Prime Minister hosts Chilean, Canadian ambassadors

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right) and Chilean Ambassador Jaime Chomali Garib

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc held separate meetings with the ambassadors of Chile and Canada in Hanoi on January 29. 

Meeting with Chilean Ambassador Jaime Chomali Garib, the Government leader urged Vietnam and Chile to promote their trade ties as they have substantial potential for collaboration in this field. 

Ministries, agencies and businesses of the two countries should make further study of each other’s markets, he suggested. 

Talking about Chile’s hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in 2019, PM Phuc pledged that Vietnam will actively support the country in organising the event and asked Chile to arrange bilateral meetings on the occasion of the forum. 

Vietnam wants to maintain the operation of the free trade council mechanism in order to make use of cooperation opportunities, he said, noting that the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which has come into force recently, would help both countries participate deeper in the global value chain. 

For his part, Jaime Chomali Garib highlighted the strong development of the Vietnam-Chile relationship, especially after they have become APEC members. 

With its foreign policy focusing on Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asia, Chile has registered to become a partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he said, calling for Vietnam’s support in this regard. 

The diplomat also expressed his hope that Vietnam will participate constructively in the international conference on climate change which Chile will host this year. 

He noted rapid progress in bilateral trade since the two countries signed the free trade agreement in 2011, with efforts being made to step up the trade in fruit. He added that Chile wants to cooperate with Vietnam in startup and space projects. 

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (right) and Canadian Ambassador Deborah Anne Paul 

At the meeting with Canadian Ambassador Deborah Anne Paul, PM Phuc said the relationship between Vietnam and Canada is at the best level ever in all spheres, from economy to national defence and security. 

He asked the diplomat to make greater efforts to promote the bilateral trade in the time ahead, suggesting that the Canadian side organise more trips to Vietnam for Canadian enterprises to study the market.

In reply, Deborah Anne Paul stressed that trade and investment ties are a priority of the two countries which, she said, have shared common viewpoints on multilateral trade institutions. 

Canada stands ready to support Vietnam in assuming the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2020, she said, adding that the two countries will organise many activities marking the 45th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2019.

Deputy PM hosts RoK’s Prosecutor General

At the reception 

Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh hosted a reception in Hanoi on January 29 for visiting Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office of the Republic of Korea (RoK). 

Binh hailed the RoK as the largest investor in Vietnam with two-way trade at over 64 billion USD. There are currently 50,000 Vietnamese brides among the over 160,000 Vietnamese people in the RoK. 

He expressed his delight at Korean head coach Park Hang-seo’s substantial contributions to Vietnam’s football, thus fostering bonds between the two nations. 

The host said Vietnam is stepping up the fight against corruption and has achieved important results. 

As Vietnam and the RoK are members of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, he suggested that both sides should uphold the spirit of preventing crimes and enhance international cooperation in the field. 

Vietnam is ready to partner with the RoK in line with the convention, Binh said. 

He lauded the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office of the RoK and Vietnam’s Supreme People’s Procuracy for signing the 2019-2022 cooperation agreement, and hoped that the RoK would assist Vietnam in studying legal institutions; training prosecutors; and adopting modern technology in the management of cyber, transnational, organised, drug and human trafficking, and corruption crimes. 

Moon wished that the Deputy PM would continue supporting ties between the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office of the RoK and Vietnam’s Supreme People’s Procuracy, and expressed readiness to share experience with Vietnam in anti-corruption. 

The guest also hoped that Vietnam will support the RoK build a peace mechanism for the Korean peninsula. 

In this regards, Binh affirmed that Vietnam always supports and holds responsibility for helping build the Korean peninsula of peace, cooperation, and development. 

Hanoi leader receives new Canadian ambassador

Chairman of the Hanoi municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung (R) and Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam, Deborah Paul 

Chairman of the Hanoi municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung hosted a reception in the capital city on January 29 for the newly-accredited Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam, Deborah Paul. 

Chung expressed his hope that Ambassador Paul would serve as a bridge linking Canada to Vietnam, as well as Hanoi in particular, in the new era. 

He said the adoption of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) offers both opportunities and challenges to Hanoi. Local authorities have come up with a plan for administrative reform, economic restructuring, and macro-economic stability to ensure the development of the business community, he added, thereby facilitating cultural, goods, and trade exchange. 

Paul, for her part, said the establishment of the Canada-Vietnam comprehensive cooperative partnership has deepened ties between people of the two countries. 

She said Canada will send a delegation to Vietnam in the near future to assess the impacts, opportunities, and challenges of the CPTPP, as well as increase cooperation in fields of Hanoi’s interest, such as human resources training, information, communications, and clean technology.

Public employees crucial to local development plans: HCM City official

Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong addresses the meeting with chairpersons of the communal-level administrations on January 29 

Public employees at the communal-level People’s Committees play an important role in realising Ho Chi Minh City’s socio-economic development plans, and as such need specialised training to better do their duties and meet modern requirements amidst the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The remark was made by Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong at a meeting on January 29 with 322 chairpersons of the administrations of wards, communes, and towns in the 24 local districts.

He said that in 2019, HCM City will focus efforts on making administrative reform acceleration and implementing the National Assembly’s Resolution No.54 on special mechanisms for the city being piloted.

Therefore, the administrations of wards, communes, and towns need to join hands with upper-level authorities in the work, as well as gauging people’s feedback and satisfaction to measure their performance, he noted.

However, numerous difficulties are predicted for 2019, Phong added, asking local public employees to keep close contact with the mass and consider public problems as their own so as to work more proactively and flexibly to ensure people’s rights and legitimate interests.

At the meeting, participants also suggested initiatives to help address the city’s problems and improve the services provided for local residents.

Top legislator receives Korean prosecutor general

Chairwoman of the National Assembly (NA) Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan hosted a reception for Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office of the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Hanoi on January 29.

Friendly and cooperative relations between Vietnam and the RoK have seen strong development steps and been deepened 27 years after the establishment of diplomatic ties, Ngan said.

She recalled her official visit to the RoK in December last year, during which the two sides agreed on measures to boosting the Vietnam-RoK comprehensive cooperation in politics, economy, security, defence, culture, education and law.

The legislator briefed her guest about the functions and tasks of the Supreme People's Procuracy of Vietnam.

Lauding the outcomes of the talks between Moon and Prosecutor General of the Supreme People’s Procuracy of Vietnam Le Minh Tri, Ngan said a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation for 2019-2022 signed between the two agencies lays the basis for bilateral partnership in the future.

According to the pact, the sides agreed to maintain the regular exchange of delegations to boost friendship and mutual understanding, and share professional experience. They will increase their collaboration in preventing and combating crimes through mutual judicial assistance, training human resources, applying IT, and organising seminars to learn from each other.  

For his part, Moon highlighted cultural similarities shared between Vietnam and the RoK, saying Korean people have extended sentiments to the Vietnamese nation and people.

He believed that, together with the people-to-people exchange and economic cooperation, the collaboration between their judicial agencies will be enhanced.

Both host and guest expressed their delight at significant progress in the Vietnam- RoK strategic partnership. 

The RoK is now the biggest foreign investor and second biggest trade partner of Vietnam, which is the fourth largest trade partner of the RoK. 

More than 170,000 Vietnamese are living, working and studying in the RoK, while Vietnam accommodates some 150,000 people from the RoK. Around 60,000 Vietnamese-Korean families are acting as special friendship bridges between the two nations.