Hanoi (VNA) - The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.
- General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and President To Lam, his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation arrived at Copenhagen Airport on the morning of October 19 (local time), beginning a three-day State visit to Denmark at the invitation of King Frederik X and Queen Mary.
The King and Queen presided over the solemn welcome ceremony at the airport, greeting the top Vietnamese leader and his spouse at the foot of the aircraft stairs. Read full story
- National Assembly President Tran Thanh Man called for tighter safeguards against collusion, bid rigging, sham bidders and last-minute bid withdrawals, as lawmakers reviewed a draft revision of the Law on Property Auction during the 16th legislature’s second session in Hanoi on October 19.
Speaking at a group discussion, NA President Man said the revised law must track the Party’s policies closely, especially resolutions on refining the socialist-oriented market economy, fighting corruption and other negative practices, accelerating digital transformation, and managing public assets and land. Read full story
- Vietnam and Germany are marking 15 years of their Strategic Partnership, established on October 11, 2011, with cooperation expanding across politics, trade, defence, education, science and technology, and people-to-people exchanges.
The partnership was formalised through the “Hanoi Joint Declaration: Vietnam and Germany – Strategic Partnership for the Future”, signed by then Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. It provided a framework for developing bilateral relations with a long-term vision. Read full story
- Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Pham Duc An has called on commercial banks to cut lending rates selectively, prioritising production, business activities and sectors encouraged by the Government, while ensuring banking system safety.
He made the remarks at a meeting in Hanoi on October 19 between the central bank and 46 commercial banks, held after the SBV issued Official Dispatch No. 9608/NHNN-CSTT, urging credit institutions implement measures to support the economy, with a focus on reducing lending rates while safeguarding banking system stability. Read full story
- As part of the 500-day campaign to search for, recover and identify the remains of fallen soldiers, forces in the central province of Khanh Hoa are stepping up efforts using various search methods, particularly in difficult-to-access mountainous areas.
In mid-October, widespread rain affected areas from the North to the South of Khanh Hoa. Whenever the weather allowed, the team tasked with searching for and recovering fallen soldiers’ remains took the opportunity to use ground-penetrating radar to scan the area around Ru Ri Pass and the memorial stele commemorating the 1968 Tet Offensive campaign. Read full story
- A workshop on artificial intelligence (AI) governance opened in Ho Chi Minh City on October 19, aiming to strengthen APEC economies’ capacity for AI management and promote responsible, transparent and ethical AI development.
The two-day event, which is part of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) framework, brings together representatives from member economies, international organisations, regulatory agencies, standards bodies, experts and businesses. Read full story
- Vietnam's Le Van Cong took silver in the men’s 49kg powerlifting event on October 19, behind Omar Qarada of Jordan - the reigning Paralympic champion, delivering Vietnam’s first medal at the 2026 Asian Para Games.
Cong faced seven rivals in the final, from Jordan, China, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal and Kazakhstan. Qarada, who won gold at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, was his toughest opponent. Read full story./.