President Truong Tan Sang received Belarus's Foreign Affairs Minister Vladimir Makei yesterday, March 24, and called for stronger economic ties between the two countries.

State President Truong Tan Sang (R) meets Belarus's Foreign Minister V. Vladimir Makei in Ha Noi yesterday, March 24.

He said both countries should sign soon the Free Trade Agreement between Viet Nam and the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. This would facilitate the entry of businesses from both countries to each other's market, he added.

President Sang also thanked Belarus for supporting Viet Nam at all international forums and hoped for continued creation of favorable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to invest in the country, starting with the telecommunications sector and expanding to other areas.

He said that the upcoming visit of Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko will be a turning point in bilateral relations.

Markei, who is on an official visit to Viet Nam, said both countries should seize more opportunities to strengthen bilateral trade and economic ties.

Belarus remains an attractive destination and seeks to further ties with Viet Nam in trade, education and tourism, he said.

Belarus wants further

During talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in Ha Noi yesterday, Markei spoke highly of Viet Nam's achievements in socio-economic development and international integration.

Deputy PM Minh said Viet Nam thought it was important to develop ties with Belarus.

The two sides agreed to boost economic co-operation, focusing on increasing bilateral trade and balancing trade.

Both sides discussed ways of achieving this in many sectors, including military technology, labour, culture and education.

They also agreed to intensify co-operation at multilateral forums, especially the United Nations.

After the talks, the two officials witnessed the signing of a co-operation agreement and a co-operation programme between the two foreign ministries for the 2014-15 period.

Makei is visiting Viet Nam at the invitation of Deputy PM and FM Minh.

Vietnam, Argentina hold political consultation

Vietnam and Argentina discussed measures to strengthen bilateral cooperation in all areas, during their sixth political consultation in Hanoi on March 24.

Co-charing the meeting, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ho Xuan Son and his Argentinean counterpart Eduardo Zuain applauded the development of the two countries’ trade, which struck a new record high of nearly US$1.6 billion in 2013.

They also lauded the close coordination between their foreign ministries in organising an array of activities to celebrate the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2013.

The diplomats discussed regional and international issues of mutual concern and agreed to bolster cooperation and mutual support at regional and international forums.

Argentina considers Vietnam an important partner in Southeast Asia and wants to cooperate with the country in such fields as telecommunications, culture, education, and wind power, Zuain said.

For his part, Son affirmed Vietnam desires to deepen friendship and cooperation with Argentina within the framework of a comprehensive partnership.

He proposed the two countries increase exchange visits and implement cooperation mechanisms, such as the Inter-Governmental Committee or the Political Consultation to bolster trade and investment.

Son voiced his sincere appreciation to Argentina for sending its art troupe to participate in the upcoming Hue Festival in April and for its continual support in promoting East Asia-Latin America cultural exchanges.

Eduardo Zuain is on a working visit to Vietnam from March 23-26.

NZ Foreign Minister visits Vietnam

New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully will pay a three-day visit to Vietnam, starting on March 25, at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

McCully’s visit takes place at a time when the comprehensive partnership between Vietnam and New Zealand has developed positively in recent times.

Bilateral cooperation in economics, investment and trade has progressed markedly, with two-way trade increasing annually.

New Zealand has invested in 20 projects in Vietnam with a total registered capitalisation of US$77.8 million.

It has granted approximately NZD10 million in official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam annually.

Both countries have cooperated well at regional and international forums such as the East Asia Summit (EAS), Asia-Pacific Economic Forum (APEC), Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), as well as in negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

During the visit, Minh and McCully will discuss a programme of action for 2013-2016, including maintaining regular political consultations, national defence dialogue, and the meeting of the Vietnam-New Zealand joint commission for economic and trade cooperation.

They will also discuss the organisation of activities to celebrate 40 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 2015.

PM meets Czech Deputy PM

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Pavel Belobradek on the sidelines of the 3rd World Nuclear Summit yesterday, March 24, at The Hague.

Dung said the country valued the Czech Republic's ODA to Viet Nam, which has amounted to $18 million. He also said the ODA played an important role in economic growth and environmental protection.

Belobradek said the Czech Republic was eager to strengthen ties with Viet Nam, including in the areas of agriculture, mineral exploitation and nanotechnology.

PM Dung also met with W.H. (Pim) Schuurman, Viet Nam's honorary consular general to the Netherlands and the chairman of the Netherlands-Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce.

Cambodian legislative official visits

A senior official from the Cambodian Senate wants to increase co-operation between the Vietnamese and Cambodian legislative bodies.

Mean Som An, the Chairwoman of the Cambodian Senate's Committee for Heath, Social Affairs, War Veterans, Youth, Labour, Vocational Training was speaking at a meeting with Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly, Tong Thi Phong, in Ha Noi yesterday.

The host suggested both sides increase the number of delegations and actively promote ties between the young people of both countries.

Earlier, Mean Som An held talks with the Chairwoman of the NA Committee for Social Affairs, Truong Thi Mai, during which both agreed to increase their work together.

They agreed that co-operation between the two committees had helped deepen the two nations' long-standing and comprehensive relations.

The host and guest shared difficulties and advantages, specifically on gender equality, health insurance, and ways to increase the number of women in parliament.

They also spent time exchanging experiences in realising millennium development goals.     

Spanish Foreign Minister to visit Vietnam

Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo will pay an official visit to Vietnam from March 25-27 at the invitation of Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister cum Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

Relations between Vietnam and Spain have developed considerably in recent times, especially after both countries established the strategic partnership.

Two-way trade hits around EUR2 billion annually.

Vietnam and Spain are carrying out a number of joint projects, including the construction of the Noi Bai- Lao Cai Expressway, bus rapid transit (BRT) systems in Hanoi and Haiphong, and urban metro routes in Hanoi and HCM City.

During the visit, the two diplomats will hold talks on measures to increase bilateral cooperation in politics, diplomacy, economics, trade, investment, and development cooperation.

Perfect laws urged for People’s Councils

Many members of the People’s Councils of northern mountainous and mid-land provinces have voiced the need to amend and perfect laws regarding the operation of their offices to improve their performance.

They made the call at a conference, the sixth of its kind, in the northern province of Thai Nguyen on March 24 to look at how to better the quality of these bodies in the 14 provinces.

At the event, National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong asked for in-depth discussions on their organisational structure, personnel work and legal status, among others.

Some suggested putting laws specifying their function, mission and rights in place.

Other issues also came up for debate, such as the ombudsmen’s work, the settlement of complaints and denunciations, meritocracy, facilities and expenses ensuring that the People’s Councils do their best.

The next conference of this kind will be held in Hoa Binh.

Deputy PM urges for stronger farmer-business links

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh on March 24 urged localities in the south-eastern, southern central and Central Highlands regions to make full use of their strengths to introduce new models of production and strengthen connectivity between farmers and businesses.

At a conference to review the three-year implementation of the national target programme on building new-style rural areas in Da Lat City, Deputy PM Ninh, who is head of the Steering Committee for the programme, said the links between production and distribution are crucial in raising farmers’ incomes.

He also asked the localities to enhance the application of science and high technology in production as a way to raise agricultural productivity and quality.

According to the Steering Committee, since 2011, 19 cities and provinces in the three regions have mobilised about 141.3 trillion VND (6.64 billion USD) for the programme, including 14.1 trillion VND (665.89 million USD) sourced from society.

As many as 42 communes out of the total 1,896 communes in the regions have reached all 19 criteria of the model, while 102 communes have fulfilled 15-18 criteria and 475 others have attained 10-14.

New production models have been introduced to some 4,760 production units, with a total investment of 3.49 trillion VND, said the committee.

In the south-eastern region, the localities have used their advantages in cultivating industrial plants such as coffee, rubber and pepper, while promoting the models of dairy and pig farming.

Meanwhile, the southern central region has focused on boosting its maritime economy with stronger fleets of fishing vessels for offshore expeditions, while the Central Highlands is raising forestry development and industrial plant cultivation.

Particularly, models of agricultural production using high technology in many localities have proved their efficiency, earning over 120 million VND (5,640 USD) per hectare annually.

A leading figure of 280 million VND (13,160 USD) per hectare was recorded in Ho Chi Minh City, much higher than the national average of 85 million VND (3,995 USD).

Vietnamese navy ready for Komodo exercise

Lieutenant General Tran Quang Khue on March 23 inspected the Vietnamese navy’s readiness for participation in the Komodo multilateral naval exercise in Indonesia.

In the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa, Khue, who is also a Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, checked hospital ship HQ-561, which will be sent to the drill, and heard reports on exercise contents that Vietnam will engage in.

The country will also take part in fringe activities such as sports games and cultural exchanges.

Speaking highly of the preparations by the navy, the officer asked all forces to do their utmost at the exercise to realise set targets.

The Komodo exercise will be held from March 29 to April 3 under the theme “ASEAN Cooperation Navy for Stability”. It will focus on naval humanitarian aid and disaster relief activities by ASEAN and ASEAN Plus countries.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA