Serbia, Vietnam boost all-round cooperation

 

 

Vietnam will do its utmost together with Serbia to promote the bilateral multi-faceted cooperation, especially in economics, trade and investment.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung made the remark at a February 28 reception for visiting Serbian Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkic in Hanoi.

Dung said Vietnam acknowledges the effective assistance Serbia offered the country during the past struggles for national liberation and the current process of national construction and development, adding that FM Ivan Mrkic’s visit will make a practical contribution to strengthening the bilateral ties.

He asked the two sides to soon sign an agreement on encouragement and protection of investment and another on economic cooperation, as well as support each other at regional and international forums.

For his part, the Serbian guest congratulated Vietnam on its socio-economic achievements and affirmed his country always attaches importance to strengthening relations with Vietnam in all fields and hopes to receive more support from Vietnam at these forums.

Serbia favours the signing of cooperation agreements as suggested by PM Dung and urged both sides to sign a cooperation agreement on education-training soon, Ivan Mrkic said.

Deputy Defense Minister receives German Ambassador

Deputy Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh on February 28 received German Ambassador to Vietnam Jutta Frasch.

They both acknowledged the fruitful cooperation between Vietnam and Germany in many fields, including national defense and security, over the year.

They also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern.

The two officials agreed that militaries of Vietnam and Germany should increase bilateral cooperation in officer training, national defense industry, mine clearance, dioxin detoxification, and military medicine through delegation exchanges and experience sharing.

Coordination needed to make master plan go

A construction senior official has advised the establishment of a coordinating agency to ensure the quality of economic development of the wider HCM City metropolitan region.

The master plan for the region, which consists of HCM City and seven neighbouring provinces across an area of 30,400 square kilometers, was approved by the Prime Minister in 2008.

Covering the seven southern provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh, Long An and Tien Giang, the plan aims for the region to be one of the main engines for sustainable economic development in the country, as well as an economic center of Southeast Asia and Asia by 2050.

Addressing a recent meeting to discuss the master plan’s implementation, Deputy Minister of Construction Phan Thi My Linh said that localities in the region still yet cooperated effectively on implementing the plan.

Chairman of the Dong Nai provincial People’s Committee Dinh Quoc Thai raised the fact that each province had its own development plan, leading to most economic zones in the region calling for investment in the same industries without adequately mobilising each area’s advantages, which can reduce the competitiveness of the economic zones and the whole region.

Vice Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Le Manh Ha said that although a regional master plan was approved, the city and other provinces already have their own development plans.

He pointed out that HCM City attracted a large amount of migrants from neighbouring provinces who come to the city to work or for health services, so the city had to prepare to meet the demands of both its residents and migrants.

According to the Construction Ministry, HCM City Region now has a population of 18 million, accounting for 20 percent of the country’s total. It is the most developed economic zone in Vietnam with a GDP accounting for 60 percent of the national figure.

The city, as the main driver of the region, is expected to have a population of 20-22 million people by 2020, including 16-17 million living in urban areas.

With the current urbanisation rate of over 53 percent, the region faces overloading of its infrastructure and other social and environmental issues.

Major projects in the region currently being implemented include the HCM City-Long Thanh – Dau Giay Expressway, Long Thanh International Airport in Dong Nai Province and the Bien Hoa –Vung Tau Expressway.-

Judicial experts clarify constitution amendments

Experts from the Ministry of Justice on Feb. 28 joined an online discussion, aimed at helping the public better understand about draft amendments to the 1992 Constitution.

At the discussion held by the government’s information portal, the experts including Vice Minister of Justice Hoang The Lien discussed and analysed contents of the draft amendments with a focus on new points.

Their opinions were expected to help people offer more exact and detailed suggestions to the draft.

Experts said that a new point in the amendment constitution is that human rights are separated from citizen’s rights.-

Japan Marine Police visit Vietnamese counterparts

A delegation from Japan Marine Police led by Rear Admiral Kiyoshi Saishoji visited Viet Nam Marine Police Zone 3 in southern coastal Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province yesterday.

During the visit, the two sides discussed patroling, law enforcement, combating pirates, and search and rescue missions.

They also exchanged ideas about maritime navigation safety.

Speaking at a meeting with Japanese guests, major general Nguyen Van Tuong, political commissar of the Viet Nam Marine Police force, spoke highly of the Japanese support for the Vietnamese Marine Police in the last several years.

Tuong said the two sides should enhance their traditional cooperative relations in the near future.

Rear Admiral Kiyoshi Saishoji said he would ask Japanese agencies to help the Viet Nam Marine Police force in training and provide them with more equipment in an aim to strengthen their law-enforcement capacity.

The visit to Viet Nam’s Marine Police Force Zone 3 is part of the Japanese delegation’s trip to Viet Nam from February 27 to March 1.

Public opinion consulted to perfect Land Law revisions

Land-related matters - including eviction, compensation and resettlement - have dominated the feedback sent to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment over the past month.

The ministry will consider valuables ideas to perfect the amendments, while other ideas will be clearly explained to the public, said Deputy Minister Nguyen Manh Hien at a press meeting held yesterday in Ha Noi.

“If the amendments are approved, methods of compensation, who will receive them and who will not, will be clearly regulated,” he said.

“Land evictions are expected to be conducted under the Land Law instead of under a Government decree as they have in the past,” he said.

He added that the State would assess the price of land for compensation under a land-use purpose at the time when a land eviction decision being made.

Under the current law, the price of land for compensation is calculated according to the market price.

The ministry has also set up a meeting today to collect ideas for the amendments in HCM City, Hien said.

The deadline for contributing ideas, sent by mail or via email to: gopyluatdatdai@gmail.com for the amendments to the Land Law, which has been effective since 2003, is March 31.

As the Government called for public opinions on draft amendments to the Land Law, the ministry has been assigned to report ideas from the public to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly before May 10.

The revised Land Law is expected to be adopted by the middle of this year.

VNA/VOV/VNS