Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh applauded the development of Vietnam-Greece ties while receiving Greek Ambassador to Vietnam Ioannis E. Raptakis in Hanoi on May 16.

Congratulating the diplomat on taking office in Vietnam, Minh asked Raptakis to actively work to promote Vietnam’s relations with Greece and the European Union (EU).

He affirmed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other ministries and sectors of Vietnam will create optimal conditions for the ambassador to fulfill his tasks.

The Deputy PM noted that the two countries have been coordinating closely and supporting each other at multilateral forums and international organisations. Bilateral trade has continually grown by over 20 percent in the last five years, he added.

At the meeting, Minh also talked about some measures to bolster the countries’ cooperation in the time ahead. He emphasised the importance of increasing high-ranking mutual visits, maintaining bilateral consultation mechanisms, working together to devise measures to boost bilateral trade, and promoting people-to-people and cultural exchanges.

For his part, Raptakis expressed his honour to work in Vietnam, adding that his country always attaches importance to reinforcing ties with the Southeast Asian nation.

The ambassador pledged to make great efforts to intensify the cooperation and friendship between Vietnam and Greece as well as connections between Vietnam and the EU.

He also affirmed that Greece will strongly promote the implementation of the EU-Vietnam Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Partnership and Cooperation (PCA) and the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) so as to open up new prospects for bilateral trade and investment in the time to come.

PM visits fishermen in Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Tri provinces

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on May 16 visited the central province of Thua Thien-Hue to inspect the compensation payments for local fishermen affected by the Formosa-related marine environmental incident and residents’ efforts to stabilise their lives.

The incident occurred in April 2016, directly affecting production and lives of 46,218 people in Phong Dien, Quang Dien, Phu Vang and Phu Loc districts and Huong Tra town in the province.

The total compensation for Thua Thien-Hue was 980.3 billion VND (42.8 million USD), including 382.4 billion VND (16.7 million USD) for Phu Vang district. 

PM Phuc lauded the province for completing the compensation payments as directed by the government to help local residents stabilise their lives soon.

He asked the provincial authorities to provide more vocational training for local residents in other fields besides seafood catching such as garment-textiles, footwear, labour export, and tourism.

Leaving Thua Thien-Hue, PM Phuc visited fishermen at Cua Viet fishing port in Gio Linh district of Quang Tri province, one of the most seriously affected localities by the marine environmental incident.

The PM asked Quang Tri authorities to increase support for fishermen to improve their fishing activities.

As scheduled, the government leader will chair a national conference reviewing the performance of the steering committee for solutions to stabilising lives, production and business for people in the four central provinces affected by the incident.

The mass fish deaths were first reported on April 6, 2016 when a large number of fish washed ashore in Ha Tinh province. The incident also occurred in Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue. About 70 tonnes of dead fish were found in the four provinces. 

In late June 2016, Taiwan-invested Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Limited Company admitted responsibility for the environmental incident, paying 500 million USD (11.5 trillion VND) as compensation for affected people.

HCM City’s leaders extend greetings on Buddha’s birthday

A delegation of Ho Chi Minh City led by Deputy Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Vo Thi Dung on May 16 visited the Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) of HCM City on the occasion of the Buddha’s 2,562nd birthday.

Dung extended the best wishes to Most Venerable Thich Tri Quang, who is Deputy Patriarch of the VBS Patronage Council and Chairman of the VBS Executive Council of HCM City, and local dignitaries and followers on the important festival for Buddhists.

She praised the contributions that Buddhist dignitaries and followers have made to the development of the country and HCM City in particular. 

The VBS Executive Council of HCM City has outlined a line-up of activities to support the city’s development in various fields such as economy, culture and social affairs, she added.

In reply, Most Venerable Thich Tri Quang thanked the city’s authorities, saying that Buddhist dignitaries and followers will contribute more to HCM City’s development in the future.

Nghe An advised to fully tap potential for stronger tourism development

Cua Lo beach, a popular tourist site in Nghe An

Lying in the heart of the north central region and the East-West economic corridor linking Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam with the East Sea, Nghe An province has great advantages to develop tourism, heard a workshop in the province’s Cua Lo township on May 16.

Director of the provincial Department of Tourism Nguyen Manh Cuong said Nghe An province has a coastline of 82km with stunning beaches and more than 2,600 historical relic sites and natural landscapes. It is also home to six ethnic groups with unique cultures, he said.

The Western Biosphere Reserve of Nghe An was recognised by UNESCO as a world biosphere reserve thanks to its rich flora and fauna, Cuong added.

The province aims to become one of the largest tourism centres in the north-central region by 2030, the official stressed.

To realise this goal, the tourism sector will build brand names for local tourism products and seek to draw investment projects in resort and ecological tourism development while connecting with the chain of products in the north-central and north-south central regions and other tourism centres at home and abroad, he revealed.

By 2020, Nghe An expects to lure over 5 million tourists, including 170,000 foreigners and gross 10 trillion VND (440.5 million USD) in revenues, contributing 5-6 percent to the province’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) and creating jobs for over 30,000 workers.

The tourism industry is hoped to become a spearhead economy of the province by 2030 with revenues contributing 9-10 percent to the GRDP, Cuong added.

To help Nghe An fully tap its tourism potential, participants at the workshop suggested the province encourage domestic and foreign businesses and economic sectors to invest in tourism infrastructure and human resources training.

As road travelling through Laos, Cambodia and Thailand has been developing in recent years, Nghe An should take advantage of the shared borderline with Laos to enhance connectivity and create diverse tourism products.

The peak of tourism in Nghe An often starts in April and ends in October annually. The province should promote various forms of tourism such as marine tourism, cultural tourism, historical tourism and spiritual tourism to attract more holidaymakers.

At the workshop, the provincial People’s Committee signed strategic cooperation agreements with Vietravel and Saigontourist, two of the leading tourism companies in the country.

NA Standing Committee concludes 24th session

The 14th-tenure National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee wrapped up its 24th session on May 16 afternoon after three working days.

In her closing speech, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan said during the session, the NA Standing Committee adopted four resolutions on important issues within its jurisdiction.

She asked the Government, standing members of the Council of Ethnic Affairs and committees of the NA, the NA Secretary General and relevant agencies to consider opinions raised at the 24th session to finalise reports, draft laws and draft resolutions before promulgating them.

The NA Chairwoman also requested close coordination to promptly prepare for the parliament’s fifth session, scheduled to open on May 21.

Before the 24th session concluded, the NA Standing Committee had commented on the draft revised Law on People’s Public Security Force. 

Many opinions supported the bill and highly valued efforts by the drafting agencies, especially the Ministry of Public Security which has taken the lead in streamlining its apparatus.

Participants also suggested that the draft should be reviewed thoroughly to ensure its constitutionality and feasibility and the consistency in the law system.

Coast guard force honoured for anti-smuggling work

The High Command of the Vietnam Coast Guard Region 2 has been rewarded with the Feat Order (third class) for its achievements in fighting smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeits, helping ensure security and safety in coastal areas.

The Feat Order, a reward of the State President, was presented at a ceremony held in Tam Quang commune of Nui Thanh district, the central province of Quang Nam, on May 16.

The High Command reportedly has performed well in managing the sea area from Con Co Island of Quang Tri province to Cu Lao Xanh Island of Binh Dinh province. Notably, in an anti-smuggling campaign in late 2017, it made progress in protecting the fishing grounds and marine environment of Vietnam.

Over nearly two months, the coast guard force proved two Singaporean oil tankers had transported almost 9 million litres of diesel oil without legal documentation, forcing the goods owners, captains and crew members to admit their violations.

The two vessels were fined more than 332 million VND (14,600 USD) while all of the oil was confiscated and auctioned for nearly 90 billion VND (3.9 million USD) which was later contributed to the State budget.

This was the biggest smuggling and trade fraud case at sea uncovered since the Vietnam Coast Guard was established in 2004. 

With this success, the High Command of the Coast Guard Region 2 was honoured with the Feat Order by the State President. Certificates of merit were also presented to collectives and individuals.

External information dissemination called for to boost the promotion of Vietnam to the world

Promoting the role of diplomatic missions and press agencies abroad, along with selecting suitable topics for dissemination, are among the measures proposed to strengthen external information in promoting the image of Vietnam to the world.

Experts from the relevant ministries, agencies and media gathered to discuss measures to boost the work at a forum hosted by the Central Steering Committee for External Information Service yesterday.

They argued that building and promoting a national image is the ultimate goal of all countries. In a world of integration with fierce competition among nations, a "beautiful image" is considered as an important element in the country's "soft power" that helps to affirm its position.

According to them, in recent years, the Vietnamese diplomatic missions abroad have played a crucial role in propagating and promoting the image of the country to the world. Currently, Vietnam has 96 diplomatic missions abroad, with the function of conducting foreign propaganda through press information activities.

Given their superiority, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ representative offices take the lead in providing official information related to Vietnam to international friends, scholars, the media and the Vietnamese community abroad. They also act as bridges to support businesses operating in tourism to promote the image of Vietnam to international friends.

At the event, delegates also emphasised the role of the media, especially the overseas press agencies, in promoting external information.

Pham Van Linh, Deputy Head of the Party Central Committee's Commission for Communications and Education, affirmed that the work on promoting Vietnam to the world is a long-term process, attained through absorbing external experience and promoting internal capability to further develop external information work.

Linh, who is also Deputy Head of the Central Steering Committee for External Information Service, urged communication agencies to control and select accurate information with effective communication methods to deliver the information to the public in many languages and various forms for effective dissemination.

Ho Chi Minh City high ranking officials visit Russia, Israel

A delegation of Ho Chi Minh City high ranking officials led by Secretary of HCMC Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan began a visit to Russia and Israel on May 16.

The delegation will participate in the celebration of President Ho Chi Minh's 128th birth anniversary, marking 95 years since the Vietnam great leader first arrived in Russia and activities strengthening cooperative relationship between Ho Chi Minh City and St.Petersburg during four days in Russia.

Then, they will travel to Israel for cooperation and exchanges with localities, institutes, state agencies, universities and businesses on fields of smart city building solutions, education and training, creative and innovative startup, science and technology, and high-tech agriculture.