Vietnam Morning Monitor: Vietnam, Switzerland pledge stronger ties at Hanoi talks, Ho Chi Minh City raises $3.5mn to support the poor

| POLITICS

-- Vietnamese Party General Secretary and State President To Lam held talks with Swiss President Guy Parmelin in Hanoi on Saturday afternoon, with both sides pledging to strengthen trade, investment, technology and other areas of cooperation as the two countries mark 55 years of diplomatic relations.

The talks took place following an official welcoming ceremony for President Parmelin, his spouse, and a high-level Swiss delegation visiting Vietnam, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

| SOCIETY

-- Police in Hanoi have accused Pham My Hanh, chairwoman of My Hanh Group, of defrauding more than 1,200 investors in a scheme involving Ngoc Linh ginseng projects, raising nearly VND1.3 trillion (US$50 million) and allegedly diverting funds to buy luxury properties and cars.

Investigators said Hanh promised returns of up to 48 percent annually through contracts tied to ginseng cultivation and business ventures in Kon Tum and Quang Nam. From August 2020 to March 2023, she signed more than 3,600 contracts, attracting thousands of investors.

Authorities found that at the time of fundraising, My Hanh Group had no actual ginseng projects or partnerships.

| HO CHI MINH CITY

-- Ho Chi Minh City leaders met with French officials on Saturday to discuss expanding cooperation in urban planning, transport, education, and culture, reinforcing the Vietnam-France comprehensive strategic partnership.

Nguyen Manh Cuong, vice-chairman of the municipal administration, welcomed Éléonore Caroit, Minister Delegate to the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and her delegation.

-- City police detained two tractor-trailer drivers on Saturday after a violent clash on National Highway 51 that disrupted traffic and left one man injured.

Investigators said the incident occurred at 3:05 pm on Friday when Ho Van Hoa, 44, was operating a tractor-trailer heading toward Vung Tau. His vehicle collided with another tractor-trailer driven by Nguyen Huu Long, 39. Their subsequent altercation caused a temporary traffic jam on the busy highway. Hoa sustained head injuries and multiple wounds, while Long suffered minor abrasions.

-- The Ministry of Health has confirmed a cluster of meningococcal infections at Hai Ba Trung Middle School in the city’s Hiep Phuoc Commune, with one student dead and three others testing positive for the bacteria, including a fourth case reported on Saturday.

-- The city has mobilized more than VND92 billion ($3.5 million) to support disadvantaged residents, including scholarships for university students, health insurance cards and education assistance for children, as part of its 2026 Month for the Poor campaign, officials announced at a social welfare program held on Saturday.

-- Search teams recovered 13 more sets of martyrs’ remains and two sets of associated artifacts at Le Thi Rieng Park on Saturday, bringing the total number of sets of remains found at the site since June 23 to 764.