Highlights of the past week: United Nations Vesak 2025 was a great success; Opening of the 9th Session of the 15th National Assembly

(kontumtv.vn) – The week from May 5 to May 11 saw a number of important events: Vietnam and Azerbaijan established a Strategic Partnership; the 2025 United Nations Day of Vesak affirmed many humanistic values and great achievements of Vietnam; the opening of the 9th Session of the 15th National Assembly; the Vietnamese Army participated in the Parade in Russia; Parade to celebrate the 70th Liberation of Hai Phong City; Meeting to implement Resolution 68 on private economic development...

Báo KonTum•13/05/2025

Vietnam – Azerbaijan establish strategic partnership

Photo caption — General Secretary To Lam and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held a joint press conference and issued a joint statement on establishing the Vietnam-Azerbaijan strategic partnership. Photo: Thong Nhat/VNA

General Secretary To Lam and his wife, along with high-ranking Vietnamese delegates, paid a state visit to Azerbaijan from May 7 to May 8 at the invitation of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

General Secretary To Lam and President Ilham Aliyev agreed to adopt a Joint Statement on upgrading Vietnam-Azerbaijan relations to a Strategic Partnership. The two leaders emphasized that the adoption of the Joint Statement is a milestone of historical significance and will create a foundation to consolidate and strengthen bilateral relations in the coming time. Establishing the Vietnam-Azerbaijan Strategic Partnership will help the two countries take advantage of each other's strengths, bringing Vietnam and Azerbaijan to develop in a new era, for the benefit of the people of the two countries, for peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

After more than 30 years of establishing diplomatic relations, Vietnam - Azerbaijan have achieved many important achievements, political - diplomatic relations have been maintained and strengthened, bilateral cooperation in the field of energy has been promoted, cooperation in defense and security, trade, investment, education and training... continues to be strengthened and potentials promoted for future development have been promoted.

The 2025 United Nations Vesak Celebration affirms many humanistic values and great achievements of Vietnam

From May 6 to May 8, 2025, the Vietnam Buddhist Academy (Ho Chi Minh City) successfully organized the United Nations Vesak 2025, clearly marking the increasingly enhanced role of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in the international Buddhist community.

The 2025 United Nations Vesak Celebration is filled with solidarity, sharing and joy, attracting the participation of 2,700 domestic and international delegates, including many heads of state, leaders of countries, representatives of the United Nations, more than 1,350 international delegates from 85 countries and territories, along with tens of thousands of monks, nuns, Buddhists, and people of Buddhist faith around the world.

The 2025 United Nations Vesak Celebration was solemnly and respectfully organized. It is an international religious and cultural event of great scale and significance, taking place right after the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025); towards the 80th anniversary of the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (September 2, 1945 - September 2, 2025).

The festival is also an opportunity for Buddhists around the world to connect spiritually, foster solidarity and promote the noble values of Buddhism; to summarize the quintessence of Buddhist thought, wisdom and compassion to spread widely, becoming a bridge connecting peoples, religions and cultures around the world, aiming at the noble wish of promoting the spirit of tolerance, harmony and kindness, to build a world of peace, cooperation and lasting happiness for humanity.

Opening of the 9th Session, 15th National Assembly

On May 5, at the National Assembly Building in Hanoi, the 9th Session of the 15th National Assembly opened. This is a Session with many important contents, implementing the Resolution of the 11th Conference of the 13th Party Central Committee, discussing historic decisions in the new revolutionary period of Vietnam, bringing the country into a new era, the era of national development.

According to National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, in the first working week of the Session, the National Assembly worked with a serious, responsible, and urgent spirit, creating consensus among National Assembly deputies. The National Assembly discussed in the Hall 7 draft laws: Law on Teachers, Law on Employment (amended), Law on Digital Technology Industry, Law on Chemicals (amended), Law on Special Consumption Tax (amended), Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Advertising, Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Technical Standards and Regulations) and carried out many other important contents...

Notably, the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Enterprise Law has attracted the attention of voters. Many National Assembly deputies said that this amendment has shifted from pre-inspection to post-inspection, with positive adjustments, demonstrated through the large decentralization to the Board of Members, assigning the owner's representative agency to handle issues related to state-owned enterprises and joint-stock enterprises, meeting the requirements of mobilizing social resources for development investment.

Regarding the draft Law on Special Consumption Tax, there are still many different opinions on what is a reasonable tax rate for a series of products such as cigarettes, sugary soft drinks, air conditioners, hybrid cars, etc. National Assembly deputies believe that the development of technical standards and regulations on "sugar", sweeteners, labeling, etc. is necessary for the Law to be implemented effectively and in accordance with reality. Along with that, regarding the tax rate for hybrid cars, many opinions believe that the current special consumption tax rate should be maintained...

In particular, the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Advertising adds regulations on "advertising product transmitters", aiming to address the problem of many subjects taking advantage of influential people to transmit false advertisements on social networks, causing damage to consumers.

For the first time, the concept of “cross-border advertising” has been legalized, creating a clear legal corridor, forcing global digital platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube to comply with the law, fulfill tax obligations, and ensure advertising content is consistent with culture and social ethics when advertising to Vietnamese users.

Vietnamese Army Participates in Military Parade in Russia; Parade Celebrates 70th Anniversary of Hai Phong Liberation Day

During the week, at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, General Secretary To Lam and his wife, along with a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, visited the Russian Federation and attended the military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the Victory Day of the Great Patriotic War (May 9, 1945 - May 9, 2025) at Red Square, Moscow.

This year's parade, for the first time, the Vietnam People's Army sent a delegation of 86 soldiers and officers to participate. On Red Square on May 9, the red flag with a yellow star fluttered along with the flags of other countries sending delegations such as: Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States CIS... creating special emotions for all Vietnamese people and the Vietnam Army delegation was assessed as one of the high-quality delegations, showing confidence and leaving an impression on international friends.

Vietnam's participation in the parade at Red Square contributes to affirming its foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization and diversification, demonstrating Vietnam's responsibility in building and maintaining an environment of peace, stability, cooperation and development.

During the week, a parade was also held to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Liberation of Hai Phong City (May 13, 1955 - May 13, 2025). The parade aims to demonstrate the strength and maturity of the forces in the cause of innovation and development; honor the historical, cultural and revolutionary traditions of Hai Phong City.

The parade has 42 blocks, including 4 ceremonial blocks: Carrying the Party flag, the national flag, the portrait of President Ho Chi Minh, the red flag; 17 blocks reviewing the ranks under the charge of the Hai Phong City Military Command, including units of the People's Army, People's Police, Coast Guard, Militia and Self-Defense Force... and 21 mass parade blocks including workers, farmers, soldiers, intellectuals, students, artists...

In preparation for the Parade, armed forces units, departments, branches and localities have been practicing enthusiastically since the beginning of April 2025, with 3 joint training sessions on May 5, 7 and 9, and a general rehearsal on May 10 at the City Theater Square and central streets. The joint training sessions and the Parade attracted a large number of people from Hai Phong City, localities and international visitors to witness.

Also in Hanoi this week, the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army held a ceremony to commend and congratulate the outstanding achievements of officers, soldiers, and forces participating in the parade to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day. On this occasion, 225 individuals and 14 groups with outstanding achievements in participating in the parade were awarded by the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army.

There must be a mechanism for private enterprises to "develop without limits"

On May 8, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a meeting with the Policy Advisory Council to continue perfecting the National Assembly's Draft Resolution on a number of specific mechanisms and policies to implement Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW of the Politburo on private economic development. At the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh noted that the mechanisms and policies proposed in the draft must be "leverage and fulcrum" to create an enthusiastic mentality and promote the spirit of self-reliance and self-reliance for the development of the private sector.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh affirmed that Resolution 68 has a mechanism to remove obstacles and bottlenecks that are hindering the development of the private economy; at the same time, it creates a trend of "everyone, every household competing to start a business, get rich legitimately", innovation, and private economic development is limitless; at the same time, it fully ensures the right to property ownership, freedom of business, and equal competition of enterprises.

The Resolution also specifies the content of "clearly distinguishing criminal responsibility from administrative, civil or between legal entities and individuals in handling violations", ensuring that people and businesses can feel secure in investing, producing and doing business.

Source: https://kontumtv.vn/tin-tuc/tin-trong-nuoc/noi-bat-tuan-qua-dai-le-vesak-lien-hop-quoc-2025-thanh-cong-tot-dep-khai-mac-ky-hop-thu-9-quoc-hoi-khoa-xv