Hanoi (VNA)✨ – The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

- The Party Central Committee’s Politburo and Secretariat held a get-together in Hanoi on January 20 for incumbent and former leaders of the Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, and members of the Party Central Committee through different tenures to honour the 95-year history of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) as well as veteran Party members, and celebrate the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival.

Prominent among participants were Party General Secretary To Lam, former General Secretary Nong Duc Manh, Politburo member and State President Luong Cuong, former Politburo member and former State President Truong Tan Sang, former Politburo member and former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Politburo member and Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man, former Politburo members and former Chairpersons of the National Assembly Nguyen Van An, Nguyen Sinh Hung, and Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan. Read full story

- As Vietnam is preparing a firm foundation to confidently enter a new era, State President Luong Cuong has called on Vietnamese people, both at home and abroad, to join hands in this great journey.

Addressing an art programme as part of the Homeland Spring 2025, which gathered 1,500 overseas Vietnamese from 42 countries and territories who return home to celebrate the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, the leader said that Tet is not only a time for family reunion but also an occasion to honour and affirm the enduring traditional values of the Vietnamese people, reminding everyone, even those far from home, that they remain an inseparable part of the country. Read full story

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his spouse joined the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic during the Homeland Spring programme in Prague on January 19 evening (local time) to celebrate Lunar New Year (Tet), the biggest traditional festival of Vietnamese people.

He recognised the significant contributions of overseas Vietnamese to the nation’s success, describing them as “an inseparable part and an important resource of the Vietnamese nation.” Read full story

- The ASEAN Foreign Ministers (AMM)’ Retreat held in Langkawi, Malaysia, was a success, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Head of SOM Vietnam Do Hung Viet has said, highlighting Vietnam’s positive contributions to the conference.

Talking to the press following the conclusion of the event on January 19, Viet affirmed that, under Malaysia's leadership as ASEAN Chair in 2025, the one-day conference provided a platform for ASEAN Foreign Ministers to engage in extensive discussions, resulting in consensus on several key issues. Read full story

- A ceremony was held in Ho Chi Minh City on January 20 to celebrate the 75th founding anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and China (January 18, 1950 - 2025).

At the event, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Duong Ngoc Hai reflected on the long-standing relationship between the two countries. He emphasised that over the past 75 years, the governments and people of Vietnam and China have deeply valued the importance of nurturing and strengthening their traditional friendship. This relationship, initiated and cultivated by President Ho Chi Minh and Chairman Mao Zedong, has laid a strong foundation for the continuous development of the bilateral relations. Read full story

- Markets across the capital city of Hanoi are teeming with fresh produce and traditional offerings as locals are preparing to bid farewell to the ong Cong (Land Genie) and ong Tao (Kitchen Gods) to the heaven, an important precursor to the Tet (Lunar New Year) celebrations.

As the legend goes, ong Cong is the one in charge of land while ong Tao, consisting of two males and one female, are those who keep a watch over kitchen affairs of a family. They take note of a family’s issues in a year and will ride carps back to the Heaven on the 23rd day of the last lunar month to report all the good and bad things of that family to the God of Heaven. While the official date is still several days away, many families have begun their celebrations as early as January 18 (the 19th day of the last lunar month). Read full story

- The capital city of Hanoi has made British magazine Time Out list of the world’s 50 best cities in 2025 for its stunning culture and history coupled with brilliant food.

Claiming the 21st position, Hanoi distinguishes itself through the remarkable blend of traditional charm and modern vitality. Time Out particularly highlighted the city's status as the cradle of Vietnamese culture, noting how the thousand-year-old city has birthed Vietnam’s most iconic thinkers, poets and artists, as well as the most well-known food. Read full story./.