VN congratulates Thailand on poll

Ministry of Foreign Affairs' spokesperson Nguyen Phuong Nga made the statement at the ministry's regular press conference when asked for comments on the result of the election of Thailand's House of Representatives.

"This is an important political event for Thai people," Nga said. "As a neighbouring country which has a good friendship with Thailand and an ASEAN member, Viet Nam congratulated the Thai people for successfully organising the election on July 3, 2011."

VNA, Prensa Latina sign accords

Vietnam News Agency (VNA) has signed a general agreement on multimedia cooperation with the Latin American press agency Prensa Latina (PL) in Havana before a VNA delegation concluded a five-day visit to Cuba on July 7.
The agreement, signed by VNA General Director Tran Mai Huong and PL President Luis Enrique Gonzalez, highlights the first-ever bilateral commitments to the exchange of TV products for broadcasting of the VNA television channel and PL audio-video programmes.
Another accord signed on this occasion was the agreement on printing and publication of the Vietnam Pictorial in Cuba and Latin America.
Signatories were Vietnam Pictorial Editor-in-chief Nguyen Thang and PL Vice President in charge of publication, Maite Mareno.
The signing of these accords was the outcome of talks between the VNA and PL leaders, where host and guest emphasised their ambitions to become powerful groups in mass media.
For his part, the VNA General Director expressed willingness to share experiences in all fields, from human resource development to diversification of products, and provide technical assistance to the PL..
Huong highly spoke of PL's assistance in personnel training, printing and publication for the Vietnam Pictorial under the VNA as a big contribution to promoting Vietnam 's image to people in remote Latin America.
The PL President replied with thanks to the VNA for its recent assistance. Gonzalez warmly welcomed VNA goodwill in sharing experience which he described as a motivation for his agency to stay on the right track in the current information era.
The two sides exchanged experience in publishing an English language newspaper which is on the test run in Cuba while the VNA has been enjoying 20 years of experience in publishing the popular English daily with the largest circulation in Vietnam – the Vietnam News.
They reached a consensus that the two newswires should work together to improve their service quality to contribute to strengthening traditional relations between Vietnam and Cuba.
Cooperation should focus on news coverage of progress made in the renewal process underway in each country, as well as coordination of action and mutual support between the two countries in international forums, they emphasised.
During its stay, the VNA delegation was received by the Deputy Director of the Commission of Ideology of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee, Angel Arzuaga.
The VNA chief, Tran Mai Huong, had a working session with the National Information Agency of Cuba (AIN), visited the International Press Centre and called at the Vietnamese Embassy.

Asian coastguard chiefs to boost co-operation

Delegates from 18 regional countries and territories gathered in Ha Noi yesterday, July 7, to discuss the agenda for the 7th Meeting of Chiefs of Asian Coast Guards.

They exchanged ideas on the programme, documents and initiatives to be submitted to the meeting, which is scheduled to be held this October in Viet Nam.

Viet Nam proposed a number of measures, including human resources training aimed at boosting co-operation among regional countries' maritime law enforcement agencies.

Lt-General Pham Duc Linh, Head of the Coast Guard Department of the Defence Ministry, said the 7th Meeting of Chiefs of Asian Coast Guards provided an opportunity for Viet Nam to contribute to boosting co-operation among Asian maritime law enforcement agencies. This would lead to security and safety at sea, and peace and stability in the region and the world, he said.

The Viet Nam coast guard force was ready to participate in joint activities, including patrols to fight transnational crime, the creation of a hotline to solve problems at sea, search and rescue, and information sharing.

Participants to the event were from Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam.

UK Prince thanks Vietnamese President for wedding gift

UK Prince William and Princess Catherine Middleton (now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge) have sent a letter of thanks to Vietnamese State President Nguyen Minh Triet for his generous present to their Royal Wedding that was celebrated on April 29.

The letter says: “Catherine and I would like to extend our deepest thanks to you for your extremely generous gift of the lovely and unusual painting.”

“It was so kind of you to think of us in this way, and we were truly delighted that you should wish to celebrate our marriage through such a wonderful gift,” the Prince said.

“Your thoughtfulness and kindness have touched us both and we are humbled and honoured by your generosity,” he added.

President Triet sent a lacquer painting by painter Thanh Chuong to the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton.

Chuong had two exhibitions in the UK in 1995 and 2001 and his works are loved by the British people.

Veterans visit old battlefields in Laos

A delegation of war veterans from Transport Regiment 410 of Vietnam’s High Command 959 is visiting old battlefields in Laos from July 3-12.

The visit was made to mark the 34th anniversary of the signing of the Vietnam-Laos Friendship and Cooperation Treaty (July 18) and the 64th anniversary of Vietnam’s Wounded and Fallen Soldiers’ Day (July 27). 

The Lao Veterans’ Association’s Vice Chairman, Sivan Utthachac, said on July 6 he was pleased to receive former Vietnamese voluntary soldiers, who had stood side by side with the Lao people in the transport front, providing food and weapons for the Lao battlefields. 

The Pathet Lao soldiers and Lao people always keep in mind the Vietnamese volunteers’ merit and pledge to maintain the development of the Laos-Vietnam relationship, he said. 

On behalf of the Vietnamese veterans, Colonel Pham Trong Thi said the Vietnamese veterans will never forget the pure and faithful love between Vietnam and Laos and will do their utmost to help future generations understand more about this special relationship, helping foster the friendship and solidarity between the two nations. 

They will visit old battlefields in Savannakhet, Khammouan and Bolikhamsay provinces where they served during the war.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA