Vietnam supports Bogor Goals for free trade; Conference examines preparations for local Party congresses; Experts discuss how to strengthen Vietnamese-Chinese ties

Addressing the 3rd meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) in Da Nang City on August 25, Mr Triet declared that Vietnam is actively integrating into the world economy and it is striving to fulfil bilateral and multilateral commitments to international organisations.

He said that together with other regional economies, Vietnam is making every effort to maintain production, stimulate consumption and get over an economic downturn. Measures adopted by the government have begun to take effect, said Mr Triet, citing the fact that the country has maintained industrial and agricultural production, stabilised its financial market, revitalised the stagnate stock market and kept the consumer price index (CPI) under control.

With these measures in place, Vietnam is expected to achieve a GDP growth rate of 5 per cent this year, said Mr Triet.

He also insisted that despite being a developing economy, Vietnam has created a favourable business environment for domestic and foreign investors to operate efficiently in the country.

ABAC 2009 president Teng Theng Dar analysed the regional economic situation, which he said requires the governments and business communities of all APEC countries to work together to solve problems and create favourable conditions for investment. He asked businesses to share their issues with the government and make recommendations for improving the regional business environment.

He expressed his belief that ABAC will continue to receive support from policymakers and the business community to build strong public and private relationships.

He went on to say that ABAC continues to pursue the Bogor Goals for a strong business community and priority areas to accelerate regional economic integration, maintain the sustainable development model, enhance capacity building and expand regional integration.

He said in the face of global and regional economic fluctuations, ABAC has given top priority to tackling challenges arising from the global economic crisis by stepping up the APEC Programme in order to meet the Bogor Goals for a free and open trade and investment in the region.

The 3-day event brings together nearly 200 chief executive officers from the leading regional economic groups, plus researchers and officials from the 21 APEC members. It includes sessions of the Advisory Group on Financial System Capacity-Building, the Sustainable Development Working Group and the Trade Facilitation Working Group.

Improving education quality – a key task

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has called on the education sector to improve the quality of education and training services to generate high-quality human resources for national industrialisation and modernisation.

Addressing a conference in Hanoi on August 25 to review the 2008-09 academic year, Mr Dung acknowledged the sector’s substantial contributions to the country during the past 23 years of Doi Moi (Renewal).

However, he said, the quality and quantity of human resources has yet to meet the country’s development requirements. He pointed out weaknesses in State management and policy implementation which have prevented the sector from making the best use of domestic and foreign resources for development.

He asked the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) to re-examine and revise law-regulated documents, especially those relating to work regulations and financial mechanisms, to help training institutions to mobilise their resources for development.

He asked the ministry to speed up decentralisation of management and adopt incentives for teachers to instil determination and stimulate creativity. He assured the participants that the government will create favourable conditions for the sector to increase the number of qualified lecturers, considering it a key factor in improving tertiary education.

He requested that the sector continue with its new financial and tuition fee plan and effectively use capital resources, particularly the State budget, to build schools, dormitories and housing for teachers. He reminded the sector to speed up the interest-subsidised loan programme to ensure that no students pass up school due to financial difficulty.

He asked the MoET to review a programme on improving the quality of tertiary education at several key universities such as Hanoi and HCM City National Universities, National University of Economics, National University of Technology, and Hanoi Medical University to replicate the programme across the country and develop universities meeting international standards.

To date 17 Vietnamese universities have applied advanced curricula from universities in the region and the world to boost education quality. The MoET is currently working on a project to build 4 universities meeting international standards.

At the event, the ministry presented 33 awards to collectives in recognition of their outstanding achievements in the 2008-09 academic year.

Conference examines preparations for local Party congresses

A national conference was held in Hanoi on August 25 to discuss the implementation of a Party Political Bureau directive guiding the organisation of grassroots-level Party Congresses in the lead-up to the National Party Congress scheduled for January 2011.

The 10th conference of the Party Central Committee, held in Hanoi in July, decided to hold the 11th National Party Congress in the first half of January 2011.

Ho Duc Viet, a Party Secretary and head of the Party’s Organisation Commission asked delegates to give opinions on draft documents regarding personnel, inspection and voting regulations for local Party congresses. He stressed the need to make thorough preparations for local Party congresses, with priority given to renewing the leadership role, promoting democracy, wisdom and unity, and maintaining principles.

Mr Viet said in their political reports local Party Committees should point out immediate and long-term tasks, draw lessons from the previous term and work out development plans for the next five years.

He asked the committees to resolve pending issues concerning Party members and the public and intensify publicity campaigns to ensure the success of the event.

He recommended that from now until the National Party Congress, Party organisations conduct exemplary role model campaigns which are closely linked to big national anniversaries and the current Party campaign “Studying and following late president Ho Chi Minh’s moral examples”.

The conference will close on August 26.

Vietnam attends 1st meeting of ASEAN SCC

The Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan led a Vietnamese delegation to the first meeting of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Council (ASCC) in Bangkok on August 24.

ASEAN General Secretary Surin Pitsuwan and those attending discussed the establishment of an ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, related policies and plans and proposals on the priorities for culture and society to be submitted to the up-coming ASEAN summit.

They also discussed the current regulations and how the ASCC operates.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Minister Ngan informed the press that Vietnam had put forward proposals at the meeting on how to cope with the global economic crisis and its impact on society, ways of developing the education sector and measures to fight diseases, which were all praised and supported by many other member countries.

She confirmed that the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs will work closely with domestic government agencies to carry out related works efficiently and on time, especially as Vietnam will take over the ASEAN presidency in 2010.

Noble prizes awarded to Government leaders

The Government Office yesterday held a ceremony to present and posthumously award the Party and State’s noble prizes to former leaders of the Government and the Government Office.

Accordingly, Nguyen Van Tao, former Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, former Minister and Chairman of the Government Office and former Chairman of the National Assembly’s Committee of Unification, was posthumously awarded with Gold Star Order.

Ho Chi Minh Order was posthumously awarded to Phan Ke Toai, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs, former Member of the Presidium of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee.

Nguyen Van Huong, former Vice Chairman of the Government Office and Nguyen Van Thao, former Deputy Minister of Light Industry and former Vice Chairman of the Government Office were posthumously presented with Independence Order, second class.

Hoang Du, former Vice Chairman of the Government Office and and Pham Duc Luat, former Head of the Government Office’s Committee for Aid Reception were posthumously presented with Independence Order, third class.

Tran Quoc Toan, former Vice Chairman the Government Office was awarded with Independence Order, third class.

Lao legislator visits Vietnam

National Assembly Deputy Chairman Nguyen Duc Kien on August 24 received a delegation from the Lao National Assembly, which is currently on a visit to Vietnam from August 22-27.

The delegation is led by Economy, Planning and Finance Committee Chairman Khamsing Sayakone.
At the meeting, Deputy Chairman Kien lauded the results of Lao delegation’s talks with the Vietnam National Assembly’s Finance and Budget Committee, saying the constantly developing friendship between Vietnam and Laos must be preserved, strengthened and developed further by future generations.

Chairman Khamsing Sayakone thanked the Vietnam NA for its effective cooperation with the delegation.

During the visit, the Lao guests also had working sessions with the NA Committee for Economic Affairs and the State Audit of Vietnam.

President holds talks with ABAC chiefs

State President Nguyen Minh Triet has confirmed that Vietnam resolutely opposes protectionism as it prevents economies from developing in a free and strong manner.

President Triet stated this while receiving the heads of various business communities at the third meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum’s Business Advisory Council (ABAC) in the central city of Da Nang on August 24.

He informed his guests that after joining the World Trade Organisation, Vietnam has had to work hard to reshape its laws, particularly on intellectual property rights, up to global standards. He assured the participants that foreign businesses will be protected by Vietnamese law when investing in the country.

While highlighting the spirit of cooperation amongst APEC businesses in an effort to surmount the difficulties created by the global economic crisis, President Triet called on those businesses to take the lead during the post-crisis period.

He also encouraged businesses to bring up issues that hold back the regions business community from investing in other APEC economies at the APEC Summit, which will take place in Singapore in November, so that the organisation’s leaders can look for ways to address them.

“When all economies work together in harmony, the crisis will be over,” emphasised President Triet.

Experts discuss how to strengthen Vietnamese-Chinese ties

Chinese researchers and Vietnamese counterparts and officials from several provinces that border with China gathered in Hanoi on August 24 for a workshop on how to bolster confidence in Vietnamese-Chinese relations, from the point of view of the border provinces.

The participants agreed that open and frank discussions with a high sense of responsibility will help enhance mutual trust between the two countries.

They underlined the necessity for both countries to address their issues together, including those left over from history and other outstanding ones relating to the border security and economic and trade relations.

Both sides agreed that the overall fine relationship between Vietnam and China has laid a firm foundation for them to improve bilateral ties.

In terms of trade, China has become Vietnam ’s largest partner with bilateral trade turnover hovering around US$21 billion in 2008.

Vietnam has become a more attractive destination for Chinese investors, said the delegates at the workshop. Socio-cultural links between the two nations as well as their cooperation at multilateral and inter-regional forums has become increasingly stronger.

Bilateral agreements regarding sea and land border demarcation show that solutions to complicated issues can be reached on the basis of friendship and cooperation.

PV