NA Standing Committee meets in Hanoi

The National Assembly Standing Committee convened its two-day session in Hanoi on February 25 to debate a Government report on the allocation of Government bond sales for 2012-2015.

Lawmakers will discuss urgent key projects by the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.  

They will also give opinions on a number of bills, including those on counterterrorism, residency, and explosives management and use.

They will examine the National Assembly’s proposal to host the 2015 meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly.

At a recent meeting with IPU Secretary General Anders B.Johnsson in Hanoi on February 20, NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung assured his guest that Vietnam will do its best to make the upcoming IPU meeting a great success.

Leading lawmaker urges province to industrialise

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung has urged the central province of Ha Tinh to mobilise all resources to become an industrialised province.

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung (first right) receives a progress report on a project to upgrade Highway 1A the Ben Thuy Bridge in Ha Tinh Province.

Hung held a working session with the provincial leaders yesterday, Feb 24, as part of his fact-finding tour of the northern central region.

While reminding the local Party committee to continue promoting the power of unity making concerted effort to carry out key projects, he stressed the importance of collecting public opinions on draft amendments to the 1992 Constitution.

Ha Tinh Province needs to create favourable conditions for every member of the public to make suggestions by any means of their choice, including letters or online, Hung said.

Provincial Party Committee secretary Nguyen Thanh Binh said that, despite countless difficulties in 2012, Ha Tinh successfully implemented many policies to support business and production, enabling the province to meet its socio-economic targets.

Economic growth last year was 14 percent, with GDP-per-capita reaching VND19.6 million (US$940). Provincial tax revenues totalled VND4.1 trillion ($196.8 million), he revealed.

Ha Tinh was now listed among the country’s top provinces in using creative and vigorous methods to build new rural areas, Binh said. The province also worked diligently to ensure a happy Tet festival for locals, especially ethnic minorities in remote areas.

The endeavour to build and strengthen the Party and political system also continued to see positive results last year, he said.

During his visit, Hung inspected progress on the VND2.4 trillion ($115.2 million) project to upgrade and expand the South Ben Thuy Bridge along National Highway 1A. The project was expected to ease traffic congestion and promote economic development in the area.

Serbian diplomat visits Vietnam

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivan Mrkic will pay an official visit to Vietnam from February 27 to March 2 at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh.

During the visit, the two FMs will discuss measures to strengthen the traditional friendship and cooperation in a wide range of areas from politics and diplomacy to economics, trade, culture, and tourism between Vietnam and Serbia.

They will also exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual concern.

NA Chairman hails Nghe An’s investment promotion

Nghe An’s investment promotion activities have an important role to play in attracting investors to the province, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung has said.

Those activities have helped the province draw more and more investment projects, including important and large-scale ones, creating a big momentum for the socio-economic development in the central province, Hung said at an annual investment promotion conference, the fifth of its kind, organised by Nghe An People’s Committee in coordination with the Party Committee of the Central Business Bloc and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), on Feb. 23.

The activities should focus on infrastructure projects, especially those related to the transport system, Hung told more than 500 participants who are representatives of ministries and branches, domestic and foreign businessmen, investors and economic experts.

Together with promotion activities, the province should continue administrative reforms and attach importance to and harmonie benefits among the State, community, people and investors, he added.

Since the first conference in 2009, Nghe An has attracted 335 investment projects with a total registered capitals of 107.1 trillion VND (around 5 billion USD).

Among the 22 foreign investment projects, Japan’s Kobe steel project is the biggest in the province with an expected capital of 1 billion USD.

NA Vice Chairwoman meets with Indian law-makers

The Vietnamese and Indian parliaments should promote the exchange of delegations at all levels to share experiences in law-making and supervision work, National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said.

Ngan is making a visit to India from February 20-25.

In a meeting with Speaker of the House of People Meira Kumar and Chairman of the Council of States Hamid Ansari of India, the Vietnamese NA Chairwoman also suggested that the two legislative bodies continue to coordinate closely at international and regional inter-parliamentary forums, especially within the framework of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA).

She affirmed that the time-honoured relations between the two countries hold special significance to peace, stability and sustainable development of the Asia-Pacific region as well as to both countries.

The legislative leader said she was happy with the success of the Vietnam-India Friendship Year 2012 on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of Vietnam-India diplomatic ties and 5 years of the establishment of bilateral strategic partnership.

She also noted with joy the development of economic-trade and investment ties between the two countries, with two-way trade reaching almost 4 billion USD last year, despite the impacts of the global economic downturn.

Ngan thanked India for its support of Vietnam’s stance on the settlement of disputes in the East Sea through peaceful negotiations on the basis of international law while ensuring the freedom of shipping navigation and the right to access to natural resources in the East Sea in line with the principles of international law.

She reiterated Vietnam’s consistent support of India’s bid to become a permanent member in an expanded United Nations Security Council, adding that she believed India’s growing strength is an important factor for peace, stability and development in the region and the world at large.

The Indian legislative leaders affirmed that Vietnam has an important position in India's “Look East” policy. They proposed that both sides continue to exchange the visits of the parliaments’ leaders and their committees’ members, adding that they are happy at the establishment of the India-Vietnam friendship parliamentarians group.

NA Vice Chairwoman Ngan also attended the opening of the Indian parliament’s session on budget issues.

On February 21, the delegation laid flowers at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial in New Delhi.

Vietnam attends KPRF Congress in Moscow

Politburo member and Head of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee’s Commission for Inspection Ngo Van Du attended the 15th congress of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) that opened in Moscow on Feb. 23.

Addressing the event, the Vietnamese Party official emphasised the significance of the event, saying he believes that the congress will contribute to consolidating and raising the KPRF’s position in Russia’s socio-political life, helping to build a prosperous and happy life for all the Russian people.

The Vietnamese people always bear in mind Russia’s support and assistance to its past struggles for national liberation and its current national construction and defence, Du said.

He affirmed that the relations between the two nations and parties have seen constant development in various fields for mutual benefits.

He wished the KPRF a success with an increasing position in Russia’s socio-political life.

The two-day event drew the participation of more than 1,000 delegates and guests from the country and almost 100 international delegations and four international organisations.

Vietnam, Cuba increase telecoms cooperation    

A delegation of the Information and Communications Ministry paid a working visit to Cuba on Feb. 18-24, aiming at stepping up cooperation between the two countries in the fields of telecoms, printing and publishing.

While in Cuba, the delegation, headed by Minister Nguyen Bac Son, met host Minister of Informatics and Communications Maimir Mesa Ramos, Minister of Culture Rafael Bernal, Head of the Ideology Department of the Cuban Communist Party Central Committee Alfonso Borges, and President of the Book Institute Zuleica Romay.

Son briefed the Cuban officials about Vietnam’s socio-economic development over the recent years. He also expressed the Vietnamese people’s gratitude to the Cuban people’s support and solidarity over the years.

The hosts spoke highly of Vietnam’s recent social-economic development achievements, saying that the doi moi (renewal process) is a good example for Cuba.

Discussing the development of information and telecom technology in each country, Son and Mesa stressed the necessity of popularising the internet and taking appropriate management mechanisms to protect national security.

The Vietnamese side shared its experience on telecom and Internet management, the application of IT in State agencies and how to attract foreign investment in the sector.

They agreed to create favourable conditions for cooperation between Vietnam’s Viettel Telecoms Corporation and Etecsa, the Telecommunications Company of Cuba, targeting the goal of turning Viettel into Etecsa’s partner in upgrading the telecoms infrastructure in Cuba.

Regarding book publishing, Son said Vietnam wishes to expand cooperation with Cuba in the field, especially in publishing books on Cuba, helping the Vietnamese people better understand the history, development and life of the Cuban people.

On the occasion, the Vietnamese delegation presented the copyrights of 58 book titles for children to the Cuban Book Institute.

PM meets government members

On the occasion of the lunar New Year, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung held a meeting in Hanoi on February 23 with former leaders and members and current members of the government.

Briefing the participants on the socio-economic situation in 2012, Dung stressed that the achievements gained last year have created conditions for better development in 2013, a pivotal year in the socio-economic development plan for the 2011-2015 period.

In the first two months of this year, all sectors have seen positive changes, he said.

Dung expressed his gratitude to former government leaders and members over the past time for their ideas to the government, and said the government will try its best to overcome all difficulties for more achievements this year and the subsequent ones.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA