Hanoi: The following is a list of selected news summaries reported last night by the Vietnam News Agency. - National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on January 31 visited and extended his Lunar New Year (Tet) greetings to the Party Committee, authorities, people and armed forces of northern Yen Bai province. The Chairman expressed his impression at and appreciation of the province's synchronised, flexible, and effective implementation of socio-economic development tasks, which has led to many important, comprehensive, and outstanding results. - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh urged the Hanoi-based Military University of Culture and Arts to play a more active role in preserving and developing the traditional culture sustainably while visiting the university on January 31. The PM highlighted the Party's guidelines and policies on culture which has significantly contributed to the struggle for national liberation in the past, as well as the present rapid, sustainable national development. - Vietnam and Thailand enjoyed a fruitful partnership in 2023 with bustling exchanges in all fields, laying a firm foundation for the further expansion of their ties in the new year. On the occasion of the New Year of the Dragon, Thai Ambassador to Vietnam Nikorndej Balankura spoke to Vietnam News Agency about major achievements in the Vietnam-Thailand relations last year and prospects for 2024. - Ho Chi Minh City on January 31 organised a meeting with consuls general and heads of international organisations, and economic and cultural offices and business associations of foreign countries and territories in the southern metropolis. Highly appreciating efforts of these units, Nguyen Thi Le, Deputy Secretary of the municipal Party Committee and Chairwoman of the municipal People's Council, said that in the process of development, in addition to its internal resources, the city needs their continued companionship in its work to build itself into a smart city and an economic, financial, commercial, sci-tech, and cultural cen tre of the region. - A delegation of the State Audit Office of Vietnam (SAV) led by Deputy Auditor General Bui Quoc Dung visited the Swedish National Audit Office (NAO) on January 29-30 after attending the 22nd meeting of the Working Group on Environmental Auditing (WGEA) of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) in Finland. At a working session with the Swedish NAO's representatives, Dung spoke highly of the office's contributions to bilateral and multilateral ties. - Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai touched upon the implementation of agreements reached by high-ranking Vietnamese and US leaders since the two countries elevated their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, at a reception for US Ambassador Marc E. Knapper in Hanoi on January 31. Khai affirmed that the US is a partner of strategic importance for Vietnam, and that the Vietnamese government appreciates the US's consistent message supporting a "strong, independent, self-reliant and prosperous" V ietnam. - Domestic tourism remains a priority of Vietnamese holidaymakers during the Tet (Lunar New Year) festival with 57.7% of respondents said they will spend the holiday at local tourist destinations, according to a report released by The Outbox Company, a travel market intelligence company focusing on South East Asia and the Pacific, based in Vietnam, on January 31. More than half of the respondents selected tours that span from one to three nights, and over 40% opted others from four to seven nights. - Vietnam earned 5.14 billion USD from agro-forestry-aquatic exports in January, a year-on-year surge of 79.2%, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development reported. Meanwhile, the country imported 3.72 billion USD worth of agro-forestry-aquatic products in the month, leading to a trade surplus of 1.4 billion USD, up more than 4.5 times from the corresponding time last year./. Source: Vietnam News Agency