Government News 18/3 Prime Minister sends congratulation to Chinese Premier   Chinese Premier Li Keqiang  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on March 18 sent a congratulatory message to Li Keqiang on his re-election as Chinese Premier. Li was endorsed as Chinese Premier at the first session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) on March 18.  President: press greatly contributes to national achievements   President Tran Dai Quang visits Vietnam News Agency's booth at 2018 National Press Festival.   President Tran Dai Quang lauded great contributions of the press to the country’s achievements in 2017 and the first months of 2018 while addressing the closing session of the National Press Festival in Hanoi on March 18.  In the context of the fourth industrial revolution, domestic press agencies have made all-out efforts to improve both quality and quantity, the President said.  Apart from covering major events and the implementation of tasks for economic, cultural and social development, national defence and security, and external affairs in a timely manner, the press circle has constructively participated in the combat against corruption, wastefulness and signs of ideological, ethical and lifestyle degradation, and sabotaged wrongful and distorted allegations by hostile forces, he noted.  The leader expressed his hope that the Vietnamese revolutionary press will carry forward its leading role in the ideological and cultural front, better orient public opinions, and connect the Party and State with people.  Themed  “Vietnamese press accompanies the nation in renewal,”  this year’s three-day event attracted 59 units from the Vietnam Journalists’ Association (VJA) and its branches, journalism training institutes, and companies specialising in press equipment, with a total of 73 booths.  A highlight at the festival was the four thematic displays - “The press with Party building,” “The press with National Assembly and voters,” “The press with the building of an integrated, development-facilitating and action-oriented Government,” and “Ethics of journalists.” The festival also featured a forum on the press’s role in Government building, along with numerous exchanges, seminars, photo and painting exhibitions, and art performances.  On this occasion, the organisation board granted awards to outstanding press research works for the first time, besides traditional prizes. The Vietnam News Agency won the first prize for its attractive and special booth.  The festival was jointly held by the VJA, the Hanoi People’s Committee, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee’s Information and Education Commission, the Ministry of Information and Communications, and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. HCM City wants to boost Francophone cooperation   Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Van Khoa (R) and Adama Ouane, Director of the International Francophone Organisation.   Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Van Khoa on March 17 welcomed Adama Ouane, Director of the International Francophone Organisation (OIF), who is on a working visit to Vietnam and attends Francophone Day activities in the southern city. Vice Chairman Khoa highly spoke of the OIF’s role in international and regional issues, thereby showing the the organisation’s development, especially in promoting educational cooperation and expanding the Francophone community in the world. He thanked the organisation for its cooperation with and support to the city in recent times, saying that southern hub is maintaining French-language teaching in schools and universities. About 4,000 school students and 5,000 university students in the city are studying French, he added. Khoa proposed the OIF continue its help in training and improving skills of teachers in French at local education establishments.  The organisation was also asked to help restore French architecture works in order to protect and preserve typical culture of the Francophone community in HCM city. OIF Director Ouane, for his part, said Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City in particular have played an important role in the relations between the OIF and the Asia-Pacific region, as well as a central role in developing the OIF’s Francophone community in the region. His current visit to Vietnam is to learn about the demand of Vietnam as well as HCM City in promoting the development of the French-speaking community, he added. On the occasion of the 48th anniversary of Francophone Day (March 20), a Francophone festive day 2018 was held by the HCM City’s Department of Education and Training and Union of Friendship Organisation, and the French Consulate General in the city on March 18. The event drew the participation of about 5,000 students and learners of French-language programmes and teachers in French, and representatives from consulate generals in the city of the Francophone community. The event included cultural and art activities, games, booths introducing learning programmes of schools using French language from primary to tertiary levels, along with others featuring cuisine, culture and arts of the Francophone community. Vietnamese Embassy in Germany conducts citizen protection    The Vietnamese Embassy in Germany said it is working with the Vietnamese Consulate General in Frankfurt and local authorities to solve the recent death of a Vietnamese student in Germany (Illustrative photo: VNA) The Vietnamese Embassy in Germany said it is working with the Vietnamese Consulate General in Frankfurt and local authorities to solve the recent death of a Vietnamese student in Germany. A female Vietnamese student, born in 1997 in Hai Phong city, was found dead in Mitte, Dortmund city of Germany’s Nordrhein-Westfalen state, on March 11. According to Dortmund police, the student committed suicide. Local police are investigating the case and will announce the official report on the case early next week. The student had just arrived in Dortmund several days before from Helsinki, Finland, under a student exchange programme. She was a student of the Tran Phu High School for the Gifted in Hai Phong and went to Finland for study three years ago. VNN