An agreement to enhance trade linkages and foster sustainable, inclusive and innovative growth marked a positive wrap-up to the first Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM 1) and other related APEC meetings yesterday.

The Government will direct authorities to investigate the controversial gifting of luxury cars by private companies to officials in the southern province of Cà Mau and the coastal city of Đà Nẵng. This was promised by Mai Tiến Dũng, head of the Government Office, at the monthly cabinet meeting held recently.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc met on Thursday with visiting Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, hailing the friendship between the two countries and their people.

Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, who are on an official visit to Việt Nam, met with Vietnamese alumni of Việt Nam’s first university in Hà Nội, Văn Miếu – Quốc Tử Giám (Temple of Literature), who studied in Japan.

The first Senior Officials’ Meeting of APEC 2017 officially opens in central coastal Khánh Hòa Province’s Nha Trang City on Thursday morning with attendees from 21 member economies.

President Trần Đại Quang and his spouse chaired a welcome ceremony in Hà Nội yesterday for Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko who arrived in Việt Nam on February 28 for their six-day State visit.

The percentage of Vietnamese citizens with health insurance has risen dramatically, reaching 81.7 per cent as of last year thanks to new regulations in the Health Insurance Law, said Minister of Heath Nguyễn Thị Kim Tiến.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc urged Government members to take drastic measures to attain the targeted growth rate of 6.7 percent this year at the Cabinet’s February meeting in Hà Nội yesterday.

Tomorrow and the next day senior officials from the 21 APEC economies will get together for their ever first meeting of the year in Nha Trang and make decisions on Việt Nam’s priorities and the particular initiatives to be carried out in the year.