VNA General Director Vu Viet Trang presents the photo book "Vietnam: 40 Years of Renewal" to General Secretary of the Mexican Labour Party (PT) Alberto Anaya Gutiérrez. Photo: VNA  

General Director of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) and Vice Chairwoman of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Publicity Vu Viet Trang held a working session with Senator, General Secretary of the Mexican Labour Party (PT) Alberto Anaya Gutiérrez in Hanoi on August 20.

Trang thanked the PT for its effective assistance to the VNA. She said the VNA has set three strategic priorities tied to the 14th National Party Congress's goal of double-digit economic growth for the entire tenure, including further professionalising journalism activities; diversifying news products and expanding multimedia formats; digitising news production, and strengthening the digital capabilities of reporters and editors.

The VNA will continue streamlining operations and broadening international cooperation to extend the reach of its products, the General Director said.

Regarding VNA-PT cooperation, Trang thanked the PT for supporting the training of VNA journalists, printing and distributing Vietnam Pictorial in Mexico, and facilitating the work of VNA resident correspondents.

  At the working session. Photo: VNA  

Gutiérrez said the VNA has consistently modernised itself while maintaining accuracy, national interest values and the ability to bring contemporary Vietnam to global audiences.

He affirmed that the PT stands ready to act as a bridge and support VNA reporters covering Vietnam-related developments in Mexico and accurately reporting major events and milestones in the North American country, helping to enhance mutual understanding and nurture bilateral ties.

Both sides agreed on new forms of cooperation suited to the modern media environment, focusing on digital distribution and the coordinated publication of the VNA’s external information products in Mexico and Latin America.

Traditional medicine push

Following a working session with the Ministry of Health on the morning of August 17, the PT delegation toured the National Hospital of Acupuncture, a key unit in more than two decades of cooperation in acupuncture and traditional medicine.

Vietnamese experts and doctors, including physicians from the hospital, have travelled to Mexico to provide medical treatment, train local professionals, and transfer acupuncture techniques.

Three Vietnamese acupuncture centres named after President Ho Chi Minh in Mexico City, Monterrey, and the Autonomous University are vivid examples of effective, sustained, and humanitarian cooperation.

Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans have received treatment using Vietnamese acupuncture and traditional medicine. The non-profit cooperation model, focused on the elderly, low-income groups, and vulnerable communities, has spread Vietnamese traditional medicine practices in Mexico.

The hospital's leader affirmed readiness to continue working with Mexican partners, building on more than 20 years of cooperation, reinforcing workforce training to share expertise and improve healthcare quality in both nations.

Earlier, Standing Deputy Minister of Health Vu Manh Ha held a working session with PT General Secretary Anaya Gutiérrez, saying that Vietnam considers traditional medicine a key priority for the health sector.

The Ministry of Health is drafting a strategy for Vietnamese traditional medicine through 2030 with a vision to 2045, while refining mechanisms and policies to support sustainable development, he said.

A consistent policy direction combines traditional and modern medicine, Ha said, adding that the ministry will standardise professional guidelines and technical procedures while developing strong traditional medicine centres at national and regional levels.

Gutiérrez said medical cooperation is of importance and has ample room to expand in workforce training, scientific research, technology application, disease prevention and treatment, and the integration of traditional and modern medicine.

He wished that the two sides would continue information sharing, experience exchanges and technology transfer, attract experts and boost substantive cooperation, building on existing achievements./.