South African President begins state visit to Vietnam

With sharp strategic mindset and a proven capacity for practical action at both bilateral and multilateral levels, Vietnam has demonstrated its role as a builder and agenda-setter, contributing to a robust platform for dialogue and cooperation in pursuit of a resilient, peaceful, and truly people-centred ASEAN Community by 2045

Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh urged policy beneficiary families to carry forward revolutionary traditions, serve as role models for younger generations, and steer their children to follow Party’s guidelines and the State’s laws and policies, contributing to a more prosperous and civilised province.

Resolution No. 06-NQ/TW represents both a continuation and a development of the Party’s comprehensive foreign policy and President Ho Chi Minh’s thought. If international integration helped create a favourable environment for development, diplomacy today is tasked with protecting and expanding that space.

One of the key breakthroughs of the new resolutions is the shift from a traditional management-oriented approach to a development-enabling model. The proposed policies are designed not only to address current issues but also to establish the foundation for a more modern, proactive and flexible system of urban governance.

Speaking at the closing session, Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung said the forum addressed issues of critical importance to all ASEAN members and the bloc’s partners, while creating a platform to discuss emerging and long-term challenges facing the region.

The Vietnamese NA always values AIPA’s role and regards it as a key pillar of parliamentary diplomacy, a practical mechanism through which member parliaments can contribute to building the ASEAN Community.

Recent developments have demonstrated that policies shaped through listening to public opinion have become a powerful source of social consensus and public trust, enabling the Party, the State and the people to work together toward more ambitious goals and a longer-term vision for national development.

Senator Giulio Terzi described the Italian Senate's ratification of the treaties on judicial and legal cooperation in criminal matters as a particularly significant step in the overall relationship between Italy and Vietnam.

A good deed today is itself a vivid expression of patriotic emulation, the leader said, noting that patriotism is demonstrated not only during historic moments but also through responsible actions, humane gestures and contributions to society.

The NA Standing Committee will review and adopt one ordinance and one resolution to further fine-tune the legal framework governing the People's Courts under the newly restructured organisational system.

Discussing future cooperation, the Vietnamese leader called for stronger political trust, expanded collaboration in economic affairs, defence-security and people-to-people exchanges, and more frequent high-level contacts.

Party policymaking, said Party General Secretary and State President To Lam said theory must be nourished by vibrant practice, tested in practice and return to guide development in practice.

ASEAN should continue upholding the values that have underpinned its success - solidarity, resilience and unity in diversity, while embracing greater innovation in both thinking and action. The bloc should remain firm in its principles while becoming more agile in its responses to emerging challenges and opportunities, said PM Le Minh Hung.

The opening session of the ASEAN Future Forum (AFF) 2026 took place on June 9 in Hanoi, featuring a keynote address by Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung, alongside remarks from leaders of ASEAN member states, senior United Nations officials and recorded messages from foreign ministers.

Deputy PM Nguyen Van Thang proposed a shared vision for an ASEAN fintech ecosystem that is open, secure, transparent, inclusive, and sustainable: “Open” to foster connectivity, “Secure” to enable growth, “Transparent” to build trust, “Inclusive” to ensure that no one is left behind, and “Sustainable” to strengthen resilience and support long-term progress.

The Vietnamese Party, State, and NA will always stand shoulder to shoulder in support of Laos’ reform and development, National Assembly (NA) Chairman Tran Thanh Man said.

Spouse of the Vietnamese Prime Minister Dao Thi Bich Thuy, together with Vandara Siphandone, spouse of the Lao PM; Pich Chamony, spouse of the Cambodian PM; and Thananon Niramit, spouse of the Thai PM, visited the Temple of Literature in Hanoi on June 8, within the framework of their official visit to Vietnam.

Based on the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between Vietnam’s National Assembly and Thailand’s House of Representatives, signed in 2023, Vietnam and Thailand agreed to continue exchanges of delegations at all levels, expand interactions between parliamentary friendship groups, especially the Vietnam–Thailand Parliamentary Friendship Group, as well as among women and young parliamentarians, while maintaining close coordination at multilateral forums.

ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn described the forum as an important Vietnamese initiative aimed at advancing ASEAN diplomacy at both regional and global levels. Vietnam’s decision to host the event for a third consecutive year in 2026, following the success of the 2024 and 2025 editions, demonstrates its strong commitment to ASEAN Community building as well as efforts to enhance the bloc’s international standing.

The Communist Party of Vietnam always attaches importance to and wishes to expand relations with political parties worldwide, including those in Southeast Asia, for the sake of peace, stability, development and prosperity in each country and across the region.