Localities ensure adequate supply of goods during Tet 

Localities have ensured that there will be adequate supply of goods during Tet (Lunar New Year) and prices will be kept stable as they have made efforts to boost production and stockpile goods.

The statement was made by local authorities at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai on December 3, to review preparations for goods during the upcoming festival in next February and the first quarter of 2011.

According to ministries, agencies and localities, the preparation has been going on well.

Prices of about 30 percent of goods on the market will be kept stable at 10-20 percent lower than market prices.

Local farmers have boosted husbandry to ensure sufficient supply of poultry, so there will not be any price shocks caused by shortages.

Local administrations have provided enterprises with non-interest loans to stockpile essential goods to ensure stable prices and market.

Some 14 enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City that have attended the city’s price stabilization program have increased their reserves of goods by 400 percent compared to their plans.

Hanoi has spent VND500 billion on stabilizing prices of nine essential goods, while HCMC has spent VND380.6 billion.

The price-stabilized goods in HCMC include rice, sugar, cooking oil, red meat, poultry, poultry eggs, fruits and vegetables, and processed cookings.

An official from the Ministry of Industry and Trade said there should be measures to organize distribution effectively to prevent goods shortages which will lead to price hikes.

Deputy PM Hai said the Government will adopt measures to ensure stable supply and prices of coal, power, gasoline and steel as they have a big impact on goods prices.

The Government will ask the State Bank of Vietnam and commercial banks to consider their interest rates and assist enterprises, he added.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Finance were ordered to check colluding among traders of cement, construction materials and sugar to raise prices.

He asked the two ministries to increase penalties to prevent violations of price regulations. 
Asian political parties gather in Cambodia

The 6th International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP6) themed, “Asia’s Quest for a Better Tomorrow” kicked off in the Cambodian capital city of Phnom Penh Thursday.

Participants attending the three-day conference included representatives of 89 political parties from 36 countries, 150 observers and environmental experts from international organisations and the United Nations.

A Vietnamese delegation led by Hoang Binh Quan, Head of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations, attended the event.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said the main purpose of the meeting was to enhance cooperation and exchange of viewpoints among and between different political parties, and to improve mutual understanding and trust in the region.

Other purposes of the meeting were to promote regional cooperation through the unique role and channel of political parties; and to create an environment for sustainable peace and shared prosperity in the region, he said.

Other topics selected to be put on the table included achieving economic recovery from the global financial crisis; ensuring energy security amid arising needs after mineral resources have become exhausted; and ensuring environmental safety following the drastic effects climate change, the PM said.

During the Dec. 1-2 meeting, participants worked on the draft of “Phnom Penh Declaration” with main topics such as reaffirming ICAPP’s role as an open forum for Asian political parties, recognising the huge risk of environmental damage and poverty as well as the pressing need to increase trade relations in the region through lifting tax and non-tax barriers, coping with climate change, targeting production towards renewable resources and promoting the role of women and young people.

This was the first time Cambodia had hosted ICAPP, after it was organised in the Philippines, Thailand, China, the Republic of Korea and Kazakhstan.

VN seeks cooperation with Japanese port city

The Vietnamese Embassy in Japan has hosted a two-day workshop to promote Vietnam trade, investment and tourism in the port city of Kushiro of Japan’s Hokkaido prefecture, attracting nearly 200 delegates.

The workshop, the first of its kind in the city and in the region, is one of the embassy’s initiatives to strengthen diplomatic activities for economic development.

Addressing the function, Kushiro Mayor Ebina Hiroya affirmed that his city wishes to increase cooperation with Vietnam’s localities in seafood processing, tourism, coal mining, and human resource training and development.

Participants were given an overall picture of Vietnam’s economy and the country’s advantages, in order to attract foreign investors.

They also learnt about the potential of tourism and trade cooperation between the localities of Vietnam and Hokkaido prefecture, as well as between the two countries.

Kushiro is an international port city which is strong in paper production, commercial fishing and tourism. This is one of the localities that provides the largest amount of seafood for Japan.

Vietnam and Kushiro have cooperated in human resource training for the mining sector during the past decade. By November this year, nearly 1,000 Vietnamese coal miners and managers have been trained in Kushiro and the cooperation is expected to continue in the future.

Promoting rural development in Dien Bien  
Building new rural areas in Thanh Chan commune, in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien is of great significance as a national project, said Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong during his two-day visit to the province from December 4-5.

At a meeting with provincial leaders and key officials, Mr Trong praised the achievements recorded by the Party organisation, administration and people in Thanh Chan over the past few years.

As one of the 11 communes with the most economic difficulties in the country, Thanh Chan has been selected and implementation has started on a pilot project to develop a model for new rural development. Thanh Chan needs to complete the project soon to become a key model of rural development in the northwestern region, Mr Trong emphasised.

He also underlined the need for Dien Bien to accelerate construction of infrastructure facilities such as transport systems, irrigation works and a clean water supply station while enhancing economic restructuring, using new strains of plants and livestock to meet the market demands and to create new products bearing the trademarks of a new rural economic area.

PM appoints new Deputy Minister of Finance  
On December 3, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung signed Decision No 2188 to appoint Mrs Nguyen Thi Minh as Deputy Minister of Finance.

Mrs Minh was Deputy Secretary of the Hai Duong provincial Party Committee and Chairwoman of the Hai Duong provincial People’s Committee.

She was born in 1960 in Hai Duong province and holds a Doctorate in Economics and an MA in politics.

Deputy Prime Minister meets voters in Ha Tinh  
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung met with voters Huong Khe district in the central province of Ha Tinh on December 4, along with a delegation of National Assembly (NA) members.

At the meeting, local voters expressed their satisfaction and belief in the Government’s solutions and policies to prevent economic recession and ensure social welfare, particularly in the flood-hit central region. They also asked the Government to intensify investment in infrastructure for areas prone to natural disasters.

Mr Hung said the Party, State, National Assembly and Government are making efforts to deal with issues that concern voters such as the supervision of the operations of economic groups and corporations, the quality of medical examination and treatment and inflation to ensure steady economic development in the future.

Deputy PM Hung underlined the need for Ha Tinh leaders to utilise all resources to implement rural development programs effectively.

On this occasion, he also attended the inauguration of Huong Khe primary school.

PV