HCM City’s leader welcomes Lao official

Ho Chi Minh City hopes for stronger relations with Xaysomboun province on the foundation of the time-honoured cooperation between Vietnam and Laos.

Standing Deputy Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City’s Party Committee Vo Van Thuong made the statement during a reception for Xaysomboun Governor and Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Sombath Yialiher on October 28.

The host spoke highly of Xaysomboun province’s socio-economic achievements since its establishment two years ago. He believed that the locality will gain considerable success under the leadership of Governor Sombath Yialiher.

The Lao guest said as a newly-established province, ​Xaysomboun lags behind other Lao localities in terms of infrastructure.

He expressed hope that Ho Chi Minh City enterprises will invest in the province, adding that ​Xaysomboun has potential in hydropower.

He also called on Vietnamese businesses to invest in the construction of schools, hospitals and other facilities in the province.

By separating from Vientiane, Xaysomboun province was set up on December 31, 2013, becoming the 17 th province of Laos. It covers an area of 8,500 square kilometres with a population of more than 81,800 people.

Hanoi, China’s Yunnan province forge cooperation

Authorities and people of Hanoi always stick importance to cooperation with Chinese localities, including Yunnan province, said a senior Hanoi official.

Le Van Hoat, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Council told Zhang Bairu, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Yunnan provincial People's Congress, during their meeting in Hanoi on October 28 that with geological adjacency and cultural similarities, Vietnam and China have substantial advantages to boost people-to-people exchange, particularly between Yunnan and Hanoi.

He said Zhang’s visit to Hanoi is of significance as it is expected to contribute to fostering collaboration between the two countries and localities given the context that Vietnam and China are celebrating the 65th anniversary of their diplomatic ties.

The official noted his hope that the visit, together with the performance of the Yunnan art troupe, will help draw more interest of local citizens in Chinese culture.

He used the occasion to call on Yunnan authorities to create the best possible conditions for the two sides’ businesses to explore the market and operate in the respective countries.

Vietnam and Hanoi in particular always welcome enterprises from China and Yunnan as well to seek investment opportunities in the country.

In response, Zhang noted his belief that the two sides will keep their friendship close, especially at a time when Yunnan and Hanoi are members of the cooperation forum of the economic corridor which also includes Hai Phong city, Lao Cai and Quang Ninh provinces in northern Vietnam.

He proposed increasing delegation exchanges between the Yunnan provincial People's Congress and the Hanoi People’s Council , further cooperation in the Kunming-Hanoi Economic Corridor, as well as cultural, arts and sports exchanges.

Earlier, the Yunnan art troupe performed in Hanoi on October 27 as part of activities to mark the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Vietnam.-

Vietnam boosts cooperation with Italy’s Cassino city

Vietnam’s Ambassador to Italy Cao Chinh Thien has visited Italy’s Cassino city in order to boost cooperation between Vietnam and the city.

At a meeting with Cassino Mayor Giuseppe Golini Petrarcone, Ambassador Cao Chinh Thien introduced the achievements Vietnam has made in economy, politics, society and external relation in the past 30 years as well as the potential for cooperation between the country and the Italian city.

The ambassador also thanked the city for its support given to Vietnamese students studying in the city.

Mayor Giuseppe Golini Petrarcone said there is good potential for bilateral cooperation in tourism, culture and education.

The ambassador and Cassino mayor agreed to boost the exchange of information to cement mutual understanding and facilitate cooperation in all fields, first of all in education and tourism.

Cassino is the second largest city of Frosinone province and a major tourist destination.

Around 70 Vietnamese students are studying at universities in the city.

Hanoi Party Organisation’s 16th Congress expected with changes

The upcoming 16th Congress of the Hanoi Party Organisation aims to reassert the organisation’s determination to improve its leadership and capacity to speed up the capital city’s comprehensive reform, industrialisation, modernisation and sustainable development over the next five years.

In its last tenure from 2010 to 2015, the municipal Party Organisation, backed by local people’s unity, worked tirelessly to lead the city to numerous remarkable achievements.

However, setbacks remain and have challenged the city’s development, the entire Party Organisation, the administration and the city’s inhabitants.

These issues were discussed in the municipal Party Organisation’s draft report to be submitted to the 16th Congress.

The city had yet to fully tap its strength and potential for economic growth. The quality and competitiveness of products and commodities remained low. Capital, manpower and technological resources had yet to be utilised efficiently, and the knowledge-based economy had yet been featured in key economic sectors. Urban construction and management failed to address the renovation of downgraded residential quarters, and the relocation of polluted production establishments and hospitals.

Cultural development has yet met the people’s expectations. Public awareness about observing traffic laws hasn’t changed, and food safety is not monitored closely. Crimes and social vices have continued developing in a complex manner.

Party-building saw limitations, especially in promoting the leadership of Party organisations, the draft report said.

Nguyen The Thao, chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, emphasised that the Congress, which is slated to start on November 1, would decide orientations and guidelines to help the capital city move forward over the next five years.

Therefore, the municipal Party Committee reexamined the city’s advantages and disadvantages, and the difficulties that lie ahead as it will debate and adopt development goals and assign new tasks.

Accordingly, economic development will be stepped up to ensure fast, sustainable growth and social security are achieved.

Planning and planning management endeavours must be promoted, along with developing a healthy and cultured lifestyle, and improving the quality of human resources.

Political and social stability must be maintained as defence and security continue to be reinforced. External co-operative activities and international integration must be increased to heighten the capital city’s prestige and position.

Drastic changes are suggested for the construction of the Party and political systems at all levels. These should help them grow stronger, and meet requirements for building and developing the capital.

Apart from defining future duties, the municipal Party Committee also outlined three breakthroughs to help the city grow the next five years.

They include modernising urban and rural area infrastructure in a uniform fashion, hastening administrative reform to improve services provided by State civil officials and the investment environment, and increasing the quality of human resources.

Local people are pinning their faith on the municipal Party Organisation and administration, expecting the new batch of authorities in the next working term to inject fresh momentum into the city’s industrialisation, modernisation, reforms, integration and development.

Hanoi to push forward with comprehensive reform

Mobilising all resources and pushing forward with comprehensive and synchronous reform, industrialization and modernization will be the guiding principle for the next term from 2015-2020, Secretary of Hanoi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi said ahead of the upcoming 16th Congress of the Hanoi Party Organisation.

The city’s Party leader wrote in an article on the occasion that the congress will discuss and approve the goals and tasks for the development of the capital city in the 2015-2020 term, based on the general guideline of enhancing the municipality Party organisation’s leadership and combating capacity; upholding the city’s cultural values and heroic traditions; making the most of the strength of the national unity bloc; mobilizing all resources, accelerating the comprehensive and synchronous renovation, industrialization and modernization; building a prosperous, civilized and modern capital city.

In the 2010-2015 tenure of the municipal Party Committee, Hanoi has overcome many difficulties and challenges to record many achievements.

The city’s GDP grew at an average 9.23 percent per year, 1.58 times the national rate. The Gross Regional Domestic Products (GRDP) reached an estimated 27.6 billion USD in 2015 and per capita income 3,600 USD at current exchange rate, up 1.8 times from the level in 2010.

During the past tenure, Hanoi has paid special attention to urban development and management, mobilizing all resources to invest in building modern technical and social infrastructure. Some major projects in this field can be named such as the T2 terminal of the Noi Bai International Airport, the elevated ring road No.3, the Nhat Tan-Noi Bai highway, the extended National Highway No.5, key bridges across the Red River including Nhat Tan and Vinh Tuy, and seven flyovers inside the city to ease traffic jams. Work has also started on the construction of two urban railway routes – the Ha Dong-Cat Linh and the Nhon-Hanoi Railway Station, while survey is being underway for the Nam Thang Long-Tran Hung Dao route. Many new urban areas and trading centres have sprouted across the city.

Rural areas in the city also received substantial investment, with an average 5.8 trillion VND a year. As results of the new-style rural area building programme, per capital income in rural areas doubled from 2011 to 33 million VND a year in 2015, and the poverty rate dropped to under 2 percent among all rural households from 11.2 per cent in 2011. The city expects 166 out of its 386 rural communes will meet new rural areas standards by the end of this year, a rate of 43 percent compared to the national rate of 20 percent.

At the same time, Hanoi has made strides in socio-cultural development, remarkably improving the cultural and spiritual live of people of all walks of life. Hanoi leads the country in terms of the human development index and the scale and quality of education and training. The city has always maintained security and political stability as well as social order, ensuring a safe environment for its residents and visitors.

The city has also bolstered ties with other localities in the country, while establishing friendly and cooperative relations with more than 100 foreign cities and with many international organisations.

Regarding Party building work, the municipality Party Organisation was commended by the Party Central Committee as an exemplary organisation which has many initiatives in carrying out the Resolution of the 4th Plenum of the 11th Party Central Committee on studying and following the moral example of President Ho Chi Minh. Hanoi was the first locality in the country to hold confidence voting on persons holding leading and managerial positions.

The leader of the city’s Party Organisation attributed the achievements and progress he mentioned above to the fact that the city has kept close to the policies and instructions of the Party Central Committee while taking flexible and creative measures. The city has also received effective assistance and coordination from ministries, sectors and organisations. The high consensus among the Party Organisation and among the people is another important factor, Nghi said, adding that the efforts to renew the leadership and working style of Party Committees at all levels are also worth mentioning.

Secretary Nghi pointed to outstanding weaknesses and shortcomings that need to be addressed in the time to come. The city’s economic growth does not match its potential, and growth quality and competitiveness remain low. Hanoi has yet to make full use of its strengths in capital, science and technology, human resource and labour market. Enterprises operating in the city, particularly private ones, still face many difficulties. Planning work and the management of construction, urban development, land use and the environment are below expectations.

He explained that insufficient resources and inadequate legal regulations and mechanisms have hindered the city’s efforts. On the other hand, the municipal administration is also to be blamed for failing to act strongly and resolutely. A number of officials and public workers do not fulfill their responsibilities, while the punishment of those who commit mistakes is not strict enough.

Those problems must be dealt with promptly and effectively, Secretary Nghi said.

He noted that more opportunities will open up for the capital city in the next five years as the city and the country as a whole accelerate the international integration process, but new challenges and difficulties will also arise.

“In order to lead the city in successfully implementing the set targets and tasks, the most decisive factor for the municipal Party Organisation is to promote the unity and consensus within the Party, the trust and consensus of all officials, Party members and citizens,” the Secretary emphasized as conclusion of the article.

Enactment of Law on Cyber Security under NA discussion

National Assembly (NA) deputies discussed the bill on Internet security at an October 29 working session in Hanoi.

They said the issuance of such a law will help to complete a legal foundation on information security, create better conditions for stable and equal development for organizations and individuals operating in Vietnam, as well as reinforce the role, responsibility of state management agencies in the field of information security.

Several NA deputies agreed on a plan to focus more resources for training personnel who can be masters in network information security.

Deputy of Phu Tho province, Nguyen Xuan Thuy said, “According to the draft law, the Ministry of Information and Communications is assigned to take the main responsibility for compiling the bill which will be implemented by the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Defense to timely detect the malware harming national security.

“But the Ministry of Information and Communications doesn’t have enough jurisdiction and specialized knowledge in the compilation. I think either the Ministry of Public Security or the Ministry of Defense should take the mission,” Thuy suggested.

The draft law includes nine chapters and 56 articles, defining regulations for information security activities, including ensuring the safety of online information; protecting personal information online; civil cipher; standards and technical regulations on information safety; business operations in the field of information security; human resource development; State management on information security; and the rights and obligations of organisations and individuals engaged in the field.

Vietnam now has 44 million Internet users and more than 140 million mobile phone subscribers.

High-level Belgian delegation to visit Vietnam

A delegation led by Belgian Senate Chair Christine Defraigne will on November 1 begin an eight-day official visit to Vietnam, according to the National Assembly (NA) announcement on October 29.

The visit is made at the invitation of NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung. 

VNA/VOV