Deputy PM calls for nuclear plant safety; UNESCO education programme gets top priority in Viet Nam; Thailand to deploy 18,000 security officers at ASEAN Summit

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan (second right) awards the Prime Minister’s certifcate of merit to the former director-general of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura.

Nhan said Viet Nam welcomed UNESCO making education a top priority and allocating 25 per cent of its common budget to it.

This included such notable programmes as Education for Everyone, the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-14) and the UN Literacy Decade (2003-12), in which Viet Nam had actively participated.

Nhan said Viet Nam would actively take part in large-scale programmes of mutual interest to UNESCO and Viet Nam.

In his opening speech at the plenary session of UNESCO’s 35th meeting in Paris on Wednesday, the Deputy PM said Viet Nam supported the organisation’s efforts to contribute to world peace and development.

Given that Viet Nam was one of five countries expected to be hardest hit by climate change, the most serious of which would be rising sea levels, he said Viet Nam supported UNESCO programmes to cope with the problem.

Man and biosphere

In addition to these plans, Nhan said UNESCO should increase the budget of the Man and Biosphere Programme to maintain the balance between humans and the rest of nature, thus increasing the stability of development.

He said the Vietnamese Government advocated cultural diversity because it confirmed the rights of nations to cultural equality and was a foundation for peace and stability.

That was why it ratified the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in 2007 and was ready to join UNESCO activities to implementit. Nhan invited representatives of UNESCO nations to attend the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi next October.

On the sidelines of the assembly meeting, the Vietnamese delegation worked with the organisation’s assistant director-general for education, Nicolas Burnett, and its assistant director-general for culture, Francoise Riviere. He also visited the World Heritage Centre.

Nhan met the new UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova. Today, he will attend a round-table conference with education ministers.

Earlier, he paid a courtesy visit to former UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura and presented him with the Vietnamese Prime Minister’s certificate of merit for his contributions to developing cooperation between Viet Nam and UNESCO.

Thailand to deploy 18,000 security officers at ASEAN Summit

The Thai government will deploy 18,000 security personnel to maintain law and order at the upcoming ASEAN Summit slated for October 23-25, the Thai News Agency reported.

This is one of security measures to be taken to ensure security at the ASEAN Summit’s venues discussed at a meeting held by the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) on October 9.

The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and attended by the country’s top security leaders, also approved the establishment of a security command centre to facilitate their operations at the summit venues.

The leader of the anti-government United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), Nattawut Saikua, said on Oct. 9 that his organisation plans to hold a demonstration in Bangkok on October 11.

He said that the demonstration will take place at the Democracy Statue from 4:00 pm until mid-night with the participation of many red-shirted people, who will call for the reapplication of the 1997 Constitution and protest the government’s six amendments to it.

Meanwhile, General Secretary and Coordinator of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) Suriyasai Katasila said that the PAD will resume street demonstrations in opposition to the government’s plan to modify the existing constitution.

Meeting to celebrate Capital Liberation Day held

A meeting to celebrate the 55th anniversary of Hanoi’s Liberation (October 10, 1954-2009) was held at the Friendship Palace on October 9.

The meeting was also a chance to praise the movement “Good person-good deed” and to promote an emulation movement for the city’s 1000 th birthday.

Former and incumbent Party and State leaders, leaders of the Hanoi municipal authorities, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, heroic mothers, representatives of mass organisations and individuals honoured by the “Good person- good deed” movement attended the meeting.

Addressing the meeting, Hanoi People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen The Thao said October 10, 1954 was a milestone in the city’s history.

The day marked the complete defeat of colonialism and the glorious victory by the Vietnamese people in their fight against the French invaders, he said, adding that the day also opened up a new era for the development of the capital and the country as a whole.

After reviewing the city’s 55-year development, Chairman Thao stressed that the city is becoming a capital of “culture and learning.”

On behalf of the municipal authorities, he launched an emulation movement to welcome the city’s 1000th birthday.

VietNamNet/VNA/VNS