Laos
awards ex-NA leaders Freedom medals

Lao
Ambassador to Viet Nam Sunthon Sayachak yesterday, Jan 26, conferred awards on
former National Assembly leaders for their contributions to developing relations
between the two countries.

The
ambassador presented the Order of Freedom, second class, to Truong Quang Duoc
and Nguyen Phuc Thanh, both former NA vice chairmen, and Nguyen Sy Dung, NA
Office’s vice director; the Order of Labour, first class, to Tran Thi Tam Dan of
the NA’s Commission on Culture, Education, Youth and Children; and the Order of
Labour, third class, to the NA Economic Committee vice chairman Duong Thu Huong.

He said
they were in recognition of the great achievements of the former leaders in the
struggle for the national liberation, construction and development of Laos, as
well as the development of traditional friendship relations between the two
countries.

At the
ceremony, the recipients said they would continue to do their best to develop
bilateral relations between Viet Nam and Laos.

Vietnam rejects erroneous remarks on human rights
situation

The independent and democratic rights of people
including freedom of information, speech, and religion are not only mentioned in
the law but also respected and ensured in daily life.

Nguyen Phuong Nga, spokesperson of
the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry empahsised this while answering reporters’
questions about Vietnam’s reaction to the Human Rights Watch (HRM) World Report
2010 which was released on January 24.

In this report, the HRM groundlessly
accused Vietnam of increasing repressions of human rights activists and
preventing freedom of speech in 2010.

Like every country in the world,
Vietnam handles law-breakers by the rule of law, Nga said.

Vietnamese, Russian businesses and pressmen meet in
Moscow

The Vietnamese Embassy in Russia hosted a meeting between Vietnamese and Russian
business circles and pressmen on January 25.

Ambassador Bui Dinh Dinh reviewed important events in Vietnam-Russia bilateral
relations in 2010, including the Russia visit by former Party General Secretary
Nong Duc Manh and State President Nguyen Minh Triet; President Dmitry Medvedev’s
visit to Vietnam, the celebration of 60 years of Vietnam-Russia diplomatic ties
and the second Russia-ASEAN Summit in Hanoi.
The activities have helped to consolidate traditional ties between the two
countries, lifting the strategic partnership to a new height, the ambassador
said.
In 2010, five groups of Russian reporters from the Russian news agency TASS,
Russia Today newspaper and Voice of Russia came to Vietnam to cover information
on important events, he said.
The ambassador also affirmed contributions made by Russian and Vietnamese
businesspeople and enterprises to the development of bilateral economic
cooperation.
Director of the International Cooperation Department of the Russian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry Sergey Vasiliev, Deputy Director of the Asia Department
under the Russian Foreign Ministry Igor Khovaev and representative of the
Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Cooperation spoke highly of the long-lasting
relations and strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia.
They also mentioned effective cooperation between the two enterprises in
economic areas, especially in oil and gas exploration and atomic energy as well
as contributions of mass media in popularising information on events which took
place in Russia and Vietnam.

Vietnam, Mozambique sign cooperation agreement

Vietnam’s Binh Phuoc province and the Republic of
Mozambique’s Nampula province have agreed to cooperate in industry, agriculture
and trade, especially in cashew nuts, rubber and wood.

This agreement to this effect was
signed on January 26 by Chairman of the Binh Phuoc provincial People’s
Committee, Truong Tan Thieu and the Governor of Nampula province Felismino
Tocoli.

Under the agreement, the two sides
will exchange working groups for their respective countries to share experience
in surveying and accelerating the implementation of bilateral projects.

Since the two countries established
diplomatic ties in 1975, Vietnam and Mozambique have maintained friendly
cooperation in various fields and signed a number of agreements.

Mozambique is considered a potential
market for Vietnam’s light industry. However, export turnover between the two
countries has remained limited.

Binh Phuoc will dispatch business
delegations to Nampula to explore the market as a way of tightening the
friendship between Vietnam and Mozambique.

“Binh Phuoc will do its best to
support Nampula province as well as Mozambique in socio-economic development,”
said Mr Thieu.

Earlier, a cadre delegation from
Nampula province visited industrial parks and production and business
establishments in Binh Phuoc to exchange experience.

Nampula is a big and populous
province in Mozambique. However, due to poor technology and lack of capital,
local people face a lot of difficulties. Through the visit, the Nampula
delegation wished to receive more support from Binh Phuoc to help Nampula people
fully use their prospective advantages. On the occasion, Mr Tocoli invited the
Binh Phuoc delegation to visit Nampula.

VNN/VOV/VNS