Outgoing Lao and Malaysian ambassadors farewelled

Defence Minister General Phung Quang Thanh received outgoing Lao and Malaysian ambassadors Sunthon Sayachak and Dato' Lim Kim Eng at separate farewell ceremonies held in the capital yesterday, July 13.

Meeting with the Lao Ambassador, Thanh said that national defence ties between Viet Nam and Laos had been continuously strengthening over the past years.

The Viet Nam Ministry of National Defence was willing to receive students from the Lao People's Army to come study in Viet Nam, he added.

The minister thanked the ambassador for his valuable contribution in developing Viet Nam-Lao relations, expressing his hope that the ambassador would continue playing a part in bilateral friendship building.

The Lao ambassador said that he believed the bilateral relations would continue growing in good faith.

Defence Minister Thanh complimented the Malaysian Ambassador's contribution to boosting relations, suggesting that the two respective armies speed up naval co-operation and conduct joint patrols in the East Sea in order to maintain peace throughout the region and create suitable conditions for fishing.

Viet Nam, Sri Lanka set up agricultural committee

The agriculture ministers of Viet Nam and Sri Lanka have decided to create a Joint Agricultural Co-ordinating Committee, which will meet every two years to propose, plan, and implement programmes.

During their meeting in Ha Noi yesterday, July 13, Vietnamese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat and his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahianda Yapa Abeyzawardana reviewed the implementation of a memorandum of understanding signed in November 2006 and discussed plans for the near future.

The two ministers agreed to improve co-operation in agricultural trade, development, and communication, specifically the exchange of scientific and technological information relating to black pepper, coffee, ramputan and mango.

Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia boost legislative cooperation

The third conference on the National Assembly (NA)’s Committees for External Relations of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia opened in Champasak province, Laos on July 10.

The Vietnamese delegation was led by Nguyen Van Son, Head of the NA’s Committee for External Relations.

Present at the event were also representatives of the Ministries of Planning and Investment, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the three countries, and some local authorities in the development triangle area.

The six-day conference aims to exchange measures to encourage friendship relations, to support the three countries’ efforts in developing the triangle area, and to consolidate cooperation relations among the three legislative bodies and information exchanges among the three NA Committees for External Relations.

The event is focused on the role of the NA in legislation and human resource development in this area. The Vietnamese delegation gave important reports to review on the implementation of agreements among the three governments and propose initiatives to strengthen the role of the NA in developing human resources.

After discussions, the third joint communiqué will be released to evaluate cooperation among governments in the triangle area.

To promote the socioeconomic development in border areas as expected by local people, an inter-parliamentary sub-committee will be established in each country with the aim of supervising and assisting the implementation of policies concerning the growth of area.

In order to carry out the agreements signed among the Governments, the three NA Committees for External Relations called on foreign countries and international financial institutions to invest and provide preferential credit for socioeconomic development projects in the area.

The committees reached consensus on carrying out cooperation agreements, exchanging NA delegations, sharing information and experience in legislation, as well as attracting more foreign investors into the area.                   

The development triangle area, consisting of 13 provinces, including 5 in Vietnam, 4 in Laos and 4 in Cambodia, has great significance in the fields of society, economics, security and national defence for all three countries.

As scheduled, the fourth event will be held in Vietnam in July 2012.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA