Myanmar President Thein Sein. (Source: VNA)
President of Myanmar Thein Sein will pay an official visit to Vietnam from March 20-21, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The visit is made at the invitation of Vietnam’s President Truong Tan Sang.

* NA Committee prepares for Vietnam-Laos cooperation conference

On March 15, the National Assembly (NA) Committee for External Affairs met with representatives from relevant agencies to prepare for the conference on cooperation between Vietnamese and Laos NAs scheduled for late April in the northern province of Son La.

At the meeting, the representatives briefed the NA Committee for External Affairs on preparatory work in logistics, protocol, security, and communication on the conference. Media agencies, including the Vietnam Television (VTV), Radio Voice of Vietnam (VOV) and the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) have been steeping up communication on the event through reportages, round-table discussions and exhibitions introducing Vietnamese and Lao land and people and achievements in external relations, cooperation and development of the two nations.

The Chairman of the Committee, Tran Van Hang, said the conference will be a highlight of cooperative relations between Vietnamese and Lao legislative bodies in the Vietnam-Lao Solidarity Friendship Year 2012.

The conference will contribute to improving the efficiency of cooperation between the two countries, promoting the exchange of information between localities in border areas and implementing the agreement on friendship and cooperation. Hang said.

During the conference, there will be a cultural exchange night in praise of the special Vietnam-Laos solidarity and a break-ground ceremony for Vietnam-Laos historical relic site in Son La.

* PM Dung receives Korean Minister

On March 15, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung received the Republic of Korea (RoK) Minister of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Suh Kyo Yong, who is on a visit to Vietnam for the 31st meeting of the FAO’s Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC).

At the reception, PM Dung said that Vietnam-RoK cooperation in various fields, based on the strategic partnership, has greatly benefited the two nations’ common development.

PM Dung praised the close cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the RoK’s Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, hoping that the RoK will continue to support Vietnam’s development of agriculture, forestry and fisheries through building a vocational training centre, sharing experiences in developing a new village model and boosting cooperation in producing vaccines against bird flu.

For his part, Minister Yong said he will do his best to implement the areas of cooperation proposed by PM Dung and hoped that Vietnam will create the best possible conditions for Korean businesses to bring long-term investment to the country, especially in agro-forestry-fishery product processing.

The RoK will carry out solutions to expand import markets and help Vietnamese agro-forestry-fishery products penetrate the Korean market, Mr Yong said.

He also proposed streamlining administrative procedures related to export-import activities between the two countries to help their agro-forestry-fishery products achieve greater market penetration.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA