National Assembly Chairman to tour Japan, Thailand

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung will pay official visits to Japan and Thailand from December 3-8.

According to an announcement of the NA External Relations Committee on November 30, the visits will be made at the invitation of the President of the Thai National Assembly and the head of Japan's Upper House.

Party leader meets voters in Hanoi

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong met voters from Ba Dinh, Hoan Kiem and Tay Ho districts in Hanoi on December 1 to inform them of the fourth session of the 13th National Assembly.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong meets with voters from Ba Dinh and Hoan Kiem districts. (Photo: VNA)

Voters spoke highly of the NA session outcomes. They welcomed the NA’s approval of resolutions on conducting votes of confidence on officials elected or approved by the NA or People’s Councils.

They expressed their hope that together with the fight against corruption, the votes of confidence will prevent political and moral degradation of a proportion of officials and Party members and eliminate corrupt and negative practices.

Some voters said that the NA has issued many good laws and resolutions which, however, have not quickly been translated into real life due to the lack of guiding documents.

Speaking at the meetings, Trong said conducting votes of confidence had been discussed for years but yet to be implemented.

He added that the Party’s decision to conduct the practice every year from 2013 and assign the NA to prepare for the implementation of the policy is in line with the country’s Constitution and laws.

However, it will not be easy to implement the task, the Party leader said, stressing the need for issuing complete, coherent guiding documents to prevent negative acts during the process of implementation.

The Party chief also highlighted the importance of the resolution of the 11 th Party Central Committee’s fourth meeting on urgent issues in Party building, which he said is not only vital to the Party’s survival in the current tenure, but also to its long-term development.

As building the Party means building organisations and developing the people, the resolution needs to be implemented regularly over a long period of time with the combination of various measures to ensure the strong, transparent and sustainable development of the Party and the whole nation, he added.

High ranking Chinese Party delegation updates leader on political developments

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong yesterday, Dec 2, received a delegation from the Communist Party of China, led by Politburo member Li Keqiang, who briefed him of the outcome of the party's 18th National Congress.

Li, who also serves as vice chairman and secretary general of the National People's Congress, brought regards from Chinese Party chief Xi Jinping and other Chinese leaders to Trong and the Vietnamese Party and State leaders.

Li spoke highly of Viet Nam's achievement in socialism building and expressed his belief that under the leadership of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, more would be achieved in nation building.

He stressed the Chinese Party, Government and Xi Jinping attached high importance to developing a comprehensive and strategic partnership between Viet Nam and China, seeing it as a valuable asset to both parties and both countries.

China and Viet Nam would do their best to nurture the relationship and push it to a new level, he said.

For his part, Trong warmly welcomed Li and the Chinese delegation and spoke highly of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee having sent Li to inform Viet Nam on the outcome of 18th National Congress.

"It is a lively example of our comprehensive and strategic partnership," he said.

Trong congratulated and appreciated the outcome of the congress as well as the achievements made by the Chinese people during socialism building.

He expressed his belief that under the new leadership of Xi Jinping, the Communist Party of China would successfully lead the Chinese people to achieve its vision of a Xiaokang (Well Off) society by 2020.

On Viet Nam-China relationships, Trong said the increasing ties between the two Parties, two countries and two peoples were an important foundation on which to strengthen co-operation in every field as well as to address the existing problems, including sea disputes, toward a healthy and stable Viet Nam-China relationship for the benefit of the two countries' peoples and for the peace and stability, co-operation and development of the region and the world.

Earlier, a Communist Party of Viet Nam delegation led by Tong Thi Phong, Politburo member and Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly, held talks with the delegation led by Li Keqiang.

Vietnam Father Front leader visits India

A delegation of the Vietnam Fatherland Front led by President Huynh Dam has paid a working visit to India to enhance the friendship between the two countries.

At their meeting with Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid on November 30, Huynh Dam said he wishes a direct air route would be set up soon to boost economic cooperation and facilitate tourism between the two countries.

Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid mentioned some prospects for India-Vietnam cooperation and expressed his hope that both sides will work together to clear the obstacles still blocking the launch of the Tata steel project in Vietnam.

Also on the day, the Vietnamese delegation visited the headquarters of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in New Delhi.

CPI Secretary Shameem Faizee and CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat said they want to see the friendship between India and Vietnam in all fields growing in the time to come.

In reply, Huynh Dam said he believes that cooperation between the Communist Party of Vietnam and the CPI and CPI-M will be further strengthened and that between the two countries will be developed and deepened.

Vietnam is deeply aware that the success of its resistance wars against foreign aggressors in the past was partly owing to the support provided by other countries and movements around the world, including those of Indian people, Dam said.

On December 1, the Vietnamese delegation paid a floral tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at his tomb and met with the staff and officials of the Vietnamese Embassy and Vietnamese representative agencies in India.

VN studies Dutch system of dykes

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai and his delegation have visited Amsterdam and Rotterdam to study methods and technology in managing dykes and water and waste treatment plants.

The visit was prompted by agreements adopted by the Viet Nam-Holland Inter-Governmental Committee on climate change adaptation and water management.

During his meeting with Mayor of Amsterdam Eberhard Van der Laan, Hai confirmed the Vietnamese Government was encouraging the two countries' cities and localities to co-operate in economics, trade and investment.

Hai invited Van der Laan to visit Viet Nam in 2013, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the diplomatic ties between the two countries.

He said he hoped the Mayor would meet with leaders of Ha Noi co-operative programmes, particular in the fields of water management, energy, waste treatment, environment, education and urban planning.

The Mayor said he always supported co-operation between Amsterdam and Vietnamese cities.

Hai also visited Royal Petroleum Group and Damen Shipyards Group and witnessed the signing of a ship building contract between Viet Nam's Song Thu Company and Damen Shipyards Group.

Vietnam, Mexico enhance inter-parliamentary cooperation

A delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly led by Le Bo Linh, Deputy Head of the Committee for Science, Technology and Environment, has visited Mexico to enhance inter-parliamentary cooperation and share experience on building law for science-technology.

During their visit to Mexico from November 28 to December 1, the officials have taken part in working sessions with the Committees on Foreign Relations for Asia-Pacific, Science and Technology, and Environment and Natural Resources of the Senate and House of Representatives.

At the meetings, the Mexican side spoke highly of Vietnam’s past achievements, particularly its rapid economic growth of 7 percent a year, contributing to improving the lives of people.

The Mexican side expressed its wish to learn from Vietnam’s experience in agriculture restructuring, technology upgrading, bio-technology application in agriculture, environmental protection and sustainable use of natural resources.

Mexico is eager to cooperate in trade and investment with Vietnam, in particular bilateral cooperation in aquaculture and agricultural production.

Eloy Cantu Segovia, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee at the House of Representatives, expressed his wish to increase and promote friendship and cooperation with Vietnam.

He proposed that the Vietnamese National Assembly set up a Vietnamese-Mexican friendly parliamentarians’ group to stand along side the Mexican-Vietnamese friendly parliamentarians’ group to serve as a link between the two parliaments.

Deputy Head Le Bo Linh said that Vietnam is willing to provide Mexico with agricultural assistance, affirming that Vietnam is a friend and reliable partner to all countries, including Mexico.

Through the visit, Vietnam wants to establish ties with parliamentary agencies and gain knowledge in law-building, particularly policies on science-technology, environment and infrastructure, he revealed.

During the trip, the delegation visited the National Institute on Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock Research (INIFAP), and the National Scientific and Technological Council.

The Vietnamese delegation is scheduled to travel to Panama following the conclusion of their Mexican visit.

Romania’s Great Union Day marked in HCM City

A ceremony was held in Ho Chi Minh City on November 30 to celebrate the 94 th Great Union Day of Romania (December 1, 1918-2012).

Speaking at the event, Nguyen Si Thang, head of the liaison committee of former Vietnamese students in Romania, emphasised the Romanian people’s valuable assistance to Vietnam, including the training of nearly 4,000 Vietnamese officials, students and workers.

Romanian Ambassador to Vietnam Valeriu Arteni said that since Vietnam and Romania set up diplomatic ties 62 years ago, their relations have continuously developed, with strong cooperation seen in education-training, agriculture, irrigation and oil and gas.

Vietnam has become Romania’s leading partner in ASEAN, he said, adding that the two countries see great potential for future cooperation in mechanical engineering, education-training, construction, and food production.

The two sides’ representatives expressed their hope that the upcoming session of the Vietnam-Romania Inter-Governmental Cooperation Committee in Hanoi will put forth new measures to increase trade between the two countries, which is expected to reach 100 million USD this year.

Prime Minister tours central provinces

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on December 2 attended a ceremony to start construction on the Ha Tinh Formosa steel plant in the Vung Ang economic zone in Ky Anh district, Ha Tinh.

This is one of the largest projects by the Formosa group of Taiwan (China) in the Vung Ang economic zone, with 15 billion USD invested. The project covers 3,300 hectares and includes a steel metallurgy mill, a seaport capable of receiving 300,000-tonne ships and a 2,100 megawatt thermal electricity plant. It is expected to produce 7 million tonnes of steel ingots in phase one.

Addressing the event, PM Dung hailed Formosa’s efforts in implementing facilities on time and affirmed that the Government will create all favourable conditions for international investors to do long-term business in Vietnam, including Formosa group.

The same day, Dung inspected the construction of Vung Ang 1 thermal electricity plant in the Vung Ang economic zone.

Earlier on December 1, the Prime Minister had a working session with key officials from the neighbouring province of Nghe An to remove obstacles and fully utilise the province’s potential to facilitate rapid and sustainable development.

He asked Nghe An to concentrate on administrative reform and create favourable conditions to attract investment.

It also needs to accelerate trade and tourism promotion, expand its export market and monitor budget collection and spending, he said.

Nghe An should pay more attention to developing education and healthcare, implementing programmes to reduce poverty, particularly in western districts, which border Laos.

The Government will always support and creates favourable conditions for Nghe An to continue developing, Dung assured.

He praised efforts made by the provincial Party committee, authorities and people to implement the 2012 socio-economic development tasks, maintaining agricultural, industrial and service growth and reducing the rate of household poverty by 5 percent.

Prime Minister Dung was briefed on the province’s socio-economic development. The gross domestic product is estimated to expand by 6.63 percent in 2012. Average per-capita income may exceed 20 million VND.

Nghe An has fulfilled 18 of 24 socio-economic development targets for 2012.

Next year, Nghe An will strive to increase GDP by 6.5-7.5 percent, lower the poverty rate to 12.5 percent and generate 36,000-37,000 new jobs.

Also the same day, Prime Minister Dung and his entourage held a working session with soldiers and officers from Military Zone 4 stationed in Nghe An province.

VNN/VNA/VNS