Vietnam establishes diplomatic ties with Antigua-Barbuda

Vietnam and Antigua-Barbuda, a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, have signed a joint communiqué on establishing diplomatic ties.

The communiqué was signed in New York on November 8 between ambassador Le Hoai Trung, head of Vietnam’s Permanent Representative Mission to the United Nations, and ambassador Anthony Liverpool, acting head of the Permanent Representative Mission of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations.

Vietnam and Antigua-Barbuda officially established diplomatic ties on November 8 (Photo:VNA)

Both sides agreed to exchange their diplomatic representatives at the ambassadorial level and apply the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations in bilateral ties.

Antigua and Barbuda is an active member of various regional and international organisations, including the United Nations, the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), the Commonwealth of Nations, and the Organization of American States (OAS).

The establishment of diplomatic relations with Antigua and Barbuda demonstrates Vietnam’s open foreign policy of attaching importance to developing relations with Latin American countries, including those in the Caribbean.

UN leader to visit Vietnam

Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Secretary of United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), will pay an official visit to Vietnam on November 14-15.

During the visit, Noeleen Heyzer will hold talks with Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh to examine Vietnam’s recent socio-economic development achievements, as well as challenges the country is facing in order to improve the efficiency of cooperation and ESCAP assistance for Vietnam.

Noeleen Heyzer will be a keynote speaker at a conference featuring APEC’s role and position in the 21st century, to be held by the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

NA plans socio-economic development

National Assembly deputies have decided on the main socio-economic targets for next year.

They include the continuation of the macro-economic stabilisation and inflation control, development at a "reasonable rate" - and enhancing the economy's effectiveness and competitiveness by renewing the development model.

Some targets have been set in a resolution, including lifting gross domestic product (GDP) by about 5.8 per cent, export turnover by 10 per cent and the consumer price index by 7 per cent.

The resolution also took steps to ensure social security and welfare, using natural resources effectively, protecting the environment and actively coping with climate change.

Total investment for social development will be 30 per cent of GDP, which is higher than this year, when total investment capital for social development accounted for 29.1 per cent of GDP.

Deputies also discussed the Prime Minister's proposal to approve the resignation of Nguyen Thien Nhan as a deputy prime minister position so that he can become President of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front. Nhan's resignation will be approved tomorrow.

Sympathies to Philippines over typhoon Haiyan

President Truong Tan Sang and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung have sent condolences to Philippine President Benigno S.Aquino III over the great human and property losses caused by super-typhoon Haiyan.

In their messages dated on November 10, the Vietnamese leaders said that Vietnam always stands side by side with the Philippine people at the difficult time.

They will provide the Philippines with initial emergency aid worth US$100,000 and consider practical measures to help typhoon victims.

The leaders said they hope that the Philippine people will be able to overcome the consequences of the catastrophic storm to stabilize their lives soon.

The same day, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh also conveyed condolences to his Philippine counterpart Albert F.Del Rosario.

Vietnam attends Francophone meeting in France

A Vietnamese diplomat has updated a Francophone ministerial meeting in Paris on Vietnam’s French language projects funded by the International Organisation of Francophone (OIF).

Foreign Minister Assistant Nguyen Ngoc Son also reiterated the country’s commitment to expanding foreign relations with the wider Francophone world.

He emphasised Vietnam’s proactive contributions to the OIF’s continued health, and voiced his support for the organisation’s peace-building and conflict resolution efforts.

Vietnam wants the OIF to adopt specific crisis management measures, economic growth initiatives, and policies designed to protect long-term stability in OIF member countries, he said.

Son confirmed Vietnam will collaborate with the OIF in organising a regional economic cooperation seminar in early 2014, to prepare for a general Francophone economic strategy.

Representatives of 57 OIF member countries and 20 other OIF observers attending the meeting, the 29th of its kind, praised Vietnam for promoting Francophone movements in the Asia-Pacific region.

Senior OIF officials regularly visit Vietnam, including OIF Director General Clément Duhaime last year, Special OIF Secretary General Advisor Ousmane Paye in 2013, and OIF Secretary General Abdou Diouf’s planned 2014 trip

Diouf highlighted Vietnam’s socio-economic development and poverty reduction achievements and its increasing prestige within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Vietnam and the OIF will work towards establishing a Vietnam-based centre for Francophone and Africa studies and hosting an international tripartite conference on economic cooperation between French-speaking countries.

The November 7–8 conference reviewed the implementation of action plans adopted at the 14th Francophone Summit in Congo last year and prepared a working agenda for the Senegal summit in November 2014.

Conference spotlights border, territory management

The enforcement of three legal documents regulating the Vietnam – China land border over the last three years has created favourable conditions for the two sides to manage their shared border in an effective way and boost their ties.

Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Ministry’s National Boundary Commission Nguyen Anh Dung made the remarks at a conference on the border and territory management in the northwestern province of Dien Bien on November 7.

He said that localities have comprehensively performed the border management and protection since the three documents (the Protocol on Border Demarcation and Marker Planting, the Agreement on Border Management, and the Agreement on Border Gates) took effect in July 2010.

The conference heard reports by the Foreign Ministry, the Border Guard High Command and the Ministry of Public Security on issues relating to border management.

Dien Bien shares 360km of its border with Laos and another 41km with China in Muong Nhe district’s Sin Thau and SenThuong communes.

Greetings to Cambodia on National Day

Senior leaders of the Party, State, Government and National Assembly of Vietnam have extended messages to their Cambodian counterparts on the occasion of the country’s 60th  Independence Day anniversary.

The Party Central Committee sent a message of congratulations to the Central Committee of the Cambodian People’s Party.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong sent a floral bouquet and President Truong Tan Sang sent a congratulatory message  to Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, while Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung extended his congratulations to Prime Minister Hun Sen.

To mark the occasion, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung cabled a message to President of the Cambodian Senate, Samdech Chea Sim, and Cambodia’s National Assembly Chairman, Samdech Heng Samrin.

The same day, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh also conveyed greetings to Cambodian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hor Namhong.

The Vietnamese leaders expressed their delight at the tremendous achievements the Cambodian people have made in national construction and development over the past 60 years.

They congratulated Cambodia on the recent successful parliamentary election and believed that the country will reap further victories in building a Cambodia of peace, stability, development and raising its regional and international status.

Fourteen countries sign dry port pledge

Fourteen countries inked an inter-governmental agreement on dry ports, pledging to create an integrated and sustainable inter-modal transport and logistics system.

Signed on the sidelines of the Asian Ministers of Transport Forum, the agreement builds on the inter-governmental Asian highway and trans-Asian railway network agreements built through the ESCAP platform.

Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, the United States and Viet Nam signed the agreement, which aims to promote international recognition of dry ports.

This would facilitate investment in dry port infrastructure and improve operational efficiency; it also signals that the region is moving towards more sustainable growth. Dry ports create conditions for the much-needed shift of cargo flow from road transport alone to inter-modal options where road services are combined with more energy-efficient, less polluting alternatives such as rails and inland waterways.

Party leader reviews Hung Yen Province's progress

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong paid a working visit to northern Hung Yen Province yesterday, examining the province's efforts to realise socio-economic goals and develop a new rural area model.

In the morning, Trong worked with authorities and locals in My Hao District's Nhan Hoa Commune, which was chosen to pilot the new rural area model in the province.

For the last three years, the commune made many achievements in building a new rural area model and changing its economic structure to boost the role of industrial production, trade and services.

In the first 10 months of this year, the commune's production value was VND238.5 billion (US$11.3 million), 15 per cent higher than that of the same period last year. Average yearly personal income was VND24.7 million ($1,170).

My Hao District sees yearly growth of 15.84 per cent and export value of $30 million in recent years. For the first half of the year, export value was $18.5 million.

Trong said that the district in particular and the province in general had the capacity to make further achievements. He asked them to review their socio-economic plans closely to ensure that economic development went in line with environmental protection, social security and better social welfare.

He also emphasised the need to fight against corruption, avoid waste and improve the role and performance of Party committees at all levels, both to gain people's trust and lay a foundation for long-term sustainable development.

On the same day, Trong and Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan attended the Festival for Great Unity Among the Entire People in the province's Yen My Town to celebrate the 83rd anniversary of the Viet Nam Unified National Front.

Vietnam bids farewell to great Cuban friend

Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Duong Minh on November 10 paid last tribute to Raul Valdes Vivo, a former Cuban Party leader and a close friend of Vietnam, who passed away on November 9 at the age of 84.

Raul Valdes Vivo, former Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (CPC) Central Committee and former Director of the Party’s ideology school Nico Lopez, started his revolutionary career as a journalist in 1946.

In 1959, he was Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Hoy newspaper, which is now Granma newspaper, the official speaker of the CPC.

In 1965, Raul Valdes Vivo and Marta Rojas Rodriguez visited Vietnam as representatives of the Cuban Committee of Solidarity with South Vietnam. During the visit, they travelled to liberated areas under the control of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and wrote many articles on the Vietnamese people’s war for national freedom.

In the 1970s, he was Cuban Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and the only foreign ambassador to the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam .

With experiences from decades working in Vietnam and many visits to the country, Raul Valdes Vivo authored many works on the nation and people of Vietnam, many of which have been translated into Vietnamese such as “Story of Southern Vietnam”, “Southern Vietnam: strategic weapon of the people”, “17 th Parallel and the Embassy in the Jungle” and “The Secret of Ho Chi Minh Trail”.

On behalf of the Party and Government of Vietnam, Ambassador Minh praised the significant contributions of Valdes Vivo to the special and traditional friendship between Vietnam and Cuba, saying that his death brings great sorrow to not only Cuban people but also his Vietnamese friends.

Condolences sent to Philippines over typhoon Haiyan

President Truong Tan Sang and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on November 10 sent condolences to Philippine President Benigno S.Aquino III over the great human and property losses caused by super-typhoon Haiyan.

In their messages, the Vietnamese leaders affirmed that Vietnam always stands side by side with the Philippine people at this difficult time.

They announced that Vietnam will send initial emergency aid worth 100,000 USD to the Philippines and consider other practical measures to help typhoon victims.

The leaders also expressed hope that the Philippine people will be able to surmount the disaster’s aftermaths and restore their lives.

The same day, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh conveyed condolences to his Philippine counterpart Albert F.Del Rosario.

The international community has committed to helping the country surmount the serious consequences of typhoon Haiyan.

The United Nations on November 10 sent experts to Tacloban city, which was directly hit by the typhoon, to assess the losses and prepare for organising international relief activities.

As many as 60 tonnes of medical equipment and tents are scheduled to be brought to the Philippines on November 12 by the UN Children’s Fund.

The UK Government pledged 9.6 million USD in aid for the Philippines, while the Canadian Government said they will fund about 4.7 million USD through the supply of such essential goods as blankets, mosquito nets, food, clean water and medicine.

The European Commission will provide the Philippine people with emergency aid worth 3 million EUR.

The New Zealand government announced an initial aid package worth 125,000 USD while the country’s Red Cross plans to donate 412,000 USD.

Super-typhoon Haiyan, the strongest cyclone of this year in the world, made landfall over central Philippine localities on November 8. It is feared that casualties from the typhoon can reach 10,000, mostly in Tacloban city. Another 4.4 million people are facing homeless after their houses are destroyed in the disaster.

Haiyan on early November 11 landed in northern Vietnam, causing heavy rains and strong wind in the region.

In the next 12 hours, it is forecast to move northward at a speed of 15-20 km per hour, heading to south China and weakening to a depression.

Vietnam, common home for beliefs and religions

Emerging from the two long and severe wars, Vietnam has developed rapidly in the national reform, people’s lives have been improved both materially and spiritually.

On the occasion of Vietnam standing for election to the UN Human Rights Council, the Vietnam News Agency introduces some articles on beliefs and religions of the Vietnamese. These articles are expected to provide an accurate and updated overview of the freedom to practice one’s own beliefs in the land with a thousand-year-old culture.

Ever since the primitive time, beliefs and religions have become an inseparapable part of the Vietnamese’s spiritual life, as seen in the carving of rituals of worship on bronze drums dating back to the Dong Son civilisation (the 7th - 1st century BC).

By 2010, the country had 32 religious organisations whose operations were licensed by the State, with about 15.5 million followers, accounting for 18 percent of the total population. However, the number of unofficial followers is much higher, not to mention those practise folk beliefs.

Based on the number of followers, main religions in Vietnam include Buddhism, with both Mahayana and Hinayana branches with about 6.8 million followers, Catholicism (5.7 million), Hoa Hao sect (1.4 million), Cao Dai sect (808,000), Protestantism (734,000), Islam (73,000) and Balamon (56,000). There are also a wide range of folk beliefs which bear deep local characteristics and are usually mixed with another religion. Some statistics show that up to 98 percent of Vietnamese families practise some kind of worship at home.

Living for a long time in a land which is the meeting place of many big civilisations, the Vietnamese are open to receive different kinds of belief and adopt them into their own traditional spiritual activities. Cultural researcher Phan Ngoc described this phenomenon as a “refraction” of new elements based on “Vietnam’s cultural constant”. Beliefs and religions in Vietnam not only have a wide diversity in terms of origin, history of development, and ritual forms but also have a high adaptability.

Therefore, ensuring the right to freedom of beliefs and harmony among religions has always been the most important task of the Vietnamese State, especially in the context of integration when different cultures are getting closer and closer.

During the very first meeting of the provisional Government on September 3, 1945, only one day after the declaration of national independence, President Ho Chi Minh proposed the principle of “freedom of beliefs and solidarity between believers and non-believers”. He affirmed that the founders of great religions all shared the common purpose of upholding the good and direct people to an equal and free life and a world community. It is also the supreme goal of the Vietnamese revolution.

The very first point of view of the Ho Chi Minh era has become a guideline for the Vietnamese Party and State’s religious policy over the past seven decades, which has been emphasised at every Party Congress and stipulated in all four Constitutions.

Together with socio-economic achievements in the cause of national reform, people’s cultural life, including religious activities, have become richer and richer, from traditional rituals and festivals to international events.

The decision to stand for election to the UN Human Rights Council once again reflects Vietnam’s strong commitment to ensuring the basic rights of people, including religious freedom, contributing to efforts to build a world of equality and happiness.

Vietnam attends Francophone meeting in France

A Vietnamese diplomat has updated a Francophone ministerial meeting in Paris on Vietnam’s French language projects funded by the International Organisation of Francophone (OIF).

Foreign Minister Assistant Nguyen Ngoc Son also reiterated the country’s commitment to expanding foreign relations with the wider Francophone world.

He emphasised Vietnam’s proactive contributions to the OIF’s continued health, and voiced his support for the organisation’s peace-building and conflict resolution efforts.

Vietnam wants the OIF to adopt specific crisis management measures, economic growth initiatives, and policies designed to protect long-term stability in OIF member countries, he said.

Son confirmed Vietnam will collaborate with the OIF in organising a regional economic cooperation seminar in early 2014, to prepare for a general Francophone economic strategy.

Representatives of 57 OIF member countries and 20 other OIF observers attending the meeting, the 29th of its kind, praised Vietnam for promoting Francophone movements in the Asia-Pacific region.

Senior OIF officials regularly visit Vietnam, including OIF Director General Clément Duhaime last year, Special OIF Secretary General Advisor Ousmane Paye in 2013, and OIF Secretary General Abdou Diouf’s planned 2014 trip

Diouf highlighted Vietnam’s socio-economic development and poverty reduction achievements and its increasing prestige within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Vietnam and the OIF will work towards establishing a Vietnam-based centre for Francophone and Africa studies and hosting an international tripartite conference on economic cooperation between French-speaking countries.

The November 7–8 conference reviewed the implementation of action plans adopted at the 14th Francophone Summit in Congo last year and prepared a working agenda for the Senegal summit in November 2014.

National Assembly discusses progress in health insurance

Viet Nam is getting closer to its goal of national health insurance coverage, according to a report presented by the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee at a NA meeting yesterday.

By the end of last year, nearly 70 per cent of the country's population had health insurance, the report stated. Employers and individuals covered about 58 per cent of insurance costs, while government funds took care of the remainder.

The national health insurance fund has been balanced since 2012, despite having been overspent in previous years.

However, the NA Standing Committee noted that there was not yet a way to encourage groups of people with low coverage to get insurance.

Another issue raised by lawmakers was the fact that local hospitals provided poor treatment to the insured due to limitations in medical technology and staff capacity, causing overcrowding at central hospitals as unsatisfied patients flocked to them for better healthcare.

The ethics and professionalism of medical staff are also "slow to improve" and there are not enough inspections of operations, lawmakers said, causing public concern.

Moreover, there is a significant price gap between hospital and market pharmacies, as well as between different hospitals.

The committee noted that hospitals failed to use up-to-date technology to improve the procedures for medical treatment and health insurance payments.

A group of inspectors proposed that the National Assembly issue a decree to promote national heath insurance coverage.

The inspectors also proposed that the Government order cities and provinces to take measures to increase health insurance coverage, paying special attention to localities and groups with low participation rates.

After listening to a report by Truong Thi Mai, Chairwoman of the National Assembly Committee for Social Affairs, deputies gave their opinions on what legal documents should guide the implementation of the Health Insurance Law and how to expand insurance coverage.

The deputies also discussed payment methods for health care services and other related issues concerning the Health Insurance Law.

Today the deputies will study relevant documents, followed by a day off.

On Monday, lawmakers are scheduled to approve a resolution on the socio-economic development plan for 2014 and consider personnel work.

In the afternoon, they will divide into groups to discuss the draft revision to the Construction Law and the draft revision of the Law on Environmental Protection.

VNA/VNS/VOV