President Sang thanks Kansai firms for support

State President Truong Tan Sang yesterday, April 16, hailed Japanese businesses for their support for Viet Nam during his reception of the Chairman of Japan's Kansai Economic Federation Shosuke Mori in Ha Noi.

President Truong Tan Sang welcomes Kankeiren Chairman Shosuke Mori. (Source: VNA)

Sang reserved special praise for Japan's Kansai region, which has forged particularly close ties with Viet Nam in recent years.

"With the economic backing of our Kansai partners and the active efforts made by both sides, our two countries' trade turnover will continue to grow," he said.

The president also expressed his wish for the relationship with the economic federation to be developed further, and suggested that in the future more Vietnamese students study in Kansai and a direct air route be established between the region and Viet Nam.

In response, Mori confirmed that his visit aimed to find new areas of co-operation in celebration of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

He said that thanks to the assistance provided by the Vietnamese Party and State, investment from Kansai businesses now accounts for 20 percent of Japan's total investment in Viet Nam.

The business leader suggested the two sides increase their work together in the fields of human resources training and environmental protection.

The Kansai Economic Federation will continue to work closely with Viet Nam's Ministry of Planning and Investment and Ministry of Industry and Trade to further aid business development in the country, he said.

Vietnam, Japan boost defence cooperation

Vietnam treasures the sound development and effective outcome of the bilateral ties between Vietnam and Japan, and hopes to continue enhancing this strategic partnership, including defence relations.

The statement was made by the Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, Sen. Lt. Gen. Do Ba Ty at his talks with Chief of Joint Staff of Japan's Self Defence Forces Gen. Shigeru Iwasaki, in Tokyo on April 15.

Sen. Lt. Gen. Ty is leading a high-ranking military delegation on an official friendly visit to Japan at the invitation of Gen. Shigeru Iwasaki.

The Vietnamese guest said the visit is a practical activity to mark the 40 th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, and will contribute to further stepping up bilateral defence cooperation.

He suggested that the two sides continue the implementation of cooperation contents within the framework of the MoU on bilateral defence cooperation including delegation exchange, experience sharing and training.

He also recommended closer cooperation at multilateral forums such as the ASEAN Regional Security Forum (ARF) and the ASEAN Defence Ministerial Meeting Plus (ADMM+) as well as in humanitarian and natural calamity support activities.

For his part, Gen. Shigeru Iwasaki valued the position and role of Vietnam in the region, and stressed that Vietnam and Japan, as two nations in the Pacific-Asia, share many similarities.

Therefore, Japan pays attention to increasing multi-faceted cooperation with Vietnam, including in defence industry.

The same day, Japan's Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera received the Vietnamese delegation.

He said that the official visit of Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Vietnam has affirmed the strategic partnership between the two countries. The minister also said he supports the cooperation between the Vietnam People's Army and Japan's Self-Defence Forces.

Sen. Lt. Gen. Ty conveyed an invitation to visit Vietnam from Defence Minister Gen. Tran Quang Thanh to the Japanese Defence Minister.

Cuba’s Giron victory marked in Hanoi

A get-together was held in Hanoi on April 16 to celebrate the 52nd anniversary of the great historical Giron victory of Cuba (April 19, 1961-2013).

The event was jointly organised by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations, the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association (VCFA) and the Cuban Embassy in Vietnam.

Addressing the event, VCFA Vice President Nguyen Duy Cuong said the Giron victory was of important significance for the struggle for national independence of Cuba in particular and the Latin American region in general.

It was also a great encouragement for the national liberation movement of third-world countries, including Vietnam, he added.

Cuong spoke highly of great achievements the Cuban people have made during the past half a decade under the leadership of the Communist Party of Cuba, especially in politics, socio-economics, health and education.

During those years, Vietnam and Cuba have always stood side by side to together overcome all difficulties and win great victories in their revolutionary causes, he noted.

Loria Rivera, Economic Counsellor at the Cuban Embassy in Vietnam thanked the Vietnamese side for organising the event and recalled the day 52 years ago when Cuban people replied to the call of Commander-In-Chief Fidel Castro to defeat more than 1,500 US-trained mercenary troops who landed at Giron as part of a scheme to overthrow the fledgling Cuban government after less than 72 hours.

Both Cuong and Loria Rivera expressed their belief that the solidarity and friendship between Vietnam and Cuba will further develop in the futute.

The get-together also saw the presence of a visiting delegation from the Switzerland-Cuba Association led by Prof. Federico Jauch.

Agencies helped with budget assessments

A US$2.5 million project to enhance the budget supervision capacity of Viet Nam's elective agencies was launched yesterday, April 16.

The project will be jointly run by the National Assembly's Finance – Budget Committee and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The three-year project will help deputies of the committee, the Ethnic Minority Council and People's Councils of cities and provinces allocate capital from the State budget and ensure that it serves the intended purposes.

The Ethnic Minority Council will focus on funding programmes to assist ethnic groups as well as ministries and local authorities in mountainous areas.

Deputies will learn techniques for estimating budgets and analysing investment projects. They will also be taught how to appraise the effects projects have on local residents so they can increase sustainable development.

UNDP Country Director Louise Chamberlain said the National Assembly needed to play a stronger role in the budget analysis process, assessing how budget decisions affected the lives of residents, especially vulnerable ones.

Chamberlain also stressed the necessity to improve the transparency, integrity and accountability of the National Assembly and People's Councils as the administrative reform process continues.

Conference focuses on how law enforcement is monitored

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and German political organisation Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) yesterday, April 16, co-organised a major conference exploring the monitoring of law enforcement in Viet Nam.

Justice Deputy Minister Le Thanh Long said that further research in the area was important while current Government initiatives to increase transparency in law enforcement supervision should be fully supported. To ensure the swift implementation of the work, the Government has issued a decree providing guidance.

Participants at the conference emphasised the need for more clarity over the level of responsibility held by ministries for the supervision of law enforcement procedures and practices. It was agreed that more detailed regulations would go some way to improving the situation.

Viet Nam, Singapore seek to make economic connectivity surge

The 9th Viet Nam – Singapore Ministerial Meeting on Connectivity took place in HCM City yesterday, April 16, to discuss ways of intensifying bilateral economic co-operation.

Vietnamese Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh and Singaporean Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang co-chaired the meeting, which is held annually to review progress and put forth future action plans and programmes.

During the event, the two sides reviewed the progress of the Viet Nam-Singapore Agreement on Economic Connectivity (VSAEC). Signed in 2005, the VSAEC is a comprehensive co-operation programme focusing on finance, education and training, transportation, information technology and telecommunications, and trade and services.

Through the specific activities outlined in the agreement, Viet Nam has confirmed its interest in economic co-operation with Singapore and asked its partner encourage businesses to invest in Viet Nam.

EU, Viet Nam discuss bilateral relations, regional issues     

Viet Nam should swiftly solidify its domestic plans on emissions reduction into an international pledge, David O'Sullivan, Chief Operating Officer of the European External Action Service (EEAS) said.

He was talking in Brussels on Monday with Deputy Foreign Minister of Viet Nam Bui Thanh Son.

O'Sullivan received Son for the second round of political consultations at the vice-ministerial level held by the EU and Viet Nam following the signing of the new EU-Viet Nam Partnership and Co-operation Agreement last year.

At the meeting, the EU and Viet Nam expressed satisfaction towards the progress made in intensifying the bilateral relationship over the last year, notably in areas such as human rights, trade and environment.

Viet Nam also made clear their intention to participate in UN peace-keeping missions as of 2014, a move that is highly welcomed by the EU.

The third round of the high-level consultations will be held in Viet Nam next year.

Budget supervision capacity project launched

A US$2.5 million project to enhance the budget supervision capacity of Viet Nam's elective agencies was launched on Monday.

The project will be jointly run by the National Assembly's Finance – Budget Committee and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The three-year project will help deputies of the committee, the Ethnic Minority Council and People's Councils of cities and provinces allocate capital from the State budget and ensure that it serves the intended purposes.

The Ethnic Minority Council will focus on funding programmes to assist ethnic groups as well as ministries and local authorities in mountainous areas.

Deputies will learn techniques for estimating budgets and analysing investment projects. They will also be taught how to appraise the effects projects have on local residents so they can increase sustainable development.

UNDP Country Director Louise Chamberlain said the National Assembly needed to play a stronger role in the budget analysis process, assessing how budget decisions affected the lives of residents, especially vulnerable ones.

Chamberlain also stressed the necessity to improve the transparency, integrity and accountability of the National Assembly and People's Councils as the administrative reform process continues.

VNN/VNS/VNA