Ho Chi Minh City leader meets former RoK President

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan expressed his wish to foster ties with the Republic of Korea (RoK) during a reception to former RoK President Lee Myung-bak in the city on October 21. 

The Chairman said two-way trade between Vietnam and the RoK has approached 30 billion USD. Close to 1,800 Korean firms are operating in Vietnam with a total capital of 4 billion USD. 

In January-September, trade between Ho Chi Minh City and the RoK hit almost 2.1 billion USD. Recently, the city and Busan signed a cooperation agreement for 2015-2020, he added. 

The former President hailed HCM City’s growth over the past years and pledged to continue working to strengthen ties between the two nations. 

He added that several Korean companies are interested in importing farm produce from Vietnam.

Japanese region boosts cooperation with Vietnam

President of the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association in Kansai region Teiichi Nishimura promised to do his utmost to promote relations with Vietnam in various fields, especially economics, culture, and people-to-people exchange.

He made the remark at a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in Hanoi on October 21.

Nishimura said he hopes the Vietnamese Government will continue to create favourable conditions for Kansai entrepreneurs to make investment and expand business in the country.

Deputy PM Minh congratulated the association on its 20th founding anniversary and hailed its role and endeavour in promoting people-to-people exchange, economic and cultural cooperation between Vietnam and Kansai.

He thanked the association for supporting overseas Vietnamese who are living in the region and the operation of the Consulate General of Vietnam in Kansai.

The Deputy PM proposed the association call on businesses in Kansai cities and prefectures to forge ahead with investment in Vietnam, especially in the fields of their strengths such as high technology and support industry.

Training course on public administration for Bangladeshi officials

A training course on public administration for Bangladeshi government officials opened in Hanoi on October 21. 

The course is part of a cooperation agreement between the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) and the Bangladeshi Ministry of Public Administration, targeting officials at deputy ministerial, department director and deputy director levels. 

During the 10-day course, they will learn about Vietnam’s political and public administration system, strategic management, policymaking, achievements and challenges of administrative reform, with the aim of building a professional, responsible, effective and transparent public service sector. 

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Tran Anh Tuan, who attended the opening ceremony, said the course also includes discussions and field trips. 

Bangladeshi Minister of State for Public Administration Ismat Ara Sadique, for her part, said the Bangladeshi government is working hard to develop an interactive public service system in a bid to improve locals’ lives and grow into an average-income nation by 2021. 

Since the beginning of August, the NAPA has launched five training courses for nearly 140 Bangladeshi deputy ministers, heads and deputy heads of government departments.

Lawmakers continue plenary session, examine budget allocation

National Assembly deputies heard the government reports on the State budget estimate for 2015 and budget allocation for 2016 during a plenary session in Hanoi on October 20.

The NA’s Committee for Finance and State Budget basically agreed to the government’s reports on the 2015 State budget and principles on the 2016 budget allocation, saying that regular and development-driven spending should be in accordance with regulations and put towards poor, ethnic minority and disaster-stricken localities.

The committee also accorded importance to agriculture, farmers and rural areas as well as infrastructure projects.

On the national target programmes for 2011-2015, the committee hailed achievements recorded in 16 of them and agreed that they should be rearranged into the National Target Programmes on new rural construction and the National Target Programmes on sustainable poverty reduction.

It also gave nod to specific goals mentioned in such programmes.

About a scheme on using redundant government bonds for projects on upgrading National Highway 1A and a section of Ho Chi Minh Trail through the Central Highlands, the committee suggested spending them on dealing with contingencies and relevant sub-projects that ensure its progress.

Also in the afternoon, legislators heard a report on diversifying the maturity of and issuing government bonds at international capital market.

On October 21, they are due to examine a report on the draft Law on export-import tariff and discuss the draft Law on accounting.-VNA

Vietnam hopes for closer ties with California

With its improved business environment as well as participation in the recently-concluded Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, Vietnam expects to foster cooperation with the US’s California State in all realms ranging from economy, investment, science-technology and agriculture to climate change, culture, education and people-to-people exchange.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Pham Quang Vinh made the remarks at his meetings with State Senator Mark Leno and member of the State Assembly David Chiu during his official visit to California from October 16-24.

The diplomat highlighted positive developments in the relationship between Vietnam and the US, with significant contributions made by California and its San Francisco city.

He also praised the achievements of the State in general and the Vietnamese community here in particular.

Meanwhile, Mark Leno and David Chiu stated that Vietnamese localities and California State are closely collaborating in numerous fields, expressing their hope that Vietnam will better its business climate in order to create conditions for US enterprises to land their investment in Vietnam.

David Chiu said that he is willing to work with the Vietnamese Embassy and General Consulate in the US to enhance cooperation and exchanges between the two countries’ localities.

According to Mark Leno, Vietnamese businesses need to study the US’s new regulations on wooden furniture exports to satisfy the requirements of the American market. Sharing his State’s experience in climate change prevention, he noted that Vietnam must take measures to deal with the issue.

During his stay, Ambassador Vinh also visited the Anchor Steam Brewing Company and met with Vietnamese businessmen and intellectuals in the US.

President applauds association’s efforts to boost Vietnam-Japan ties

President Truong Tan Sang has appreciated efforts by the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Association (JVFA) in Kansai to boost the friendship and cooperation between the two countries and between the region and Vietnamese localities in particular. 

At a reception for a JVFA Kansai delegation in Hanoi on October 21, he thanked the organisation for assisting Vietnamese students and apprentices in the region, describing its working visits and activities to promote tourism in the two countries’ localities as a bridge for bilateral amity and partnership. 

Japan is among top investors in Vietnam with a majority of its businesses coming from Kansai, he said, expressing his hope that the region will continue topping the list of Japanese investors in Vietnam. 

The President asked the friendship association, which gathers a number of entrepreneurs, to work harder to intensify mutual understanding between the two peoples and foster the nations’ trade, investment and tourism connections. 

For his part, Chairman of the association Teichi Nishimura said he is impressed with Vietnam’s doi moi (renewal) achievements, noting the organisation’s support for Japanese investments in Vietnam as well as student and cultural exchanges between the two countries. 

Speaking highly of the local business climate, the Kansai guests said they will call for more investments and expand business operations there in such fields as providing support services, caring for the elderly, and manufacturing baby products. 

They will also accelerate the trading of Vietnamese mangoes and Japanese apples while paving the way for persimmons, a Kansai specialty, to enter Vietnam and Vietnamese mangosteens and star apples to make inroads into their country’s market.

Vietnam Fatherland Front delegation visits China

The Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) wishes to increase the exchange of delegation, information and experience with the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) in line with the spirit of their memorandum of understanding signed in February 2014.

VFF Vice Chairwoman Bui Thi Thanh, who leads the VFF Central Committee delegation to visit China from October 19-24, made the statement during her meeting with Chairman of the CPPCC National Committee Yu Zhengsheng in Beijing on October 20.

She proposed the two sides enhance political trust, and increase contacts and exchanges and experience sharing to boost mutual understanding, thus contributing to promoting the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

For his part, Chairman Yu Zhengsheng expressed his support for cooperation between two organisations and said he welcomed visits by VFF Central Committee delegations to share experience.

He also congratulated Vietnam on the country’s achievements in socio-economic development in the past few years, saying that he believed in Vietnam’s greater success in the future under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

On the same day, the VFF Central Committee delegation held talks with a CPPCC delegation.-

Party officials visit Greece, Italy to strengthen ties

A Party delegation led by Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations Hoang Binh Quan paid working visits to Greece and Italy from October 16 to 21. 

During its stay in Greece, the delegation had working sessions with the Communist Party’s General Secretary, the President of the Parliament Standing Committees on National Defense and Foreign Affairs, and leaders from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza). 

Meanwhile, in Italy, the delegation worked with the National Secretary of the Communist Party, and the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC)’s General Secretary and others. 

During these meetings, Quan thanked Greek and Italian people for their support in Vietnam’s past struggles for national liberation and its Doi moi (renewal) process, highlighting achievements in war aftermath settlement, poverty reduction, political security maintenance, and socio-economic development. 

The two sides exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern, discussing measures to promote the effective implementation of signed agreements, fully tap co-operation potential, and intensify co-ordination within multilateral frameworks like the EU and ASEAN. 

Both Greek and Italian officials affirmed their willingness to foster ties with Vietnam and its Communist Party, while approving the Vietnamese delegation’s proposals to improve bilateral relations. 

They also expressed concern about the situation in Asia, sharing Vietnam’s stance about addressing disputes peacefully with respect to international law.

Ministry consults about ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community goal execution

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) gathered opinions to the building of an implementation plan for the goals of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC), which is part of the soon-to-be ASEAN Community. 

A blueprint for realising the ASCC goals by 2025 has been drafted by the MoLISA and relevant ministries and sectors, as heard at the MoLISA’s workshop in Hanoi on October 21.

It reviews laws, policies, programmes, strategies and standards along with the implementation organisation with regard to the ASCC’s goals and measures, considers appropriate execution measures, and suggests amendments to existing laws and policies in order to carry out the goals. 

The draft also intends to ramp up communication activities to improve public awareness of the ASCC, and devise mechanisms to mobilise resources for the ASCC building. 

Workshop participants said ASEAN is working to set up a common Community on December 31 this year. Under the ASEAN Community’s Post-2015 Vision, the bloc’s member nations will be outward looking, living in peace, stability and prosperity, and bonded together in partnership in dynamic development. 

To that end, the regional countries devised the blueprints of the ASEAN Political-Security Community, ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. The ASCC Blueprint focuses on building an inclusive, sustainable, resilient, and dynamic ASCC that engages and benefits its people. 

Attendees urged the member countries to actively promote initiatives and integrate so as to fuel regional efforts, combine national priorities in ASEAN integration, and devise policies in line with the development of the ASEAN Community. 

They recognised Vietnam as an active and responsible player in ASEAN cooperation through proposing scopes of partnership and taking into account the Community’s content and direction when devising its national plans and programmes. 

The workshop was part of a project on integrate gender equality into laws and policies towards sustainable employment funded by the Spanish Government.

Ho Chi Minh City, Moscow Oblast boost cooperation

Vietnam’s HCM City and Russia’s Moscow Oblast have a lot of potential to further increase cooperation beyond economics, according to Le Hoang Quan, Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee. 

In his meeting with Andrey Vorobiev, Governor of the Moscow Oblast, Quan said the two localities have taken steps to extensively implement the cooperation agreement signed in May, 2015. 

HCM City’s agencies have been actively working with the Moscow Oblast’s counterparts to form companies to make investments into the Oblast, said Quan, adding that the two sides also have potential cooperation in science, education, culture, tourism and arts. 

In the past nine months of 2015, HCM City welcomed over 60,000 Russian tourists and Saigontourist carried out cooperation deals with Russian companies. 

With regard to cooperation in the future, Quan said in November, around 40 Vietnamese companies will attend a fair in Moscow and these enterprises will realise the two localities’ cooperation policies. 

The city formed a working group to instruct units to coordinate with Moscow Oblast’s agencies to make cooperation more practical and fruitful, he added. 

For his part, Andrey Vorobiev said the visit aims to increase the mutual understanding between Moscow Oblast and HCM City to promote signed cooperation commitments. 

The delegation will also visit the processing and industrial zones to learn about how to establish, develop and attract investments. 

Governor Andrey Vorobiev believed that with the traditional and dynamic relationship between Vietnam and Russia, the cooperation between Moscow Oblast and HCM City would bring specific and real results for both localities.

VNA/VNS