Viet
Nam, Paraguay relations bolstered

HCM City
will do its best to promote co-operation and relations between Viet Nam and
Paraguay, said chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan.

Speaking
at a reception yesterday, March 10, for President of the Republic of Paraguay
Fernando Lugo Mendez in HCM City, Quan confirmed: “Co-operation in agricultural
production, mineral exploitation and new technologies has potential.”

“This
working visit by the Paraguayan President will surely open a new era in
co-operation between the two nations,” he added.

President Mendez expressed his deep impressions about the city’s development.

“It is
said that nobody can love something that he hasn’t seen but this is not true
about the sentiment that Paraguay has for Viet Nam, despite our geographic
distance.

“Viet
Nam and President Ho Chi Minh are popular in Paraguay, and are even followed by
people in our generation,” the President said.

He also
stressed that nothing was impossible for Viet Nam after the country suffered and
won after long resistance wars against aggressors from France and the US.

“Through
the trip, we understand more about the Vietnamese people: they are hardworking,
intelligent and unselfish,” he added.

“This
has been a long-expected trip and we have learnt so much from Viet Nam in
general and HCM City in particular.”

President Mendez highly appreciated the courage of the Communist Party of Viet
Nam in adapting to the new world and gaining remarkable achievements as a
developing country.

Quan
said he hoped that Paraguay would open an embassy in Viet Nam in the near future
and he wished for Paraguay to gain more success in its national development.

Yesterday, President Mendez visited the War Remnants Museum. Today he will visit
the Industrial High-tech Park, the Agriculture High-tech Park and Cu Chi
tunnels. President Mendez will fly back to Paraguay this afternoon.

Party
paper celebrates 60th anniversary

Nhan Dan newspaper should take
the lead in disseminating Party guidelines and State policy, especially the 11th
Party Congress Resolution, among Party members and people from all walks of
life, Truong Tan Sang, Politburo member and permanent member of the Party
Central Committee Secretariat, told a ceremony held to mark the newspaper’s 60th
anniversary yesterday, March 10.

Nhan Dan (The People) newspaper receives the Ho Chi Minh Order at the ceremony to mark the paper’s 60th anniversary on March 10 in Ha Noi. (Photo: VNS)

He
called for more investigative reports, analyses and inclusive commentaries on
major political and economic events to meet social demand.

“The
newspaper should publish more and more articles of high combat spirit, sharpness
and conviction on the struggle against false allegations by hostile forces and
political opportunists,” emphasised the senior Party official.

The
fight against bureaucracy, corruption and waste, and other social evils was
another major topic that Sang asked the Party daily to focus on.

President Nguyen Minh Triet pinned a Ho Chi Minh Order to the newspaper’s
traditional flag, making it the second newspaper to hold the honour.

Nguyen
Phu Trong, Party General Secretary and National Assembly Chairman, and his
predecessors in the Party, Do Muoi and Nong Duc Manh, sent baskets of flowers to
the celebration.

Lao
Deputy Minister of Information and Culture Bosengkham Vongdala attended and
presented the newspaper with the Issara Order, First Class, the highest
distinction by the Lao State, for its excellent contribution to the special Viet
Nam-Laos relationship.

The Nhan
Dan newspaper was founded at the second Party Congress in Chiem Hoa District, in
northern mountainous Tuyen Quang Province, to replace the Su That (Truth)
newspaper. Its first issue was published on March 11, 1951.

The
paper received special care from President Ho Chi Minh, who wrote 1,205 articles
for the newspaper in 23 pen-names for 18 years from the first issue.

Condolences to China

Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Foreign
Minister Pham Gia Khiem yesterday sent sympathies to Chinese Foreign Minister
Yang Jiechi over the large loss of life and property caused by the earthquake in
Southwest China yesterday, March 10.

VN,
Cambodia boost national defence co-operation

Viet Nam
highly valued the co-operation in national defence with Cambodia, especially
concerning security border sovereignty and drug smuggling.

Politburo member and Minister of National Defence Phung Quang Thanh made the
remarks while engaging in talks with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of National Defence Tea Banh in Siem Reap yesterday.

Thanh
briefed Tea Banh on the political and socio-economic situations in Viet Nam,
especially the results of the 11th Party Congress. He affirmed that the
Vietnamese Government had always wanted Cambodia to stabilise its border issues
and maintain its relationships with ASEAN countries.

Thanh
also valued Cambodia’s effective co-operation in the search for remains of
volunteer Vietnamese soldiers in Cambodia.

Cambodian Deputy PM Tea Banh expressed his pleasure that Viet Nam had overcome
the global economic downturn and stabilised economic growth.

He
agreed with the contents of Viet Nam’s national defence co-operation and said
regular exchange of soldiers between the two countries should be implemented in
the future.

The
Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence delegation’s visit, led by General Thanh,
to Cambodia will run through today.

The two
sides signed the Viet Nam-Cambodia National Defence Agreement earlier this year.

US
delegation visit promotes dialogue

National
Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Duc Kien received a delegation of the US lobby
group Common Cause, led by Connie Morella, former congresswoman from Maryland
State, yesterday, March 10.

Kien
said he was pleased with the important developments in Viet Nam-US relations in
such fields as politics, economics, trade and humanitarian co-operation,
especially surrounding the issue of Agent Orange/dioxin (AO).

He spoke
highly of the support shown by the US Congress and authorities for Vietnamese AO
victims over the past four years.

Although
the war ended 35 years ago, Viet Nam still suffered serious consequences from AO
in terms of the environment and human health, he said, adding that nearly 5
million people in the country had been seriously affected by this toxic
chemical.

Kien
also highly valued the activities of the Ford Foundation and the Viet Nam-US
Dialogue Group on AO/dioxin, especially the group’s 10-year campaign to call for
support for Viet Nam’s AO victims and aftermaths.

He
expressed his wish that after returning to the US, the delegation would help the
American people and political circles to really understand the AO consequences
in Viet Nam.

Connie
Morella affirmed that despite coming from different sectors and organisations,
the delegation members pledged to act for building a fine relationship between
the two countries.

Addressing the AO aftermath was very important so it needed co-operation for a
thorough settlement, she said.

VNN/VOV/VNS