No agreement between Tony Blair’s office and Vietnam

The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 11 denied a recent article in the UK’s Telegraph newspaper on cooperation between the office of former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Vietnamese Government.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tony Blair’s office are still in the process of discussing a suitable form of cooperation between the two sides concerning consultation on socio-economic development policy, a representative from the Ministry’s Department for Economic Affairs said.

No official agreement has been signed so far, he added.

The representative stressed that Vietnam always pays heed to consulting with prestigious organizations, experts and scholars around the world during its socio-economic development.

UNDP support for Vietnam’s development praised

Ambassador Le Hoai Trung, Head of Vietnam’s permanent mission to the UN has applauded the UNDP’s cooperation with Vietnam in improving public administration capacity and resource management under the “One UN” initiative.

His speech at the New York-based UN Headquarters on September 11 summed up the results of UNDP operations in the Asia-Pacific region (2008-2012).

Trung highlighted Vietnam’s achievements in fulfilling Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with a focus on implementing specific policies and measures for socio-economic development.

Despite facing new challenges, Vietnam has spared no efforts to push through reforms and renew growth models, he noted.

At the upcoming UN session, the Vietnamese delegation will join efforts with the international community to work out an agenda for international development after 2015 and share experience in carrying out MDGs towards ensuring sustainable growth.

The event is part of the 68th regular session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 68) aiming to define major orientations for international cooperation in the implementation of MDGs.

Complaint letters testify to extent of corruption

At a meeting with Party leaders in the capital yesterday (Sept 11), Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang called on the city to play a central role in fighting corruption.

Quang, who is a member of the Central Steering Committee on Corruption Prevention, is in charge of a delegation supervising and monitoring the investigation and prosecution of corruption in Ha Noi.

According to the Ha Noi Party Committee, the capital has received nearly 5,600 letters of complaints and appeals since January 1, and had prosecuted hundreds for corruption.

At the meeting, Quang applauded Ha Noi's efforts in dealing with corruption in all areas - land, construction, banking, finance and the police. He said that members of the public and the media had provided many tips-offs about corrupt people.

However, he noted that many cases had not been dealt with thoroughly and were still incomplete. Quang said Ha Noi should focus on preventing corruption, which meant increasing transparency in the income levels of officials and focusing on legal and administrative reforms.

In a separate meeting with Hai Phong officials earlier this week also on the same issue, Quang spoke of the need to accurately identify corruption cases and the role of the people and the media. He agreed with a suggestion that many prosecuting offices still lacked the legal framework and staff to define and prosecute offenders.

In its report, the port city noted that the corruption situation had been quite "complicated" and focused largely on land, capital construction and public finance.

Nguyen Ba Thanh, deputy head of the Corruption Prevention Committee, met with party members of the Supreme People's Court in Ha Noi yesterday.

The delegations led by Quang and Thanh are among seven special teams to oversee major corruption investigations until September 30.

The teams were created by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on August 6. Trong is also the head of the Central Steering Committee on Corruption Prevention.

A recent report by the Government Inspectorate of Viet Nam indicated that 36 officials have been charged with corruption during the first eight months of this year. Since January 1, 364 government officers returned gifts worth about VND178 million ($8,600).

Chief Inspector Huynh Phong Tranh said the level of punishment had fallen short of expectations due to difficulties in identifying and prosecuting offenders.

VN, France to boost investment

President Truong Tan Sang has asked a visiting delegation from the France-Viet Nam Friendship Parliamentary Group to increase France's official development assistance and direct investment in Viet Nam.

Receiving the delegation in Ha Noi yesterday (Sept 11), President Sang said the Vietnamese Prime Minister would visit France this month.

During the visit, Viet Nam-France ties are expected to be elevated to a strategic partnership.

Sang said this would be an opportunity to upgrade investment and trade ties, adding that France could assist Viet Nam in negotiations on a free-trade agreement with the European Union.

The leader of the French group, Christian Poncelet, agreed that trade and investment relations could be improved, adding that France wanted to boost co-operation with Viet Nam in various fields.

He said he hoped Viet Nam would continue serving as a gate for French products to penetrate into the Asian market, adding that France would create favourable conditions for Viet Nam to enter the EU market.

On the same day, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung also met the French delegation.

At the reception, Chairman Hung said he hoped the two countries' legislative bodies would continue to widen their ties and strengthen delegation exchanges and the sharing of experience in law-making.

In addition, he said he highly valued the activities of the France-Viet Nam Friendship Parliamentary Group, which, he said, made great contributions to ties between the two legislative bodies.

The chairman invited the French parliament to attend the 132nd International-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly which Viet Nam will host in 2015.

Poncelet replied that France attached much importance to establishing its strategic partnership with Viet Nam.

Vietnamese, Cuban court sectors enhance cooperation

The People’s Supreme Courts of Vietnam and Cuba signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation between the court sectors of the two countries in Hanoi on September 11.

The signing ceremony took place following the talks between Chief Judge of the Vietnamese People’s Supreme Court Truong Hoa Binh and his Cuban counterpart Ruben Remigio Ferro, who is on a visit to Vietnam as Binh’s guest.

During their talks, the two sides discussed cooperation orientations for the coming time, including training in professional skills for judges and sharing experience in trial and court management.

The two sides expressed their belief that the MoU will be a landmark for the practical and effective cooperation between the two courts, contributing to lifting the Vietnam-Cuba friendship.

During the visit, the Cuban delegation will also work with the Appeal Court of the Supreme People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City.

RoK President concludes Vietnam visit

President of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Park Geun-hye left Hanoi on September 11, concluding her five-day State visit to Vietnam at the invitation of President Truong Tan Sang.

During her stay, she held talks with her Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang, paid a courtesy call to General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong, and met with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung.

At the meetings, the two sides expressed their satisfaction at the far-reaching friendship and cooperation in various realms since they established diplomatic ties and strategic cooperative partnership in 1992 and 2009, respectively.

Both sides agreed on stronger links in economics-trade-investment, development, science-technology, labour, environment, culture and education, looking towards 70 billion USD in two-way trade by 2020.

Apart from accelerating the signing of a free trade agreement, both host and guest shared view that an early signing of a labour cooperation agreement is needed to replace the former which expired last year.

They also agreed to kick-start the Vietnam-Korea Institute of Science & Technology (V-KIST) project in the coming time.

The RoK President witnessed the signing of seven cooperation agreements on science-technology, environment, land management, labour, transport infrastructure, finance - banking, distribution and logistics.

As part of her visit, President Park also laid a wreath at the Mausoleum of President Ho Chi Minh and visited the city named after him.

NA Vice Chairwoman wraps up Spain visit

National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan on September 11 wrapped up her five-day working visit to Spain.

During the stay, Vice Chairwoman Ngan worked with Spanish Secretary of State for Trade Jaime Garcia Legaz and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Gonzalo de Benio, during which she said the two nations should lift their political, economic and cultural ties to match their potential.

She also said she hopes Spain will prioritise Vietnam in its development of relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Spanish side noted that the Spanish firms are satisfied with doing business in Vietnam thanks to its investment incentives, and voiced hope for a new development in bilateral business cooperation, including the transfer of technology, expertise and encouragement of tie-ups among their small-and medium-sized enterprises.

At a working session with leaders of the Spanish legislature, Andalucia region and Sevilla City on September 10, Ngan expressed her interest in the policy of decentralisation in the localities.

The Vice Chairwoman said she hopes Vietnamese and Spanish localities will work more closely together in the time ahead.

The hosts also said they wish to push up the implementation of concrete projects between the two sides’ localities.

Vietnamese Government Office delegation visits Laos

Politburo member and Deputy Prime Minister of Laos Asang Laoly received a delegation from the Vietnamese Government Office led by its deputy head Nguyen Quang Thang on September 10.

At the meeting in Vientiane, Thang briefed the Lao leader on the outcomes of the second conference on cooperation between the two Government Offices, saying that the two-day event focused on sharing experience in their work activities including assisting in the formulation, planning and monitoring of government’s policies, providing support and guidance to ministries. The two offices have also agreed to enhance their cooperation in the time to come, Thang added.

Asang Laoly expressed his gratitude for the sincere and effective support of the Vietnamese Government Office to the Lao Government Office which, he said, has helped the Lao Government Office raise the quality of its works.

The Lao leader said he hoped that in the coming time, the two sides will continue intensifying experience exchanges, contributing to fostering cooperation between the two Governments and peoples.

VNN/VNS/VNA