Prime Minister visits naval troops

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on February 18 visited and extended New Year wishes to officers and soldiers of naval unit 681 based in Phan Thiet City, the central province of Binh Thuan.

Dung expressed his delight at the unit’s rapid development and praised the officers and soldiers’ efforts in protecting the country’s sovereignty over seas and islands.

He said he hopes that the unit will uphold its revolutionary heroic traditions while mastering modern military weapons, thus contributing to strengthening the country’s defence capacity.

The PM stressed the need for constant vigilance and regular training in order to be able to cope with any situation.

He also affirmed the State will always take care of the material and spiritual life of officers and soldiers so that they fulfill all their assigned tasks.

Earlier on the day, PM Dung offered incense to President Ho Chi Minh at the Ho Chi Minh Museum-Binh Thuan branch, and visited Duc Thanh School, where the late President worked as a teacher in 1910.

President launches tree-planting festival

President Truong Tan Sang launched a national tree-planting festival at a ceremony on Feb. 18 at Ho Chuoi Military Post relic, the former base of Yen The Uprising, in northern Bac Giang Province.

President Truong Tan Sang launches a national tree-planting festival yesterday at the Ho Chuoi Military Post, the former base of the Yen The Uprising, in northern Bac Giang Province.

President Truong Tan Sang stressed the importance and practical benefits that tree plantation brings to the country, families and everyone, especially in the context of climate change and environmental pollution all over the world.

He called on the entire nation to actively join hands in the festival, which has become an annual event every spring since President Ho Chi Minh initiated the activity in 1959.

Together with local officials and people, Sang planted trees in the historical site and offered incense in memory of Hero Hoang Hoa Tham and soldiers who fought the French colonialists over 30 years from late 19 th century to early 20 th century.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, as many as 2.45 million hectares of land have been covered with green trees over the past years, bringing the total area with forests in the country to 40 percent in 2011 from 32 percent in 1998.

Binh Thuan asked to focus on agriculture

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked the central province of Binh Thuan to pay more attention to the development of agriculture along with the building of the new model for the rural area and improve income and living conditions for people living there.

At a working session with key leaders of Binh Thuan on February 18, Dung spoke highly of efforts and achievements that the province has made in all fields.

He emphasised that Binh Thuan should make full use of its potential and advantages, while focusing efforts on overcoming shortcomings and weaknesses in order to develop in a steady and sustainable way.

The PM urged the province to concentrate on its key products such as wet rice, dragon fruit and rubber cultivation as well as fisheries.

Binh Thuan should broaden markets for its key agriculture products and ensure their quality and develop their trademarks, he said.

Besides effectively developing the tourism and services sector, the province should strive for further progress in the industries that fuel the local socio-economic development, including electricity, mining and procession industry, the PM said.

Dung suggested Binh Thuan to attract more investment and resources to improve its systems of transport, irrigation, electricity and water supply, while focusing on training high-quality human resources.

At the same time, the province should continue to better health care and education sectors, step up poverty reduction and improve state management of land and natural resources.

Le Tien Phuong, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, said last year, the province gained remarkable progress, evidently a growth rate of 8.8 percent.

He said in 2013, the province will continue to improve growth quality in association with the sustainable economic development, paving the way for the success of the socio-economic development plan in the 2011-2015 period, striving for a GDP growth of 9 percent.

During the session, the PM also heard proposals and recommendations of the province on the investment for several projects.

Earlier, Dung visited an irrigation work on Quao River in Ham Thuan Bac district, which has a capacity of storing 73 million cubic meters of water for 8,120 hectares of agriculture land in the district and residents in Phan Thiet City.

Independence Day greetings to Serbia and Lithuania

On the 209th anniversary of Independence Day of Republic of Serbia (15/02/1804 – 15/02/2013) and the 22nd anniversary of Independence Day of Republic of Lithuania (16/02/1991 – 16/02/2013), President Truong Tan Sang sent his greetings separately to Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite.

Also on the occasion, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung sent his greetings separately to Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and Lithuanian Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius. Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh also greeted his counterparts, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivan Mrkic and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Antanas Linkevicius.

Deputy PM pays New Year visits to State agencies

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc lauded the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) for being the country’s most reliable source of information, while reminding the agency’s journalists of the importance of staying up to date with media trends.

Speaking to the VNA staff during his Lunar New Year visit to the agency’s Ha Noi headquarters yesterday, Feb 18, Phuc asked them to continue working hard to inform both domestic and foreign audiences about the country’s socio-economic and political activities.

He confirmed the Party and State’s constant support for the VNA and commended the agency for providing the public with timely, accurate news and explaining new Party and State policies.
Phuc said he expected the VNA to continue making important contributions to the nation’s development.

Welcoming the Government leader, General Director Nguyen Duc Loi pledged that VNA would do its utmost to live up to its reputation as a reliable information source.

Deputy PM visits EVN

The same day, Deputy PM Phuc also visited the Electricity of Viet Nam group (EVN), where he urged the group to supply power to the country’s socio-economic development programmes in the new year and continue adjusting prices based on the market situation.

He asked the group to continue re-structuring subsidies and improving its business strategies.
Phuc also lauded EVN’s achievements in 2012, which accounted for more than 5 per cent of the country’s annual growth.

“Significantly, EVN added resources to the national grid, especially the Son La Hydro Power Plant - the biggest in Southeast Asia – which it finished three years prior to the deadline,” he said.

EVN chairman Hoang Quoc Vuong said the group planned to contribute to the development of the competitive power generating market in the short term and competitive retail and wholesale markets in the long term.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA