VN,
Laos boost security ties

Minister of Public Security, General Le Hong Anh. (Photo: VNA)

A
high-ranking delegation from the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security led by
Minister General Le Hong Anh is on a working visit to Laos from February 20-23.

The
visit is being made at the invitation of Lao Minister of Public Security
Thongbanh Seng Aphone, who is also Secretary of the Central Committee of the
Laos People’s Revolutionary Party.

At
yesterday’s meeting, the two ministries shared information about each country’s
socio-economic situation, reviewed outcomes of their past co-operation and
mapped out plans for future co-operation.

Both
host and guest agreed to regularly exchange information regarding combatting
crime and to increase knowledge about laws and customs for those living and
working in the neighbouring country.

The two
sides committed themselves to implementing the agreement on socio-economic and
scientific-technological co-operation in 2011 signed by the two governments;
supporting each other in drug prevention and ensuring border security and order.

Viet Nam
will continue to help Laos in personnel training and provide technical
assistance for the country, the Vietnamese side said.

At the
end of the meeting, the two sides signed minutes for the second extension of the
agreement on socio-economic and scientific-technological co-operation and
ministerial co-operation for 2011.

Japan will
consult Vietnam on TPP Agreement

The Japanese Government will send its experts to
Vietnam to collect information about the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic
Partnership Agreement known as TPP Agreement.

Observers said that if Japan signs
the TPP Agreement, its automobile and machinery exports will be boosted.
However, the greatly subsidized agricultural sector will also be affected.

Japan has so far dispatched its
experts to eight out of nine countries involved in the negotiations on the TPP
Agreement to consult them about the issue.

Vietnam is the only country which
has not yet held consultations with Japan.

An inter-agency delegation from the
Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development will work with Vietnamese partners on February
23.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan
said his country will decide whether or not to join the TPP Agreement in June.

The TPP Agreement is considered an
open mechanism for free trade in the region. Nine countries engaging in the
negotiations on the agreement are Brunei, Chile, Singapore, New Zealand, the US,
Australia, Malaysia, Peru and Vietnam.

Mexico, Vietnam bolster
political ties

The Political Counsellor at the Vietnamese Embassy
in Mexico, Do Dinh Truong, attended the 8th Congress of the Mexican Labour Party
(PT) on February 19.

Addressing the congress’s closing
session, Truong stressed that the friendship and fruitful cooperation between
the Communist Party of Vietnam and PT will actively contribute to the expansion
of the two countries’ relations in the future.
The counsellor wished the event an enormous success, saying that the resolutions
adopted at the congress would strengthen the party’s operation and help it
attain greater achievements while performing its tasks, including preparations
for upcoming elections, especially the Presidential election in 2012.
After one day of working, PT delegates discussed amended regulations and
ratified agreements reached at the national delegates’ conference on the Party’s
committees. They also approved the list of nine politburo members and worked on
political tasks in the future.
The event was attended by 800 delegates across Mexico and guests from
representatives agencies of several countries in the region and the world,
including Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela and the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea.

VNN/VOV/VNS