Laos provides Vietnam with US$100,000 in support of
flood-hit people

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung had a bilateral
meeting with his Lao counterpart, Buasone Bouphavanh in Phnom Penh on November
16 on the sidelines of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) summits.

On the occasion of Vientiane’s 450th birthday, PM
Dung expressed his wish that Vientiane people would achieve greater success in
their socio-economic development, making the capital city worthy of a political,
economic and cultural centre and the heart of the country.

Photo: VOV

He informed PM Buasone Bouphavanh about Vietnam’s
plan to organise activities to mark the 35^th anniversary of Laos’
National Day and President Kaysone Phomvihane’s 90th birthday.

The Lao PM thanked Vietnam for its participation
in the International Cluster Bomb Conference in Vientiane early this month and
congratulated the country on its successful organisation of the 17^th
ASEAN summit and related meetings, that helped improve its position in the
international arena.

PM Buasone Bouphavanh said the Lao government has
decided to provide US$100,000 in support of flood-hit people in central Vietnam.

The two PMs agreed to step up economic
cooperation, solve difficulties for businesses, actively review the Vietnam-Laos
cooperation results in 2010 and propose measures for the coming year and prepare
for the 33rd session of the Vietnam-Laos Inter-governmental Committee. They also
agreed to continue mutual support and cooperation at regional and multilateral
forums.

Earlier, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Pham Gia
Khiem led a Vietnamese delegation to attend the Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam (CLMV)
Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the Ayeawady-Chao Praya-Mekong Economic
Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. Meanwhile, Minister of
Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc took part in a conference of the
Development Triangle Coordination Committee.

PM attends 4th ACMECS in Laos

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his
counterparts from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand participated at the 4th
Aeyawaday-Chao Phraya and Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy Summit (ACMECS)
in Phnom Penh on November 17.

Speaking at the summit, Mr Dung praised the
positive results gained by ACMECS since its establishment in 2003 which have
actively contributed to other forms of cooperation in the region.

He confirmed Vietnam wants to make active
contribution to the ACMECS cooperation and believed the summit would further
strengthen the five countries’ prosperity.

The ACMECS took place at the time when
cooperation in the Greater Mekong Sub-region has become more dynamic and
attracted great interest from partners in developed countries.

The similarity in economics, closeness in
geography and the complex changes in the global and regional economic situation
in recent years has urged the countries to work closely together to make full
use of opportunities and potential as well as support each other in coping with
challenges for the mutual target of peace, stability and development in the
region.

The PM and his counterparts reviewed the results
of cooperation within ACMECS and discussed solutions in specific fields of
cooperation.

Vietnam, Cuba enhance financial cooperation

Vietnam is ready to share its experience with Cuba
in various fields such as construction industry, tax reform, State budget
allocation and foreign investment attraction.

This statement was made by Deputy Minister of
Finance, Do Hoang Tuan Anh at a recent meeting with Cuban Minister of Finance
and Prices, Lina Pedraza, during his visit to Cuba from November 14-17.

At talks, both sides reviewed the results of
cooperation between the two ministries over the year and briefed each other on
their respective socio-economic statuses.

The Cuban Minister thanked Vietnam for its
solidarity, fraternal friendship and valuable assistance to Cuba and informed Mr
Tuan Anh about preparations for the sixth congress of the Communist Party of
Cuba.

Seminars on tax policies and customs management
between the two countries were held with the participation of Vietnamese and
Cuba experts. The two sides also signed a cooperation programme for next year
between the two finance ministries and the minutes of the 2010 cooperation
programme.

Promoting CLMV cooperation

Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam should worker
closer together on the principle of equality and mutual benefit to promote
internal strengths and international assistance and intensify scientific and
technological application and investment attraction.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung made this
statement while attending the fifth Cambodia-Laos-Myanmar-Vietnam (CLMV 5)
Summit, which took place in Phnom Penh on November 16.

PM Dung said that after six years of development,
the CLMV cooperation has moved from providing mechanism to stimulating
cooperative activity in specific area.

He noted that this cooperation is yet to meet the
four countries’ aspirations and match their potential, stressing the slow
implementation of cooperative projects due to difficulties in mobilizing capital
and weak capacity.

At the summit, PM Dung and his Cambodian, Lao and
Myanmar counterparts reviewed the results of cooperation since the fourth CLMV
Summit in Hanoi in 2008 in such fields as trade and investment, transport,
agriculture, industry and energy, tourism and human resource development.

The fourth countries have made headway toward
practical cooperation since then, especially with Vietnam establishing the CLMV
Scholarship Fund.

To boost the search for capital sources to fund
CLMV projects, the prime ministers approved a list of 16 top priority projects
in the four countries.

They agreed to adopt a Joint Statement with
strong determination to boost cooperation within the CLMV mechanism for peace,
stability and prosperity in the Mekong sub-region, and narrow the development
gap between CLMV and other ASEAN member countries.

The prime ministers also agreed to hold the next
CLMV Summit in Laos in 2012.

VNN/VOV/VNA