Hanoi, (VNA) - The following is a list of selected news summaries reported over the weekend by💜 the Vietnam News Agency.

- PresidentVo Van Thuong on February 18 offered incense and attended the Lunar New Yearpen-brush opening ceremony at a memorial area dedicated to national hero andworld cultural eminent personality Nguyen Trai in Nhi Khe commune in Hanoi’soutlying district of Thuong Tin.

NguyenTrai, whose pen name was Uc Trai, was born in Chi Ngai commune in Chi Linhdistrict in the northern province of Hai Duong in 1380. He followed Le Loi inthe resistance war against the Ming invaders and made great contributions tothe nation’s glorious victories.

-Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha on February 17 led agovern♋ment delegation to inspect the 🐠implementation of sub-projects under theeastern North-South Expressway project, and another on the 500kV north-centralpower transmission grid.

The Deputy PM made a field trip to the DienChau-Bai Vot section of the expressway project, where he presented gifts toon-duty officials and workers.

-Overthe past years, the northern province of Lang Son has actively promoted theeffectiveness of friendly exchanges, and cooperation programmes and mechanismswith China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

Agenciesand localities of both sides have maintained regular exchanges and concretisedcooperation contents.

-The Vietnamese Intellectual Society inthe UK and Ireland (VIS) will contribute to the building of Vietnam's strategicpolicies while actively strengthening bilateral relations, and attracting theUK Government-funded projects in the fields of research and science-technology,said its🌠 Chairman Prof. Nguyen Xuan Huan.

At the VIS’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) convenedat the Judge Business School under the University of Cambridge on February 17,Huan emphasised that with its members being professors, doctors, and scientistsworking in various fields in the UK and Ireland, VIS stands ready to providecounselling to the Vietnamese Government in formulating policies tailored tothe country's context. Furthermore, he stressed the importance of aligning withglobal technological trends.

-Vietnam expects to increase itsagricultural exports to China as the neighbouring country agreed earlier thisyear to review regulations permitting the official export of Vietnamese poultrymeat, according to the Agency of Foreign Trade (AFT) at the Ministry ofIndustry and Trade (MoIT).

The agency cited statistics by the GeneralDepartment of Vietnam Customs showing that Vietnam shipped abroad 22,450 tonnesof meat and meat products worth 110.35 million USD last year, up 19% in volumeand 30.4% in value from 2022.

-The decline in domestic automobileconsumption and its drop to 5th place in Southeast Asia can be attributed toboth external and internal factors, according to industry insiders.

The Association of Southeast Asian AutomobileManufacturers Association (AAF) reported that Indonesia took the lead in carsales with more than 1 million units in 2023, down 4% over the same period lastyear. Malaysia was in second with 799,731 units, an increase of 10.9% compared to2022, meanwhile Thailand came in third with 775,780 units, a decrease of 8.7%compared to 2022.

-The number of Vietnamese billionaires inUS dollar has dropped to five in the early months of 2024 from the previoussix, reported in April 2023.

According to Forbes, the current five Vietnamesebillionaires are Vingroup Chairman Pham Nhat Vuong, VietJet Air ChairwomanNguyen Thi Phuong Thao, Hoa Phat Chairman Tran Dinh Long, Thaco Chairman TranBa Duong and Techcombank Chairman Ho Hung Anh.

-The first teams competing in the2023-2024 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race docked at Ha Long InternationalCruise Port in the northeastern🔥 province of Quang Ninh ahead of schedule.

The first team to berth at Ha Long was Qingdao,making landfall at 1:20pm on February 18, followed by team Zhuhai at 1:55pm.

-Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin onFebruary 17 visited a memorial site dedicated to late Vietnamese President HoChi Minh in thꦬe northeastern province of Nakh𝓡on Phanom, affirming itshistorical significance and role as a bridge to connect and strengthening theThailand-Vietnam friendship.

President Ho Chi Minh - the founder of modernVietnam - lived and worked in Thailand, including Nakhon Phanom province,in the late 1920s. The memorial site was inaugurated in Na Chok village on May19, 2016, coinciding with his 126th birth anniversary. The area isconnected to the Thai-Viet friendship village by a convenient road, forming acultural and historical tourism complex in Nakhon Phanom./.