The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and the Negara Bank of Malaysia have agreed to cooperate in the fight against money laundering under a memorandum of understanding signed in Hanoi on October 7.

A conference of ASEAN Senior Officials on Drug Matters (ASOD) has adopted an action plan initiated by Vietnam to achieve a drug-free ASEAN by 2015.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung has called on governments and international organisations to get together and address regional and global challenges arising from the global economic recession.

Vietnam is willing to cooperate with Timor-Leste in oil and gas exploration and exploitation, food production, and human resource development.

State President Nguyen Minh Triet will attend an annual session of the UN General Assembly in New York, starting on September 23. He is expected to meet with leaders of several participating countries, including US President Barack Obama.

A meeting was held in Hanoi on September 19 to mark the 36th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Japan.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Hungarian counterpart Bajnai Gordon affirmed their determination to develop a stable, long-term and mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries during talks in Budapest on September 18.

Vietnam and Denmark have agreed to raise their existing relationship to a stable, long-term and mutually beneficial partnership for development.

Vietnam and Kazakhstan have agreed to increase cooperation in economics, trade and investment, particularly in oil and gas, considering this a long-term and strategic cooperation for the future.

New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key and Vietnam’s Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh agreed to upgrade the New Zealand-Vietnam relationship to a comprehensive partnership during their talks in Wellington on September 10.

Vietnam and Australia have agreed to lift their relationship to a comprehensive partnership in the interest of their people and for prosperity of each country, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and globally.

More than 300 domestic and foreign businesses pledged to pour a total of VND24,677 billion into the Central Highlands while attending a regional investment promotion forum in Dak Lak province on September 5.

Afghanistan's deputy chief of intelligence was killed in a suicide attack in Laghman province, east of Kabul on September 2, officials say.

Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh has called on the entire Party, the people and the army to unite in a single bloc and embark on a path of national independence closely linked to socialism to build an industrial nation on a par with developed countries of the world.

As many as 5,459 prisoners, including 19 foreigners, have been released on the occasion of National Day (September 2) due to good behaviour during their prison terms.

Construction of  the Linh Phong Buddha-dharma complex at Cat Tien commune in the central coastal province of Binh Dinh began on August 29.

The Vietnamese Consulate General in Sydney, Australia, held a meeting on August 26 to mark the 64th anniversary of the August 1945 Revolution and National Day (September 2).

The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) has called on all APEC economies to take effective measures to prevent a return to protectionism and implement the Declaration of LIMA on trade liberalization.

The 4th World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR 2009) opened in Hanoi on August 26, bringing together nearly 1,500 policymakers, scientists, experts and IT businesses from Vietnam and other countries around the world.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has called on the education sector to improve the quality of education and training services to generate high-quality human resources for national industrialisation and modernisation.

Vietnam supports APEC’s leading role in liberalising and facilitating trade and investment to fulfil the Bogor Goals and vision for a free trade area in the Asia-Pacific region, says State President Nguyen Minh Triet.

A national conference was held in Hanoi on August 25 to discuss the implementation of a Party Political Bureau directive guiding the organisation of grassroots-level Party Congresses in the lead-up to the National Party Congress scheduled for January 2011.

Although President Ho Chi Minh passed away 40 years ago, his body has been preserved in a mausoleum in Hanoi for those who want to visit and pay their respects to the great Vietnamese leader.

Vietnam and Australia have agreed to increase the exchange of information and experience to meet challenges to regional and international security, including terrorism, human trafficking and trans-national crime.

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong, head of the Central Amnesty Advisory Council, chaired a conference in Hanoi on August 21 to consider a list of more than 5,400 prisoners filing for parole on the occasion of National Day (September 2).

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on August 20 received New Zealand ambassador Jammes Kember who paid a farewell visit to Mr Dung before ending his working term in Vietnam.

State President Nguyen Minh Triet has praised the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) for its 15-year-old campaign “People unite to build a new cultural lifestyle in residential areas”, encouraging them to strengthen the bloc of great national unity.

Vietnam wants to increase all-round cooperation with Indonesia, especially in politics, national security, economics, trade, education and training.

Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh received the outgoing New Zealand ambassador to Vietnam, James Kember, in Hanoi on August 14.

The Foreign Ministries of Vietnam and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) should continue to maintain close coordination to further develop their friendly and cooperative relations.