Leader
asks nation to promote NA elections

National
Assembly chairman Nguyen Phu Trong yesterday, March 2, called for more effective
publicity of the upcoming elections of the 13th NA and People’s Councils during
the 2011-16 term.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. (Photo: Vietnam+)

The
public needed to know the meaning and importance of the elections and to be
encouraged to take part to select the best representatives to the Assembly and
councils, said Trong, who is also Party General Secretary and head of the
Election Council, at the second session of the council.

He
praised ministries and agencies for their efforts to prepare for the elections
and stressed that election-related activities had been carried out as scheduled
and in line with the law.

At the
session, participants discussed a draft inspection and supervision plan for the
elections and agreed to set up supervision teams for different localities with
the first inspection tour scheduled for next Monday.

Inspections would focus on the implementation of the Politburo directive on
elections and related documents as well as the organisation of the elections.

Trong
said it was necessary to clearly define contents of inspection and supervision
activities and close co-operation between relevant ministries and agencies to
prevent wastefulness and overlapping and ensure security for the elections.

Luxembourg pledges $58mil in aid

Luxembourg
has pledged US$58 million in non-refundable aid to help Viet Nam implement its
socio-economic development goals from this year until 2015.

The aid
would be used to help reduce poverty, Luxembourg Minister for Development
Co-operation and Humanitarian Affairs Marie-Josee Jacobs said at a ceremony here
yesterday.

Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem said that as Viet
Nam was progressing in socio-economic development, it hoped Luxembourg would
continue to consider Viet Nam as one of the key countries for aid.

Jacobs
gave strong assurance, adding that education was her country’s top priority,
besides health care and rural development. She has just returned from the
inaugural ceremony of a Luxembourg-funded vocational training in the northern
mountainous province of Bac Kan.

She said
the programme focused on poor provinces, such as Cao Bang, Bac Kan and Thua
Thien – Hue city.

Minister
of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc said the new programme would expand to
new fields, including information and communications, and finance and banking,
which were Luxembourg’s comparative advantages.

This is
the third co-operation programme between two countries. It follows two other
programmes worth a total of 85 million euros for 2002-05 and 2006-10.

Viet Nam
is Luxembourg’s largest recipient of aid.

Vietnam-Romania executive bodies to strengthen
cooperation

Lieutenant General Pham Binh Minh, Deputy Minister
of Public Security, received Romanian ambassador to Vietnam Dumitru Olaru on
March 2.

Mr. Olaru expressed his thanks to
the Ministry of Public Security for their support during his term in Vietnam. He
said he was delighted at the development of the Romania-Vietnam relationships
and the cooperation between Romainia’s executive bodies and Vietnam’s Ministry
of Public Security in combating criminals and maintaining social order.

The ambassador said he hopes the
relationship will further strengthen in the future.

For his part, General Minh, who is
also a member of the Party Central Committee, expressed his hope that the
ambassador will contribute to consolidating the relations between the two
countries and cooperation between their executive bodies.

State leaders send congratulations to Bulgaria

State President Nguyen Minh Triet sent a message of
congratulation to Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov on March 2 to celebrate
the Republic of Bulgaria’s National Day (March 3, 1878 - March 3, 2011).

On the occasion, Prime Minister
Nguyen Tan Dung also cabled congratulations to his counterpart Boyko Borissov.

The same day, Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem sent congratualtions to Foreign
Minister Nikolay Mladenov.

Leader
welcomes new envoys

President
Nguyen Minh Triet yesterday, March 2, welcomed new ambassadors from Thailand,
Qatar, Belarus, Ghana, Paraguay and Spain.

At
separate receptions, he received Thailand’s Anuson Chivanno, Qatar’s Mohamed Bin
Jaber, Belarus’s Valeriy E Sadoho, Ghana’s Helen Mamle Kofi, Paraguay’s Naoyuki
Toyotoshi, and Spain’s Ryder Torres Pereira.

The
ambassadors promised to spare no efforts to fulfil their assignments and develop
co-operation with Viet Nam in many fields.

PM meets Chinese bank chief

Prime
Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said the newly-established branch of China’s Bank of
Communications in HCM City last month would contribute to the development of
economic co-operation between the two countries.

He was
speaking at a reception for the chairman and executive director of the bank, Hu
Huaibang, yesterday.

Dung
said bilateral co-operation in the fields of economy, trade and investment had
developed remarkably. Two-way turnover was now US$25 billion.

The
co-operation between the Bank of Communications, one of the five biggest
State-funded banks in China, and the State Bank of Viet Nam and other commercial
banks would promote the necessary financial and monetary support in Viet Nam.

Hu
Huaibang said the Chinese bank would serve Vietnamese enterprises and students
who wanted to do business or study in China.

President praises Nokia investment

Viet Nam
applauded the Nokia Corporation for building a manufacturing plant here, said
President Nguyen Minh Triet yesterday, March 2.

Triet
added that Viet Nam was politically stable and many prestigious corporations had
invested a huge amount of capital in it.

He was
speaking at a reception for the vice-president of the Finland-based mobile-phone
maker Nokia, Esko Aho, who is on a working visit to Viet Nam.

The
President said that the friendship and co-operation between Viet Nam and Finland
was a solid foundation for business.

Aho said
his corporation hoped to complete construction of the plant by the end of 2020
and sought support from the Vietnamese Government.

The
plant, to be built in northern Bac Ninh Province, will cost US$2.5 billion. Once
fully operational, it is expected to create jobs for 10,000 workers.

VNN/VOV/VNS