"With the potential of Vietnamese cuisine, culinary diplomacy is a meaningful activity to enhance cultural understanding and open up more cooperation opportunities for Vietnamese-Australian businesses," said Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski.

President Vo Van Thuong on May 23 cabled a message of sympathy to his Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella over human and property losses caused by torrential rains and floods in the country.

The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) and the Vietnam-Czech Friendship Association will continue to cooperate with partners in the Czech Republic to support businesses of the two countries to enhance connections and expand investment and trade cooperation, VUFO President Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga has said.

The Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations and the Vietnam-Russia Friendship Association on May 22 held a meeting with the Chairman of the United Russia Party (URP) and Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev on his official visit to Vietnam.

The first Congress of the Vietnam-US Friendship Association in Quang Tri, term 2023 - 2028, was held in Dong Ha (Quang Tri) on May 22. Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Hoang Nam, Deputy Chief of the US Mission to Vietnam Mellissa Bishop, and peace-loving people attended and congratulated the congress.

Members of the Vietnam - Poland Friendship Association donated more than VND 100,000,000 for supporting 2 Polish tourists who had an accident in Vietnam.

From May 3 to 9, the delegation of the Vietnam-Nepal Friendship Association led by Prof. Tran Anh Tuan, chairman of the Association, and Prof. Bui Thanh Ha, vice chairman, visited Nepal at the invitation of the Nepal Peace and Solidarity Council (NPSC). The trip contributes to enhancing understanding, friendship and cooperation between the two peoples.

On May 4, the Vietnam - Thailand Friendship Association in Hoa Binh province held the 2nd Congress of Delegates, term 2023-2028. The Association determines that in the new term, it will strengthen activities, mobilize and develop young members, overseas Vietnamese children and those who voluntarily apply to join the Association.

The Vietnam-China Friendship Association of the northern port city of Hai Phong held its Congress for the 2023-2028 tenure on April 21

The Ho Chi Minh City Union of Friendship Organisations (HUFO) and the Vietnam – Cuba Friendship Association of HCM City held a get-together in the city on April 18 to celebrate the 62th anniversary of Cuba’s Giron Victory (1961-2023).

Secretary of the Da Nang Party Committee Nguyen Van Quang and a delegation of city officials on April 14 visited the Lao Consulate General in the city to extend greetings on the occasion of Laos’ traditional New Year festival (Bunpimay).

One of the outstanding activities of people’s diplomacy in the southern province of Dong Nai lies with the mobilisation of international resources for social welfare in the locality.

About 7,000-8,000 houses will be built for the needy locals in the locality and some Northwestern provinces.

At the meeting with Eva Maria Jongen, Chief Representative of Bread for the World (BftW) in Vietnam, Phan Anh Son, Vice President, General Secretary of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO) said VUFO and the People's Aid Coordination Committee (PACCOM) were willing to support BtfW in implementing aid projects in Vietnam.

Belgium’s Queen Mathilde, who is Honorary President of UNICEF Belgium, wrapped up her three-day visit to Vietnam, which highlighted the Southeast Asian country's significant achievements towards realising child rights as well as the key challenges the most vulnerable children still face.

The HansaeYes24 Foundation will donate 10,000 books on various subjects to 100 primary schools in the southern province of Tay Ninh to celebrate Vietnam Book Day on April 21.

Vietnam always values and gives high priority to strengthening the fine neighborliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive, sustainable and long-term cooperation with Cambodia, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on May 26.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang stressed Vietnam’s commitment to making all-out contributions for the sake of peace, cooperation, stability, and prosperous development in Asia and the world while speaking at the 28th International Conference on the Future of Asia in Tokyo, Japan, on May 25.

Veteran artist Phan Thanh Liem sat down with Vietnam Times to discuss of the intricacies of a Vietnamese art form.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh hosted a reception in Hanoi on May 23 for Slovenian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon.

In their recently released international religious freedom reports, the US Department of State and the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), on one hand recognised Vietnam’s certain progress in promoting religious freedom and citing some official information from Government agencies of Vietnam but on the other still includes inobjective assessments based on unverified and inaccurate information about the reality in Vietnam.

The Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO) will continue to work with the Vietnam-Russia Friendship Association and Vietnamese people's organizations to strengthen cooperation with partners of the Russian Federation, cultivate, promote the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Russia.

All seven students of Hanoi taking part in the Pangea Math World (PMW) 2023 in Berlin, Germany, have won medals, including five golds and two silvers.

The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) on May 3 co-organised the fifth Theoretical Symposium under the theme of "Some theoretical and practical issues on building socialism in Vietnam and Cuba".

As a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country with diverse religious and belief life, the Vietnamese State consistently implements a policy of respecting and guaranteeing a citizen's right to freedom of religion and belief, and the right to follow or not follow any religion; ensuring equality and non-discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief; and protecting activities of religious organisations by law, stated the Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang on May 18.

Companies in Vietnam ranked higher than the global average in taking a strategic, consistent or radical approach to digitalising customer experience and engagement, said Singapore-based financial services group DBS.

The number of new businesses set a record high in April at over 15,900, according to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam.

The National Master Program on Development of Vietnamese Culture in the 2023-2025 period has been approved under a decision recently signed by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha.

The nation demands that relevant Chinese agencies fully comply with the common perception of the two countries' senior leaders by immediately halting trespassing activities and withdrawing the Huong Duong Hong (Xiang Yang Hong) 10 ship and other coast guard ships and fishing vessels out of Vietnamese territorial waters.

Vietnam resolutely opposes actions that infringe on the country’s sovereignty and related rights over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly), stated Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang on May 18.

Leaders of member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and promoting peace, security, stability, safety, and freedom of navigation in and overflight above the East Sea.

China's unilateral suspension of fishing activities in the waters under Vietnam's sovereignty in the East Sea is void, said the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).