President Triet affirms close bonds with Singapore; Vietnam calls for peace, stability in Iraq; 55th anniversary of Vietnam-Mongolia diplomatic ties celebrated in Hanoi; RoK legislative chief cares for Vietnam’s youth

Vietnam wants to promote the long-standing friendship and comprehensive cooperation with Singapore, said State President Nguyen Minh Triet at a political and business forum in Singapore on November 17.

Mr triet said cooperative ties between Vietnam and Singapore have fared well in all areas since the two countries established diplomatic ties 36 years ago. The Framework Agreement on Vietnam-Singapore Connectivity has brought good results in six priority cooperation areas: finance, investment, trade & services, transport, ICT and education & training.

He noted that Singapore is Vietnam’s third largest trading partner and the fifth largest investor. Vietnam-Singapore industrial parks have operated efficiently in Vietnam, symbolising the success of the mutually beneficial cooperation. Progress has been also made in cooperation in education & training, tourism, finance & banking, transport, information technology, culture, health care, security and national defence.

The two countries have worked well at regional and international forums such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), the East Asia Summit (EAS), the Asia-Pacific Cooperation Forum (APEC), the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the United Nations.

Mr Triet affirmed that Singapore is always Vietnam’s leading economic partner in the region and one of the ideal destinations for Vietnamese students. In addition, the island nation is one of Vietnam’s important partners in information technology, health care, transport, finance & banking and the electronics manufacturing industry.

The Vietnamese State and Government create favourable conditions for Singaporean businesses to invest and operate efficiently in the country, said Mr Triet.

He assured politicians and businesses at the forum that Vietnam will continue to speed up the Renewal and national industrialisation and modernisation process while actively integrating into the world and maintaining socio-political stability to build an industrial nation by 2020.

Mr Triet said Vietnam will complete its market economic institutions, step up international economic integration and further improve its business environment to make it more competitive for all economic sectors, domestic and foreign business alike. The country will also perfect the building of a law-governed state with a primary focus on completing the legal system, accelerating administrative reform and combating corruption.

Vietnam needs support and cooperation from international friends, including Singapore to achieve this goal, said Mr Triet.

Regarding its foreign policy, Mr Triet affirmed that Vietnam will continue to expand relations with international economic institutions, prepare to sign bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements and promote the comprehensive and effective cooperation with Asian and Pacific region countries.

When Vietnam takes over the ASEAN chair in 2010, it will do its utmost to promote regional solidarity and integration, bring the ASEAN Charter into life, step up the process of building an ASEAN Community and broaden cooperative ties between the bloc and its dialogue partners to elevate its role and position globally.

He highlighted Vietnam’s advantages of the market, the investment environment and human resources and called on Singaporean businesses to come and explore opportunities for long-term partnerships.

At the forum, Vietnamese and Singaporean businesses signed a number of memorandums of understanding on maritime transport, house building and the issuance of government bonds at the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Before leaving Singapore for Hanoi the same day, Mr Triet met with parliamentary speaker Abdullah Tarmugi and Senior Minister Shunmugam Jayakumar, and visited several economic and cultural centres in the capital.

President Triet arrived in Singapore on November 13 to attend the 17th APEC summit and paid an official visit to this island nation on November 16-17 at the invitation of President Sellapan Rama Nathan.

Vietnam calls for peace, stability in Iraq

A Vietnamese diplomat has called upon all parties in Iraq to give the utmost priority to the country’s national interests, renounce the destabilising acts, and work together for the nation’s peace, stability and development.

Vietnam’s representative to the UN Security Council, Ambassador Le Luong Minh, made the request at the council’s debate on Iraq and the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) in New York on November 16.

The diplomat condemned terrorist attacks, including the recent attacks in Baghdad on 19 August and 25 October 2009, which killed hundreds of civilians, injured many more and caused extensive damage to local property.

He repeated the demand that those responsible be brought to justice and in this regard, supported the Secretary-General’s measures in response to the Iraqi Government’s request for more assistance from the UN.

Raising concerns about the political, economic, social and humanitarian challenges that Iraq is facing, the ambassador expressed his delight at the progress that has been recorded in Iraq. He cited an agreement by the Council of Representatives on amendments to electoral law, the continued commitment of both the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to resolve their differences through dialogue, and the steady rate of return of internally displaced persons and refugees.

Having voiced support for efforts to further Iraq’s regional and international re-integration, the diplomat urged all parties concerned to step up their talks and cooperate with one another to settle issues of mutual concern.

Mr Minh said that Vietnam backs the efforts of the UN, the UNAMI, regional organisations and the international community to assist Iraq. He suggested that once the Development Assistance Framework 2011-2014 starts to produce results, the UN agencies should deliver as one to ensure the efficient coordination of international assistance, which will help to economise resource, enhance efficiency and, most importantly, address Iraq’s priorities.

Vietnamese, Cambodian news agencies boost cooperation

The Cambodian and Vietnamese news agencies have agreed to implement a technical assistance project as soon as it is approved by the Vietnam-Cambodia Inter-Governmental Committee at its meeting in Preah Sihanouk early next month.

The agreement was reached at a working session between General Director Kit Kim Huon of the Cambodian News Agency (AKP) and Deputy General Director Nguyen Duc Loi of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) who is on a week-long visit to Cambodia beginning on Nov. 15.

After briefing each other on their current capacity and new developments in recent years, they reviewed the implementation of technical assistance and professional cooperation agreements that were signed between the two news agencies’ leaders.

Deputy General Director Loi pledged that the VNA, in its capacity, will continue to help AKP train human resources and improve its professional capacity so as to meet the increasing demand for information.

AKP leader Kit Kim Huon expressed her sincere thanks to the VNA for its valuable assistance to AKP over more than 30 years. “This assistance is a symbol of the friendship between the two news agencies in particular and between Cambodia and Vietnam in general,” she added.

While in Cambodia, Deputy General Director Loi and his entourage had meetings with Cambodian Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam Orn and Information Minister Khieu Kanharith who highlighted the VNA’s assistance to and cooperation with SPK in the past and AKP at present.

55th anniversary of Vietnam-Mongolia diplomatic ties celebrated in Hanoi

A get-together was held by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations and the Vietnam-Mongolia Friendship Organisation (VMFO) in Hanoi on Nov. 17 to mark the 55th anniversary of Vietnam-Mongolia diplomatic ties.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and VMFO Chairman Ho Xuan Hung and Mongolian Ambassador Chulun Bayamunkhi reviewed the development of bilateral relations.

They agreed that the two countries’ friendship organisations have increased cooperative ties along with the growth of State-level relations.

They said the traditional relationship and mutual support would be a firm foundation for future cooperation, in line with the aspirations of the two countries’ people.

Rwanda, Vietnam strengthen relations

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has told the newly-assigned Vietnamese ambassador to his country to consider the signing of new treaties, especially on economics and trade.

The Rwandan leader raised the idea at a meeting with Ambassador Nguyen Duy Thien on November 16, who presented credentials on his new assignment in the African country. Such treaties would relate to the existing agreements on agriculture, education, scientific research and health.

Mr Kagame expressed thanks to Vietnam for sharing its experiences in socio-economic reform and poverty reduction, which he described as helpful and invaluable to Rwanda.

The Rwandan President recalled his visit to Vietnam last year and asked the Vietnamese ambassador to convey his best wishes to President Nguyen Minh Triet and other leaders.

For his part, the Vietnamese ambassador expressed his delight at his new mission in Rwanda, which he hailed as one of fastest-growing economies in East Africa over the past 10 years, following the overthrow of its previous genocidal regime, which killed millions of Rwandans.

Rwanda has also been recognised by the international community as a frontline campaigner in economic reform, marked by simple procedures and low-cost transactions to create a favourable environment for trade and investment, he said.

The Vietnamese diplomat also met with Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation M. Rosemary.

RoK legislative chief cares for Vietnam’s youth

Parliament Speaker Kim Hyong O of the Republic of Korea visited the Hanoi-based Vietnam National University (VNU) on November 17 as part of his five-day visit to Vietnam, showing his interest in the younger generation.

The RoK leader called on students to study and work hard in preparation for their future role as masters of the nation.

“The future belongs to those who have big dreams and are well-prepared. For those who are not ready, fortune will never come. It just passes them by and goes on its way”, said the chief law maker of the third largest Asian economy.

His speech was time and again interrupted by loud applause from teachers and students of one of the leading academic institutions in Vietnam.

In regard to bilateral relations, the ROK parliamentary leader said the two countries share much in common, culturally and historically.

In 2010, Vietnam will take office as President of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the RoK will assume the presidency of the G20. It will open up opportunities for the two strategic partners to bolster cooperation and have stronger voices at international forums in the interests of a prosperous Asia and for the sake of the two countries’ people, Kim said.

He also expressed his belief in a stronger role to be played by the two countries in the post-crisis period after analysing Vietnam’s consistent growth since launching renewal, especially its having attained a growth of over 5 percent in 2009 amid the global economic downturn.

The Hanoi-based VNU is one of Vietnam’s most prestigious universities, with a history stretching back over 100 years. Its current mission is to develop high-quality human resources and provide talent for the nation in service of the cause of industrialisation and modernisation.

Its Deputy Director Pham Trong Quat expressed his pleasure at welcoming two top RoK leaders in such a short period of time, referring to a previous visit by President Lee Myung-Pak on October 20.

He unveiled the university’s long-term strategy towards a model of multi-disciplinary training and research on scientific advances.

The VNU has received State funds to invest in international-standard training programmes as a foundation for implementing its plan to become a prestigious university in the region and the world, Quat said.

“To this end, the university has set up a strategy to promote cooperation with international universities and educational institutions, including scholarship funds from the RoK,” he said.

He also expressed the wish for a positive response from RoK universities to the VNU’s training programmes.

The host minister called on the two countries to diversify cooperation and encourage the private sector while continuing to facilitate ties among State enterprises.

PV