VIETNAM MONITOR

Vietnam Monitor (6/2019). In early June, Vietnam was admitted as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for 2020-21. The last day of the month, in turn, saw the signing of the European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement in Hanoi. Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc attended the 34th ASEAN Summit in Bangkok and the G20 meeting in Osaka. Vojtěch Filip leader of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia visited Vietnam. Download the entire June news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (5/2019). Due to the health problems of Communist Party of Vietnam General Secretary and National President Nguyễn Phú Trọng, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc was more active in May and was present in Russia, Sweden or Norway. Defense Minister Ngô Xuân Lịch was invited to Canada, and the ministry heads from Japan and China were in Vietnam. Download the entire May news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (4/2019). The ill health of the Communist Party of Vietnam General Secretary and National President Nguyễn Phú Trọng has sparked a discussion on the succession of power in the Communist Party of Vietnam. Chairwoman of Vietnam's National Assembly Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân paid official visits to France, Belgium and Qatar, while Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc attended the 2nd Belt and Road Forum in Beijing after returning from a European trip to Romania and the Czech Republic. Download the entire news from April with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (3/2019). The highlight of March in Vietnam was the visit of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which followed his meeting with Donald Trump. There were also meetings between the Vietnamese and Philippine foreign and defense ministers and talks between the Vietnamese army chief of staff and the command of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. In turn, the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, and the Speaker of the National Assembly of Laos, Pany Yathotou, paid an official visit to Vietnam. Download the entire March news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (2/2019). The highlight of February in Vietnam was the second meeting held in Hanoi between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. February also saw the celebration of Tết, the Vietnamese new lunar year. Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh paid an official visit to North Korea and Germany, and President and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyễn Phú Trọng toured Laos and Cambodia. Download the entire February news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (1/2019). In January, global media attention was captured by issues related to the entry into force of controversial cybersecurity law, prompting the first spat between Facebook's social network managers and the Vietnamese authorities. British Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific Mark Field, former US Secretary of State John Kerry and Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith paid an official visit to Hanoi. And Vietnamese Chief Executive Nguyễn Xuân Phúc was in Davos for the World Economic Forum, while National Assembly Speaker Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân was at the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum in Cambodia. Download the entire January news release with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (12/2018). Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and monarch Norodom Sihamoni paid an official visit to Hanoi. At the end of the month, Vietnam's Minister of Defense Gen. Ngô Xuân Lịch visited Phnom Penh in turn. National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân traveled to South Korea, where Deputy Prime Minister of the Hanoi government Trịnh Đình Dũng also stayed. The fourth meeting of foreign ministers under the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism took place in Vientiane, and Russian Federation State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin was in Vietnam in late December. Download the entire December news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (11/2018). In November, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc was present at a summit of countries belonging to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which was also accompanied by other meetings under the ASEAN+3 formula, or the East Asia Summit. The Hanoi Chief Executive was also in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, where the Asia-Pacific Economic Community Summit was held. In turn, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and President of the Council of State and Council of Ministers of Cuba Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez were guests in Vietnam. Download the entire November news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (10/2018). After several years of negotiations, the European Commission has approved the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and Vietnam, which is finally expected to enter into force in 2019. The decision was announced during Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc's tour of Europe, which took in Austria, Belgium, and Denmark in the middle of the month. The Prime Minister of the Hanoi government was also present at a meeting of ASEAN leaders in Indonesia and visited Japan on the sidelines of the summit of Mekong countries. As expected, Nguyễn Phú Trọng, acting General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, was elected IX President of Vietnam. Download the entire October news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (9/2018). The most important news of September in Vietnam was the news of the death of President Trần Đại Quang, in office since 2016. Because of this, a two-day mourning was declared in the country, during which funeral ceremonies were held. The ASEAN World Economic Forum also took place in Hanoi, attracting politicians from 43 countries around the world. Download the entire September news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (7-8/2018). The most talked-about event of July and August was US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Vietnam. Vietnam's Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh has also been active in the past two months, making official visits to Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Singapore. President Trần Đại Quanga, on the other hand, toured Africa where he met with politicians from Ethiopia and Egypt. Download the entire July and August news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (6/2018). The most high-profile event of June was the visit of Vietnamese Chief Executive Nguyễn Xuân Phúc to Canada on the occasion of the G7 Summit. In the first half of the month, there were anti-Chinese demonstrations in several Vietnamese cities triggered by the proposal to pass the Economic Zones Law. In turn, the defense ministers of South Korea, India, and Canada were invited to Vietnam. Download the entire June news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (5/2018). The most high-profile event of May for Vietnamese political life was President Trần Đại Quang's visit to Japan. In turn, Australian Governor General Peter Crosgrove and Canberra Government Foreign Affairs Chief Julie Bishop paid an official visit to Vietnam. Also of note, more ships, this time from India, were stationed in the Vietnamese port of Đà Nẵng. Download the entire May news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (4/2018). April was an extremely active month for Vietnam's defense minister. Gen. Ngô Xuân Lịch made official visits to Moscow, Seoul and Tokyo, where he signed defense agreements. Prime Minister Phúc, in turn, traveled to Singapore to attend the ASEAN Summit and meet with the head of government there. In turn, Wang Yi, China's Foreign Minister, Aung San Suu Kyi, Prime Minister of Burma, and Indonesia's Foreign Ministry Chief Retno Marsudi arrived in Vietnam. Download the entire April news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (3/2018). March was an extremely active month for Vietnamese diplomacy. President Trần Đại Quang visited India and Bangladesh, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc visited New Zealand and Australia, and Communist Party of Vietnam General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng visited France and Cuba. Russian Foreign Ministry head Sergei Lavrov, South Korean diplomatic chief Kang Kyung-wha and Republic of Korea President Moon Jae-in arrived in Hanoi. The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson docked in Vietnam's Đà Nẵng port, and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement on Transpacific Partnership, to which Vietnam is also a signatory, was signed in Chile. Download the entire March news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (2/2018). The highlight of February in Vietnam was the Tết celebrations, which lasted for as many as 7 days. Ceremonies commemorating the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam were also held at the beginning of the month. Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc visited Laos, and the port of Đà Nẵng is preparing to receive a U.S. aircraft carrier. Download the entire February news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor "APPF meeting" (1/2018). The most important event in January focusing global media attention was the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF). More than 350 delegates from the parliaments of more than 22 countries in the region arrived in Hanoi, hailing it as the most important diplomatic event of 2018 in Vietnam, despite the start of the year. In the first half of January, the 2nd Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC - Lancang Mekong Cooperation) Mechanism Summit was held in Phnom Penh, bringing together the heads of government of the Mekong Basin countries. Download the entire January news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (12/2017). In December, one of the major events from the Vietnamese perspective was the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC - Lancang-Mekong Cooperation) forum meeting attended by Foreign Minister Phạm Bình Minh. Diplomatic activity between Hanoi and Vientiane was also evident, as seen in the visit of Lao President and Secretary General of the party there Boungnang Vorachith and Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith. The head of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry, in turn, went to Seoul for meetings with leading politicians of the Republic of Korea. Download the entire December news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor "APEC Summit" (11/2017). The most important event focusing global media attention in November was the Asia-Pacific Economic Community (APEC) Summit. Visitors to Vietnam included PRC President Xi Jinping, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The ASEAN Summit and its accompanying events were also held in the middle of the month and attended by the head of the Vietnamese government. The end of November saw the official visit of Polish President Andrzej Duda, accompanied by an economic mission of Polish entrepreneurs. Download the entire November news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (10/2017). The activity of Vietnamese diplomacy, particularly evident in recent months, has been hampered by preparations for the upcoming APEC summit, which is given priority and prestige in Vietnam. There was lively activity during the period with Minister of National Defense Gen. Ngô Xuân Lịch visiting Burma and Indonesia and National Assembly Speaker Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân visiting Russia and Kazakhstan in October. The European tour saw Vice President Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh visiting Finland, Latvia and Lithuania. In Yangon, they discussed the resources of the Mekong River and the impact of hydropower development on the basin. Download the entire October news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (8-9/2017). Preparations for the APEC summit are underway in Vietnam. One of the final stages of work to organize the November event was the third Senior Officials Meeting (SOM 3), held in Ho Chi Minh City in late August. President Sisi's visit to Vietnam since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Hanoi and Cairo can be considered a historic event, making him the first head of state to hold power in Egypt. Vietnam is also arousing the interest of Central and Eastern European countries, which resulted in the widely reported media visit of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in the last days of September. Download the entire August and September news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (7/2017). In early July, the Vietnamese head of government Nguyễn Xuân Phúc attended the G-20 Summit held in Hamburg. On the sidelines of the European trip, the Vietnamese Prime Minister also visited the Netherlands at the invitation of the Chief Executive in The Hague. General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyễn Phú Trọng paid an official visit to Cambodia, while Vietnam, in turn, was visited by the Chairwoman of the National Assembly of Laos. However, most attention was focused on developments in the South China Sea, where Respol, operating with Vietnam's consent, began drilling in disputed areas, only to relent under Chinese threats eventually. Download the entire July news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (6/2017). In early June, Nguyễn Xuân Phúc paid an official visit to Japan, marking another step in strengthening political ties between Tokyo and Hanoi. President Trần Đại Quang, in turn, made a European trip at the end of the month to visit Belarus and Russia. Increasing diplomatic activity can be seen in Vietnam's relations with Central and Eastern European capitals such as Prague and Bratislava. Another result of building Hanoi's partnership with the Czech Republic and Slovakia was the visit of Czech President Miloš Zeman and the presence of Slovak Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kaliňák in Vietnam in the first days of June. Download the entire June news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (5/2017). In mid-May, Vietnamese President Trần Đại Quang attended the "One Belt, One Road" Forum held in Beijing, where he held talks with leading PRC politicians. Phạm Bình Minh and Vice President Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh went to Tokyo, while Japanese politicians led by Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko and Speaker of the House of Representatives Oshima Tadamori stayed in Hanoi. At the end of the month, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc traveled to the United States, where his meeting with President Donald Trump took place. Download the entire May news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (4/2017). In the second half of April, Deputy Prime Minister and head of Vietnamese diplomacy Phạm Bình Minh paid visits to Beijing and Washington. The National Assembly Chairwoman went on a tour of Europe during which she visited Sweden, Hungary and the Czech Republic. The Vietnamese were also active on the African continent, as evidenced by meetings with Cameroon, Senegal, and Angola politicians. Download the entire April news with commentary here.

Vietnam Monitor (3/2017). Emperor Ahikito visited Vietnam in early March, and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Israeli President Re'uwen Rivlin also met with authorities in Hanoi. Central and Eastern Europe hosted the Minister of Public Security, and Hội An and Huế paid their respects to Polish conservationist Kazimierz Kwiatkowski on the 20th anniversary of his death. Download the entire March news with commentary here.