President visits National University in HCM City; Vietnam to attend 30th AIPA General Assembly; Vietnam calls for int’l support to Somalia’s government; President calls for a boost to fruit exports; Int’l outreach elevates Vietnam’s prestige

President Nguyen Minh Triet and students of the National University - HCM City.

University president Phan Thanh Binh briefed Mr Triet on the establishment and development of the institution which now has 5 affiliate member universities, a research institute, a faculty of economics and several other research and services centres.

The university has more than 2,600 lecturers, of whom 70 percent are post-graduates. It is training nearly 50,000 students and offers 74 programmes for bachelor, 89 for master and 91 for doctorate degrees in natural sciences, science-technology, social sciences and humanities and economics.

State President Triet praised the university for its efforts to become a multi-sector training institution and adopt a university city model. He analysed the challenges facing the university to reach parity with other educational institutions in the region and the world and said that it should refine its research capabilities and improve the quality of its teaching.

Vietnam to attend 30th AIPA General Assembly

A National Assembly delegation led by Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong will attend the 30th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) from August 2-8 in Thailand.

The NA’s Committee for External Affairs announced this on July 30 that Vietnam will take up the Presidency of the 31st AIPA at the week-long event.

Vietnam calls for int’l support to Somalia’s government

Vietnam calls for vigorous international support for the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in Somalia in its endeavours to repel attempts to destroy the Djibouti peace process and spoil the efforts to bring peace and stability to the country.

Vietnam’s representative to the United Nations Security Council, Ambassador Le Luong Minh, made the statement at the council’s briefing on Somalia in New York on July 29.

Ambassador Minh strongly condemned attacks against the TFG, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), UN staff and innocent civilians. “We are particularly concerned about the extremely alarming humanitarian situation in Somalia with over one million people internally displaced,” he said. However, the diplomat commended the political progress achieved under the Djibouti Agreement and support the continued efforts undertaken by President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed to encourage parties that are still outside the agreement to join the national reconciliation process.

He took the occasion to call for UN member states and regional organisations to expedite the provision of contributions to the UN Trust Funds to provide the TFG with adequate assistance to rebuild Somalia’s security institutions and train its security forces.

On the problem of piracy and armed robbery off the coast of Somalia, Ambassador Minh highlighted the effectiveness of the cooperation and coordination exhibited by UN Member States in the fight against piracy.

“We still believe that, in the long run, the scourge of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia will only be resolved thoroughly through an integrated approach that addresses the conflict, the lack of governance and the absence of sustainable livelihoods on land in Somalia,” he noted.

Ambassador Minh emphasised that solutions to peace and stability in Somalia requires closer cooperation and a more effective partnership between the UN Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the African Union (AU) and the League of Arab States (LAS).

“We continue to support a strong role of the UN in strengthening this cooperation and partnership with a view to assisting the Government and people of Somalia to bring about peace and stability for this country,” the Vietnamese diplomat stressed.

President calls for a boost to fruit exports

President Nguyen Minh Triet has encouraged the Southern Fruit Research Institute, located in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang, to crossbreed more high quality strains to boost exports.

The State leader made the call during his visit to the institute on July 30, adding that research should be based on market demand.

“To meet all these targets, the institute should focus on human resource development and improve their staff skills to meet international standards for global integration,” he emphasised.

President Triet appreciated the institute’s efforts to promote many domestically popular fruit trademarks, including Hoa Loc mangoes, Ri6 durian and Nam Roi pomeloes.

As a leading agency in researching, developing and conserving fruit strains typical to southern Vietnam, the Southern Fruit Research Institute has managed to crossbreed a number of disease-resistant and delicate fruit strains from both selected local and foreign strains. It has also successfully set up models for growing fruit trees that meet cooking hygiene standards, with traceable Global Gap origins, and transferred them to farmers in various provinces for mass production.

Int’l outreach elevates Vietnam’s prestige

International economic cooperation has raised Vietnam’s prestige in the world arena, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem has said.

He told a conference of the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation in Hanoi on July 30 that relevant ministries and branches should complete a project on FTA negotiations for 2020, strengthen the international economic integration network, and continue implementing a project aiming to provide post-WTO entry with technical assistance.

At the conference chaired by the Deputy PM, representatives of the ministries and branches reported on their work relating to international economic integration in the last six months.

The attendants also discussed measures to strengthen international economic cooperation in the forthcoming time.

PV