(VOVWORLD) - Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc left Brussels on Friday afternoon (local time), concluding his attendance at the 12th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit (ASEM 12), a working visit to the European Union and an official visit of Belgium.

(VOVWORLD) - Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh have witnessed the signing of the Voluntary Partnership Agreement between Vietnam and the European Union on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade (VPA/FLEGT). The agreement will strengthen forest management, deal with illegal logging, boost timber trade and exports of legal timber products from Vietnam to the EU and other markets.

(VOVWORLD) - Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh introduced Vietnam’s judicial system and its progress in judicial reform to leaders of Italy’s High Council of the Judiciary at Friday’s working session, as part of Mr. Binh ongoing visit to Italy.

(VOVWORLD) - The 12th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM 12) entered its second day in Brussels on Friday. The Vietnamese, Singaporean, Norwegian, and Spanish Prime Ministers were invited to deliver speeches at the 2nd plenary session.

(VOVWORLD) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that US President Donald Trump listened to him and was keen to improve battered US-Russia ties despite the complicated domestic political situation in the US.

(VOVWORLD) - US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told China's Defense Minister Wei Fenghe that improved high-level relations between their countries will reduce the risk of unintentional conflict.

(VOVWORLD) - The head of Vietnam’s Mission to the United Nations, Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, expressed his profound concern over the complicated situation in the Middle East, especially in regards to the escalating conflict and humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

(VOVWORLD) - Vietnam’s 2012 Labor Code will continue to be revised to ensure workers’ rights and gender equality, said Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha.

(VOVWORLD) -100 maps and atlases, proving Vietnam’s indisputable ownership of the Truong Sa (Spratly) and Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelagos, are displayed in the Cultural Center of Ham Tan district, Binh Thuan province.

(VOVWORLD) - The 12th ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting (ADMM) opened in Singapore on Friday in Singapore. The Vietnamese delegation to the meeting was led by Minister of Defense Ngo Xuan Lich.