China’s Premier of the State Council Li Keqiang made the affirmation at a meeting with Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in Beijing on January 13.

He congratulated the Vietnamese Party, State and people on their significant achievements in the cause of national building and development.

The Chinese government attaches great importance to developing relations with Vietnam on the principles of mutual respect, equality, and win-win cooperation, he said.

The Premier expressed his belief that the ongoing visit to China by Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong will contribute to promoting the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries in all fields.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong congratulated the Chinese Party, government and people on the strong development strides over the past time, and wished China success in implementing the 13th Five-Year Plan and the goals of building a prosperous and inclusive society and developing China into a strong, well-off, democratic, civilized, and harmonious socialist country. 
The Vietnamese Party chief and the Chinese Premier showed their joy at the healthy and stable development of the two countries’ relations at present, including positive progress in bilateral cooperation in economics, trade, investment, tourism and other fields.

They stressed the need to enhance win-win collaboration for common development and reinforce mutual trust and friendship between the two peoples.

Both sides agreed to increase development strategy connectivity, and actively study and promote cooperation projects within the framework of “Two Corridors, One Economic Belt” and “One Belt, One Road” initiatives, as well as implement effectively a Memorandum of Understanding on a list of projects on enhancing production capacity between Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and China’s National Development and Reform Commission. 

They agreed to hold discussions for the early signing of a master plan on building cross-border economic cooperation region on the principles of equality and mutual benefits and in line with each country’s legal regulations.
Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong and Premier Li Keqiang shared the view that the role of Vietnam-China trade cooperation mechanisms should be further promoted and relevant agreements reached by the two countries should be implemented effectively. The bilateral trade imbalance should be improved  while legal procedures should be quickly completed to open the Chinese market for Vietnamese farm produce, forestry and aquatic products, they said, noting the need to facilitate the establishment of Vietnam’s trade promotion offices in China, first of all in the eastern province of Zhejiang.

The two sides pledged to create more favourable conditions for businesses to forge investment collaboration, and quickly address difficulties and obstacles so that firms of both sides can ensure the quality, progress and efficiency of joint projects. 

They vowed to encourage localities to promote friendly exchanges and win-win cooperation.

Vietnam welcomes Chinese projects applying modern and environmentally friendly technologies, particularly those operating in the fields of agriculture, high technology, machinery manufacturing, support industry, renewable and clean energy, technology transfer, and high-quality human resources training.

Both sides also agreed to step up collaboration in agriculture, environment, science-technology, transport, tourism, healthcare, testing and quarantine while promoting partnership in aviation. 

The two sides will strengthen coordination in the management and the effective and sustainable use of water resources of the Mekong-Lancang River.

They suggested promoting the role of the joint working groups on infrastructure and financial-monetary cooperation, and coordinating closely for the effective use of China’s credit and non-refundable aid packages provided for Vietnam.

The two leaders advocated fostering ASEAN connectivity and the central role of the bloc in East Asia, as well as enhancing cooperative ties between China and ASEAN in the coming time for peace, stability and prosperity in the region./.

Workshop highlights women empowerment in economic restructuring

Promoting women empowerment is a focus in making policies and action plans in the evaluation progress of Vietnam’s economic restructuring, said Nguyen Dinh Cung, head of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) at a workshop in Hanoi on January 13.

He emphasised the need to give priority to the gender aspect, saying that this draws the attention from the Vietnamese and Australian Government as well as international organisations and policy makers.

Women’s economic empowerment is an equal access to resources and economic opportunities as well as the elimination of structural gender inequality in the labour market, including a better sharing of unpaid care work, said Raymond Mallon, senior advisor of the Restructuring for a more competitive Vietnam project.

He also noted that women’s occupational choices are limited by discrimination in the labour market, stressing that comprehensive market institutions will allow women to gain an equal access to resources and reduce inequality. 

It is necessary to better supervise and understand impacts of economic reform on women, he said. 

Mai Thi Dieu Huyen from the Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs Council under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce Industry (VCCI) called for solutions to help women achieve career promotion, adding that supporting them will eradicate poverty, contributing to sustainable development of society.

The workshop was co-organised by the CIEM and the Australian Embassy in Vietnam.
  
HCM City boosts cooperation with Japanese localities

Ho Chi Minh City wants to boost cooperation with Japanese localities in a more practical and effective manner, especially in the fields of hi-tech agriculture, support industry,  high technology and human resources training.

Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong made the statement at a reception for a delegation from the Japan Council of Local Authorities on International Relations (CLAIR) led by its President Tamotsu Okamoto on January 13.

Speaking highly of relations between HCM City and Japanese localities, Phong said that his city has signed cooperation agreements with five localities of Japan and will set up ties with Nagano prefecture in the near future.

The partnerships have contributed to tightening the two countries’ relations, especially in economy, culture, tourism and personnel training, he noted.

The mayor highlighted great potential for collaboration between HCM City and Japan, citing the increasing number of Japanese tourists to the southern hub over the years.

For his part, Tamotsu Okamoto said his council will make every effort to foster cooperation and exchanges between the two sides. As Japan will host the Summer Olympic Games in 2020, it hopes to welcome a huge number of international visitors, including those from Vietnam, he added.

CLAIR will also organise a wide range of exchange activities among young generations in Japanese localities, he said, hoping that HCM City’s young people will join such events to boost people-to-people contacts between the two sides.

Japanese localities are ready to support and cooperate with HCM City in areas of their strength, he stressed.

CLAIR was set up in 1988 to assist 17 prefectures and 20 major cities in Japan in implementing international cooperation and exchange activities.

President presents Tet gifts to the needy in Lao Cai

President Tran Dai Quang on January 13 visited and presented Lunar New Year (Tet) gifts to state policy beneficiaries, poor households in Gia Phu commune, Bao Thang district, and Ban Khoang commune, Sa Pa district, in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai.

Gia Phu and Ban Khoang are poor localities of which residents are from ethnic minority groups. As many as 65.4 percent of families in Ban Khoang are poor, while other 19.6 percent are living close to poverty line.

Apart from asking for support in caring for locals during the most important festival of the year, local authorities have also planned to organise a number of traditional festivals of ethnic minority groups during Tet as well as other cultural events as part of efforts to give local a happy Tet. 

President Tran Dai Quang asked local government in Bao Thang and Sa Pa districts as well as Lao Cai province to pay more attention to building new-style rural areas and boosting the province’s growth in all fields.

He stressed that building a stable life for all people as well as sustainable development is important part of targets in the cause of constructing and developing a socialist country with wealth, justice, democracy, and civilisation.

The State leader requested Lao Cai to promote the internal strength, while strengthening the application of advanced technology, seeking new production models to suit its specific conditions. 

He suggested that Lao Cai expand the model of fish farming, and cultivating plant varieties with high productivity to increase output and quality of farm produce.

Vietnam Fatherland Front supports flood victims in Phu Yen

A delegation of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee visited and presented gifts to people in the flood-hit south central province of Phu Yen on January 13.

The delegation, led by Vice President and General Secretary Tran Thanh Man, presented each affected household 52 million VND (2,304 USD) to restore their houses and prepare for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.

Man proposed local authorities continue mobilising resources to help local flood victims while monitoring the distribution of aid to ensure it reaches those in need.      

On the occasion, the VFF also transferred 30 billion VND (1.32 million USD) to flood-hit central provinces, in which Phu Yen received 3.5 billion VND (155,085 USD).

Torrential rains and floods in the last two months of 2016 in Phu Yen province claimed 12 lives and caused damage worth over 600 billion VND (26.5 million USD).