S
Korean farming group welcomed

A
delegation from South Korea led by former Prime Minister Lee Soo-sung arrived in
Ha Noi yesterday, March 7.

At an
official reception, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai thanked the South
Korean Government and people in general and former PM Lee Soo-sung in particular
for their support for Viet Nam in agricultural development, as well as their
sharing of experiences in building of new rural areas.

He said
he was pleased with the delegations signing of a memorandum of understanding on
agricultural mechanisation and a plant breeding programme with Viet Nam.

Viet Nam
has implemented a series of policies on agriculture, farmers and rural areas, he
said, adding that the country has also poured huge investment into irrigation
and promotion of better seedlings while improving management mechanisms and
encouraging farmers to make the best use of their cultivation land.

According to the Deputy PM, Viet Nam has seen remarkable developments in
agriculture and rural areas, with the nation shifting from a country that
suffered cooking shortages to a significant exporter of agricultural products.

Lee Soo-sung,
also former President of the New Village Movement, said he believed Viet Nam,
with new policies for rural areas in the future, would bring its agriculture to
a new level of development, helping change the face of rural areas and improve
living standards for farmers.

Paraguay’s leader visits Viet Nam

Fernando Lugo Mendez, president of Paraguay. — File Photo

Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo Mendez arrives in Ha Noi today to start his
official visit to Viet Nam at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart
Nguyen Minh Triet.

During
his four working days in Viet Nam, Mendez will meet with Vietnamese leaders and
witness the signing of cooperation documents.

He will
also visit HCM City, where he will tour the City’s High Tech Park, before
leaving for home on Friday.

His
entourage includes ministers of foreign affairs, agriculture and husbandry,
industry and trade and other senior officials.

Indian and Vietnamese youth promote exchange visits

A delegation of ten cadets from the National Cadet
Corps (NCC) of Ministry of Defence of India visits Vietnam as part of a youth
exchange programme between the two countries.

According to the Embassy of India in Hanoi,
during their ten-day stay in Vietnam, the Indian youth, including four girls and
six boys, will participate in many joint activities with their counterparts from
the Vietnam Youth Federation (VYF).

The Indian visitors will stay in Vietnamese
families for a day, take part in cultural and sports activities with students of
the Tran Quoc Tuan University of the Vietnam People’s Army in Hanoi’s Son Tay
Town and visit Ha Long Bay.

They also plan to exchange with youth unions of
Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta province of Long An, carry out joint
community work as well as visit the Cadet School of Cu Chi.

On March 4, the young cadets visited Birla
Orphanage in Hanoi and presented a large television and a DVD player to children
there.

The visit aims to reciprocate the visit of six
Vietnamese cadets to India from Jan. 14-30, 2011 to participate in the Republic
Day parade of India on January 26.

The cadets were sent to India under the
Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the VYF and the NCC signed on
December 5, 2006.

Workshop examines Co-operative law

A
two-day workshop on ways to improve the management of trade co-operatives ended
yesterday, March 7, in the central province of Quang Nam’s Tam Ky Town.

The
workshop aimed to highlight German experiences in improving management of
co-operatives for the benefit of Vietnamese experts who were considering
proposed changes to regulations on co-operatives.

The
Vietnam Co-operative Alliance’s deputy chairman Nguyen Xuan Hien said
participants had addressed the drawbacks in Viet Nam’s co-operative alliance
system.

Christian Albrecht, an audit expert from Germany’s Co-operative and Raiffeisen
Confederation (DGRV), said reformed co-operatives needed to be highly
market-oriented while also acting as a group that represents each member’s
rights.

“Only by
that way of operation, can fairness be achieved in a co-operative,” said
Albrecht.

He said
lawmakers should streamline procedures and regulations to stimulate the
development of co-operatives while also ensuring labour ’ rights.

The
workshop was jointly hosted by the Vietnam Co-operative Alliance and DGRV.

Defence Minister signs Laos pact

Defence Minister
General Phung Quang Thanh signed a co-operation plan for the year 2011 with his
Laotian counterpart, Senior Lieutenant General Douangchay Phichith, at a meeting
in Luang Prabang yesterday, March 7.

At the
meeting, the two sides agreed to continue to strengthen traditional bilateral
relations, following the teaching of the late President Ho Chi Minh and
President Kaysone Phomvihane, as well as boost multifaceted co-operation under
the terms of their co-operative protocol for the 2010-2014 period and
co-operative plan for 2011.

Both
sides also informed each other of the two countries situations and international
and regional issues of mutual concern. Minister Douangchay Phichith expressed
his pleasure at Thanh’s visit to Laos and thanked Viet Nam’s Party, Government
and people in general and the Viet Nam People’s Army (VPA) in particular for
their help.

He also
hailed the success of Viet Nam’s 11th National Party Congress and said he
believed the Vietnamese people will successfully implement the Congress
Resolution under the leadership of the Party.

Thanh
thanked the Lao People’s Army for their support to the VPA during the past years
and expressed his pleasure at co-operation between the two armies, saying that
it will help boost the two countries’ relations.

VFF leader receives Lao Front delegation

The Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF)
Central Committee (VFFCC), Nguyen Van Pha, received a delegation from the Lao
Front for National Construction (LFNC) led by Vice President Buavone Onchahom in
Hanoi on March 7.

At the reception, the host
introduced the main contents of the law on the VFF and discussed the
coordination between the front and state agencies in discharging the VFF’s
rights and responsibilities. He affirmed that the dissemination and
implementation of the law on the VFF has raised awareness of the role, position,
functions and tasks of the VFF in the political system, as well as of the
relationship between the Front and Party committees and the State and member
organisations in building the national great unity bloc.

For her part, Ms Onchahom thanked
the VFF for sharing valuable experiences in the front’s work with the LFNC.

She expressed her wish that the two
organisations would see further cooperation in the future, helping strengthen
the loyal friendship between the two countries.

Army
chief meets Chinese ambassador

Lieutenant General Do
Ba Ty, chief of the General Staff of the Viet Nam People’s Army, met with
Chinese Ambassador to Viet Nam Sun Guoxiang at the Ministry of Defence
headquarters in Ha Noi yesterday, March 7.

Ty, who
is member of the Communist Party of Viet Nam’s Central Committee, affirmed that
the ministry would do its best to contribute to strengthening the traditional
friendly relations and comprehensive strategic partnership between Viet Nam and
China.

He also
called for the ambassador’s further contribution to boost the strategic
partnership between two countries in general and between two armies in
particular.

Guoxiang
expressed his thanks for the warm reception.

German MPs share pains with Vietnamese AO victims

A delegation of German parliamentarians had a
working session with the Ho Chi Minh City Association of Victims of Agent
Orange/Dioxin recently.

Major General Tran Ngoc Tho, Vice President of the Vietnam Association of
Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) and President of the municipal
association, briefed the delegation about the struggle for justice for AO
victims as well as their lives in HCM City and across the country.
The German MPs expressed their deep sympathies with the Vietnamese people and
pledged to voice for justice for Vietnamese AO victims at international arena.

VNN/VOV/VNS