International relations

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc congratulated Ousmane Dione on his appointment as new Country Director for the World Bank in Vietnam at a reception at the Government’s headquarters in Hanoi on October 4. He said the WB is important to Vietnam and bilateral relations are being ...

The U.N.’s special rapporteur on human rights in Cambodia on September 28 hit the country with a growing list of criticisms over alleged human rights abuses, which Cambodia parried with the apparent support of neighboring states, including Burma, Laos, Thailand and China. Rhona Smith, in a presentation ...

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân and President of the Senate of Cambodia Say Chhum vowed to do their best to strengthen ties between the two legislatures through high-level visits during their meeting in Phnom Penh on September 28. Ngân suggested the two countries further ...

China has signed an agreement to assist the Kingdom with judicial reforms and to share expertise in overhauling such systems, though one international expert on September 27 cautioned that China shouldn’t be considered “a model for justice reform in Cambodia”. Under the five-year agreement, signed on September ...

Myanmar’s leading garment industry body has been buoyed by the lifting of sanctions it hopes will see a return to the glory days for the sector, when in the early 2000s a majority of country’s garments were shipped to the US. Speaking at a manufacturing trade ...

The official visit to Vietnam by Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte from September 28-29 is expected to strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries, especially in politics, security, defence, and economics. This is President Duterte’s first visit to Vietnam and his fourth foreign trip since ...

Việt Nam and South Korea began the 15th session of the Joint Economic Committee on September 22, with talks focusing on ways to boost cooperation and address pending issues. Deputy minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Thế Phương said the two countries had made significant achievements ...

Laos, Thailand and Malaysia concluded a deal on September 21 which will see Malaysia buy 100 MW of electricity from Laos via Thailand’s power grid. Top energy officials of the three countries signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the sidelines of the 34th ASEAN Ministers on Energy ...

The Lao Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and the Ministry of Information and Communications of Vietnam have reached cooperation agreements in relation to the development of telecommunications and information communication technology. A signing ceremony in relation to the cooperation agreements took place in Vientiane on September ...

  Faring poorly on an international passport index, Vietnam possesses one of the least powerful passports in the region. Ranking 74th on the World Economic Forum’s Passport Index, Vietnam, together with Cambodia, possesses one of the least powerful passports in Southeast Asia. Citizens from the two countries can visit ...