National Assembly opens 9th session in Hanoi

The 13th National Assembly (NA) opened its 9th plenary session in Hanoi on May 20 with a focus on making laws relating to the country’s development process.

Addressing the opening ceremony, NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung stated that Vietnam has recorded positive changes in socio-economic development in the four months leading up to May. The national economy has shown signs of recovery while the country has achieved progress in ensuring social welfare, reducing poverty, strengthening national defence and maintaining political stability and social order and security.

The legislative leader emphasised that 2015 is a year to fulfil targets set by the 11th National Party Congress and the 13th National Assembly. The session will offer a good opportunity to review the nation’s development stage in order to identify what should be done in the time ahead.

Hung said eleven bills and a resolution on the 2016 law and ordinance building programme will be reviewed at the ninth session. He asked NA deputies to promote their brainpower and stance to give opinions and devise solutions to make the session a success.

At the session, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc assessed the results of socio-economic performance and state budget in 2014, and the implementation of socio-economic plan and state budget in the early months of 2015 while the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee's President Nguyen Thien Nhan presented a report to combine all opinions and recommendations of voters.

Deputy PM meets with former Lao leader

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc hosted a reception in Hanoi on May 19 for former Lao Prime Minister Sisavath Keobounphan during his visit to Vietnam.

The Vietnamese official said his country treasures its time-honoured relations and comprehensive cooperation with Laos.

He voiced his belief that under the leadership of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, the country’s people would build a nation of peace, independence, democracy and prosperity.

General Sisavath Keobounphan said he expects substantial strides in Vietnam’s national development under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

He suggested both countries increase senior leader visits and exchanges of Party building experience.

Their localities need to bolster cooperation in defence, security, economics, education and culture while continuing to implement agreements between the two Parties and Governments in a results-oriented manner, he noted.

East Sea issues lie at heart of seminars in France

The French Institute for International and Strategic Relations and the Gabriel Peri Foundation held a workshop in Paris on May 19 to highlight new tensions in the East Sea.

Scores of domestic and foreign lawyers, professors and diplomats were brought together at the event, the second of its kind, to help ease tensions in the East Sea .

Discussions focused on the region’s development since 2012, the role of the United Nations and international law, and relevant European policies.

The workshop clarified the context and factors affecting coastal nations in the East Sea ; the role of geo-politics, security, and economics in the sea; and regional economic connection commitments such as free trade agreements and the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

Notable developments in the East Sea highlighted at the event are China’s unilateral claim of air defence identification zone over disputed waters with Japan and China’s illegal placement of its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in 2014.

Participants called on the European Union, including France, to join global efforts to deal with disputes in the East Sea based on international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

They also recommended expanding cooperation frameworks in security and the military to ease tensions in the East Sea .

On May 18, a separate French Institute of International Relations held a seminar highlighting law and history perspectives to address East Sea issues.

Speaking at the function, Senior Associate Justice of the Philippines’ Supreme Court Antonio T.Carpio said China has no legal basis for its “nine-dash line” claims.

From the historical angle, members of the Chinese feudal Song Dynasty (960-1276) to Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) stated the southernmost point of China is Hainan island.

In 2002, ASEAN member countries reached consensus on the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in East Sea , he said.

He added that the formulation of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea could serve as a mechanism to bring the involved parties to address their differences and limit conflicts.

Prime Minister receives RoK legislator

Vietnam wishes to tap the expansive cooperative prospects with the Republic of Korea (RoK) towards achieving 70 billion USD in trade before 2020, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told a member of the RoK National Assembly Ahn Sang-soo in a meeting held in Hanoi on May 19.

With the recently-signed bilateral free trade agreement, the host said Vietnam looks forward to strengthening bilateral cooperation across the board for mutual benefits, on par with their strategic partnership.

He pledged all possible support to Korean investors in Vietnam and asked the RoK to resume receiving Vietnamese workers and provide assistance to Vietnamese nationals in the country.

Ahn, who is also member of the RoK – Vietnam Friendship Association, promised to encourage Korean investors to conduct business in Vietnam, lobby the welcoming of Vietnamese labourers, and facilitate initiatives to assimilate the Vietnamese community into the RoK.

He also assured the host that he will convey his suggestions to President Park Geun-hye upon his return to the RoK.

German press hails late President Ho Chi Minh

Germany’s Junge Welt (Young World) newspaper covered late President Ho Chi Minh in its May 19 issue on the occasion of his 125th birth anniversary.

The article, titled “Father of the Revolution”, gave an overview of his adventurous life from a rural boy to the Vietnamese President.

It began with the event of September 2, 1945 when Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV) at Ba Dinh Square, and led readers along the course to discover the President’s role in the struggle for national liberation from the French colonial regime, and how he could mobilise millions of people to join the revolution.

It also covers the leader’s major life milestones from his birth place and parents to the end of 1911 when Nguyen Tat Thanh (as he was then known) was hired as a kitchen helperr under the name Ba aboard a French freighter course to Marseille.

He then travelled to different countries in Europe, Africa and America to learn how to achieve prosperity and independence for his country, it wrote.

The article also quoted international historians and experts hailing his righteousness and generosity, and affirming that all those who got to know Ho Chi Minh would never forget him.

Lao press praise President Ho Chi Minh’s thought

Vietnamese late President Ho Chi Minh’s thought has been praised for helping Lao people win victory during their national salvation as well as current construction, defence and development, Pasaxon (Laos People) newspaper said in its editorial.

Other major newspapers such as Vientiane May (New Vientiane), PathetLao (Laos Country), and LaoPhatthana (Laos Development) carried a number of articles featuring the life and career of President Ho Chi Minh – who laid the foundation for the special ties between Vietnam and Laos.

The articles, which were written on the occasion of the President’s 125th birthday anniversary, also highlighted his significant contributions to the Laos revolutionary cause.

During the quest for national independence, Ho Chi Minh was extremely concerned about the situation in Laos, denouncing the French colonialists’ cruelty to the country, the papers wrote.

On May 19, the late President’s birthday was celebrated in Mongolia at an event hosted by the Vietnamese Embassy in Mongolia coordinated with the Mongolia-Vietnam Friendship Association.

President of the Mongolia-Vietnam Friendship Association Dashtsevel expressed Mongolian people’s deep admiration and respect to the deceased – who together with late Mongolian President Sedenbal laid the foundation for the sound friendship between people of the two nations.

He added that the glorious revolutionary life of late President Ho Chi Minh is a pre-eminent symbol of Vietnam’s determination for national liberation, which, he said contributed to the global struggle for peace, independence, democracy and advancement.

Late President’s 125th birth anniversary marked abroad

The Vietnamese embassies in Mexico, Thailand, Singapore and Hungary have commemorated the 125th birth anniversary of the late President Ho Chi Minh (May 19) with a series of events.

A workshop and film screening about the life and career of the founder of modern Vietnam took place in the National Autonomous University of Mexico on May 18.

Vietnamese Ambassador Le Linh Lan, for her part, noted that the late President is the most revered leader of Vietnam and the first President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, leading Vietnam into an era of independence, freedom and socialism.

She said two statues of Uncle Ho in the common tourist destination Acapulco in the southern state of Guerrero and Mexico City are vivid symbols of the friendship and solidarity between Vietnam and Mexico.

At the end of the workshop, Mexican students viewed images of Vietnam, her people and culture provided by the Vietnam News Agency at an exhibition.

On May 19, Vietnamese embassy staff and overseas Vietnamese, Thai and Lao nationals offered incenses at the Vietnam-Thai Friendship Village and a memorial space dedicated to the late President in Na Chooc village in the Thai province of Nakhon Phanom as part of a programme “Following the footsteps of Uncle Ho”.

Ho Chi Minh conducted revolutionary activities and taught locals how to cultivate, build houses and make a living in Nakhon Phanom in late 1928, said President of the provincial Thai – Vietnam Association Trinh Cao Son.

Speaking at a wreath-laying ceremony for the late leader the same day, Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Nguyen Tien Minh expressed his endless pride and gratitude for the founding father of the nation whose thought serves as a guiding torch for Vietnamese people.

They laid the wreath at a memorial inaugurated on May 20, 2008 to mark the President’s first arrival in Singapore in 1933.

In the Hungarian city of Zalaegerszeg, the upgraded Uncle Ho monument complex was inaugurated, crafted by one of the greatest Hungarian sculptors Maron Laslo.

Since 1976, the complex has become a symbol of the Vietnam-Hungary friendship.

A commemorative ceremony dedicated to the late leader was also held in the Republic of Korea.

Lao ceremony marks President Ho’s 125th birthday

The Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP) Central Committee and authorities from the country’s capital, Vientiane, held a ceremony on May 19 to celebrate the 125 th birth anniversary of late Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh.

Officiating at the event were Lao Vice President Bounnhang Volachith; Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the LPRP Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations and Foreign Minister Thongloun Sisoulith; and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Sports, Phankham Viphavan.

Viphavan, who is also the Chairman of the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Organisation, reviewed the life and revolutionary activities of Ho Chi Minh, who he described as a great thinker and example of a successful Marxist-Leninist revolutionary.

The leader brought the light of revolution to the three Indochinese nations of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia and helped save them from foreign oppression, the official noted.

The Deputy PM also highlighted Ho Chi Minh’s attention to promoting Vietnamese-Lao relations, adding that under his training, the two countries’ officials and people joined efforts to fight against invaders and nurture their friendship.

Viphavan expressed gratitude to President Ho Chi Minh, the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Vietnamese Government, and people for their assistance to Laos in the past and at present.

At the commemoration, Vietnamese Ambassador to Laos Nguyen Manh Hung said Vietnam will do its utmost to follow Ho Chi Minh’s teaching of joining hands with Laos to consolidate their traditional friendship, solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation, driving their national development and protection and contributing to the region and the world.

VNA