Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh pays an official visit to Laos from January 11-12 at the invitation of his Lao counterpart Sonexay Siphandon. The visit affirms Vietnam’s consistent policy of treasuring and prioritising the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive partnership between the two nations.

Vietnam welcomed more than 3.36 million foreign visitors in 2022, which is 23.3 times higher than in 2021 but down by 79.9% compared to the figure in 2019, prior to COVID-19.

Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, central banks raising interest rates, the global population reaching 8 billion, and the World Cup in Qatar are among the top stand-out international events selected by the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) in 2022.

GDP growth faster than expected, border reopening, and fuel shortages in many localities are among the top 10 events that shaped Vietnam in 2022, as selected by the Vietnam News Agency.

There are six key media agencies in Vietnam, namely People's Newspaper, Vietnam Television, Voice of Vietnam, Vietnam News Agency, People’s Army Newspaper, and People’s Public Security Newspaper.

Vietnam attracted a total of 27.72 billion USD in foreign direct investment as of December 20, equal to 89% of the figure of the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

The ninth Da Lat flower festival takes place in the Central Highland province of Lam Dong from November 1 to December 31.

Vietnam and Indonesia have enjoyed fruitful relations since they established diplomatic relations in 1955 and set up the strategic partnership in 2013.

In the 12 days and nights of fierce fights in Hanoi in late December 1972 against the US air force, the Vietnamese army and people defeated US airstrikes in the North. This triumph is also called the “Dien Bien Phu in the air” victory, which took the name from the victory of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign in 1954 that put an end to the French colonial rule over Indochina.

The EU is Vietnam's third largest export market with an average growth rate of 7.5%, accounting for 13.6% of Vietnam's total exports from 2015-2021.

Agro-forestry-fishery exports stood at over 49 billion USD in the first 11 months of 2022, higher than last year’s record of 48.6 billion USD, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said.

Two heritage pieces from Vietnam were recognised as part of the documentary heritage in Asia and the Pacific at the 9th general meeting of the Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific in Andong city, the Republic of Korea.

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc is on a state visit to the Republic of Korea (RoK) at the invitation of RoK President Yoon Suk Yeol. The visit takes place at a time when both countries are celebrating the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the outcomes of cooperation between Vietnam and the RoK are in a good stage.