1 - The tenth National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam was convened in Hanoi from April 18-25 to decide the orientation, targets and tasks of the country's social-economic development in the next five years (2006-2010) and beyond.

In June, the 11th National Assembly at the ninth session approved the relieving and election to the posts of State President, Prime Minister and National Assembly Chairman; and the relieving and appointment of Deputy Prime Ministers.

2 - The APEC Economic Leaders' Week with its climax being the 14th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Hanoi on Nov 18-19 was successfully held, contributing to heightening Vietnam's role and position in the international arena.

3 - Vietnam concluded the 11-year negotiation process to become the 150th member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on Nov 7. On Dec 9, the US Congress approved the Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) status with Vietnam.

4 - To implement the Anti-Corruption Law, which took effects as from July 1, and the Resolution of the 10th Party Central Committee's third Congress, the Government set up a steering board on corruption prevention chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, reflecting the Party's and State's determination to fight the national disease.

5- The 14th Consultative Group Meeting (CG) convened on Dec 14-15, international donors pledged to provide a record of nearly US$4.5bil as official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam in 2007.

6 - Three big typhoons, namely Chanchu, Xangsane and Durian, hit Vietnam's central and southwestern regions, causing great losses in lives and properties.

7 - The foreign direct investment (FDI) capital hit a record of over US$10bil, worthy of note is the US$1.2bil steel plant project of the POSCO group of the Republic of Korea in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, and the US$1bil electronic appliance manufacture project of the US's Intel Group in Ho Chi Minh City.

8 - External economic activities obtained remarkable progresses with export turnover reaching US$40bil, up 22% over 2005.

9 - The Ministry of Education and Training launched a campaign to fight negative phenomena in exams and craziness to "achievements" in education. The campaign was greeted by strong response from the society.

10 - The National Hospital of Paediatrics successfully conducted a bone marrow transplant for a 7-year-old boy, Dang Gia Hung, on Aug 10, the first case in Vietnam. The success paved the way for treating patients with marrow and blood-related diseases, and marked a new progress of Vietnam's paediatrics.

Source: VNA