Party chief hopes new height in VN-Myanmar ties

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said he hopes the visit by Myanmar President Thein Sein would take bilateral relations to a new height.

During their meeting in Hanoi on March 20, the two leaders briefed each other on situations in each country and discussed ways to increase multi-faceted cooperative relations.
The two sides also discussed strengthening cooperation between the two ruling parties and exchanging leadership experiences.

Earlier on the day, President Truong Tan Sang and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met with the visiting Myanmar President.

President Thein Sein began his two-day official visit the same day. This is his first visit since he was elected in March, 2011.

Vietnam-Colombia visa exemption effective

The Vietnam-Colombia agreement on visa exemption for diplomatic and official passport holders will take effect on March 28, 2012, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Under the agreement, citizens of either side who hold valid diplomatic and official passports will be exempt from visa requirements for stay up to 90 days.

The agreement was signed in Hanoi on February 27 by Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and his Colombian counterpart Maria Angela Holguin during the latter’s visit to Vietnam.

Deputy PM receives Indian ambassador

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan met with Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Ranjit Rae in Hanoi on March 20.

During the meeting, Deputy PM Nhan thanked the diplomat for arranging his upcoming visit to India.

He said the visit aims to tighten bilateral relations and celebrate the 40^th anniversary of Vietnam-India diplomatic ties and the fifth anniversary of the two countries’ strategic partnership.

During the visit, the two sides will discuss possibilities of boosting cooperation in education, scientific research, studies on India and Vietnam, information technology and communication, nanotechnology, biotechnology, agriculture and national defence.

The Vietnamese delegation plans to meet high-ranking Indian politicians, as well as leaders of groups, universities and Buddhism training centres.

A number of cooperative agreements on IT, biotechnology, research, education and training, will be signed during the visit.

Party ties with global counterparts increased

The Communist Party of Vietnam always attached importance to enlarging relations with international communist and workers parties.

Politburo member and Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi spoke at a meeting with a Bulgarian Communist Party delegation, led by its first secretary Alexander Paunov, in Hanoi on Mar. 20.

Nghi highly valued the achievements of the Bulgarian Communist Party, saying it would enhance its political position and contribute to the national construction and development.

Paunov expressed his wish to boost relations between the two parties and the traditional friendship between the two countries.

On the same day, the delegation held talks with Party Central Committee member and head of the committee’s Commission for Foreign Affairs Hoang Binh Quan.

PM to attend 2012 Seoul Nuclear Security Summit

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will attend the second Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, the Republic of Korea (RoK) on March 26-27 at the invitation of President Lee Myung Bak.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PM Dung will then make an official visit to the RoK on March 28-29.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA