Politburo member and Secretary of Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Van Binh (second from left) presents gift to Secretary-General of the Spanish Communist Party Enrique Santiago Romero (second from right)

The Vietnamese Party and State attach great importance to the strategic partnership with Spain, especially in economy, trade and investment, Politburo member and Secretary of Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Van Binh has said.

During his working trip to Spain on September 23-24, Binh, also head of the CPV Central Committee’s Economic Commission, had working sessions with Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism Maria Reyes Maroto Illera and Secretary General of the Treasury and Financial Policy under the Ministry of Economy and Business Affairs Carlos San Basilio Pardo.

He thanked Spain for supporting the signing of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement and the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement, and asked the Spanish government and parliament to back the ratification of the two deals at the European Parliament.

The official expressed his belief that after ratification, the two agreements will make it easier for Vietnam and Spain to boost cooperation, increasing Spain’s investment in Vietnam in infrastructure, renewable energy, tourism, and sewage treatment.

The Spanish side said Vietnam is an important and reliable partner of Spain and pledged to create favourable conditions and provide financial support for Spanish major groups and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to invest in Vietnam.

While working with the Elcano Royal Institute, a leading strategic research agency in Spain, Binh informed the Spanish side of actions violating the legal and legitimate rights of Vietnam in its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf in the East Sea, and asked Spain to support Vietnam in this issue.

Director of the institute Charles Powell shared the difficulties Vietnam is encountering in addressing complicated issues in the East Sea, and affirmed Spain’s viewpoint to support the use of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to settle territorial disputes.

Speaking at the Vietnam-Spain business forum with the participation of more than 50 Spanish businesses operating or interested in investment in Vietnam, Binh introduced Vietnam’s potential with political stability, strong market and status as a gateway to many major global markets.

While meeting with Secretary-General of the Spanish Communist Party Enrique Santiago Romero and representative from the United Left (IU), Binh said the Vietnamese Party, State and people always remember the valuable support of the Spanish Communist Party in the cause of national liberation and building and defence.

He hoped to further boost relations with the Spanish Communist Party and IU, and asked the Spanish Communist Party to push the European Parliament to ratify the two agreements for the benefits of the two countries’ workers./.

Vietnam prioritises preservation of cultural traditions: Ambassador

Ambassador Duong Chi Dung, head of Vietnam’s Permanent Mission in Geneva, delivers an opening remark at a ceremony to mark the 74th National Day in the Swiss city on September 24.

Vietnam prioritises preserving and promoting national identity and cultural traditions, said Ambassador Duong Chi Dung, head of Vietnam’s Permanent Mission in Geneva, at a ceremony to mark the country’s 74th National Day (September 2).

The ceremony was held at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)’s headquarters in the Swiss city on September 24 in the presence of heads of international organisations and permanent missions, foreign diplomats and local officials.

In his opening speech, Dung recalled Vietnam’s achievements after three decades of the renewal period. Vietnam has transformed from a war-torn country to one of the most dynamic economies in Asia-Pacific, he said, adding that the country has become a member of various international organisations, such as Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), World Trade Organisation (WTO), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

In Geneva, Vietnam was an active member of the UN Human Rights Council from 2014 – 2016 and the core group of sponsors of the council’s resolution on human rights and climate change since 2015. It has also contributed to other UN agencies, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), UN International Law Commission (ILC) and WIPO, the Vietnamese diplomat said.

2020 will be significant for Vietnam, he continued. The year will mark the end of the country’s socio-economic development plan for 2016 – 2020 and more importantly, it will assume the ASEAN Chair and become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in the 2020-2021 tenure, he noted.

Vietnamese designer Minh Hanh wowed the guests with her latest collection of Vietnamese traditional clothing made from silk and brocade in a fashion show named “Vietmode” that reflected the country’s ethnic diversity and cultural richness.

On September 17, the Vietnamese Embassy in the Swiss capital Bern hosted a banquet to celebrate the 74th National Day at Bellevue Hotel. The event featured exciting performances with Vietnamese traditional musical instruments – “dan tranh” (16-string zither) and “dan t’rung” (bamboo xylophone) – alongside “Son Long Quyen Thuat” traditional martial arts show./. 

Vietnam, Italy communist Parties strengthen relations

Doan Minh Huan, Editor-in-Chief of Communist Review (L) presents a gift to General Secretary of the Italian Communist Party Mauro Alboresi

General Secretary of the Italian Communist Party Mauro Alboresi highlighted the importance of relations with the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), while meeting with a delegation from the editorial board of the CPV’s Communist Review, which is on a working trip to Italy from September 22 to 25.

He highly appreciated the approach of the CPV in preparing for the upcoming 13th National Party Congress, saying the event holds significance not only to the CPV but to the Italian Communist Party and international communists based on new theoretical viewpoints presented at the congress.

For his part, Doan Minh Huan, Editor-in-Chief of Communist Review, expressed his pleasure at growing relations between the two countries’ communist Parties.

Huan, who is also a member of the CPV Central Committee’s Central Theoretical Council, said the CPV has been preparing documents for the 13th National Party Congress, adding that this is an important event to look back on the 35-year journey of the CPV in implementing reforms, 30 years of implementing the political programme in the reform period, and look towards the 100th founding anniversary of the CPV in 2030.

During their stay in Italy, the Vietnamese delegation met with professors of Italy’s LUISS university to discuss the political situation in Italy as well as global issues and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The guests are scheduled to visit Greece from September 25 to 29./.

HCM City leader receives new US Consul General

Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan (R) and US Consul General Marie C.Damour

Politburo member and Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan hosted a reception on September 24 for new US Consul General in the city Marie C.Damour.

Nhan spoke highly of high-level visits by the two countries’ leaders, including two to Vietnam by US President Donald Trump, the US’s support for maritime freedom in the East Sea, and dioxin clean-up in Vietnam.

He also thanked the US for helping Vietnam join the United Nations peacekeeping forces.

Economic ties grew at both national level and between Ho Chi Minh City and the US. Both sides have joined cooperation programmes such as a simulation centre to deal with congestion in the city, as well as education-training work between the city and US agencies.

Briefing the guest of the city’s socio-economic situation, including the construction of smart urban areas with financial, innovation and start-up centres, Nhan expressed his hope that US firms will invest in the field to carry forward the city’s development.

The host believed that the new Consul General will contribute to Vietnam – US ties, including Ho Chi Minh City – US ties in the near future in her position.

Damour expressed her honour to return to Ho Chi Minh City after working at the US General Consulate during 2002 – 2004.

She said the past and upcoming visits by the two countries’ leaders will continue lifting bilateral comprehensive partnership to a strategic one.

The guest said Vietnam is one of the US’s priority countries in its Indo-Pacific strategy, especially in trade and investment./.

Party official joins working sessions with Russian political parties

Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Information and Education Võ Văn Thưởng (second, right) meets Chairman of Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Zyuganov (left) in Moscow on Monday.

Politburo member and head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Information and Education Võ Văn Thưởng joined working sessions with political parties in Russia on Monday.

During his working trip to the country, he met with leaders of the ruling United Russia Party and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, and the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the sessions, the sides discussed the situations of each Party and country. They reiterated that the co-operation between the two countries’ Parties serves as an important political foundation and a driving force to strengthen Việt Nam-Russia relations.

Touching on regional and international issues, Thưởng informed the Russian side on current complex developments in the East Sea. He said Việt Nam's consistent stance is to settle disputes in the East Sea by peaceful measures in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).

He spoke highly of Russia’s respect for the supremacy of international law on resolving disputes related to sovereignty of nations and supporting the maintenance of peace, security, maritime and aviation safety in the East Sea.

During the meeting with Chairman of Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Zyuganov, the Vietnamese official had high praise for co-operation between the two Parties over time.

Belarusian Deputy PM describes Vietnam as reliable partner

Politburo member of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Pham Minh Chinh (R) and Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Lyashenko

Belarusian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Lyashenko affirmed Vietnam is a long-standing and reliable partner of Belarus while meeting with Politburo member of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi on September 24.

Lyashenko spoke highly of Vietnam’s role in the region and said the two countries share similar viewpoints in many regional and international issues.

Vietnam and Belarus hold a lot of prospects for cooperation, he said, adding that the bilateral traditional friendship is a firm foundation for stronger collaboration in all fields in the future.

He suggested the two countries have new approaches to promote economic and trade ties such as boosting joint venture production and processing, striving to realise the target of 500 million USD in two-way trade.

The Deputy PM proposed Vietnam make it easier for such projects as automobile production and assembly joint venture MAZ ASIA, and milk production joint venture to operate effectively to reach the markets of other ASEAN countries, thus bringing benefits to both sides.

Chinh, who is also Secretary of the CPV Central Committee and Chairman of the CPV Central Committee’s Commission for Organisation, said the Vietnamese Party, State and people always attaches great importance to developing traditional friendship and sound cooperation with Belarus.

He said the current visit to Vietnam by the Belarusian Deputy PM will create a new driving force for the two nations to strengthen and beef up bilateral relations.

The Party official thanked Belarus for supporting Vietnam’s bid to become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 term, and hoped the two countries will closely coordinate and back each other at both regional and international multilateral mechanisms.

Chinh noted that Vietnam and Belarus are actively implementing the Free Trade Agreement between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union, saying the two nations are optimising advantages of the deal to expand bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation./.

NA Vice Chairwoman attends MSEAP 4 opening

Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Tong Thi Phong represents Vietnam at the 4th Meeting of Speakers of Eurasian Countries’ Parliaments (MSEAP 4) held in Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan on September 24.

The 4th Meeting of Speakers of Eurasian Countries’ Parliaments (MSEAP 4) kicked off in Nur Sultan, the capital city of Kazakhstan, on September 24 with Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Tong Thi Phong representing Vietnam at the event.

Themed “Greater Eurasia: Dialogue. Trust. Partnership”, the meeting brought together 65 parliamentary delegations from European and Asian countries and 14 international and inter-parliamentary organisations.

The first President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, is participating in the event which is being held on the year of the 25th anniversary of his initiative on Eurasian integration.

In his welcoming remarks, Nazarbayev recalled the initiative, saying the message of Kazakhstan this year is to position Eurasia as a platform for testing a brand-new model of partnership based on a joint and collective settlement of arising contradictions among the countries as well as countering common challenges.

At the MSEAP 4, parliamentarians discuss ways of ensuring safe and sustainable development of the Eurasian continent and the implementation of major integration economic projects of the 21st century.

In addition to plenary sessions, dozens of bilateral meetings are scheduled to be held on the sidelines of the event, enabling parliamentarians to exchange law-making experience and coordinate efforts and actions towards increasing the wellbeing of their peoples.

Following the opening ceremony in the morning, participants attended three plenary sessions and adopted a statement in the afternoon.

Speaker of the Majilis of Kazakhstan’s Parliament Nurlan Nigmatulin, Chairman of State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Viacheslav Volodin and Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea Moon Hee-sang are the co-organisers of the forum.

MSEAP is a Eurasian parliamentary cooperation mechanism initiated by the Chairman of the State Duma of Russia and the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea.

The annual meeting offers a chance for legislative bodies in the world’s largest continent to coordinate their actions and improve the role of parliamentary diplomacy as well as to exchange ideas to address global challenges.

The final document of MSEAP is the Joint Statement signed by heads of the participating delegations.

It was first held in Russia in 2016./.

HCM City, Chinese province bolster ties between people-elected bodies

Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council Pham Duc Hai (R) presents a gift to Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of China’s Jiangsu province Liu Handong at the meeting on September 24

Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council Pham Duc Hai received Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of China’s Jiangsu province Liu Handong on September 24.

Hai said HCM City has had cooperative relations with eight Chinese localities. It has also paid much attention to enhancing ties with other localities of China through delegation exchanges and joint events like economic forums or tourism workshops to help reinforce people-to-people links.

Introducing the operations of the HCM City People’s Council, he expressed his hope that the council and the Jiangsu People’s Congress will have more practical cooperation activities and further share experience in law making and state management, thereby contributing to the healthy and stable development of the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

For his part, Liu said the Jiangsu delegation’s working trip to HCM City aims to foster economic partnerships and cultural exchange between the two people-elected bodies. Earlier, they had visited Hanoi capital and the central city of Da Nang.

He highly valued the Vietnamese southern hub’s development as well as the potential for partnerships between the two localities.

The visiting official called for more intensive cooperation activities in the fields of common concern, adding that he will introduce HCM City’s development potential to Jiangsu businesses to promote mutual investment./.

NA Vice Chairman meets with leaders of Italy’s lower house

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Phung Quoc Hien (L) and President of the Chamber of Deputies Roberto Fico

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) of Vietnam Phung Quoc Hien visited the Chamber of Deputies of Italy on September 24 as part of his ongoing working trip to the European country.

At his meeting with President of the Chamber of Deputies Roberto Fico, Hien said the Vietnamese NA wants to further strengthen the strategic partnership between Vietnam and Italy.

Vietnam attaches great importance to the exchange of delegations, especially high-level ones between the two countries and parliaments, Hien said, adding that the Southeast Asian country is ready to share experience and coordinate closely with Italy at both regional and international forums.

He thanked the Italian parliament and government for creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community in Italy to settle down and integrate into the host society.

He noted that two-way trade has increased steadily in recent years, but has yet to match the potential and strength of the two economies.

The NA Vice Chairman proposed Italian leaders support the ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) and Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), so as to bring Vietnam-Italy trade to 6 billion USD by 2020 and 10 billion USD in the following years as targeted by their leaders.

He extended an invitation from NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan to Roberto Fico to visit Vietnam soon. The host accepted the invitation with pleasure.

During his talks with Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies Ettore Rosato, Hien said his current visit to Italy is to promote and deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries as well as the cooperative ties between the two parliaments.

Vietnam is keen to step up cooperation with Italy in tourism and culture, especially the conservation and promotion of the value of heritage sites such as Hoi An ancient city, Hue imperial city, and Hanoi Old Quarter, as well as in education, training, science-technology, locality-to-locality cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges, Hien said.

He asked the two sides to increase high-level delegation exchanges and meetings between parliamentarians in addition to sharing experience in law-building and supervision in respective countries.

He suggested intensifying coordination to push the implementation of cooperation agreements signed between the two governments and strategic cooperation projects.

The two sides should enhance coordination and mutual support at multilateral parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership (ASEP).

The host and guest agreed that it is necessary to ensure security, safety and freedom of navigation in the East Sea and settle disputes via peaceful means in line with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and work towards a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

Ettore Rosato hoped the relations between Vietnam and Italy will be further deepened.

He shared Vietnam’s concerns in water resources management, saying the international community should have measures to require upstream countries to ensure water security for downstream countries.

Italy has many businesses with rich experience in water management and they could cooperate with Vietnam, he added.

He said he backs the ratification of the EVFTA and EVIPA to create a legal foundation for the economic, trade and investment cooperation between Vietnam and Italy./.