President Triet begins Algeria visit; Former German Chancellor to visit HCMC; Vietnamese president sends condolences over Polish tragedy; Vietnam urges peace in Thailand; Vietnamese ratifies UN anti-corruption plan

President Triet begins Algeria visit

On April 13, State President Nguyen Minh Triet arrived in Algiers on a State-level visit to Algeria at the invitation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

A welcome ceremony for Mr Triet and his delegation was held at Houari Boumedienne airport in the presence of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, speaker of the Algerian Parliament Abdelkader Bensalah and Speaker of the Algerian Lower Chamber Abdelaziz Ziari, Vietnamese Ambassador to Algeria Do Trong Cuong, and other ranking other officials.

On the morning of April 14, Mr Triet received representatives from the Algeria-Vietnam Friendship Association.

At the reception, he expressed his delight at the fine sentiments and warm welcome given by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to his delegation and emphasised that Vietnam and Algeria have many things in common. Fifty years ago, both countries were French colonies and they helped each other to gain national independence. Vietnam will forever be a faithful friend of the Algerian people and wants to continue strengthening the ties of friendship and cooperation with Algeria, Mr Triet stressed.

The Chairman of the Algeria-Vietnam Friendship Association, Abdelkrim Hassani described Mr Triet’s visit as an indication of the close relationship between the two countries and said that the visit ushers in a new chapter in relations between Vietnam and Algeria.

Former German Chancellor to visit HCMC

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder is set to visit Ho Chi Minh City from April 20 to 22 as the two countries celebrate the 35th year of diplomatic relations this year.

The German Embassy said the former chancellor is scheduled to attend the first Vietnam-German business forum on April 21.

The forum, with the focus on climate change and energy security, will attract about 200 government officials and business leaders, especially from German and European investors hoping to do business in the country.

Schroder will also speak to students and faculty members at the Vietnam-German University in HCMC.

Vietnamese president sends condolences over Polish tragedy

President Nguyen Minh Triet on Sunday sent Vietnam’s condolences to Poland after Polish President Lech Kaczynski and many senior government officials were killed in a plane crash in Russia.

On behalf of the Vietnamese government and people, President Triet expressed his deepest regrets and wished that the Polish people and government will soon overcome the tragedy, according to the Vietnamese government’s website.

Kaczynski was among 96 people killed when their ageing Tupolev aircraft came down in thick fog near the western Russian city of Smolensk on the way to a memorial service for 22,000 Poles massacred by Soviet troops during World War II, AFP reported.

Leaders around the world have expressed their shock and grief at the tragedy. Poland has declared a week of national mourning.

Vietnam urges peace in Thailand

Vietnam implored the people of Thailand to avoid further violence in its current political conflict, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Sunday.

Nguyen Phuong Nga said the parties involved should solve their conflicts peacefully through dialogue with the aim of stabilizing the Southeast Asian country.

Vietnam, as a neighbor of Thailand and ASEAN president this year, is deeply concerned about the situation and is keeping a close watch on all developments in Thailand, Nga said.

Thailand’s anti-government red-shirted protesters under the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) have been demonstrating in the streets since March 14. The conflict has erupted in violence.

As of Sunday, clashes between demonstrators and security forces in Thailand have killed 20 people. Another 834 have been injured.

Cambodian, Vietnamese women tighten friendship & cooperation

A delegation from the Cambodian Women’s League, headed by Senator Mean Sam An, is visiting Vietnam from April 12-18 to strengthen bilateral ties of friendship and cooperation.

The delegates were received by the Chairwoman of the Vietnam Women’s Union, Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa, who underlined the need to preserve and develop the time-honoured, all-round relationship between the two organizations.

Ms Hoa highlighted the significance of the visit by the Cambodian delegation, which coincides with Vietnam’s celebrations of the 35th anniversary of South Vietnam’s Liberation and the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi.

She briefed her counterpart on the Vietnam Women’s Union’s recent activities, including three projects approved by the government such as promoting vocational training, building an academy for Vietnamese women, and preparing them for the process of industrialization and modernization.

During the reception, Ms Sam An said that the Cambodian people consider Vietnam’s achievements in national construction as their own and recalled the support and sacrifice of numerous Vietnamese women for Cambodia’s struggle against the Khmer Rouge genocide.

She said that both women’s organizations should strengthen their traditional ties of friendship and cooperation as well as boosting ties between people in the border provinces.

Mongolian armed forces visit Vietnam

Lieutenant General Tran Quang Khue, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam’s People Army, received Brigadier General P. Purevbazar, head of the department for command-management and liaison for the Mongolian Armed Forces, in Hanoi on April 12.

Both sides expressed hopes that the visit would contribute to boosting friendship and mutual understanding between the two armies, peoples and countries.

Brigadier General P. Purevbazar said he was delighted to learn about the history of Vietnam’s land and people and that of the Vietnam People’s Army.

Vietnamese ratifies UN anti-corruption plan

Vietnam has ratified the Plan on the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and is ready to undertake full responsibility as a member of UNCAC to increase the effectiveness of its anti-corruption efforts.

The plan aims to bring Vietnam’s anti-corruption laws closer to international norms mandated by UNCAC.

Under the plan, the Government will reform its regulations on the organisation and operation of anti-corruption agencies and give these entities more power and independence.

The prevention of corruption will be strengthened by promoting transparency and openness in public administration, simplifying administrative procedures and making periodical reports on anti-corruption work in State agencies.

Regulations will be finalised on recruitment appointment, salary, training and retirement of civil servants, and criteria will be formulated to evaluate situations prone to corruption and law enforcement efforts. The law will recognise new crimes related to corruption, including bribery in the private sector and illegal get-rich schemes by civil servants.

The plan includes a three stage roadmap for Vietnam the first of which (through 2011) will focus on implementing the convention on a broad scale and perfecting the legal system in line with UNCAC and the National Anti-Corruption Strategy to 2020.

During second stage (2011-2016) aims to review initial results of implementating and perfecting anti-corruption laws and the third stage (2016-2020) is focused on increasing the effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts.

NA Standing Committee opens its 30th session

The 12th National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee opened its 30th session in Hanoi on April 12 to contribute to reports on the implementation of the second phase of national poverty reduction programme 135.

According to NA supervision delegation, from 2006-2010, more than VND14 trillion sourced from the State budget and international donors has been assigned to the second phase of the 135 programme. Meanwhile, investment capital level has seen a year-on-year increase of VND 1,364 billion in a commune and nearly VND8,000 billion has been disbursed.

The programme has greatly contributed to speeding up socio-economic development in disadvantaged areas. As a result, local people in these areas have been provided with free legal assistance and the number of poor households has dropped from 47 percent in early 2006 to 31.2 percent in 2009. More than 67 percent of the areas’ households have achieved a per capita income of VND3.5 million/year.

So far, 30 national targeted programmes for poverty reduction have been carried out in localities throughout the country.

However, the NA supervision delegation pointed out limitations in poverty reduction such as outdated labour habits, improper distribution of population, a high number of households falling into the near-poverty zone, slow disbursement and misuse of investment capital.

The NA Standing Committee agreed to continue to provide capital for programme 135 in 2011-2015 and supervise the implementation of the programme.

The Committee also asked the Government to adopt new poverty standards as soon as possible and provide personnel training for localities.

Vietnam, Slovakia boost cooperation in national defence

A high-level delegation from the Ministry of National Defense led by Deputy Minister Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Huy Hieu paid an official visit to Slovakia from April 8-10 at the invitation of the Slovak Ministry of Defence.

During the visit, the delegation met with officials from the Slovak Ministry of National Defense to discuss ways of promoting bilateral cooperation in national defence as well as visiting several military establishments.

The visit has helped increase bilateral cooperation in landmine deactivation, technical assistance and dealing with the consequences of the war and other issues, they said.

PV