Foreign Ministry urged to take flexible sovereignty protection measures

Politburo member Le Hong Anh has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) to apply firm and adept measures to protect the nation’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Politburo member Le Hong Anh speaks at the session (Photo: VNA)

At a working session with the ministry on May 19, Anh, who is also standing member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, said the ministry should continue with diplomatic measures to garner international support and maintain a peaceful and stable environment for national construction and development.

Praising the MoFA for its great efforts and contributions to the country’s external relations, he required that the ministry better serves as an advisor for the Party and State leaders on issues related to foreign relations.

The ministry needs to pay attention to strengthening the Party organisation and political training for its staff while pushing forward the campaign of following the moral example of President Ho Chi Minh, he said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh reported that the ministry is working on both key tasks of contributing to safeguarding the country’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and promoting intensive and extensive international integration.

In the face of serious and complicated developments in the East Sea, the MoFA will maintain the foreign policy of independence and self-reliance and take diplomatic measures to firmly defend the national sovereignty, he stressed.

Viet Nam marks President Ho's birth anniversary

The Party Central Committee's Secretariat yesterday held an online conference to celebrate the 124th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birthday.

Dinh The Huynh, Politburo member and Secretary of the Party Central Committee, said the implementation of the Directive No 03 had been carried out properly.

The content of the Politburo's Directive 03 asks the Government and State staff to turn the late president's thought into practical activities – making the Party clean and strong.

Many localities had included the instruction's content in their annual plans and make it one of the major tasks, along with socio-economic development task.

Speaking at the conference, Politburo member Le Hong Anh praised the achievements by all levels of the state agencies and localities in the past three years.

On the same day, many activities were carried out across the country to mark the late president's birthday.

Also, more than 500 domestic and foreign delegations visited the Kim Lien relic site in central Nghe An Province's Nam Dan district to offer incense to President Ho Chi Minh.

To mark the late President's birthday, the annual Sen Village Festival was held in the province's Vinh City on May 18-19. A film on the late President is also being screened.

More than 100 photos along with numerous books and newspapers featuring the life and revolutionary activities of President Ho are on display in Paris.

The exhibition, jointly held by the Ho Chi Minh Museum and the Viet Nam Cultural Centre in France, was opened on May 17.

The exhibition, which lasts until June 4, also highlights the beauty of Viet Nam and its people, cultural and natural heritage.

A ceremony to mark the birthday was held by the Vietnamese Embassy in Algeria. Members of the Vietnamese community and agencies took part.

Ambassador Vu The Hiep laid a wreath at Ho Chi Minh Avenue in the capital city of Algiers.

On May 17, the Vietnamese Embassy in Britain paid floral tribute to President Ho in front of the former Carlton Hotel in London, where the President worked during his early years.

At the event, representatives of the embassy announced that Vinh City in central Nghe An Province and Newhaven in East Sussex county would sign a sister city

agreement on May 25. Newhaven was allegedly the first stop of President Ho Chi Minh when he arrived in Britain in 1913.

TPP ministerial meeting opens in Singapore

A ministerial meeting of the 12 countries involved in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) opened in Singapore yesterday morning.

Viet Nam's delegation to the meeting is being headed by Tran Quoc Khanh, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade and head of the Government's negotiation delegation on international trade and economic issues.

Prior to the ministerial meeting, chief negotiators and key experts from the 12 TPP members, namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Viet Nam, met in Ho Chi Minh City from May 12-15. They focused discussions on resolving remaining issues in areas such as goods and services, market access packages, intellectual property, investment, the environment, state-owned enterprises and financial services.

The above issues will be discussed further at plenary and bilateral meetings held within the framework of the May 19-20 ministerial meeting.

While TPP advocates are hoping for an early conclusion to the pact, trade observers said this ministerial meeting would mainly be an opportunity for the countries to assess how much headway had been made by Japan and the US, the two biggest economies in the TPP, in dealing with tariffs on Japanese farm products and US automobiles.

Thai army officials welcomed in Hanoi

Rear Admiral Pham Ngoc Minh, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, held a reception in Hanoi on May 19 for a delegation from the Disaster Relief Centre under the Royal Thai Army’s Directorate of Joint Civil Affairs.

Minh said that bilateral cooperation in defence as well as in other fields has been growing effectively since the two nations set up diplomatic ties in 1976. The two navies have strengthened their ties through establishing a hotline, conducting joint patrols at sea, and facilitating fishing activities.

He also spoke highly of a cooperation plan on disaster mitigation among ASEAN nations proposed by the Thai Army, considering it a basis for the regional countries to boost collaboration in rescue.

Deputy head of the directorate Colonel Somruk Somruk voiced his hope that Vietnam will create more optimal conditions for the Thai centre and the Rescue Department of the Vietnamese General Staff to work closely and stand ready to aid each other in emergency cases.

Vietnam, Australia reinforce people-to-people friendship

The Vietnam-Australia Friendship Association and the Australia-Vietnam Friendship Association are willing to boost their relations and believe that their intensified ties will benefit both countries.

This was included in a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the two organisations signed in Hanoi on May 19.

The document also mentions the promotion of exchanges in the fields of education and culture, people-to-people diplomacy, and humanitarian aid for Agent Orange (AO)/Dioxin victims.

Addressing the signing ceremony, Chairman of the Australia-Vietnam association Kim Sampson emphasised the need to continue humanitarian assistance for Vietnamese AO victims as they are day and night struggling against serious diseases as consequences of the toxic chemical.

Regarding China’s illegal placement of the oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 in Vietnam’s waters, he said this act has affected the regional peace and stability.

He added his association will ask the Australian Foreign Minister to raise voice to help settle the situation.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA