Russia fosters strategic partnership with Vietnam

Promoting cooperation with Vietnam is one of Russia’s priorities in its Asia policy, Ambassador to Vietnam Andrey G. Kovtun told a press briefing in Hanoi on December 25.

Reviewing the Vietnam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership, Kovtun said bilateral relationship has developed strongly through high-ranking reciprocal visits and expanded cooperation.

Many large-scale agreements were implemented in 2013, resulting in effective cooperation in energy, telecommunications, culture, education and training, tourism, and science and technology.

Two-way trade turnover in the first 10 months of this year hit US$3.15 billion, up 2% compared to the same period last year. Of the total, US$2.24 billion was generated from Vietnamese exports, up 20.5%.

The two sides aim to raise bilateral trade value to US$7 billion by 2015 and US$10 billion by 2020.

The diplomat recalled big progress in the ongoing negotiations of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the Customs Union (comprising Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan) and Vietnam, saying four rounds of talks have been conducted fruitfully to date.

He said both sides are determined to reach a more balanced pact that will not only stimulate two-way trade turnover but also promote trade, services, investment, and technology transfer among its members.

He said the Customs Union is on the threshold of entering a new economic integration period following the debut of the Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC) originated from the Customs Union.

Once a new EAEC treaty is signed in 2014 and comes into effect in 2015, it will deepen integration between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, and Kovtun said he hopes Vietnam will be the first foreign partner to benefit from the treaty.

He also expressed hope Russia and Vietnam will do their utmost to consolidate and strengthen their comprehensive strategic partnership for mutual benefit and for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

Cabinet members discuss five bills

Cabinet members discussed five draft revised laws during their December 25 law building session, including those on vocational training, real estate business, social insurance, civil aviation, and housing.

They agreed to amend 28 articles and add six articles and one point to the revised Vocational Training Law, while removing five articles and Chapter IX from the current version.

The revised version will focus on solutions to meet the requirements of vocational training reforms, solve shortcomings of the current version and make it suitable to other relevant laws.

The Real Estate Business Law (revised) will be adjusted to avoid overlapping and contradiction to other laws.

Meanwhile, the draft revised Law on Social Insurance will consist of nine chapters and 125 articles, two chapters and 16 articles less than the present one.

The law on amendments and supplements to some articles of the Civil Aviation Law should meet the requirement of sustainable economic growth, including the encouragement of the development of the transport sector in general and aviation in particular, the cabinet said.

They also agreed that the revised Housing Law should focus on ensuring the development of housing in line with the approved planning to avoid spontaneous investment and market imbalance.

Strengthen corruption fight in 2014, urges Party leader

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong has called for tougher anti-corruption measures next year, noting that the nation will prepare for Party Congresses at various levels in 2014.

Speaking at a meeting of the Central Anti-Corruption Steering Committee held in Hanoi on December 25, the Party leader, who heads the committee, said its responsibility will be bigger as the fight against corruption is a major issue that the entire population is interested in.

He said more amendments should be made to existing anti-corruption policies following the National Assembly's approval last month of the amended 1992 Constitution.

General Secretary Trong stressed the importance of widespread dissemination of information on all aspects of the nation's fight against corruption.

He said that next year, the steering committee should send inspection teams to organisations that show signs of corruption, bring more cases under its supervision and strengthen its review process so that appropriate cases are chosen for trial.

The Party leader also emphasised the need for international co-operation in the fight against corruption, especially in accessing legal support and enhancing capacity at the grassroots level.

Reviewing its work in 2013, he praised the committee for the consistency that it has shown in implementing various measures and the notable achievements of seven special teams established in August to handle investigations into high-profile corruption cases as well as prosecution of those involved.

He said the committee had selected 10 cases, eight that went to trial and two that were being investigated, to supervise and develop measures to speed up the investigation and prosecution processes.-

Government convenes law building session

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has called for more efforts to handle all legal documents in 2014 while chairing a cabinet meeting on law building work in Hanoi on December 25.

He required ministries and agencies to promptly send their proposals relating to the 2015 law and ordinance building programme in January, which will be discussed at a regular cabinet meeting early next year.

At the session, Minister of Justice Ha Hung Cuong highlighted great efforts made by ministries and ministerial-level agencies in the implementation of the law and ordinance building programme in 2013.

The Government gave opinions on 27 draft laws and ordinances and ministries and ministerial-level agencies jointly revised ten draft laws which were mulled over by the National Assembly and the NA Standing Committee in 2012.

According to the minister, a total of 36 draft laws and ordinances will be submitted to the legislature and the committee in 2014.

He suggested ministries and ministerial-level agencies to pay more attention to human resources and the implementation of the law and ordinance building programme.

The minister also proposed the Government convene at least two thematic sessions in 2014 to deliberate draft laws and ordinances.

Russian Duma delegation visits Ba Ria-Vung Tau

A delegation from the Russian State Duma paid a working visit to the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau on December 25 to explore cooperation opportunities.

The delegation was led by First Vice President of the State Duma and Vice President of the Communist Party of Russian Federation Ivan Ivanovich Melnikov.

During their working session with Vice Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Council Nguyen Hong Linh, the guests were told that the Vietnamese province is actively penetrating the Russian market with its major export products such as seafood, cashew, garments and textiles.

It has signed a number of Memoranda of Understanding on cooperation with Russian localities, including Rostov-on-Don, Sverdlovsk and Nenetskiy, Linh added.

The host highlighted the bilateral cooperation in oil and gas, tourism, maritime transport and construction, with the Russia-Vietnam oil and gas joint venture (Vietsovpetro) as a bright spot.

The province has always created favourable conditions for Russian nationals to live and work in the locality, Linh further said.

A number of cultural exchanges are held regularly in order to deepen the relationship between the two peoples, he added.-

Thai ambassador awarded Friendship Order

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh presented Vietnam’s Friendship Order to outgoing Thai ambassador Anuson Chinvanno in Hanoi on December 25.

Minh spoke highly of Chinvanno’s contributions to developing the friendship and multi-faceted cooperation between Vietnam and Thailand over the years, especially after the two countries established the strategic partnership during Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s Thailand visit last June.

He said he believes the Vietnam-Thailand strategic partnership will further develop in the interests of the two peoples and for peace, stability, cooperation and development of the region and the rest of the world.

Minh also proposed Vietnam and Thailand work closely together with other ASEAN member states to consolidate the grouping’s solidarity and realise the goal of building a united ASEAN Community by 2015.

During his office term in Hanoi, Chinvanno had made significant contributions to lifting Vietnam-Thailand relations to the strategic partnership status based on five pillars: politics, national defence-security, socio-economics, people-to-people diplomacy, and international cooperation.

This is the first strategic partnership Vietnam has established with an ASEAN member state and one of the five strategic partnerships Vietnam has formed this year.

Ambassador Chinvanno vowed to help develop close ties with Vietnam in whatever positions he will hold in the future.

Cambodia PM visit to bolster close ties

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen begins a three-day official visit to Viet Nam today, Dec 26.

The visit, made at the invitation of Vietnamese PM Nguyen Tan Dung, is expected to further strengthen traditionally close relations that the two countries have enjoyed for decades, especially to enhance long-standing bilateral co-operation in many fields, including trade and investment.

Viet Nam is the first country that Hun Sen is visiting after his re-election as Cambodian Prime Minister.

The two government leaders will also exchange views on issues of common concern.

Viet Nam and Cambodia established diplomatic ties in 1967.

Since then, bilateral trade ties have increased steadily, with two-way trade turnover reaching US$3.3 billion in 2012. In the first 10 months of this year, the figure hit $2.94 billion, an 8 per cent increase in comparison with the same period last year.

Viet Nam has invested in 126 projects in Cambodia with a total capital of $3 billion, focusing on cultivation of industrial crops, mineral exploitation, oil and gas exploitation, telecommunication, finance and banking.

Bilateral co-operation in science, education and training, healthcare and tourism has also developed strongly in recent years.

University urged to become key establishment in law training

President Truong Tan Sang has asked the Hanoi Law University to effectively implement a project to make it a key establishment in training legal officers.

At a working session with the university in Hanoi on December 25, President Sang, who is also Head of the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reforms, expressed his belief that the university will further develop and become stronger in implementing the task, creating basic changes in law training.

He also asked the Ministry of Justice to create more chances for the university’s lecturers and students to get more involvement in judicial activities.

Established in 1979, the university is now providing courses for nearly 15,000 students.

To become a key university in training legal staff, the university has planned to improve the quality of its lecturers, renovate training programmes and raise students’ foreign language capacity.

It will also increase cooperation in training along with paying more attention to legal consultation services.

HCM City keens to boost ties with Russian localities

Ho Chi Minh City will try its best to forge ties with Russian localities, thus deepening the strategic partnership between Vietnam and Russia, Le Thanh Hai, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee has said.

The Politburo member of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee made the statement while receiving a delegation from the Russian State Duma, led by First Vice President Ivan Ivanovich Melnikov on December 25.

At the meeting, Secretary Hai said the visit offers a chance for the city to strengthen wide-ranging cooperation with Russian localities.

Over the past time, Ho Chi Minh City have maintained good relations with Saint Petersburg and Moscow, and hopes to expand cooperation with other localities in Russia, he added.

Expressing delights at the drastic developments of Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City in particular, Melnikov said he believes the city will gain more successes in the coming time and uphold its key role in Vietnam’s progress.

He pledged to support Russian localities in setting up ties with Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam at large.

Prime Minister talks cooperation with Armenia

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has said the Vietnamese Government supports activities by Armenian Ambassador Raisa Vardanyan to step up links between the two countries, especially in trade and training.

In a December 25 reception for the newly-accredited ambassador, PM Dung said the Government will consider opening the Vietnamese Embassy in Armenia soon.

Vietnam attaches importance to stepping up the traditional and mutually-beneficial collaboration with Armenia, he said, expressing his hope that an intergovernmental committee will be established soon to boost bilateral ties.

Sharing the Vietnamese leader’s views, the diplomat wowed to spare no efforts to foster bilateral relations, especially in economics, trade and investment.

She also affirmed Armenia’s consistent policy of attaching importance to relations with Vietnam and said the opening of the embassy in the Southeast Asian country is expected to strengthen the collaboration between the two countries.

Legislative leader highlights rural development

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung has described the development of agriculture and rural areas as an initial step in the process of industrialisation and modernisation.

The top legislator was speaking at a conference in Hanoi on December 25 to review the five-year implementation of the Resolution on agriculture, farmers and rural areas set at the seventh meeting of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s Central Committee (10 th tenure).

He affirmed the Party and State’s resolve to continue fulfilling goals stated in the resolution whose highest objective is to raise awareness of the role played by agriculture, farmers and rural areas in national development.

The NA Chairman underlined the need to extract advantages in natural and human resources, plus strength of localities in combination with scientific and technological application in order to effectively implement the resolution.

The building of agriculture, farmers and rural areas is the task set out for the whole political system, especially political and social organisations and the Vietnam Fatherland Front, he said.

President of the Vietnam Farmers’ Association Nguyen Quoc Cuong pointed to a range of bottlenecks in agricultural production, saying that investment attraction moves slowly, competitiveness remains low and scientific and technological application falls short of expectation.

Other opinions called for more comprehensive measures to spur agriculture and rural development in a more feasible and sustainable manner, focusing on the renovation of credit policies in a bid to lure more investment in this field.

They also suggested the State offer more incentives to attract high-quality human resources, scientists and technicians to rural areas.

Vietnam people’s organisations meet for APF 2014

Vietnamese people’s organisations met in Hanoi on December 25 in preparations for the ASEAN People’s Forum (APF) slated for March 21-23 in Yangon, Myanmar.

Nguyen Thi Hoang Van, General Secretary of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations, who presided over the meeting, asked Vietnamese representative groups to roll out a concrete plan for their attendance at the event.

Delegates at the meeting were briefed on the outcomes of the Second Regional Consultation Meeting of the APF 2014 which took place on October 20-21, in Myanmar.

They also shared their viewpoints on Myanmar ’s political and socio-economic situation.

Peace, justice and human rights, development and democracy will be on the agenda of the 2014 APF.

The previous forums were held in Malaysia (2005), the Philippines (2006), Singapore (2007), Thailand (2009), Vietnam (2010), Indonesia (2011), Cambodia (2012) and Brunei (2013).

VNN/VNS/VNA