Czech Foreign Minister visits Ho Chi Minh City

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan (R) receives oreign Minister of the Czech Republic Lubomir Zaoralek (Source: hochiminhcity.gov.vn)

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan and Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Lubomir Zaoralek sought to increase the two sides’ economic cooperation during their meeting in the City on October 22.

Quan said trade between the Czech Republic and Vietnam has not been on a par with their potential though its turnover has increased sharply and reached 150 million USD so far this year.

The two sides, therefore, need to make more efforts to boost the ties, he said, expressing his hope that the visit will expand the relationship between the two countries.

Up to 70,000 Vietnamese are living in Czech, serving as a bridge to foster friendship and cooperation between the two nations , he added.

For his part, Lubomir Zaoralek said the Czech Republic advocated to expand investments in Asia, in which, Vietnam is one of the most important destinations.

Hailing HCM City for its dynamic economic development, Zaoralek pledged to hasten the establishment of a twin relationship between the City and the Czech capital of Prague.

He added that a number of business delegations will visit Vietnam in the near future to study investment and cooperation opportunities.

Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Lubomir Zaoralek is visiting Vietnam at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.-VNA

PM Dung leads guests at Hai Phong Party Congress

The 15th Congress of the Hai Phong Party Committee opened yesterday and was attended by 350 delegates representing more than 110,000 party members from the City Party Committee.

Among dignitaries attending the Congress were Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, former Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu and former National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Van An.

A political report presented by the City Party Committee stressed Hai Phong's important role as a nucleus in the development of the northern economic region.

"The average growth rate of the city in the five years from 2010-2015 is 8.67 per cent per annum; its GDP in 2015 is expected to increase by 1.52 times compared with that of 2010, while GDP per capita is about $2,860 – an increase of 1.8 times compared with that in 2010 and 1.25 times against the national average," the report said.

"The sectors of industry construction and services account for almost 93 per cent of the city's economic structure, of which sea port services see an annual increase of over 15 per cent."

In the next five years, the Hai Phong Party Committee set a target to achieve an annual GDP growth rate of 10.5 per cent with a GDP per capita of $5,600.

Addressing the congress, Prime Minister Dung spoke highly of achievements gained by Hai Phong city in the past five years.

"Hai Phong holds a very important role in sea transport in the North. It also serves as a centre for industry, trade and services for the northern key economic region," Dung said.

He asked the municipal authorities to continue to further improve the business climate and to attract more Vietnamese and foreign enterprises in infrastructure development and in the city's industrial and agricultural sectors – particularly projects with high IT content and high value added.

He also asked the city to be pro-active in co-ordinating with ministries and central sectors in implementing key infrastructure projects to ensure they would be of high quality and stay on schedule.

He urged all participants to give considerations on draft political documents to be submitted at the coming 12th National Party Congress.

VNA