President offers sympathies to Belarus after blast


President Nguyen Minh Triet yesterday, April 12, sent a message of condolences to the Republic of Belarus's President A Lucashenko following a bombing of a subway station in Minsk on Monday.

Twelve people were killed and more than 200 others injured in the bombing.

India's ‘Heading East' policy highlights Viet Nam


Viet Nam has played a key role in India's ‘Heading East' policy, said Indian Foreign Minister S M Krishna.

The statement was made as he received Party Central Committee member Hoang Binh Quan during his week-long visit to India, which wrapped up yesterday.

During his working visit, the head of the committee's External Affairs Commission and the Indian Foreign Minister discussed ways to enhance the two countries' bilateral strategic partnership.

Both sides agreed to promote two-way investment and increase trade volume to US$5 billion by 2015.

Last year's two-way trade volume equalled $2.75 billion, in which Viet Nam earned $990 million in export revenue.

The two officials promised to promote co-operation in culture, national defence, education and training, science, and technology.


Vietnam, India seek to boost strategic partnership


Photo: VNA
Vietnam plays a prioritised role in India’s “Look East” policy and India commits to further step up the strategic partnership between the two nations, said India Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna.

Krishna stated this during his talks with Hoang Binh Quan, member of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and Head of its Commission for External Relations, who paid a visit to India from April 6-12.

Quan briefed his host on Vietnam’s recent situation, its socio-economic achievements in 2010 and the results of the CPV’s 11th National Congress in early 2011.

Both host and guest agreed to increase the exchange of visits at all levels and soon convene the 14th meeting of the Inter-governmental Committee in Vietnam to seek ways of boosting the exchange of Vietnamese and Indian investments.

The officials were unanimous that the two sides should discuss measures to raise bilateral trade turnover to US$5 billion by 2015 and further promote cooperation in the fields of culture, education, training, science, technology, human resources development, security and national defence.

During his trip, Quan held separate meetings with National Security Advisor S. Menon; Head of the ruling National Congress Party’s Department for Foreign Affairs Karan Singh; Politburo member of the Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M) Pander; Secretary of the Communist Party of India Central Committee S. Phaidi; the Vice President and Secretary General of the Bharatiya Janata Party (India People’s Party); and the Chairman of the India-Vietnam Solidarity Committee.

The Vietnamese Party official also visited the state of Karnataka and the School of Public Policy and met with representatives of Vietnamese students in Bangalore city.


VN calls for retention of ASEAN’s central role


Vietnamese Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has stressed that ASEAN needs to exert efforts to maintain its central role in the East Asian Summit EAS.
The diplomat was speaking at the Special Informal ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on the EAS held in Bangkok , Thailand on April 10-11.
He said that efforts include defining the agenda and priorities for the East Asia Summit, and developing the Summit ’s role in addressing issues of strategic importance and with influence in the region.
Minh affirmed that the decision by the 2010 Hanoi ASEAN Summit to extend the EAS to include Russia and the US was strategically significant and opened a new phase of development for the EAS.
The Deputy FM also said that during its activities the EAS must comply with the basic principles set out in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) in Southeast Asia.
During the meeting foreign ministers and diplomats from ASEAN member countries discussed a wide range of issues, including maritime security.
Delegates highlighted the need for ASEAN to uphold its leading role in creating plans to deal with traditional and non-traditional challenges and raise initiatives to avoid the adverse impacts of geopolitical changes.


VNN/VOV/Vietnam+