NA Standing Committee opens its 32nd session

The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee convened in Hanoi on October 6 for its 32nd session which focuses on plans for socio-economic development and State budge estimates.

Addressing the opening session, NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung stated the centre of the session is concentrated on reports on socio-economic development plans and State budget estimates for 2014 and 2015.

NA deputies will give opinions on amendments and supplements to a number of articles of Decree No.35 on the vote of confidence for the people elected or approved by the National Assembly and the People's Councils.

Also at this meeting, the NA Sanding Committee will discuss a number of draft laws and dilate on many other important issues.

After the opening session, NA deputies agreed with the fundamental principles and basic orientations on auditing work in 2015 while suggesting the State Audit should improve the auditing quality of reports on the country’s financial and budgetary situations.

NA Office Chairman Nguyen Hanh Phuc said "Audit will be conducted in 54 provinces including 26 audited in 2014. Therefore, the focus will be on unaudited localities.”

Regarding capital construction investment, the NA Committee for Finance and Budget Affairs stressed the necessity to intensify auditing major finished projects in 2014 and the use of funding of national target programs.

NA deputies also proposed auditing loss-making businesses with ineffective operations in recent years.

Party Secretary meets with local voters in Ha Noi

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong met voters in Ha Noi's Ba Dinh and Tay Ho districts yesterday in the run up to the eighth session of the 13th National Assembly.

During the meeting, voters provided feedback on a number of issues, including safeguarding national sovereignty as well as maritime economic development, land management, agricultural development, rural areas, and improvements to farmers' living conditions.

They also expressed opinions on monitoring officials and rotating them from the central level to localities.

Many expressed concern over educational reform, saying that the compilation of textbooks should be done carefully to avoid mistakes and a learning overload for students.

They also called for more attention to vocational training to improve the quality of the work force.

Voters also declared their interest in the fight against corruption and inefficiency. They asked for closer supervision of the leaders of State agencies.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said that during the eighth session, the NA would question the leaders of ministries and sectors, whilst conducting votes of confidence for all posts elected and approved by the NA.

He said boosting the maritime economy and protecting the sea and islands was a matter of strategic importance, adding that a master plan had been made for maritime economic growth and that investments had been allocated.

The Party leader said the farming sector would be supported in its transition towards large-scale operations. Advanced technology would be used to achieve this goal.

The Party chief highlighted the significance of training workers and developing the capacity of central officials by sending them to different localities for practical experience.

He also acknowledged the policy of listing the assets of officials to fight corruption.

MARD boosts farm ties with Japan

Viet Nam hoped to work with Japanese businesses to improve the processing industry and farm products for export, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cao Duc Phat, said here yesterday.

"Viet Nam wishes to acquire experience in management, processing technology and product supply chains from Ibaraki", Phat told the Governor of Japan's Ibaraki prefecture, Hashimoto Masaru, during talks.

The minister said he hoped that the two sides would focus on technological co-operation, applying new technology to agricultural production, biotechnology, processing, and post-harvest preserving, while collaborating to increase the value of products along the processing chain.

Hashimotor Masaru said Japanese farmers focused on safe and high-quality farm production to attract young people to the industry.

He said Ibaraki prefecture would work with Viet Nam in many fields, starting with short-term training.

The delegation from Ibaraki also met President Truong Tan Sang. At the meeting, Governor Hashimoto said businesses from Ibaraki would like to explore opportunities apart from agriculture.

London shows interest in HCM City

Businesses from the City of London were interested in HCM City's infrastructure and health care, especially the new urban area of Thu Thiem and the public railway system, the city's Lord Mayor revealed.

In a meeting with the chairman of the municipal People's Committee, Le Hoang Quan, yesterday, Lord Mayor Fiona Woolf said London financial companies and bankers were able to support the city's metro projects with financial and technical assistance.

In the meantime, British schools and research institutions could offer training on property appraisals, finance and accounting, she said.

Quan hailed the visit as a chance to bolster ties between HCM City and the City of London, the financial hub of the Britain and much of the world.

British firms are at present working on 95 projects worth about US$600 million in HCM City. During the first eight months of this year, bilateral trade was valued at $710 million.

Woolf's delegation took part in a workshop on the role of women in business. The event was co-organised by the British Consulate General.

Vietnam is always a good neighbour of Cambodia: Heng Samrin

Vietnam has always been a good neighbor of Cambodia, President of the National Assembly of Cambodia Heng Samrin stated.

During a reception for the new Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia, Thach Du, in Phnom Penh on October 6, Heng Samrin said good results had been achieved by the friendship and wide-ranging cooperation between the two countries so far.

The two countries, however, should continue to tap into their joint potentials in trade, investments, tourism and aviation, he noted.

He expressed his hope that the Vietnam-Cambodia Border Affairs Committee speed up the process of planting markers along the shared borderline, contributing to peace and friendship that serve the countries’ shared development and generate mutual benefits.

He also declared that the Cambodian National Assembly organs and other State and Government agencies would continue their efforts to foster bilateral cooperation in line with current political ties.

Ambassador Thach Du expressed his belief that he would be supported not only by President Heng Samrin but also by other Cambodian leaders and relevant agencies in order to accomplish a successful working term.-

Sixty years after liberation: Hanoi moves forward confidently

Hanoi is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its liberation in a joyous and proud atmosphere and a spirit over a thousand years old – a driving force for the capital city’s modernisation process.

The sound leadership of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh, the command of General Vo Nguyen Giap and the sacrifice of the people during the nine-year resistance war led to the celebrated Dien Bien Phu Victory. On October 10, 1954, the people of Hanoi welcomed the victorious troops who returned to liberate the capital city.

“From a city with a small economy and population, Hanoi has risen strongly from the debris of war, affirming its role as a major national hub,” Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi told the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion.

Harbouring vast potentials, spiritual and material strengths, glorious traditions and noble dignities, Hanoi has made outstanding achievements, praised by international friends as “the Capital City of Human Dignity” and honoured by UNESCO as “the City for Peace”.

The expansion of Hanoi’s administrative boundaries in August 2008 marked an event of strategic significance and historical importance, providing opportunities for sustainable development both today and in the future.

Over the past six years, Hanoi has strengthened its role as a major economic centre, with its economy growing steadily and its economic structure being positively transformed, Nghi said.

The city’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) accounts for 10 percent of the national GDP, with an economic growth rate of more than 9.5 percent, 1.5 times higher than the country’s average. The municipal budget revenues totalled 163 trillion VND (7.7 billion VND) in 2013, 2.8 times higher than before the expansion in 2008, and accounting for 20 percent of the country’s total budget revenue. The city’s per capita income reached 52.3 million VND (2,490 USD) last year.

Hanoi has also increased its efforts in the fields of foreign relations, global integration and development cooperation with other localities and international friends, he said, adding that the city now boasts ties with more than 100 countries and territories.

Hover, the city’s leader noted that despite its high growth rate, Hanoi’s economy still has a number of unsustainable features that need to be addressed in the near future, particularly with regard to urban planning and management, land management, administrative reform and socio-economic issues.

In the new millennium, the capital city of Hanoi is growing day by day, with new bridges and modern urban areas emerging near the Red River, silhouetted against the historical Long Bien Bridge.

Efforts to preserve Thang Long Imperial Citadel and the Old Quarter’s 36 ancient streets have also been undertaken, as well as new infrastructure development around the legendary Hoan Kiem Lake (Sword Lake), combining tradition and modernity.

Experiencing ups and downs throughout its history, witnessing the return of victorious troops and rising once more from the ravages of war, Hanoi has nurtured the national soul for more than a thousand years, and is at the heart of the historical roots and essence of the nation, Nghi said.

“It is also a place for the convergence and expression of patriotism, pacifism, solidarity and aspirations for progress,” he concluded.

President praises partnership with Japan’s Ibaraki

President Truong Tan Sang expressed his hope that the affiliation between Japan’s Ibaraki prefecture and Vietnamese partners and localities would become a symbol of local cooperation agreement between the two countries.

Meeting a 100-member delegation from Ibaraki prefecture, led by Governor Hashimoto Masaru, in Hanoi on October 6, the State leader praised the locality’s visit, which is part of efforts to realise high-level agricultural cooperation between Vietnam and Japan.

The visit is the outcome of the two countries’ extensive strategic partnership, reflecting strong bilateral political trust, he said.

Vietnam hopes to learn from the experience Japan made during the country’s processes of economic restructuring and growth model transformation, he stated.

On the occasion, he also thanked Japan for its recent support and provision of ODA.

Hashimoto Masaru said Ibaraki investors were especially interested in Vietnam’s investment climate, not just in agriculture but a number of other sectors.

In the near future, the two sides plan to implement a number of cooperation measures, resulting in a new wave of Japanese investment in Vietnam, he said.

The Ibaraki prefecture leader expressed his hope to receive further support from President Truong Tan Sang and the Vietnamese government to implement the cooperation measures.

Vietnam, Laos share experience in financial, budget management

Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung shared his experience in financial management and State budget control with Lao Deputy Prime Minister Bunpon Buttanavon.

During a working session with the Lao Deputy PM in Hanoi on October 6, Minister Dung said Vietnam and Laos shared a number of features in the field of finance, pledging to create more favourable conditions for both sides to exchange their ideas, especially in preventing budget collection failure.

According to Minister Dung, comprehensive and drastic measures should be applied in order to ensure efficient State budget collection.

Last year, Vietnam ’s State budget collection exceeded its target by 0.7 percent despite a number of difficulties due to the Ministry of Finance’s efforts to increase budget sources, he noted.

The ministry also worked closely with other ministries and localities to engage them more effectively in efforts to prevent financial losses in collecting budget contributions and reclaiming debt, he said.

He also attributed the success to restructuring and modernisation efforts of the tax and customs sectors, improving business and trade, and ensuring the prompt and complete payment of taxes.

Bunpon Buttanavon, who is also a member of the Lao Politburo, said Laos was facing a number of difficulties in terms of financial and budget management, despite maximum efforts being undertaken.

He called upon Vietnam to share its experience in dealing with debt, preventing corruption and transforming assets into capital.

During the session, the two sides exchanged ideas on a number of financial and budget-related issues, including financial management of the tax and customs sectors, the State treasury, and the monitoring of State bonds.

President extends condolences to Bulgaria over deathly blast

President Truong Tan Sang conveyed a message of condolences to Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev over the recent fatal explosion at Midzhu explosives plant in Bulgaria ’s northwestern city of Chouprene in Vidin province.

The accident, which occurred on October 1, killed at least 15 people, according to local officials.

VNA/VNS/VOV