(VOVworld) – Raul Castro, First Secretary of Cuba’s Communist Party and President of the Cuban State Council and Council of Ministers, concluded a 3-day official visit to Vietnam today. During this visit, Vietnamese Party and Government leaders affirmed the sustainability of Vietnam’s friendship with Cuba and vowed to bring it to a new level. VOV editor Thu Hoa summarizes the results of Castro’s visit.

(VOVworld) - Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh leads the Vietnamese delegation at this year’s 45th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting as well as the Post Ministerial Meeting, the East Asia Summit, and the 19th ASEAN Regional Forum in Phnompenh, Cambodia. Vietnam’s participation in these meetings aims to consolidate the bloc’s solidarity and cooperation, promote its responsibility for peace and security while boosting Vietnam’s role and position in the region.

(VOVworld) - Vietnam now considers energy a spearhead economic sector in realizing its Millennium Development Goals, industrialization, and modernization, and Latin America is seen as a potential region for energy development. A seminar on the Vietnam-Latin America Partnership in Agriculture and Energy, part of the ongoing Vietnam-Latin America Trade and Investment Forum is a chance for strategists to work out plans for energy development to match their potentials. VOV’s reporter Le Phuong reports:

(VOVworld) – The first ever Vietnamese-Latin American forum on trade and investment opens today in Hanoi. The 2-day forum is of great significance as it confirms Vietnam’s policy of attaching importance to its comprehensive ties with Latin American countries and at the same time reflects both sides’ determination to lift their economic and trade relationship to a new level to match their fine bilateral political relationship.

(VOVworld) - The Vietnamese government has reiterated its determination to continue its goals of stabilizing the macro-economy, curbing inflation and maintaining reasonable economic growth and ensuring social security. The government has devised a number of solutions to support production and markets in order to achieve the set targets.

(VOVworld) - National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung began an official visit to Laos on Tuesday. The visit affirms the two nations’ determination to strengthen their special relationship, and boost cooperation between their two Parties, Governments, and peoples. This visit marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties, 35 years since the signing of the Friendship and Cooperation Treaty, and Vietnam-Laos Friendship Solidarity Year 2012.

(VOVworld) – International experts say China has no legal foundation for declaring its sovereignty within the U-shaped line in the East Sea. This was the consensus at a seminar entitled “The East Sea and Asia Pacific in Transition: Exploring Options for Managing Disputes” held in Washington, DC, last Thursday by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The scholars said that China’s invitation of bids to survey and explore 9 oil and gas blocks located in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf is illegal.

(VOVworld) - Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Catherine Ashton have signed the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) during Minh’s visit to the EU. The agreement is expected to create a new legal framework and expand Vietnam-EU cooperation in the future. VOV editor Anh Huyen has more.

(VOVworld) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has concluded his Middle East tour to Israel, the Palestinian territory, and the Kingdom of Jordan, to discuss the situations in Syria and Iran, as well as seek peace solutions for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Despite being only a 48 hour-stay in the world’s frying pan, Putin’s trip has conveyed a clear message of an important shift in Russian external policies to consolidate the country’s position in the Middle East and North Africa, as well as to bring peace to this region. Anh Huyen has more…

(VOVworld) – Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, today in Brussels signed a new EU-Vietnam Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) and launched negotiations on the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA). This event opens up a new period of development in Vietnam-EU cooperation, and acts as a base for Vietnam and the EU to set up specific cooperative mechanisms for future ties. Anh Huyen has more: