Vietnam,
Singapore increase cooperation in navy

Photo: VNA

Vietnamese and Singaporean armies will boost
cooperation in navy and share experience in anti-terrorism, humanitarian aid and
peacekeeping activities.

This was agreed by the Chief of the
General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, Lieut. Gen. Do Ba Ty and the Chief
of Singapore’s Defence Force, Lieut. Gen. Neo Kian Hong, during their talks in
Hanoi on April 18.

The two armies will further
cooperate in English language training, information technology, electronics,
telecommunications, and army medicines and promote the exchange of visits.

The aim is to strengthen solidarity
and mutual understanding between the two peoples and armed forces, for the sake
of peace and friendly cooperation in the Southeast Asian region and the world,
the senior officers said.

The same day, the Singaporean
officer paid courtesy visits to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Defence
Minister General Phung Quang Thanh.

Preparations for national elections on track in
capital

Ha Noi should set a good example by completing
procedures for the upcoming elections of the 13th National Assembly and People’s
Councils for the 2011-16 term, Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong said yesterday,
April 18.

As Chairman of the National Assembly and
Election Council, Trong made the request while supervising the capital’s
preparations for the elections, which will be held next month.

He said it was crucial for the city to be
“meticulous” in compiling the electoral register to ensure that nobody missed
out on their right to vote, because Ha Noi was home to numerous migrant
labourers, industrial park workers and students.

Trong also asked Ha Noi to organise
meetings with voters and make the public aware of election procedures and voting
methods through a variety of media.

Chairwoman of the city’s People’s Council
and Election Committee Ngo Thi Doan Thanh said preparations for the elections
were on the right track.

Ha Noi has 29 inner and outer districts and
577 communes and wards. Voters will elect 95 deputies onto the People’s Council
at city level, 1,140 deputies at district level and another 15,700 at commune
level.

The city has over 4,760 constituencies.

Trong hailed Ha Noi’s handling of the
event, despite its large number of voters, constituencies and elected deputies.

President bids farewell to outgoing UN co-ordinator

President Nguyen Minh Triet yesterday,
April 18, received
John Hendra, United Nations Resident Co-ordinator and representative of the UN
Development Programme (UNDP) in Viet Nam before the guest wrapped up his working
term here.

China shares experiences in judicial reform and
training

Viet Nam expected to learn from
China’s experience of judicial reform, which the country was undergoing
following a Politburo directive, said President Nguyen Minh Triet to a visiting
Chinese judge in Ha Noi yesterday.

Triet was attending a reception for China’s
Supreme People’s Court Judge Wang Shengjun who is on a five day visit to Viet
Nam at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart, Truong Hoa Binh.

Triet said he appreciated the co-operative
outcome of discussions between the two countries’ courts, particularly the
agreements that had been signed on this visit. They included co-operation on
court management and administrative justice, judicial education and training as
well as information exchange in law enforcement.

The President said Viet Nam always attached
great importance to fostering traditional and comprehensive ties with China,
including judicial exchanges.

Based on the newly-signed agreement, Triet
urged the two supreme courts to further exchange experience in building
law-governed socialist states.

Viet Nam would concentrate on building
powerful courts and improving the competence of judicial cadres.

He also asked the two courts to enhance
their co-operation in fighting hostile forces operating within the two
countries.

Judge Wang Shengjun congratulated Viet Nam
on the achievements of the renewal process, such as comprehensive economic
growth, a stable society and improved living conditions.

He also said the courts had an increasingly
vital role to play in boosting national socio-economic development and ensuring
laws were upheld.

Judicial co-operation with Ukraine gets
approval

Ukrainian Deputy Prosecutor General Anatoli
Prisko has affirmed his determination to further enhance the two countries’
judicial co-operation.

Prisko made the statement at a reception
given by National Assembly Vice Chairman Uong Chu Luu in Ha Noi yesterday, April
18.

Luu said both Viet Nam and Ukraine had
granted each other favoured nation status and had plans to develop bilateral
ties in defence, nuclear energy, industry and agriculture.

The Supreme People’s Procuracy of Viet Nam,
an important agency in the criminal justice system and a leading one in the
nation’s judicial reform, should further promote co-operation with the General
Procuracy of Ukraine, Luu said.

Prisko said his delegation had agreed on
the training of procurators at the Ukrainian Procuracy Institute and the
exchange of expert and high-ranking delegations and law-building expertise.

The two sides had reached unanimity on
providing mutual judicial assistance in fighting international crimes and
increasing consultation at international forums, he said.

Political consultations held with NZ
Foreign Affairs Minister

Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister
Dao Viet Trung and Secretary of New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Trade John Allen co-chaired the Eighth Political Consultation in Ha Noi
yesterday, April 18.

The officials studied the implementation of
the Vietnam-New Zealand Action Plan in the 2010-2013 period and both were
pleased with positive outcomes attained in the fields of politics, economy,
security, defence, education and labour affairs.

They also talked about further co-operation
between the two foreign ministries, agreeing to co-ordinate more closely in the
implementation of the plan and in preparation for upcoming high-ranking visits.

They also agreed to strengthen co-operation
in international and regional forums

At the meeting, Secretary Allen passed on
Prime Minister John Key’s letter to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to thank him
for the Vietnamese Government’s provision of US$50,000 in emergency aid to New
Zealand to help it recover from the consequences of a major earthquake in
Christchurch.

The two officials agreed to convene the
Ninth Political Consultation in New Zealand in 2013.

Vietnam looks at hydro impact on Mekong River

Vietnam needs co-ordinated efforts by concerned
parties to make a thorough overall study of the impact of hydroelectric projects
on the Mekong River’s main current before making any decisions on building such
works, said a Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

FM spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga
made the statement on April 18 while answering reporters’ questions on Vietnam’s
reaction to the construction of hydropower dams, including Xayaburi dam, in
Laos, on the Mekong River.

“The Mekong River is an
international river which is of great significance to the socio-economic
development and the spiritual and cultural life of people living along the
riverbanks,” she said.

“As a nation sharing the Mekong
River, Vietnam wants related nations to closely coordinate in making a thorough
overall study of hydropower projects’ impact on the main current of the Mekong
River before making any decision on building these works.
Countries along the banks of the river should closely cooperate in equally and
rationally exploiting and using resources, particularly water resources, so as
to protect the ecological environment, thus contributing to the common
sustainable development of the entire Mekong basin and benefitting all nations
and people living in the region,” she said.

VNN/VOV/VNS