President visits artillery army; Vietnam and Ukraine strengthen links in auditing; Gov’t Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs visits Mexico; Deputy PM receives Polish, Bangladeshi diplomats; President pushes for stronger judicial reform

The President said the armed forces, including the artillery, must be a pioneer service, loyal to the Communist Party of Vietnam, determined to follow the road to socialism, constantly moving forward, diligently training and heightening their vigilance to defeat all the schemes of hostile forces, with constant focus on the work of building the Party.

President Triet hailed the army’s dedication and achievements, which have contributed to the nation’s victories in its past resistance wars as well as national construction at present.

He emphasised the history of struggle, success, and progress of the army over 60 years, which constituted landmarks in the history of the nation.

The President said he hopes the artillery army, together with other armed forces, treasures the country’s heroic tradition as well as the Party, thus contributing to maintaining political stability, immortal socialism and socio-economic development./

Vietnam and Ukraine strengthen links in auditing

A delegation from the Vietnam State Audit led by State Auditor General, Vuong Dinh Hue city, has paid a visit to the Ukraine.

While receiving the delegation on September 15, the first vice chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament, Alexander Lavrynovych, praised the results of joint working between the two countries’ state auditing agencies. He also spoke highly of the contribution made by State auditors to inspecting, supervising and managing public finances, state property and budgets and making financial matters in both countries more transparent, open and healthy.

Earlier, on the morning of September 15, the delegation held talks with the Ukrainian delegation headed by its President V.K.Simonenko.

Both delegations exchanged information and their experiences, especially in listing articles relating to auditing agencies into the Ukrainian constitution, auditing for foreign partners and new auditing methods. They also discussed signing a co-operative agreement between both auditing agencies in 2010 during the visit to Vietnam by the President of the Court of Auditors of Ukraine.

On September 14, the delegation met with local auditing agencies in the cities of Odessa and Khersol.

Government Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs visits Mexico

A delegation from the Government Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs, led by Vice chaiman Son Phuoc Hoan, paid a visit to Mexico from September 7-15.

During the visit, the delegation met with the Mexican Ministries of Foreign Relations, Public Education, Health and Social Development.

During the talks, both countries discussed policies concerning ethnic minority people in the fields of education, culture, public health, hunger elimination and poverty alleviation, women and children-related issues.

They also exchanged views on social and education policies for ethnic minority groups living in remote areas and facing the challenges of bi-lingual education.

The Mexican officials recommended a cooperation programme between the Vietnamese Government Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs and Mexico through an intermediary organisation from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the areas of interest to both parties.

Deputy PM receives Polish, Bangladeshi diplomats

On September 16, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem received Polish Ambassador Miroslaw Gajewski and Bangladeshi Ambassador Maroof Zaman in Hanoi to mark the end of their terms of office in Vietnam.

Mr. Khiem praised the positive contributions made by both ambassadors during their stay in Vietnam and expressed his hope that the bilateral relations between Vietnam and Poland as well as between Vietnam and Bangladesh would constantly develop.

They also confirmed that they will continue to strengthen the ties of friendship between the two countries.

Also in Hanoi on September 16, Deputy PM Khiem received a delegation from Mexico’s state-run news agency Notimex, led by director general Uzeta Murcio.

Mr. Khiem thanked the Mexican delegation for their visit and stated that Vietnam is rapidly integrating into the international community, so the requirement for information is high.

Mr. Khiem showed his sincere thanks to Notimex for its cooperation with the Vietnam News Agency in recent years as it has brought a positive image of Vietnam to the Mexican and Latin-American people and the international community as a whole.

He said he hoped that the two news agencies will continue exchanging information with each other and work together more effectively in the future.

President pushes for stronger judicial reform

President Nguyen Minh Triet praised the Ministry of Public Security for its efforts to implement the judicial reform programme during a working visit on September 16.

Mr Triet, who is also head of the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform, noted that the public security force has implemented a number of measures to effectively prevent and combat crime so as to maintain political stability, security and social order.

He acknowledged that the force’s quality of investigations has improved significantly since the Party’s Politburo resolution No49 on judicial reform strategy was introduced in 2005. As a result, more than 98 percent of cases have been prosecuted after investigations ended, and proceedings have been conducted according to the law.

Mr Triet asked the force to accelerate judicial reform closely linked to the fight against crime and finalise regulations on special amnesty to ensure that more and more prisoners who perform well during their terms will enjoy this lenient policy.

Vietnam wishes to strengthen ties with Timor-Leste

Vietnam wishes to boost relations and all-round cooperation with Timor-Leste, deputy Prime Minister cum Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem has said.

During talks with the Timor-Leste Foreign Minister Zacarias Albano da Costa in Hanoi on September 15, the Vietnamese deputy PM praised the national construction and development in the Southeast Asian country in recent years.

He also affirmed Vietnam’s support for Timor-Leste’s efforts in national stability, security and social order, as well as in national development.

The Timor-Leste FM praised Vietnam’s achievements in its renewal process as well as its implementation of foreign policies and international integration.

The government of Timor-Leste takes Vietnam as a model in terms of national construction and development and looks forward to increased friendship and multifaceted cooperation with the country.

The two sides expressed their pleasure at the development of economic and trade cooperation between the two countries over the last years.

Two-way trade value increased from US$5 million in 2003 to US$56 million in 2008. Notably, the figure rose to US$71 million in the first seven months of 2009.

The two sides agreed to soon sign framework agreements on economic, cultural and scientific-technology cooperation, encouragement and protection of investment, and rice trading as well as establishing a joint committee between the two countries.

They also stressed the necessity of expanding cooperation to the fields of agriculture, fisheries, oil and gas and construction.

They agreed to maintain bilateral cooperation between the two nations at regional and international forums, including the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and the United Nations.

Deputy PM receives ‘Home-Practice’ Buddhists

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong on September 15 received a delegation of dignitaries from the Vietnam Pure Land Buddhist Home-Practice Association who are on a visit to Hanoi.

Deputy PM Trong welcomed the delegation’s visit to the capital city, and praised the association’s contributions to the country.

He hoped that the association will continue to promote herbal medicine, as well as strengthen its solidarity with other religions and contribute more to the homeland.

According to Nguyen Phuong Hieu, head of the association’s Executive Council, the group was founded by Nguyen Van Bong under his religious name, Minh Tri, in 1934.

Pure Land, which has its headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City, has expanded to 21 provinces and cities with more than 1.4 million followers.

PV