National military delegation visits Thailand

Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Huy Hieu, Deputy Minister of
National Defence, has emphasised the need to share experiences with Thailand in
defusing land mines and explosives left from the war.

Hieu told Thai Minister of Defence Prawit
Wongsuwon during their meeting in Bangkok as part of his visit to Thailand from
March 24-26 that the two countries have enjoyed fine development in military
cooperation over the years.

Thai Minister Prawit congratulated Vietnam’s
Defence Ministry for successfully holding military and defence meetings of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2010, especially the first
ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting plus (ADMM+).

During their stay, the Vietnamese delegation
visited the centre of bomb and mine action and several famous sites of cultural
relics in Bangkok.

Legislators aim to boost economic development

Deputies at the 12th National
Assembly’s 9th session on Saturday discussed a report on the implementation of
plans for socio-economic development and the State budget last year and the
first months of this year.

The
discussion, chaired by National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Duc Kien, focused
on targets and measures to boost growth and curb inflation and stabilising the
macro economy.

Finance
Minister Vu Van Ninh said all countries in the world faced increased inflation
last year. Europe’s inflation rose by 2-2.5 times the set target and that of
China and India increased by more than two times the target.

Ninh
said world prices kept rising and affecting domestic prices. He admitted that
the country’s macro-economy balance remained unstable.

Changes
in gold and foreign currency prices, high interest rates and the tense foreign
exchange all had impacts on the consumer price index, Ninh said.

A number
of commodities whose production followed market prices in the short-term had
been forced to have prices adjusted, notably petrol and electricity, he said.

Regarding up-coming measures, Ninh said the balance of supply and demand must be
maintained, the distribution system must be rearranged and prices managed in
accordance with the market.

Ninh
also said world petrol prices would influence local retail prices.

He said
it was necessary to maintain social welfare, especially for poor workers, and
low income earners, when regulating petrol prices.

He asked
for a tighter co-ordination between localities and ministries to boost
production, trade and distribution, fight fakes and low quality products, and
control prices.

State
Bank Governor Nguyen Van Giau said the Government was determined to contain this
year’s credit growth at 20 per cent on 2010.

Giau
said that foreign exchange operations have resumed at thousands of bureaus
opened by commercial banks across the country, especially in HCM City and Ha Noi.

As for
gold trading, Giau said there were proposals to promulgate a decree on gold
trading to better manage trading.

Mozambique Defence Minister wraps up Vietnam’s visit

A high- ranking military delegation from Mozambique
led by Defence Minister Filipe Jacinto Nyussi left Vietnam on March 27,
concluding its official visit.

During their stay in Vietnam, the delegation laid
a wreath at the Monument to Heroic Martyrs and at President Ho Chi Minh’s
Mausoleum in Hanoi.

They met with State President Nguyen Minh Triet
and held talks with a high-ranking Vietnamese military delegation led by Defence
Minister, General Phung Quang Thanh.

The delegation also visited the Vietnam Military
History Museum, the Army Telecommunications Group, Viettel, and some Vietnam
People’s Army units as well as Ha Long Bay.

Vietnam proposes anti-terrorism measures at regional
forum

Vietnam proposed a number of measures to fight
terrorism at the Jakarta International Defence Dialogue (JIDD) which took place
in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on March 25.

Gen. Tran Thai Binh, Director of the Institute
for Military Strategy under the Defence Ministry said on March 25 that these
measures include boosting dialogues and bilateral and multilateral cooperation,
improving the role of regional forums such as the ASEAN Regional Forum and
Shangri La dialogue, and promoting human resources training and science
application along with sharing experiences.
He added that some countries need technical support and experiences in building
laws on preventing and combating terrorism.
Held for the first time in Jakarta from March 23-25, the event drew the
participation of 1,300 delegates from 34 countries throughout the world.
The event aims to gather military leaders, experts and policy makers from the
Asia-Pacific region to foster regional stability in the future, to promote
cooperation among governments to deal with international and regional security
threats as well as create a strategic model for defence and security.

VNN/VOV/VNS