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

- State President Luong Cuong led a high-ranking delegation to the Arab League (AL) headquarters in Cairo on August 4, underscoring Vietnam’s wish to foster more substantive and effective ties with the AL and all of its member states, most of whom are long-standing friends and key economic partners.

Meeting with AL Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit right after the Vietnamese flag hoisting ceremony at the AL headquarters, President Cuong praised the AL’s active role in promoting peace, stability, and development across the Middle East, Africa, and the world. He expressed confidence that the AL will continue to achieve greater successes in building a united, prosperous, and dynamic community across various sectors. Read full story

- Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, head of the national steering committee for implementing the Politburo’s Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW on private economic development, chaired the committee’s first meeting on August 4 evening.

As heard at the event, on May 4, the Politburo issued Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW. To implement it, the National Assembly (NA) adopted Resolution No. 198/2025/QH15 outlining special mechanisms and policies to support growth of the private economic sector, followed by the Government’s Resolution No. 139/NQ-CP detailing the implementation plan of the NA’s document. Read full story

- Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien held official talks with his visiting Lao counterpart Malaithong Kommasith in Hanoi on August 4.

Dien commended the progress made in trade cooperation, noting that bilateral trade reached 2.25 billion USD last year, marking an annual increase of 38.2% and surpassing 2 billion USD for the first time. In the first half of 2025 alone, the turnover reached 1.78 billion USD, a year-on-year rise of 92.2%. Laos continued to record a trade surplus with Vietnam. Read full story

- The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) urged commercial and foreign banks to stabilise deposit rates and slash lending rates at a conference in Hanoi on August 4, in line with Government directives to drive economic recovery amid the robust 7.52% GDP growth in the first half of 2025.

The SBV has maintained a proactive, flexible, timely, and effective monetary policy in close, harmonious, and coordinated combination with fiscal and other measures to ensure stability, Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha said. Read full story

- Vietnam’s state budget revenue soared to over 1,572 trillion VND (60.4 billion USD) in the first seven months of 2025, hitting 79.9% of the annual target and jumping 27.4% year-on-year, the Ministry of Finance reported.

Domestic revenue reached 1,363.5 trillion VND, up 31.6% annually and meeting 81.7% of the yearly goal. Of 34 provinces, 24 exceeded 68% of their targets, while 33 reported year-on-year growth. Read full story

- Vietravel Airlines on August 4 officially welcomed its second owned aircraft, an Airbus A320, at the Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, marking a new milestone in the airline’s efforts to enhance operational capacity and pursue sustainable development.

The newly acquired plane, registration number VN-A136, features a 182-seat configuration and is scheduled to enter service this August following the completion of technical maintenance procedures. Read full story

- The Hue Central Hospital on August 4 held a ceremony to discharge and congratulate a 56-year-old patient on his successful heart transplant, marking the hospital’s 19th successful surgery of this kind.

Born in 1969, he is the oldest person to have undergone a heart transplant at the hospital in the central city of Hue. Read full story./.