Cooperation and Development Between Border Provinces will take place in Tay Ninh. The plenary session will be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang and Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior of Cambodia Sar Kheng on 25 April. This is an important bilateral cooperation mechanism between Viet Nam and Cambodia, organized annually and alternatively in each country. The Conference aims to strengthen cooperation and trust between leaders of Ministries, agencies, armed forces and border localities of both countries, promote effective and meaningful cooperation between localities and the two countries as a whole, contribute to building a border of peace, friendship, cooperation an development.

The Conference takes place as the Viet Nam - Cambodia relations continue to flourish. Economic cooperation is a highlight, bilateral trade turnover in 2022 reached 10.57 billion USD, an almost 11% increase from 2021. Cooperation in defense, security, border, education and training, science and technology, tourism, healthcare, and people-to-people exchange are all being strengthened.

Q &A

1. VnExpress: Armed conflicts in Sudan have caused thousands of casualties. Are there Vietnamese citizens residing in Sudan, and if there are, what are the citizen protection measures?

According to information from the Embassy of Viet Nam in Egypt concurrently accredited to Sudan, currently there is one Vietnamese citizen with dual Vietnamese and Australian citizenship living in the capital, Khartoum, and 16 Vietnamese crew members on a ship docked at Port Sudan, who are currently safe. The Embassy of Viet Nam in Egypt accredited to Sudan are closely following the situation and are ready to implement citizen protection measures as necessary to ensure the lawful and legitimate rights and interests of Vietnamese citizens.

2. Phoenix TV: Indonesian media reported that the escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait pose concerns for Governments of Southeast Asian countries. The Indonesian Government plans to repatriate around 350,000 citizens. Does Viet Nam have plans to evacuate Vietnamese citizens? Have ASEAN countries discussed possible responses to the situation?

The Party and State of Viet Nam pay due attention to the protection of citizens, and to ensuring the the lawful rights and interests of Vietnamese living abroad.

Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are significant toward peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world. Viet Nam hopes that all relevant parties will actively contribute to the maintenance of peace and stability in Taiwan Strait.

3. Phoenix TV: The number of Covid-19 cases is on the rise on the brink of the holidays. What are the measures to prevent another outbreak?

According to the Ministry of Health, the number of Covid-19 cases has been on the rise. On 12 April, the Ministry of Health issued document no. 2116/BYT-DT recommending that people follow pandemic prevention measures such as wearing masks and disinfecting, and on 17 April, the Ministry of Health issued document no. 2213 addressed to medical institutions on the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

Currently, Viet Nam’s pandemic prevention measures are still being implemented per the Government’s Resolution no. 38/NQ-CP dated 17 March 2022 and the Ministry of Health’s 2023 Plan on Preventing and Combating Infectious Diseases in Decision no. 1331/QĐ-BYT dated 10 March 2023.

4. Central News Agency: What is Viet Nam’s comment on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent statement on the South China Sea during his visit to Viet Nam?

The maintenance of security, safety, freedom of navigation and the rule of law in the South China Sea is closely linked to peace, stability, cooperation, and mutual prosperity in the region and the world.

Viet Nam hopes that relevant parties will contribute responsibly to this on the basis of respect for international law, particularly the 1982 UNCLOS.

5. Soha: Can you provide information on the results of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Viet Nam, and are there any upcoming high-level visits between the two countries?

At the invitation of Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid a working visit to Viet Nam from 14 to 16 April. Both sides reaffirmed the basic principles of the bilateral relations, including the principles of respecting each other’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and political systems. Both sides also discussed the implementation of the results of the telephone conversation between General-Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Joe Biden, and agreed to promote bilateral activities commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Partnership. 

Regarding other high-level visits, we will inform you at a later date.

6. Soha: What is Viet Nam’s reaction to China’s fishing ban in the South China Sea from 1 May to 16 August?

Viet Nam’s position regarding the fishing ban that China unilaterally issued in the South China Sea is consistent and has been clearly reiterated in the past few years. China’s fishing ban not only violates Viet Nam’s sovereignty over the Paracel islands, but also Viet Nam’s sovereign rights rights and jurisidiction over its EEZ as established in the 1982 UNCLOS.

Viet Nam asks that China respect Viet Nam’s sovereignty over the Paracel islands, and its sovereign rights and jurisdiction over Vietnamese waters, to avoid further complicating the situation, and contribute to the maintenance of peace, stability, and order in the South China Sea.

7. Tien Phong: Recently, there’s been information that a number of ordinances of Vietnamese provinces have been auctioned in China. What are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ plans to repatriate these ordinations?

Acting on the directions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and after learning more information from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the People’s Committee of Phu Tho, the Consulate General of Viet Nam in Shanghai has requested for a cessation of the auctioning and for more information on the ordinations. On 19 April, the representative of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Shanghai announced that the auction has been ceased, and that it stands ready to cooperate with Vietnamese authorities to verify the information.

In the time to come, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnamese diplomatic missions in China will continue working closely with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and relevant agencies and localities to determine the next steps.