Laos’ National Day celebrated in Vietnam; Vietnam determined to reform administration; Philippine navy commander visits Vietnam; Thai Princess visits Vietnam; Vietnam advocates UN peace-building efforts

Vietnam and Laos have built a special relationship of solidarity and loyalty since the time of Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh and Lao President Cayson Phomvihan.

Lao Ambassador to Vietnam Sunthon Xaynhachac, says this special relationship is considered a valuable treasure by both nations. The Lao Party, Government and people are grateful for the strong support and assistance of Vietnam during their past struggle for national independence and during their current development process.

Vietnam determined to reform administration

A forum entitled “Administration reform - situation and orientation” was held by the Vietnamese Ministry of the Interior and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on November 27 to discuss administration reform.

The event was attended by representatives from the Ministries of the Interior, Agriculture and Rural Development, Education and Training, and Culture, Sports and Tourism plus several provinces and cities and a number of international organisations.

Participants appraised Vietnam’s past efforts, current orientations and future priorities in administration reform.

They also discussed ways to improve the effectiveness of the process by mordernising the private sector, heightening the responsibility of state officials in implementing policies, providing administrative services, and increasing the public’s participation.

Speaking at the forum, UNDP Country Director Setsuko Yamazaki emphasized the importance of building a transparent and effective administrative system to economic development, hunger elimination, poverty alleviation, national modernization and industrialization.

Mrs. Yamazaki pledged UNDP’s assistance to Vietnam’s administration reform.

Vice Minister of Interior Nguyen Tien Dinh expressed his thanks to international partners for their cooperation and assistance in Vietnam’s development.

Philippine navy commander visits Vietnam

Lt. Gen. Tran Quang Khue, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, received Ferdinand Goles, Vice Admiral and Commander of the Philippine Navy in Hanoi on November 26.

Khue welcomed Commander Goles and his entourage on the occasion of their visit to Vietnam.

Goles informed Khue of his talks with the Commander of the Vietnam Navy, and the wish to promote the friendship and cooperation between the two navies and armies.

The talks also covered the future exchange of military delegations to increase mutual understanding and trust as well as the sharing of experiences in building the armed forces of each country. They also considered a suitable time-frame for signing a memorandum of understanding on bilateral defence cooperation, creating a basis for promoting defence ties between the two countries.

Vietnam’s int’l position promotes relationship with EU

Vietnam’s assuming ASEAN’s presidency in 2010 will help boost relations between the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and particularly Vietnam.

This view was offered by Deputy Director General for External Relations of the European Commission (EC) Stefano Sannino at a press briefing after the seventh session of the European Community-Vietnam Joint Commission in Hanoi on November 26.

The EC applauded Vietnam ’s priorities in its new role as ASEAN President in 2010, affirming its close cooperation with the country in promoting the integration of ASEAN and enhancing that between the EU and ASEAN.

Both sides said that the EU-ASEAN Foreign Minister Meeting to be held in Spain and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Summit to be held in Belgium in 2010 will be important opportunities to solidify bilateral and multi-lateral cooperation.

For his part, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen The Phuong lauded the EC’s support for Vietnam ’s socio-economic development plan over the past years.

During the session, both sides reviewed the developments in the Vietnam-EC relationship since the previous session held in the Belgian city of Brussels in November 2007. They also discussed political and economic developments in the EU and Vietnam.

The EC praised Vietnam’s considerable progresses in economic, administrative, legal and judicial reform as well as in its efforts to promote its global integration as a member of the World Trade Organisation, a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and the upcoming chairmanship of ASEAN.

Both sides were committed to negotiating the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) - a foundation for developing the existing cooperation framework, and expanding and diversifying dialogues and cooperation between the EU and Vietnam in various fields ranging from trade, investment, aviation, technology, and education to natural resources and the environment.

The EC reaffirmed its pledge to provide development assistance to Vietnam ’s socio-economic development and reform from now through 2013, with a focus on hunger eradication and poverty reduction, health care, and administrative and judicial reform.

The EC also agreed to provide 2 million EUR to Vietnam’s research programme on nuclear energy safety and the implementation of a judicial partnership project with Vietnam in 2010.

Vietnam seeks a breakthrough in IT human resources training

A national conference on Vietnam’s information technology (IT) and telecommunications sector was held in Hanoi on November 26 in an effort to create a significant new development in the industry.

The conference was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan, Minister of Information and Communications Le Doan Hop, representatives of other ministries and foreign IT specialists.

Speaking at the event, Mr Nhan stressed the need to make a breakthrough in the development of IT human resources. He urged the Ministry of Information and Communications to seek a capable domestic partner to enter into a joint venture with a foreign counterpart to train human resources to the specifications of IT businesses.

Mr Nhan also called for attracting foreign IT workers to Vietnam to promote domestic training. He said domestic IT businesses should court foreign investment and take advantage of assistance from world IT giants in developing their own trademarks and prestige.

The senior official told the conference that in 2009 the government issued a plan to apply IT in state agencies, a decision on managing IT projects that use state funding, and a decision on developing IT human resources until 2015 with a vision toward 2020. He added that the Ministry of Information and Communications is collecting ideas for a project to turn Vietnam into an IT power by 2020.

Thai Princess visits Vietnam

Deputy Minister of Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Le Khac Nghien on November 26 received Thai Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, who is on a visit to Vietnam.

Mr Nghien, who is also Chief of General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, welcomed the princess’s visit, saying it will help promote friendship and mutual understanding between the two armies and people of Vietnam and Thailand.

Princess Sirindhorn expressed her pleasure at visiting and exploring Vietnam, its land and people as well as the Vietnam People’s Army.

Vietnam advocates UN peace-building efforts

A Vietnamese diplomat has praised the UN Peace-building Commission (PBC) for its efforts and fulfillment of the tasks set in the UN Security Council’s resolutions.

“The Vietnamese Delegation underlined that in its initial years of evolution, the PBC has consolidated its core advisory role and made significant support to critical peace-building priorities,” said Vietnam’s Deputy Representative to the council, Ambassador Hoang Chi Trung, at a debate on the report of the PBC on November 25.

Trung added that the PBC, through its country-specific configurations and integrated peace-building strategies, has yielded concrete and important results under challenging circumstances in Burundi, the Central African Republic, Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone.

However, the diplomat shared the same view that the commission needs to be effective in furthering the international peace-building agenda if its activities are better tailored to recipient countries.

“To this effect, the PBC should redouble its efforts to improve its rules of procedures and working methods, intensify interactions with countries on its agenda, and rationalize its institutional relationships with the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council, in accordance with the respective competence of each body as defined by the Charter,” the ambassador said.

He said the efficiency of UN assistance requires unity of purpose and action in all the areas of peace and security, human rights, rule of law, development and humanitarian affairs, as well as coherence between preventive diplomacy, peacemaking, peacekeeping and peace-building.

It is imperative to get to the root of conflicts and create favourable conditions for sustainable reconstruction in post-conflict countries, he stressed.

PV