Policy beneficiary families to receive gifts on Martyrs’ Day

President Tran Dai Quang visits Vietnamese war invalids on the occasion of War Invalids and Martyrs’ Day. 

President Tran Dai Quang recently inked decisions to bestow the title of Heroic Vietnamese Mother, Resistance War Medal and Order, Independence Order, and present gifts to beneficiary families on the occasion of the War Invalids and Martyrs’ Day (July 27).

The State President ordered relevant sectors, organisations, and localities to take care of people who rendered their services to the nation, war invalids, as well as relatives of martyrs. 

Social resources should be mobilised to ensure that all of the policy beneficiary households have decent living standards. 

It was instructed that activities to mark the 71st anniversary of the War Invalids and Martyrs Day must be thoroughly organised, and involve all officials, party members, and people from all walks of life.

From the outset this year, 102 organisations and 126 individuals received the “Hero of the People’s Armed Forces” title, and 1,409 women have been conferred the Heroic Vietnamese Mother title. Meanwhile, Independence Orders have been given to 1,327 martyrs’ families, and 1,999 individuals have been awarded various kinds of Resistance War medals and orders.-VNA

Ministry urges stronger action to combat drug crime

The Ministry of Public Security (MoPS) and representatives of 33 southern provinces and cities reviewed the anti-drug efforts over the first six months of 2018 on July 16, stressing the need for stronger actions to fight drug-related crimes that remain complicated nationwide.

At the meeting in Can Tho city, public security officials shared their experience and pointed out some of the obstacles in drug-related crime combat and rehabilitation in their localities.

Deputy Director of the MoPS’s advisory department Colonel Le Van Chuong said the drug crime situation across the country is still complicated. Many new types of drug have appeared, resulting in a sharp rise in drug addicts, while drug rehabilitation remains largely ineffective in many areas. 

These facts require more drastic and stronger actions to fight drug crimes, along with the active participation of society and the whole political system and the public, he noted.

To promote anti-drug efforts, the MoPS, the Ministry of National Defence, and the General Department of Vietnam Customs have ordered relevant forces to continue grasping local situations, and upping anti-drug personnel in vulnerable areas like the northwestern, northeastern, northern central, and southwestern regions, as well as at airports and seaports, he said. 

Chuong said the MoPS and relevant ministries should work closely with neighbouring countries to crack down on transnational drug rings, he added.

In the first six months of 2018, many drug trafficking rings were uncovered with the seized heroin volume surging 168 percent from the previous year. Authorised forces busted nearly 13,700 drug-related cases, arresting nearly 20,000 suspects and seizing over 940kg of heroin, nearly 800,000 synthetic drug pills, 1,500kg of marijuana, and over 40kg of opium.

Meanwhile, the total in drug-related cases and criminals rose 20 percent and 12 percent from the same period last year, respectively. Procuracies and courts at all levels brought to trial nearly 8,000 drug-related cases with nearly 9,600 defendants, data shows.-VNA

The Vietnam Department of Peace-keeping Operations launched a training course in Hanoi on July 16 for military experts dispatched to the United Nations peace-keeping mission. 

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) and deputy head of the Defence Ministry’s Steering Committee for Vietnam’s participation in UN peacekeeping operations Pham Ngoc Minh underscored the importance of countries’ cooperation in holding courses to improve the capacity of Vietnamese peace-keeping forces towards gradually building a peace-keeping training establishment on par with those in regional countries. 

He asked the department to work closely with units and partner countries to ensure that the training curriculum is conducted seriously and in line with regulations. 

The course, the seventh of its kind held in Vietnam, will take place from July 16 to August 3, with the involvement of several VPA lecturers and foreign experts. 

Participants will be trained in investigation, mediation, interpretation, liaising and relations with the media, and report activities. 

During the last five days of the course, they will practise skills in the field, including the inspection, investigation and verification, analysis of bombs, mines, and explosives; as well as negotiation and mediation, among others. -VNA

The Party Organisation of the National Assembly (NA) Office held a conference in Hanoi on July 16 to disseminate Resolution No.26-NQ/TW on building a contingent of personnel at all levels adopted by the seventh plenum of the 12th Party Central Committee. 

Speaking at the event, NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, who is also Secretary of the NA’s Party Delegation, described building a contingent of personnel, especially of those at the strategic level, as the most important and crucial task of the Party, and as such should be done regularly in a cautious, scientific, and effective manner. 

The resolution is especially important to continue improving the leadership and fighting capacity of the Party, she said, adding that the NA’s Party Delegation will devise a specific action plan to implement the resolution. 

The plan will focus on reviewing and building legal documents, resolutions, and mechanisms regarding power control and appraisal of trust, as well as improving training establishments to discover and foster talent, Ngan said.

It will refine the legislature’s supervision mechanism, including question and answer sessions, confidence vote casting which will lay the foundation for personnel appraisal, as well as legal regulations regarding the NA’s mission and authority over high-level personnel work, the leader noted.

Further attention will be paid to personnel building and work at the NA’s agencies, including assigning quotas based on age, gender, and ethnic diversity in hiring officers and those eligible to work in international environments, she added.

In the afternoon of the same day, the NA Office’s Party Organisation disseminated the contents of Resolution No.27-NQ/TW, dated May 21, 2018, on reforming salary policy for officials, cadres, armed forces, and workers in enterprises; as well as Resolution No.28-NQ/TW dated May 23, 2018, on reforming social insurance policy issued by the 12th National Party Committee.-VNA

A set of comprehensive measures must be carried out in response to natural disasters to ensure safety for both local residents and their assets, said Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung on July 16.

At a conference held by the National Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control (NDPC), Deputy PM Dung stressed that solutions for dealing with tropical low pressures that often develop into storms must be well prepared to minimise human and asset losses. 

Ministries, branches, and localities should make plans and arrange resources to carry out the Government’s Resolution No.76/NQ-CP dated June 18, 2018 on natural disaster prevention and climate change adaptation, as well as Directive No.19/CT-TTg dated July 13, 2018 on preventive measures against flash floods and landslides in the northern provinces.

Dung ordered the NDPC, in collaboration with the Steering Committee on Search and Rescue, to establish inspection groups at localities – especially those badly hit by natural calamities – to examine preventive measures; search and rescue vehicles; dyke safety; and important infrastructure such as electricity, roads, hospitals, and schools.

Localities should channel more efforts in swiftly addressing the aftermath of the June 23-26 floods in the north, he said, agreeing to arrange money to support flood-struck areas.

Amid the complex development of natural disasters, the Government has required the installation of disaster warning equipment and forecasting systems in all localities to give prompt warning to authorities and residents, particularly those in mountainous and remote areas, he explained.-VNA  

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked ministries and sectors to review and submit their plans to cut 50 percent of their business conditions before August 15.

This deadline is earlier than the previous cut-off date of October 30 as stipulated in a Government resolution dated January 1.

The plans must include procedures to remove or simplify regulations on at least half of the goods which are required to undergo special inspection. Each imported or exported product should be managed by a ministry or equivalent unit.

The management method may be changed from pre-check to after-check based on risk management and compliance with laws and regulations of organisations and individuals. Not every cargo will be subject to inspection, excluding those which are subjected to special quarantine. 

The PM strictly prohibits ministries, agencies and people’s committees from setting business conditions and inspection procedures which are contradictory to laws.

Ministries and ministerial-level agencies in the course of project formulation or drafting of legal documents shall have to ensure rules are clear and easy to understand and implement. These should not create barriers to enter markets and should not force enterprises to incur costs.

The Ministry of Justice and the Governmental Office take responsibility for verifying legal documents that involve regulations and lists of goods that require special inspections. They will have to make timely reports to authorities to prevent the issuance of regulations that could increase firms’ costs.

Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), agreed that there were big shortcomings in special inspections. Only 6 percent of products were removed from the special inspection list. The average inspection time was 76 hours per procedure, three times higher than the average level in ASEAN-4 countries, even after reforms.

Loc also said most reform plans simply reviewed and supplemented business regulations in current decrees, while there remain many unsuitable business conditions which should be removed or amended. 

Ministries are required to report on the number and list of goods under special inspection as well as business conditions quarterly. Each quarter, they must explain whether business regulations have increased or fallen.

In addition, the PM asked ministries and agencies to announce the results of administrative procedure simplification and economic benefits after the removal.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment in cooperation with other ministries will review conditions to announce on the national information portal on business registration.

Earlier, on July 13, Minister - Chairman of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung said the reforms have been slower than the Prime Minister requested.

There are still delays in implementing specific solutions to simplify administrative procedures and improve the business environment in ministries and agencies.

According to VCCI, as of June 20, only the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) had issued a decree guiding the cutting of business conditions under its management, while other ministries such as the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Construction, Finance, Health and Natural Resources and Environment are still building the plans.

Specifically, the MoIT submitted a decree to cut 675 regulations out of a total of 1,200. The Ministry of Health submitted a decree on alternative food safety management, reducing the amount of imported cargo subject to food safety inspection by 95 percent.

Throughout the VCCI’s survey, many businesses expressed that some proposals to reduce and simplify business conditions do not make much sense for businesses and their effect is negligible.

For example, most conditions relating to personal identity such as ‘have civil act capacity’ are proposed to be abolished. In fact, this condition does not have any effect because businesses only recruit people who have full civil act capacity.

Recently, seven associations including the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), Food and Foodstuff Association of HCM City, Vietnam Dairy Association, Food Transparency Association, Phu Quoc Fish Sauce Producing Association, American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam and the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam sent recommendations related to the State management of product and service quality concerning the sector of health and healthcare, agriculture, science and technology to the Government.

The VCCI recommends within each ministry, ministers do not authorise departments that perform licensing to be the lead agency in drafting the administrative reform plan as these agencies will want to retain their power. The reform provisions should be assigned to independent units, responsible to ministers and consult with other relevant agencies.-VNS/VNA

Chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee  Nguyen Duc Chung on July 16 hosted a reception for South African Ambassador to Vietnam Mpetjane Kgaogelo Kekgoro, during which the two sides discussed issues of common concern.

Mpetjane Kgaogelo Kekgoro said that Vietnam and his country will hold activities to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their diplomatic ties in 2018, which coincides with late President Nelson Mandela's 100th birthday. 

In October 2018, South Africa will hold an international investment conference to call on potential investors from across the world, he said, expressing hope that many Vietnamese enterprises will attend the event. 

For his part, Chung lauded the South African Embassy for its contributions to humanitarian and social activities in many provinces and cities of Vietnam such as blood donation, building kindergartens and communal houses. 

He affirmed municipal authorities will work with the embassy and the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to arrange events to mark the 25th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties. 

Hanoi will also work with South Africa’s diplomatic agency to hold a photo exhibition on the life and career of late President Nelson Mandela in the city in the year, Chung revealed. 

He hoped that municipal authorities and the embassy will collaborate to end rhino horn and elephant ivory trafficking from South Africa to Vietnam.

Chung expressed his belief that the South African diplomat will be a bridge to promote investment and trade links between the two countries’ enterprises, as well as to help Vietnam attract more tourists from South Africa.

Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh presents gifts to impoverished students in Dak Nong province. 

The Central Highlands province of Dak Nong should work towards sustainable economic development, Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh said at a working session with local leaders on July 16.

Lauding the province’s socio-economic achievements over the past six months, Thinh said that despite a lot of formidable challenges, the province has turned in a brilliant performance in ensuring political security and social order. 

In the time to come, due attention should be given to poverty alleviation and communication work to promptly grasp and address local residents’ wishes, she noted.

Regarding nutrition for children, Thinh ordered the Vietnam Children’s Fund to support children’s physical development in Dak Nong province.

In the first half of the year, Dak Nong province witnessed a positive expansion of the agricultural sector, as well as impressive index growth in industrial production thanks to the stable operations of the Nhan Co Alumina Plant.

The province collected over 1.2 trillion VND (51.6 million USD) for the State budget during the January-June period, a year-on-year surge of 41 percent. It shipped 560 million USD worth of products to foreign countries in the period, up 29 percent from last year.

Dak Nong has also paid particular heed to the Party and political system building work. 

However, the province still faces many drawbacks such as unsettlement of migrants, high poverty rate, and high rate of malnourished children, according to local authorities. 

Local leaders said that the province needs financial assistance from the Government, ministries, and branches to fulfill its set targets, especially those criteria on new rural areas and sustainable poverty reduction.

Earlier, Thinh visited and presented gifts to 200 disadvantaged students at La Van Cau and Le Loi primary schools in Dak R’Mang commune, Dak Glong district.

Students at the La Van Cau school also received 60,570 glasses of milk in the past three months from the Vietnam Dairy Products JSC (Vinamilk) milk programme.

Bac Lieu shows appropriate use of ODA in 2011-2016

The Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu showed its appropriate use of official development assistance (ODA) capital during the 2011-2016 period as it disbursed 607 billion VND (26.6 million USD) of the allocated 775 billion VND (33.9 million USD), or nearly 90 percent.

The figures were reported during a working session between a working delegation of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee and the provincial People’s Committee on July 16.

According to reports, the province arranged nearly 315 billion VND (13.8 million USD) in corresponding capital for programmes and projects using ODA during the period, 296 billion VND (12.98 million USD) of which was disbursed, or 94 percent.

The ODA-funded programmes and projects in the locality focused on four main areas, namely agriculture, transport, healthcare, and education. Agriculture saw the largest number of 14 programmes and projects, while the other three fields recorded one each.

The provincial People’s Committee said the province’s management and use of foreign ODA in the 2011-2016 period was always conducted in line with law. More specifically, for projects directly invested in by the province, Bac Lieu closely managed the use of ODA and preferential loans, ensuring they were used for the correct purposes, with no tolerance of corruption, loss, or wastefulness. All works have proven effective after they were put into use.

However, Chairman of the Committee Duong Thanh Trung pointed out that there were no strategic ODA projects to boost local socio-economic development and the use of loans to invest in agricultural, transport, healthcare, and educational works remained asynchronous.

To use loans effectively, he suggested the Government consider arranging timely ODA capital for approved projects, focusing on pivotal ones of large scale.

On behalf of the working delegation, Nguyen Duc Hai, Chairman of the NA’s Finance-Budget Committee, spoke highly of Bac Lieu’s socio-economic development, including the implementation of ODA-funded projects, especially in the fields of clean energy and aquaculture. 

Despite modest ODA capital allocated for Bac Lieu in recent times, the province’s use of this source was both suitable and in line with its development strategies and objectives, particularly in terms of health, agriculture, and climate change response, he said.

Earlier on in the day, the delegation inspected several projects and works that had used ODA in the province.

HCM City, Lao provincial front officials share experience

 
Vice President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF)’s Central Committee and President of the VFF’s Ho Chi Minh City chapter To Thi Bich Chau lauded the visit by President of the Lao Front for National Construction’s Champasak provincial chapter Sithon Keophouvong during a working session on July 16. 

Chau said the visit reflects the friendship and solidarity between the two fronts, as well as ties between the two localities. 

On the back of good relations between Ho Chi Minh City and Champasak province, the sharing of their experience in front work and mass mobilisation will contribute to tightening the friendship between the two localities’ people, she said. 

Permanent Vice President of the VFF’s Ho Chi Minh City chapter Tran Tan Ngoi attributed the city’s socio-economic achievements to the chapter’s units, saying that through various campaigns and movements, they have been able to call for public involvement in the common development of the city. 

Keophouvong, for his part, said his visit aims to share front work experience with the city, thereby fostering bilateral ties on the basis of special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties and States, and their people. 

He expressed his wish that both sides would share more experience in the near future in order to reinforce their friendship and contribute to the socio-economic development in each locality.

Congratulations to newly-elected Turkish parliament speaker

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan on July 16 sent congratulatory messages to former Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on his election as Speaker of the Grand National Assembly.

Vietnam and Turkey officially set up diplomatic relations on June 7, 1978. In February 1997, Turkey established its embassy in Hanoi. In October 1999, Vietnam opened a Trade Representative Office in Istanbul and in July 2002, Vietnam launched its Consulate General, also in Istanbul. The Consulate General was upgraded to the embassy and moved to Ankara, the capital city of Turkey, in October 2003.

Turkey is Vietnam’s leading trade partner in the Middle East. The bilateral trade has increased over the years, exceeding 2 billion USD in 2017, of which 1.9 billion USD came solely from Vietnam’s exports. 

Turkey currently runs 16 investment projects in Vietnam with total registered capital of more than 1 billion USD.

In June 2016, Turkish Airlines opened a flight route connecting Hanoi and Istanbul via Ho Chi Minh City with seven flights per week. Previously, the two countries had signed agreements on aviation, maritime transportation, and double tax avoidance.

Grassroots democracy helps tap people’s potential, creativity: Party leader

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. 

The implementation of regulations on grassroots democracy has helped tap the potential and creativity of the people in dealing with issues of localities and the country, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said at the national conference on grassroots democracy on July 16. 

In June 1997, the third plenum of the Party Central Committee, 8th tenure, adopted a resolution on bringing into play the people’s right to mastery. To concretise the resolution, on February 18, 1998, the Politburo, 8th tenure, issued Directive 30 on building and implementing regulations on grassroots democracy. 

Most recently, on January 7, 2016, the Politburo, 11th tenure, issued Conclusion 120 on continuing to push forward and improve the quality of the building and implementation of grassroots democracy regulations.  

The enforcement of Grassroots Democracy Regulations is the main theme of the national conference on July 16, which is held by the Central Steering Committee for the work. 

General Secretary Trong took note of positive outcomes of the enforcement of grassroots democracy regulations over the past time, especially the heightened awareness about democracy and democracy enforcement of Party committees, authorities, the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF), socio-political organisations, officials, Party members, public workers, and people of all walks of life. 

He attributed the encouraging achievements to the attention that Party committees, authorities, the VFF and socio-political organisations have paid to the work, and the approval and warm response of society. 

At the same time, the Party leader pointed out outstanding problems in enforcing grassroots democracy regulations, one of which is the slow and inadequate work in popularizing policies and laws relating to grassroots democracy in some localities and agencies. 

He said violations of democracy still occur, resulting in public discontent and leading to petitions involving large number of people, especially in the enforcement of policies and laws on land, land compensation and relocation of residents. 

At the same time, General Secretary Trong underlined that democracy is exploited by a number of people to make illegitimate demands or defy the law. Some people are incited by hostile forces to involve in illegal activities in the name of democracy. 

He stressed that enforcing regulations on grassroots democracy must continue to be a regular task, thus creating a momentum for socio-economic development, improving people’s life and welfare, and achieving social equity. 

In parallel with enforcing democracy, attention must be paid to upholding the rule of law and promoting social and citizen responsibility, the Party chief said. 

He urged State administrative agencies and administrations at all levels to listen more to the people, promptly respond to the people’s opinions and petitions, and improve the ethics and service quality of the contingent of public employees. 

The Party General Secretary underlined that one of the factors decisive to the effectiveness of the enforcement of grassroots democracy is the role played by the heads of Party committees and administrations at all levels and of agencies and organisations. 

He demanded that secretaries of every Party committee and key officials of State agencies, all-level administrations and organisations must exercise real democracy and transparency in their work while leading by example in fighting bureaucracy, corruption and wastefulness. 

Discussions at the conference focused on the institutionalization of the Party’s guidelines and viewpoints in Directive 30-CT/TW and Conclusion 120, solutions to enhance the effectiveness of settling complaints and petitions. 

They also shared views on the role of socio-political organisations and experience of localities in implementing grassroots democracy regulations.