Australian army delegation visits Vietnam; Vietnam, Laos boost comprehensive cooperation; Southern traffic artery gets expanded; Vietnamese students holds gala night in Australia

Deputy PM Nguyen Sinh Hung (midle) co-chaired the meeting. (Photo: VNA)

The Vietnam-Laos Inter-Government Committee for Cooperation held its mid-year meeting in Nghe An province on August 1-3 to review the implementation of their agreement on economic, cultural, scientific and technological cooperation signed in January 2009.

The Vietnamese delegation was led by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung, head of the Vietnam-Laos Sub-Committee, and the Lao delegation was led by Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad, head of the Laos-Vietnam Sub-Committee.

The delegates discussed a project to improve the quality and efficiency of education and the development of human resources between Vietnam and Laos and assessed Vietnam’s investment management and promotion in Laos.

They praised the close cooperation shown between their ministries, sectors and localities in implementing the signed agreements, which has helped to strengthen the special relationship between the two countries.

Between January-June, both Vietnam and Laos received an additional 75 students besides the number of scholarships committed to in the 2009 agreement. Vietnamese ministries, sectors, localities and businesses all ran training courses for Laos.

Both countries’ ministries and agencies worked closely when training Lao athletes, providing expertise and supplying equipment for the 25th Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) to be held in Laos later this year.

In the reviewed period, export turnover between Vietnam and Laos hit US$196 million and Vietnam is now among the three largest foreign investors in Laos, with 17 licensed projects worth US$87.9 million. By the end of June, the Lao government had licensed 186 Vietnamese-invested projects capitalised at over US$2 billion.

The two countries held talks between their business communities, ironing out snags and promoting investment in their respective countries. They also signed a number of cooperation deals in the fields of trade, transport, the exchange of specialists, and cooking safety and hygiene. The Vietnamese government also sent senior economic experts to help Laos sum up its economic reforms.

At the meeting, the Vietnamese officials pledged to accept more Laos students, with priority given to improving their learning and living conditions at local training institutions.

Both parties agreed to work with their relevant agencies to study and create works dedicated to the late Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh in Laos. They will also continue to work closely to ensure SEA Games 25 is a success while organising a Vietnamese Cultural Week in Laos later this year.

They agreed to slash import tariffs further, simplify customs procedures and expand the list of goods enjoying zero-percent import tariffs, aimed at raising two-way trade value in 2010 to US$1 billion.

At the end of the session, the minutes of the meeting were signed in the presence of the two Deputy Prime Ministers and their delegates.

Southern traffic artery gets expanded

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai opened a ground-breaking ceremony for the expansion of the National Highway 51 in the southern province of Dong Nai on August 2.
The Deputy PM described the highway as a traffic artery of strategic significance to the southern economic zone.

He said the zoning of the seaport cluster No. 5 that links seaports in Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai and the oil-field Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, has put a high pressure on the Highway 51 and caused traffic congestions.

Mr. Hai asked administrations and residents of Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces, where the road is designed to run across, to provide best conditions for the project to finish in 30 months as scheduled.

The 72.7-km road section will be expanded to 39m in width with six motor lanes and two general lanes.

The project, which costs VND3.2 trillion (US$177.7 million), includes the expansion of 16 bridges and construction of 13 other river bridges and 12 flyovers in the densely-populated areas.

Vietnamese students holds gala night in Australia

Vietnamese students across Australia gathered at a gala night at the New South Wales University on August 1, showing off their singing, dancing, poem reciting and acting skills.

A Vietnamese team from Curtin University won the first prize for their play “Warm hearts” that featured young people who live away from home, and their difficulties, worries and homesickness.

Addressing the event, the Vietnamese Deputy Consul General in Sydney, Tran Quoc Khanh, said that the gala gave students in Australia an opportunity to exchange information and increase their mutual understanding.

The gala is among various annual events held by the Vietnamese Students Association in Australia.

PV