Vietnam attends Japan-ASEAN youth leaders’ summit

Vietnamese youth brought the message “United we stand” to the Japan-ASEAN Youth Leaders’ Summit which opened in Tokyo on October 29, as part of the 39th Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Programme (SSEAYP).

Japanese Senior Vice Minister of Cabinet Office, Kiyoshige Maekawa said the SSEAYP offered a good chance for young people in the region to deepen mutual understanding for peace and prosperity. He said he hopes that over 300 youths participating in the event will continue joining hands to build a firm foundation for the friendship between Japan and ASEAN in the 21st century.

Speaking on behalf of ASEAN countries, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Doan Xuan Hung said that Vietnam and other ASEAN countries value the significance of the programme. He affirmed that young people will play a central role in promoting a dynamic regional cooperation.

The SSAYP is a cooperation project between Japan and ASEAN, which bring young people from Japan and Southeast Asian countries together for a sea journey to boost the solidarity and friendship between youngsters in the region. It was first organised by the Japanese government and ASEAN in 1974. Vietnam joined the annual programme in 1996.

This year, the SSEAYP started on October 23 and will run until December 14. During days on board, over 300 youths are scheduled to visit five ASEAN countries of Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia.

PM encourages Malaysian investment

Vietnam creates favourable conditions for Malaysian businesses to cooperate and invest in housing construction in the country, says PM Nguyen Tan Dung.

Dung told former Malaysian PM Tun Ahdullah Ahmad Badawi in Hanoi on October 30 that the Vietnamese government pays due attention to developing housing projects for low-income earners in the context of the economic slowdown.

Vietnam wants to boost cooperation with Malaysia in housing construction and development, said the PM.

He noted that relations between Vietnam and Malaysia have developed well in various areas in recent times, benefiting the two peoples.

He took this opportunity to thank the former Malaysian PM for his efforts to further strengthen the multifaceted cooperation between the two countries.

He expressed his hope that Badawi will continue making a positive contribution to elevating bilateral cooperation, especially in economics, trade, investment, education, tourism, and civil engineering, as well as to building a strong, united ASEAN community and maintaining peace, stability and maritime freedom in the East Sea.

For his part, Badawi said that both Malaysia and Vietnam have great potential for stronger cooperation and development, and that Malaysian civil engineering investors accompanying him during the visit want to cooperate with Vietnam in social housing construction.

He also vowed to do his utmost to cement cooperative relations between the two countries.

Leaders extend condolences to Cuba, Haiti

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, State President Truong Tan Sang and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on October 29 sent messages of sympathy to First Secretary of the Cuba Communist Party and President of the Councils of State and Ministers Raul Castro over the great losses in human and property caused by hurricane Sandy.

On the same day, President Sang and PM Dung extended condolences to Haiti’s President Joseph Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Salvador Lamothe over the damages after Sandy swept the country.

Also on October 29, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh sent messages of condolence to his Cuban and Haitian counterparts.

Party newspapers to boost co-operation

Co-operation between the newspapers of the Communist Party of Viet Nam and the Communist Party of China will become stronger in future.

This was announced on Monday by Dinh The Huynh, head of the Commission for Popularisation and Education of the Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee.

He made the statement while receiving the editor-in-chief of the China People's Daily, Wu Hengquan, in Ha Noi.

Huynh, who is also a Politburo member and Secretary of the Party's Central Committee, said that over 20 years since the normalisation of relations, co-operation between Viet Nam and China had expanded in all fields, including politics, economics, trade, culture, education, scientific-technology, security and defence.

He said those involved in education and popularisation tasks played a very important role.

Huynh praised the close ties between the two Party newspapers, adding that they should organise more exchanges of reporters. On Sunday, the editor-in-chief of Nhan Dan (The People) newspaper, Thuan Huu, held talks with his counterpart Wu Hengquan.

They agreed that the two Parties' official newspapers needed to strengthen co-operation in covering the achievements of Viet Nam's renewal process and China's reforms.

The Chinese delegation were on a working visit to Viet Nam at the invitation of Nhan Dan daily's editorial board.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA