Sen. Lieut. Gen. Phan Van Giang (L) and General Vong Pisen at the welcome ceremony

A Vietnamese high-level military delegation, led by Sen. Lieut. Gen. Phan Van Giang, Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) and Deputy Minister of National Defence, on November 2 concluded their four-day official visit to Cambodia.

The visit, made at the invitation of General Vong Pisen, Commander-in-chief of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF), aimed to review cooperation between the VPA General Staff and the RCAF High Command over the past time, and discuss measures to boost their collaboration in the time ahead.

During the stay, Giang paid a courtesy visit to Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on October 30, during which the Vietnamese officer informed the latter of the cooperation results between the two armies in the past time, including the implementation of a decree on regular rescue in border areas, collaboration between the two countries’ border guard forces on land and at sea, human resources training, and the search and repatriation of remains of Vietnamese voluntary soldiers and experts in Cambodia.

The Cambodian PM, for his part, laid stress on the significance of the Vietnamese delegation’s visit, saying it would help accelerate the implementation of high-level pacts inked between leaders of the countries, thus contributing to consolidating the bilateral relations.

He highlighted defence collaboration as an important pillar in the Vietnam-Cambodia “good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation and long-term sustainability”.

In his talks with Vong Pisen on October 31, Giang hoped that both sides would further their efforts to accelerate border demarcation and marker planting work, create favourable conditions for Vietnamese nationals in Cambodia , and protect relic sites in Cambodia that feature the friendship between the two countries and militaries.

Vong Pisen expressed his profound gratitude towards the Vietnamese Party, State, people and army for helping Cambodia escape from the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime. He also thanked Vietnam for providing Cambodia with human resources training, thus strengthening the Cambodian royal armed forces.

The Cambodian Commander-in-Chief affirmed his full support for Vietnam when the country takes up the rotary chair of ASEAN in 2020, and organising the upcoming ASEAN Chiefs of Defence Forces Meeting.

The same day, Giang paid a courtesy visit to Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence General Tea Banh.

On November 1, the Vietnamese and Cambodian defence ministries organised a ceremony to present Vietnam’s Friendship Order to units and individuals of the RCAF./.

Vietnam wants to boost multi-faceted partnership with Cameroon

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue (L) and Cameroon Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue visited Cameroon on November 1 and 2, part of his working trip to Africa.

During the visit, Deputy PM Hue held talks with Cameroon Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute, visited the Senate and the National Assembly of the Parliament of Cameroon, and had working sessions with Vice President of the Senate Lamido Abubakary Abdulaye and Vice President of the National Assembly Etong Nzok Hilarion.

At the talks with PM Joseph Dion Ngute, the Vietnamese Deputy PM affirmed Vietnam’s policy on promoting multi-faceted cooperation, particularly in economics and trade, with African countries, including Cameroon, on the basis of their political trust and traditional friendship and mutual support.

Hue said to facilitate stronger bilateral collaboration, the two countries should intensify negotiation for the early signing of bilateral agreements, creating the legal framework for trade as well as cooperation in other fields.

The Cameroon PM admired Vietnam’s high economic growth of 6-7 percent a year and said Cameroon wants to learn from Vietnam’s development model.

He affirmed that Cameroon hopes to set up cooperative ties with Vietnam across the fields, with a focus on sectors where Cameroon has great potential and Vietnam is strong at, such as agriculture and processing of cashew nut, wood and coffee. He added that his country also wishes to boost the bilateral partnership in telecommunications, which has already started with the operation of Nextel, a joint venture between Vietnam’s Viettel group and Cameroon partner.

Discussing support for Vietnamese businesses operating in Cameroon including Nextel, Deputy PM Hue appreciated the work of the Cameroon Government and PM Joseph Dion Ngute himself to facilitate their operation.

At working sessions with Vice President of the Senate Lamido Abubakary Abdulaye and Vice President of the National Assembly Etong Nzok Hilarion, Deputy PM Hue highlighted the role of the two countries’ parliaments in supervising and making laws to facilitate the negotiations and signing of bilateral agreements, thus creating legal corridor for trade exchanges.

He also noted the need to increase the exchange of delegations between the two countries’ governments, sectors, trade associations and people, as well as promote cooperation in culture, education, sports and people-to-people exchange./.

Activities to mark 60 years of President Ho Chi Minh’s visit to Indonesia

President Ho Chi Minh is welcomed in Indonesia

A series of events will be held in Jakarta, Indonesia from November 8 – 18 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh’s historic visit to Indonesia.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Pham Vinh Quang said the embassy will work with the Vietnam News Agency and the Studio for Documentary & Scientific Film to host a photo exhibition and screening of films featuring President Ho Chi Minh’s visit to Indonesia and President Soekarno’s visit to Vietnam.

The exhibition, which will open in Jakarta on November 8, then will come to Bali, Yogyaktarta and Bandung where the Vietnamese President called at during his visit 60 years ago.

Also on November 8, the embassy will hold a seminar with the participation of Vietnamese and Indonesian officials and scholars.

On the occasion, it will present awards for a knowledge contest on the visits by the two late Presidents.

During a meeting with the Vietnamese Embassy in Indonesia on November 1, former fifth President of Indonesia Megawati Soekarnoputri, the daughter of late President Soekarno and ruling Chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, said the events afford both sides a chance to foster bilateral friendship and peace in the world./.

Vietnam, Ivory Coast hold huge cooperation potential: Deputy PM

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue (L) shakes hands with Vice President of Ivory Coast Daniel Kablan Duncan.

Vietnam and Ivory Coast have huge potential to boost collaboration, particularly in the fields of trade, thanks to their sound political relations, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue said.

He made the remark while having a working session with Vice President of Ivory Coast Daniel Kablan Duncan on October 31 during his visit to Africa.

Deputy PM Hue affirmed Vietnam wants to import more products of Ivory Coast’s strengths such as raw cashew and cotton in the time ahead.

Ivory Coast Vice President Duncan, for his part, said he was impressed by Vietnam’s socio-economic development in recent years, and informed the Vietnamese guest of his country’s achievements in national construction and development, which he described as a model for the development in Africa.

As the International Monetary Fund and the African Development recommended Ivory Coast to study economic development models of several countries in the region, including Vietnam, Duncan expressed his hope to bolster cooperation with the Southeast Asian nation in the fields of rice cultivation, improving quality of doctors and nurses, education and training, and IT development serving e-government building, among others.

Agricultural processing is the major source of income for Ivory Coast, so the country wants to enhance cooperation with Vietnam in the field, he added.

At the event, both sides laid stress on the importance of setting up a legal framework for cooperative activities. They committed to accelerating negotiations and signing of documents such as an agreement on the encouragement and protection of investment and the double taxation avoidance agreement, so as to facilitate trade exchanges between enterprises from the two countries./.

Dioxin contaminated land at Bien Hoa handed over for remediation

Vietnam and the US on Tuesday signed an agreement on handing over 37ha of land at Bien Hoa airbase for dioxin contamination remediation.

US Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick underlined the joint efforts between Vietnam and the US to deepen their comprehensive partnership through activities to address the legacy of war.

Bien Hoa airport is the largest remaining hotspot of dioxin contamination in Vietnam. An estimated 500,000 cubic meters of soil at the airport in Dong Nai province are contaminated with the deadly chemical. USAID will provide 183 million USD for the cleanup project which is expected to be completed in 10 years.

The project follows the successful cleanup of Da Nang airport, where nearly 33 ha were isolated and treated with thermal desorption technology.

Politburo mulls over anti-corruption documents

 

Party General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong chaired a meeting of the Politburo in Hanoi on November 1 to look into some projects regarding anti-corruption.

The projects comprise one amending and supplementing the 11th Politburo’s Regulation No. 163-QD/TW dated February 1, 2013 on functions, tasks, authority and operation of the Central Steering Committee for Anti-corruption, and another amending and supplementing the 11th Politburo’s Decision No. 159-QD/TW dated December 28, 2012 on functions, tasks and organisation of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Internal Affairs.

The Politburo basically approved contents of the projects as well as the report on these documents presented by a representative from the Commission for Internal Affairs.

Addressing the meeting, Trong said after more than six years of implementing Decision No. 159, the Commission for Internal Affairs has proposed many major policies, guidelines and orientations on internal affairs.

The commission has performed its role as the standing agency of the Central Steering Committee for Anti-corruption, he said, stressing the commission’s efforts in pushing ahead with the investigation, prosecution and settlement of complex economic and corrupt cases of public concern.

He also lauded the Central Steering Committee for Anti-corruption for its performance in detecting and handling corrupt cases.

The committee and commission have significantly contributed to Party building and rectification, internal affairs and corruption combat, thus helping to consolidate public confidence in the Party and the State, Trong noted.

According to Trong, the amendment and supplement aim to affirm and promote the role of the Central Steering Committee for Anti-corruption in steering and inspecting the corruption combat, and the role of the Commission for Internal Affairs in providing consultations on anti-corruption, internal affairs and administrative reform for the Party Central Committee, Politburo, the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat and the Central Steering Committee for Anti-corruption.

The projects also affirm the Party and State’s strong resolve to prevent and combat corruption, he said./.

VN calls for further support from USAID to handle post-war consequences

Deputy Minister of Defence Nguyen Chi Vinh (right) and USAID Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick

Deputy Minister of Defence Nguyen Chi Vinh has asked for further coordination from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to effectively carry out projects on settlement of post-war consequences in Vietnam.

Hosting a reception for USAID Deputy Administrator Bonnie Glick in Hanoi on November 1, Vinh, who is also Head of the National Steering Committee on Settlement of Post-war Unexploded Ordnance and Toxic Chemical Consequences (Committee 701), thanked the US Government, people, Embassy in Vietnam and the USAID for their cooperation in activities to handle post-war consequences in Vietnam.

He asked the USAID to help in choosing technologies to treat dioxin-contaminated land at Bien Hoa airport, while taking safety measures to reduce dioxin’s impact on human during the implementation of the Dioxin Remediation at Bien Hoa Airbase Area Project.

Besides, Vinh expressed his hope that USAID will work to ensure sufficient official development assistance (ODA) capital to treat all dioxin-contaminated land in Bien Hoa airport.

Bonnie Glick, for her part, stressed that the joint efforts by Vietnam and the US in dioxin detoxification at Bien Hoa and Da Nang airports have helped deepen the comprehensive partnership between the two countries.

She affirmed that the two countries will continue cooperate to carry out the humanitarian missions, including accounting for missing servicemen during war time and overcoming war aftermath such as removing unexploded ordnances, supporting people with disabilities and treating dioxin contamination.

At the event, both sides also reviewed their joint work in the past time and discussed measures to boost cooperation in the time ahead.
It is noteworthy that the two sides have completed the project on dioxin detoxification at Da Nang airport, and handed over 32.4 ha of clean land to the central city serving its socio-economic development.

Following the reception, Vinh and his US guest attended the ceremony to hand over the site for the Dioxin Remediation at Bien Hoa Airbase Area Project.

The Bien Hoa airport is one of the areas with heaviest dioxin contamination with over 500,000 cubic metres of soil in 52 ha of land need to be cleansed, four times higher than the amount treated at Da Nang airport.

Dioxin, a highly toxic chemical contained in the defoliant, stays in the soil and at the bottom of lakes and rivers for generations.

It can enter the food chain through meat, fish and other animals, and has been found at alarmingly high levels in human breast milk.

The chemicals have been linked to cancer, birth defects and other chronic diseases, according to the Vietnam Red Cross.

Last year, the USAID committed a funding of 183 million USD for the initial phase of the dioxin detoxification project at Bien Hoa airport. The project was approved by the Vietnamese Prime Minister and officially kicked start in April 2019.

Lasting 10 years and cost more than 390 million USD, it is seen as one of the world’s largest projects in the field./.

Cuba highly values Vietnam’s support against blockade, embargo

 
Within the framework of the 74th General Assembly of the United Nations, Cuba plans to present a draft resolution asking the US to lift its economic blockade against Cuba. On this occasion, the Vietnam News Agency interviewed Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Lianys Torres Rivera on the impact of the US policy of unilateral embargo, as well as on Vietnam’s support to the Cuban people.

On the US recent tightening of its economic, commercial and financial embargo, the diplomat affirmed that the harsh policies of the US are hindering Cuba’s economic development, including the realisation of its socio-economic plan for 2019, as well as the completion of the sustainable development goals. Within only one year from April 2018, Cuba’s economy suffered losses totaling over 4 billion USD as a result of the US policy of embargo, she said.

The Cuban diplomat opposed the US recent decision to fully impose Article III of the Helms-Burton Act that allows US citizens to file lawsuits against foreign companies or individuals related to the confiscation of their assets by the Cuban government. Cuba is now facing a scarcity of fuel as a result of the intensified embargo from the US side, she added.

On the relations of solidarity and friendship between Cuba and Vietnam, Ambassador Torres Rivera affirmed that Vietnam always stands side by the side with Cuba in the struggle against the blockade and embargo, stressing that the heartfelt and practical help from Vietnam to the Cuban people is extremely valuable, especially in the current time of hardships. She highlighted the fact that at the high-level session of the UN General Assembly on September 28, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh called for an immediate removal of the unilateral embargo which runs counter to the international law against Cuba.

According to the diplomat, during her Cuba visit in July, Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh also affirmed that the Party, State and people of Vietnam will continue supporting the people of the Caribbean country and demand for an end to the blockade and embargo. The ambassador expressed her belief that Vietnam will vote in support of the draft resolution on the need to remove the economic, commercial and financial embargo of the US against Cuba at the coming session of the UN General Assembly.

She further said that many countries, individuals, scholars and international organisations have voiced their opposition against the tightening of the economic embargo against Cuba, adding that she believed Cuba will continue enjoying support from countries at the UN in calling on the US to lift its blockade an embargo at an early date.

Over the past nearly six decades, the policy of economic, commercial and financial blockade and embargo unilaterally imposed by the US has causes losses totaling nearly 139 billion USD for the Cuban economy./.

Party official receives Cambodian guest

Politburo member and Permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Tran Quoc Vuong (R) shakes hands with Permanent member of the Standing Board of the Cambodian People’s Party Central Committee Tep Ngorn

Politburo member and Permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Tran Quoc Vuong hosted a reception for a Cambodian high-ranking delegation led by Permanent member of the Standing Board of the Cambodian People’s Party Central Committee Tep Ngorn in Hanoi on November 1.

During the reception, Tep Ngorn congratulated Vietnam on its important achievements in the recent past, expressing his belief that under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), Vietnamese people will gain greater achievements.

He highlighted the increasingly fruitful development of the long-lasting relations of fine neibourliness, traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia, saying that it contributes to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

Tep Ngorn, who is also the second Vice President of the Cambodian Senate, affirmed that his country will continue to closely coordinate with Vietnam to effectively implement treaties, agreements signed between the two nations.

Vuong said the first-class Friendship Order of the State of Cambodia presented to the Commission for External Relations of the CPV at a ceremony to mark its 70th traditional day also on November 1 is a recognition of outstanding achievements and great contributions of the commission in strengthening the friendship and solidarity between the two countries.

He spotlighted the role and contributions of the commission to reinforcing and strengthening relations with neigbouring and regional countries, important partners and traditional friends like Cambodia.

The official underlined the significance of the signing of two legal documents to acknowledge the completion of 84 percent of the land border between the two countries, as well as the bilateral cooperation in recent times, expressing his hope that the two sides will continue to expand cooperation, share information and experience, and work closely to effectively implement the agreements they have reached.

Vietnam always prioritise developing the Vietnam-Cambodia relations, considering this as a valuable asset of the two nations, he affirmed.

Vuong expressed his hope that the Cambodian Senate, National Assembly and Government will continue to create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses operating in Cambodia, and overseas Vietnamese living and working in the country.

Legislators discuss socio-economic development for ethnic minorities

 
The National Assembly debated an overall plan on socio-economic development in ethnic minority-inhabited, mountainous and extremely disadvantaged areas, during a plenary sitting in Hanoi on November 1, the 10th day of sitting of the ongoing eighth session.

Deputies agreed on the need to build the plan and to integrate ethnic-related policies into a national target programme during the 2021-2030 period, targeting ethnic minority groups in extremely disadvantaged communes.

The Party and State have paid attention to investment policies in ethnic minority-inhabited and mountainous regions, they said, noting higher growth rates recorded in the localities.

They also focused their discussion on limitations in socio-economic development in these areas and solutions to the problems.

Regarding capital for the implementation of the plan, some suggested mobilising all social resources and devising investment attraction policies.

After the discussion, Minister-Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs Do Van Chien clarified issues raised by the deputies.

In her closing remarks, NA Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong said the NA’s Standing Committee will instruct relevant agencies to perfect the overall plan before submitting it to the legislature.

In the afternoon, lawmakers looked into a draft resolution on the removal of fines for late tax payments and late tax payments for insolvent taxpayers, delay in the issuance of mineral and water resources exploitation rights, among others.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha and Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung joined the discussion.

The NA is scheduled to hear reports on crime combat, execution of criminal judgements and anti-corruption on November 4./.

NA Chairwoman meets with outstanding intellectuals, scientists

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan on November 1 met with 112 outstanding intellectuals and scientists who are in Hanoi for a ceremony to honour them.

The Chairwoman praised their achievements and contributions to the development of the country’s science and technology.

The Party and State highly value the role of intellectuals and scientists in making contributions to national development, the Chairwoman said, adding numerous policies on the development of science and technology and the contingent of intellectuals have been issued.

Over the past years, intellectuals and scientists as well as sciences have significantly contributed to national renewal and development, she said, adding that many scientific projects have been applied into production and the life.

According the NA Chairwoman, the achievements have contributed to the country’s changes, thus raising productivity, quality and competitiveness of Vietnamese products and improving people’s incomes. They have also contributed to building the Party and State’s policies and laws, and creating a foundation for accelerating the national industrialisation and modernisation.

She called on the intellectuals and scientists to continue promoting their achievements and making more contributions to the science and technology sector./.