Prime Minister receives new ambassadors

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung held separate meetings with new ambassadors from Sweden and the Czech Republic in Hanoi on December 3.

PM Nguyen Tan Dung receives Swedish Ambassador. (Photo: VNA)

Welcoming Swedish Ambassador Camilla Mellander, PM Dung affirmed Vietnam’s constant policy of working with Sweden to further develop the two countries’ relations, bringing practical benefits for both sides.

Vietnam asked Sweden to support its broadening relations with the EU, including the Vietnam-EU FTA negotiations and the establishment of a dialogue mechanism to enhance their cooperation, Dung said.

He also expressed his wish to further boost bilateral trade and investment cooperation and sought Sweden ’s assistance in healthcare, education, environment and climate change.

Ambassador Camilla Mellander affirmed that the Swedish Government wishes to increase ties with Vietnam in the coming time, especially in trade, investment, health, education and green technology. Sweden is ready for a new period in its relations with Vietnam that oriented by enhanced friendship, equality and effectiveness, she added.

At his reception for Czech Ambassador Martin Klepetko, PM Dung asked the two sides to strengthen relations in trade and investment and support each other at multilateral forums to fully utilise their potentials.

He asked the Czech Republic to offer more scholarships to Vietnamese students to study in the eastern European country and consolidate the two countries’ friendship and mutual understanding.

Ambassador Martin Klepetko said the Czech Republic has placed Vietnam among the countries they want to prioritise cooperation, especially in economics, trade and investment.

Czech Republic private businesses have also paid attention to the Vietnamese market, he said.

Noting that there is a huge potential for cooperation between Vietnam and the Czech Republic, he suggested the two governments create favourable conditions for enterprises of both sides to seek investment and business opportunities.

Cambodia, Vietnam NAs strengthen ties

The National Assemblies of Vietnam and Cambodia will increase information and experience sharing and assist each other in personnel training.

The agreement was reached during meetings in Phnom Penh on December 3 between Heng Samrin, Chairman of the Cambodia National Assembly, Tep Ngon, Vice President of the Senate, and Huynh Ngoc Son, visiting Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Assembly.

Son is currently leading a Vietnamese delegation on a visit to Cambodia at the invitation of Heng Samrin.

The hosts appreciated the fruitful cooperation and valuable assistance the Vietnam National Assembly has provided to its Cambodian counterpart over the years, noting that such cooperation has testified to the solidarity and fine friendship between the two nations.

In the morning, Heng Samrin and Huynh Ngoc Son cut the red ribbon, marking the completion of an information technology project, a gift that the Vietnam National Assembly has presented to its Cambodian side.

The project, costing more than US$1 million, comprises a computerized network using the Internet broadband service, an E-Office for 500 account users, and IT transfer and training.

During his stay from December 2-4, Son laid a wreath at the Volunteer Vietnamese Soldiers Monument in Phnom Penh and visited the Vietnamese Embassy there.

Co-operation with New Zealand needs to increase

Minister of Trade and Industry Vu Huy Hoang has stressed the need for stronger co-operation with New Zealand in trade and investment, both bilateral and multilateral.

Speaking to the visiting New Zealand Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Andrea Smith in Ha Noi yesterday, Dec 3, Hoang said the two countries should boost co-operation in regional and multi-lateral frameworks that both countries were joining in, including the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Smith was in Viet Nam to attend the 4th session of the Viet Nam-New Zealand Joint Committee for Economic and Trade Co-operation convened in Ha Noi the same day.

President Sang congratulates Palestine’s upgraded status

President Truong Tan Sang has extended his congratulations to Mahmoud Abbas, Chairman of the Executive Committee of Palestinian Liberation Organisation and President of the Palestinian National Authority, after the United Nations General Assembly voted to grant Palestine non-member observer state status.

Binh Duong, Champassak accelerate cooperation

Authorities of the southern province of Binh Duong and Lao province of Chamapassak have recently met to seek ways to broaden and accelerate their cooperation.

The two sides agreed that they will continue to implement the agreements signed in 2006 and strengthen high-ranking delegation exchanges at all levels to learn from each other’s experience, especially on party and government building, economics, culture, healthcare and education.

They, in particular, also agreed to facilitate the Dau Tieng Viet-Laos Rubber Company’s construction projects and rubber plantation farms.

The Dau Tieng Viet-Laos Rubber Company has grown rubber plants on 5,236ha in Champassak out of its set 10,000 ha plan. With around 300ha giving yield, the company generated jobs for thousands of local labourers and is training 400 others.

At the meeting, Binh Duong pledged to continue funding the study of five students from Champassak it received in 2012. So far, it has trained 25 students for Champassak.

In the 2011-2012, Vietnamese businesses have invested in 4 projects in Champassak.

Countries join in patrol on Mekong River

A joint patrol by China, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand kicked off on the Mekong River's Golden Triangle Region on December 2, the Xinhua News Agency has reported.

The patrol took place in a time when trading and transporting routes on the region resumed operation after the killing of 13 Chinese sailors on aboard two cargo ships on the river.

All four vessels in the patrol team set off from a habour in Xishubanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan province.

The Yunnan Provincial Border Control Corps said that the five-day long patrol is the seventh since December, 2011 and the participants were going to spend two days patrolling the segments controlled by Laos.

The four countries have started their joint patrols on the Mekong River since October last year in an effort to ease security concerns after a criminal gang had hijacked two cargo ships and killed 13 Chinese sailors in the waters of Thailand on the river.

Delegation from Chengdu Military Region visits Vietnam

The Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) should increase cooperation and exchanges of delegations to learn from each other’s experiences in the time to come.

This was the shared view, made at a meeting in Hanoi on December 3, of Senior Lieutenant General Ngo Xuan Lich, Director of VPA’s General Department of Politics and Lieutenant General Chai Shaoliang, Director of the Political Department of PLA’s Chengdu Military Region.

Chai Shaoliang is leading a regional border guard delegation on a working visit to Vietnam.

Border guards should be a key component to the building of cooperation, contributing to peace, stability and development in the Vietnam-China border area, they said.

The two sides agreed that in recent years, the two countries’ border guard forces have positively cooperated in joint patrols, exchanging experiences and organising art exchanges that have contributed to national border security and safety.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA