PM Dung pushes for stronger ties with Australia, Israel; Vietnamese legislators visit Brazil; Party leader Manh begins visit to Cambodia; Vietnam applauds peace progress in Central African Republic

Vietnam and Australia should formulate a programme of action to realise the joint statement on the comprehensive partnership reached during Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh’s visit to Australia in September 2009.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung made the proposal while meeting with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in Copenhagen on December 17. The two PMs are joining other heads of state to attend the UN Climate Change Conference in Denmark.

He also proposed that Australia consider bilateral negotiations of a labour cooperation agreement and an agreement on mutual recognition of quarantine results, expand cooperation in vocational training and finance the Cao Lanh bridge project.

Mr Dung thanked Australia for providing its assistance to Vietnam’s environmental protection and climate change adaptation programmes, saying the two countries have cooperated in training personnel and organising workshops on hydro-meteorology and climate change.

He proposed that Australia support the transfer of weather forecasting technology and provide the results of research onto climate change in Asia and the Pacific.

PM Rudd echoed Mr Dung, saying Australia and Vietnam should work hard on a programme of action to realise the joint statement, which is to be signed during his scheduled visit to Vietnam in 2010.

He said both countries should soon sign a memorandum of understanding to speed up a dialogue mechanism for national defence and security.

He voiced Australia’s desire to cooperate with Vietnam in environmental protection and weather forecasting. He said Australia is interested in building Cao Lanh bridge in Vietnam and will work with the Asian Development Bank to fund the project.

Mr Rudd proposed that both countries increase coordination in regional and international forums, especially when Vietnam assumes the chair of ASEAN in 2010.

In another meeting with Israeli President Simon Peres the same day, PM Nguyen Tan Dung said the opening of the Vietnamese Embassy in Israel in May 2009 aimed to promote multifaceted cooperation with the Jewish nation. He acknowledged Israeli assistance to Vietnam in education and training.

He proposed that both countries should speed up negotiations and sign agreements on investment protection and encouragement, labour cooperation and maritime transport to promote bilateral cooperation in economics, trade and investment. He suggested both sides establish joint venture businesses in telecommunications, informatics, cooking and chemical industries.

He expressed his hope that Israel would continue to train officials and grant scholarships to Vietnamese students, especially in biotechnology and high-technology. He said he will soon send Vietnamese ministers to Israel to explore specific cooperation areas.

President Simon Peres said Israel is ready to share cooperation experience with Vietnam in its strong areas such as agriculture, biotechnology and health care. He expressed his desire to boost cooperation with Vietnam in other areas, and invited Mr Dung to visit Israel.

NA Chairman encourages Kuwaiti investment in Vietnam

Vietnam will continue to offer incentives to Kuwaiti businesses to invest efficiently in the country, said National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong at a reception for Kuwaiti Minister of Commerce and Industry, Ahmad Rashid Al Haroun in Hanoi on December 17.

Mr Trong noted with satisfaction marked progress in Vietnam-Kuwait relationship recently which he said has laid a firm foundation for increasing bilateral cooperation in economics, trade, and investment.

He said as both Vietnam and Kuwait are members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), they can support each other in development. He expressed his hope that Kuwait would increase its investment in technical and social infrastructure in Vietnam.

Vietnam is making every effort to improve its investment and business environment, maintain socio-political stability and finalise its legal system to meet the country’s requirements for development and conform to international norms, said Mr Trong.

He said the Vietnam National Assembly will increase oversight of the implementation of cooperation agreements signed between the two countries.

The NA chairman echoed Minister Al-Haroun that both countries should increase the sharing of information and the exchange of business delegations to explore and establish partnerships.

For his part, Minister Al-Haroun expressed his hope that Kuwait and Vietnam would soon sign a number of agreements, creating a favourable legal corridor for stronger cooperation in the future.

Kuwait will prioritize official development assistance for Vietnam, focusing on infrastructure development projects, said Minister Al-Haroun.

He said many Kuwaiti businesses are interested in Vietnam’s investment environment and policies as well as some specific investment projects in Vietnam. He said Kuwaiti investment in Vietnam remains modest and the signing of a double tax avoidance agreement will offer great opportunities to the two countries’ businesses to expand investment cooperation.

Mr Trong conveyed his best regards and an invitation to the speaker of the National Assembly of Kuwait to visit Vietnam in the near future.

Deputy PM receives Kuwaiti minister

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan on December 17 received Kuwaiti Minister of Commerce and Industry, Ahmad Rashid Al Haroun, who is in Hanoi for a meeting of the Vietnam-Kuwait joint committee for economic, scientific and technological cooperation.

Mr Nhan briefed his guest on Vietnam’s development potential, saying the country has a young and abundant workforce, political stability, and it has constantly improved its policies to attract foreign investors.

He said Vietnam wants to increase cooperation with Kuwait in investment, human resource development, oil & gas, aviation, agriculture, construction and education.

Minister Al Haroun praised Vietnam’s development achievements and said he was optimistic about the possibility of cooperation between the two countries, especially in their strong areas.

Vietnam is currently working with Kuwait and Japan to build the Nghi Son oil refinery in Thanh Hoa province. At the meeting of the joint committee, both sides agreed to put the refinery into operation in 2013 as scheduled.

Public security force praised for contributions to national development

National Assembly chairman Nguyen Phu Trong has praised the public security sector for its significant contributions to national achievements, helping maintain political security and social order for national development and elevate Vietnam’s prestige internationally.

Addressing the sector’s 65th national conference in Hanoi on December 17, Mr Trong noted that 2010 is very important to Vietnam as it is the last year the country will implement the resolutions adopted at the 10th National Party Congress and its 10-year socio-economic development strategy.

He said in 2010 Vietnam will hold grassroots-level Party congresses in the lead up to the 11th National Party Congress, and the celebration of many other national anniversaries. It will also assume the chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) in 2010.

Meeting all the goals for 2010 requires a greater effort from the Party and people, including the public security force, to promote Vietnam as a safe and attractive destination for investors, said Mr Trong.

He asked the sector to increase its management capacity, make progress in urban management, and combat crime and non-traditional threats such as environmental degradation, natural disasters, epidemics, trans-national crime, drugs and high-tech crime.

He asked the sector to work closely with other ministries and localities to ensure security for major political and cultural events at grassroots level, facilitating national development.

He reminded the sector to pay due attention to forecasting work and make recommendations to the Party and State to finalise laws on national security and build the sector into a healthy and regular force.

Another task of the sector is to proactively discover and foil subversive schemes by hostile and reactionary forces to maintain peace for national development, said Mr Trong.

The conference will close on December 18.

Programme to support the poor reviewed

Deputy Prime Minister, Nguyen Sinh Hung and President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, Huynh Dam presided over a meeting in Lai Cao on December 17 to review the implementation of a programme to support 62 poorest districts in the country.

Mr Hung emphasised that along with other poverty reduction schemes, the programme aims to improve the living standards of the economically disadvantaged people. By 2020 their income should increase by 5-6 times compared to 2008.

In Mr Dam’s assessment, the programme is meaningful socially and politically and in line with the aspirations of the people. Ministries, provinces and businesses have made great efforts to implement it and gained significant results.

Participants at the meeting reviewed the programme’s implementation after one year, evaluated its capital allocation for 2009 and its plan for 2010 and discussed related policies including those on housing and labour export. They devised measures to accelerate implementation in the coming time.

They agreed that the programme is paying off and that the people consider it a chance to escape from poverty and underdevelopment. It has mobilised the strength of the whole political system and instilled a keener sense of social responsibility. Supporting policies on housing, forest protection, education, training and intellectual improvement have achieved significant results, creating a breakthrough in living conditions for the poor . The number of such households has fallen by 4 percent per year from 47 percent in 2008 to 43 percent in 2009 within the 62 targeted districts.

The meeting aimed to reduce the rate of poor households to below 40 percent in 2010 and to complete land and forest allocation along with food subsidy programmes for citizens. Districts should improve people’s living standards by accelerating agricultural production, forest protection and development, building rural socio-economic infrastructure, strengthening research and the application of advanced technology and making breakthroughs in human resource training to increase the number of qualified, skilled workers to 25 percent.

Vietnam celebrates Army Day in RoK

The Vietnamese Embassy and the country’s Defence Attaché Office in the Republic of Korea (RoK) held a meeting on December 15 to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army (December 22).

The meeting was attended by Vietnam’s Deputy Defence Minister Nguyen Huy Hieu and prominent guests including the RoK’s Deputy Defence Minister Kim Yong Ki, the ambassadors of ASEAN member countries, the defence attachés from several other countries and Vietnamese people who live and work in the RoK.

Speaking on the occasion, the RoK’s Deputy Defence Minister Kim Yong Ki congratulated the Vietnam People’s Army on its achievements over the past 65 years.

The RoK Deputy Minister said that he believes Vietnam’s armed forces and the RoK will further contribute to the Asia-Pacific region. He also stressed on the similarity in cultures that both nations have, and praised the development of bilateral relations in the fields of economics, culture, politics and education since the two countries first established diplomatic ties on December 22, seventeen years ago.

Vietnamese legislators visit Brazil

A delegation from the Vietnam National Assembly led by its Deputy Chairman Huynh Ngoc Son concluded their four-day visit to Brazil on December 16.

While in Brazil, the Vietnamese delegation paid courtesy visits to the President of the Chamber of Deputies and the Vice President of the Federal Senate and held talks with the Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies.

The MPs also met with the Chamber of Deputies’ External Relations and Defence Committee, the Brazil-Vietnam friendship parliamentarians group and the Brazilian Communist Party’s parliamentary group.

They also met with the Brazilian Ministries of Development, Trade and Industry, and Defence.

At the meetings, Vice Chairman Son informed his hosts of Vietnam ’s socio-economic achievements in 2009.

Brazil agreed to step up the exchange of legislative delegations to increase mutual understanding between the two countries and work closer together in areas of mutual interest.

Brazil and Vietnam should actively cooperate in politics, economics and trade, science-technology, defence, education and training, culture, sports and tourism, they said.

Brazil wants to expand and tighten its relations with Vietnam and other developing nations in Asia and aims to increase two-way trade between the two countries to US$1 billion by 2010, they said.

Brazil also asked Vietnam to provide more information before considering the country as a market economy.

Both hosts and guests applauded the cooperation and mutual assistance shown at multilateral forums including the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation and the World Parliamentary Union.

Party leader Manh begins visit to Cambodia

PartyGeneral Secretary Nong Duc Manh left Hanoi on December 17, beginning anofficial visit to Cambodia at the invitation of King Norodom Sihamoni.

This is Mr Manh’s second visit to Cambodia after his first in March 2005.

The visit aims to strengthen the traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries and to elevate Vietnam’s position in the region, especially as the country will assume the chair of ASEAN in 2010.

Over the past years, bilateral relations have developed well through a regular exchange of high-level visits to promote mutual trust and understanding.

Two-way trade has increased by 40 percent annually, reaching US$1.7 billion in 2008 and US$945 million in the past three quarters of this year. Both countries aim to raise the figure to US$2 billion in 2010.

Brazil keen on comprehensive ties with Vietnam

Brazil is seriously considering the recognition of Vietnam as a market economy and seeking to raise bilateral trade between the South American country and Vietnam to US$1 billion in 2010.

It also wants to boost bilateral cooperation with Vietnam in many fields such as external politics, science and technology, security and defence, education, culture, sports and tourism, according to the recent meetings between Vietnamese legislators and Brazilian counterparts in Brazil from December 13-16.

The delegation from the Vietnam National Assembly, headed by its Vice Chairman Huynh Ngoc Son, met with leaders of the lower and upper houses of Brazil’s National Congress, and Brazilian parliamentarians who belong to the Brazilian Communist Party. They also had working sessions with Brazil’s Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Development, Industry, and Foreign Trade.

During the meetings, the Brazilian legislators agreed to promote the exchange of delegations between the two parliaments to share experiences in the areas of mutual concern.

They expressed keen interest in expanding ties with developing countries in Asia, including Vietnam.

Vietnam and Brazil have closely cooperated in many multilateral forums such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

Vietnam applauds peace progress in Central African Republic

Vietnam’s representative to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has applauded progress in the peace process in the Central African Republic.

Addressing the UNSC’s session on Decembr 15, Ambassador Hoang Chi Trung, Deputy Permanent Representative to the UNSC, highly spoke of positive developments in the political front such as the appointment of a new National Mediator, the finalisation of the legal framework and establishment of the Independent Electoral Commission in preparation for the 2010 elections.

He commended the efforts made by the Government of the Central African Republic (CAR) in combating corruption, implementing civil service reform and promoting socio-economic development.

The Ambassador called on all parties concerned in the CAR to keep up the momentum of the Inclusive Political Dialogue held last December and further promote the peace process.

However, Trung expressed pconcerns about the worsening security and humanitarian situation in the southeastern part of the CAR as a result of the continued violent attacks by the rebel groups.

He affirmed support for a closer and better coordination between the UN Peacebuilding Support Office in the CAR (BONUCA) with other UN missions in the region to help the CAR and other regional states effectively deal with the security threat posed by the rebel groups.

He commended the assistance extended by BONUCA to the Government of the CAR in improving capacity building, expediting the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) and the Security Sector Reform (SSR) processes, and protecting the vulnerable groups, especially women and children.

PV