Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a list of selected news summaries reported last weekend by the Vietnam News Agency.

- General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and State President To Lam has written an article on promoting the Party characteristics in building a law-governed socialist state in Vietnam.

Following is a translation of the article by the Vietnam News Agency. Read full story

- National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man proposed major priority directions to promote parliaments’ role in strengthening ASEAN’s connectivity, while addressing the first plenary session of the 45th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-45) in Vientiane, Laos, on October 19.

He said AIPA should work more closely with ASEAN to enhance solidarity, cooperation, and unity in diversity, along with promoting ASEAN’s spirit of independence, resilience, and strategic reliance, as well as international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Read full story

- National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man on October 19 noted with pleasure the growing legislative ties between Vietnam and Thailand, and suggested the two sides enhance all-level delegation exchanges to boost the cooperation.

At a meeting with President of the National Assembly and Speaker of the House of Representatives of Thailand Wan Muhamad Noor Matha on the sidelines of the ongoing 45th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-45) in Vientiane, Man affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to and wishes to strengthen its enhanced strategic partnership with Thailand, and work together with the country to advance the relationship to a new height. Read full story

- National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man had a meeting with his Singaporean counterpart Seah Kian Peng in Vientiane on October 19, on the sidelines on the ongoing 45th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-45).

Man expressed his delight at the positive and substantive growth of the Vietnam-Singapore relationship over the past more than 50 years of bilateral diplomatic relations and more than 10 years of strategic partnership with many important milestones in all fields and through all channels of Party, parliament, government, and people-to-people exchange. Read full story

- National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man held a meeting with Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Igor Sergeyenko in Vientiane on October 19, while there for the 45th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-45).

The Vietnamese top legislator congratulated Belarus on successfully holding the House of Representatives election in February 2024, and Sergeyenko on being elected as the Chairman of the House of Representatives of the NA of Belarus, expressing his belief that the Belarusian leader will succeed in his new role and contribute positively to the Vietnam-Belarus relations. Read full story

- Standard Chartered has revised up its forecast for Vietnam’s 2024 GDP growth to 6.8% from the previous 6.0%, reflecting the stronger-than-expected expansion in the third quarter of this year.

In a report released on October 18, the bank’s economists said the country’s economic growth momentum has been relatively strong, with improvement across multiple sectors, including imports and exports, retail sales, real estate, tourism, construction, and manufacturing. Read full story

- Prices of fresh areca nuts in Vietnam have surged to record highs, primarily driven by strong demand from China.

In provinces like Quang Ngai, Dak Lak, Tay Ninh, Tien Giang, and Kien Giang, the nuts are being sold at 80,000 - 85,000 VND (3.20 USD) per kilogram. In northern areas such as Bac Ninh and Nam Dinh, prices have reached up to 90,000 VND per kilogram due to limited supply. Read full story

- Vietnam expects to attract 39-40 billion USD in foreign direct investment (FDI), according to forecasts to the end of the year.

The Foreign Investment Agency (FIA) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment said in the first nine months of this year, the total registered foreign investment capital reached more than 24.78 billion USD, an increase of 11.6% over the same period in 2023. Read full story

- Prabowo Subianto was sworn in as the eighth President of Indonesia, and Gibran Rakabuming Raka as Vice President at a ceremony held at the Nusantara Building in the Senayan legislative complex in Jakarta on October 20.

More than 30 heads of states and high-ranking leaders of other countries attended the event. The Vietnamese delegation was led by Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan. Read full story

- A small aircraft of Indonesia's local carrier SAM Air crashed in Gorontalo province, Sulawesi Island, on October 20, killing all four people on board, local media reported.

Heriyanto, head of the Gorontalo Search and Rescue Office, said the PK SMH-type aircraft crashed after losing contact with Makassar AirNav officers. It departed from Djalaluddin Gorontalo Airport at 7:30 am, heading to Bumi Panua Pohuwato Airport./. Read full story