Deputy PM receives senior Pakistani official; Vietnam puts forth three initiatives at AIPA-30; Russian veterans in Vietnam War gather in Moscow; Vietnam, Canada share experience in legal, judicial reform

During his reception for the Chairman of the Pakistani Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Tariq Majid, Mr Trong said that both countries’ ministries of defence should build on their long-standing friendship and further cooperate in search and rescue activities and disaster relief.

General Tariq Majid, who is visiting Hanoi, said that Pakistan appreciates Vietnam’s role in the ASEAN. He also expressed his pleasure at the development of two-way trade ties between Vietnam and Pakistan, whose value has increased 16 times over the last nine years. He believed that bilateral cooperation will be expanded to agriculture, health, ecology and national defence.

The same day, the Pakistani General held talks with General Nguyen Khac Nghien - chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army - and paid a courtesy visit to Defence Minister Phung Quang Thanh.

Vietnam puts forth three initiatives at AIPA-30

On August 5 Vietnam put forth raised three initiatives at the ongoing 30 th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-30) in Thailand’s resort city of Pattaya.

Two of the initiatives, which were presented at the Standing Committees, highlight AIPA’s role in implementing the ASEAN Charter and fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals for sustainable human security.

The other covers the AIPA member parliaments’ role in supporting their governments’ efforts to fix the current economic crisis and narrow the development gap by building and improving their legal frameworks and bodies of law.

At the Committee on Political Matters, legislators emphasised the need to promote democracy and human rights, including the right to full development, for the people of the AIPA member countries.

During the meeting of the Committee on Economic Matters, participants all voiced support for the region’s economic integration process, fostering trade and investment, bridging the development gap among ASEAN member nations, and ensuring cooking and energy security.

Also on the second day of the AIPA-30, delegations from the eight AIPA member nations – Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam – as well as the newly-admitted Brunei — conducted dialogues with their observer countries.

National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong, head of the Vietnamese delegation, met with Jha Peixin, Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress (NPC)’s Committee for Foreign Affairs and head of the Chinese delegation.

Phong said the Vietnamese legislature wishes to further step up exchanges and cooperation with its Chinese counterpart, thus helping to develop friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries.

The two legislative bodies should increase the exchange of visits and the sharing of experiences and work closely and support each other at regional and world inter-parliamentary forums, she said.

Jha said the NPC attaches importance to developing ties with Vietnam ’s legislature and the AIPA as well. He asked Phong to convey his invitation to NA Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong, who is the AIPA-31 Chair, to lead an AIPA delegation to visit China.

The Chinese lawmaker applauded recent positive developments in the China-Vietnam relationship, adding that the two countries have great potential for expanding cooperation in many fields.

He urged the two parliaments to further beef up cooperation and sharing of legislative and supervisory experiences and enhance the capacity and role of their legislators.

The same day, Phong met with Bryon Wilfert, head of the Canadian delegation and president of the Canada-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Group.

Wilfert, who is also Vice Chair of the Canadian Parliament’s Standing Committee on National Defence, said Canada treasures its relations with Vietnam and has kept Vietnam in its list of 20 nations that will receive aid.

On the sidelines of the AIPA-30, Phong and her entourage held bilateral meetings with delegations from Thailand, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia as well as representatives from AIPA observer and dialogue countries.

Russian veterans in Vietnam War gather in Moscow

Russian military experts who worked in Vietnam during the wartime held their 40th meeting in Moscow on August 5.

Addressing the event, the President of the Organization of Vietnam Veterans of Russia, Nikolai Kolesnik, said that since 1970 the function has been held annually on August 5 to mark the day the US began its air raids on northern Vietnam.

At the meeting, Vietnamese minister counsellor Nguyen Ngoc Binh expressed his thanks to Russian people, particularly former Soviet Union veterans who worked with Vietnamese people to fight the US war in Vietnam, for their valuable assistance.

Russian veterans recalled their memories of the Vietnamese people and land, wishing Vietnam will have more achievements in national construction and development.

The get-together was also attended by other officials from the Vietnamese Embassy and agencies.

Vietnam, Canada share experience in legal, judicial reform

Senior officials from Vietnamese and Canadian justice agencies shared information and experiences in legal and social reform at a workshop in Hanoi on August 5.

Representatives from the Vietnamese Ministry of Justice introduced new points in the 2008 law on the issuance of legal norm documents, which stipulate that agencies and organizations in charge of compiling such documents have responsibility to assess their potential impact.

Such assessments will provide compiling agencies with an overview of issues to be addressed in the documents and give consultancy to authorized agencies, said the representatives.

Meanwhile, a representative from the Supreme People’s Court briefed the workshop on issues related to the overhaul of the court system’s structure and operation in the spirit of justice reform.

Canadian Justice Minister Alberta Alison Redford and his delegation proposed three main principles for the administrative management of the courts. These principles aim to support the fairness of trial proceedings, ensure public accountability, and create a uniform and effective managerial system for the justice system.

The workshop also discussed issues relating to publishing verdicts and decisions made by people’s courts, the training of justices, and challenges in training judges in the 21st century.

PV