The country’s ruling communist party wrapped up its grand meeting last week with a new leadership body. Experts said this was not surprising. The meeting prompted the reshuffling of familiar high-ranking members, with Nguyen Phu Trong being chosen as the new party leader, as expected, The Associated Press says. The leaders were elected in a closed-door meeting of Communist party elites and without input from the Vietnamese public, the news agency says. This new roster of leaders will be facing a range of economic problems, including a weak currency, huge trade deficits and a double-digit inflation that has been driving up food prices.
Meantime, Vietnam has signed a cooperation deal with Japan to explore ways to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
