Vietnam wants to further friendship with India: President

Vietnam always wants to further the solidarity and friendship with India, State President Truong Tan Sang stated when receiving a delegation from the India-Vietnam Solidarity Committee in West Bengal State led by its President Geetesh Sharma in Hanoi on December 11.

He expressed his delight at the growing bilateral ties between the two countries, attributing it to both sides’ efforts to boost cooperation in a wide range of fields, such as politics, diplomacy, culture, education, and people-to-people contacts as well as support at international forums.

The leader stressed the need to open more direct air routes connecting big cities of India and Vietnam.

Lauding the committee’s contributions to boosting the friendship between Vietnamese and Indian peoples, the President said he appreciates Sharma’s sentiments to the late President Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam through his book about the late leader’s life in Hindi language.

Sharma said India has taken a lot of activities to bolster its friendship with Vietnam, which included those engaged by the India-Vietnam Solidarity Committee in West Bengal state.

Sharma’s committee, in particular, issued many publications on the nation and people of Vietnam, including those about President Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnam-India relations, and a book on 40 th anniversary of Vietnam-India diplomatic ties and five years of bilateral strategic partnership.

Vietnam, Laos supreme courts talk to foster ties

Delegations from the Vietnamese and Lao Supreme People’s Courts expressed their willingness to enhance cooperation and expertise exchange during their talks in Hanoi on December 11.

At the event, Chief Judge of the Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam Truong Hoa Binh and his Lao counterpart Khamphan Sitthidampha reviewed bilateral cooperation and briefed each other about their respective judicial work.

They discussed some contents on the organisation of a court conference among border Vietnamese, Lao, and Cambodian provinces slated for late this month in Laos.

Binh said the conference is important to fostering cooperation between Vietnamese and Lao courts as well as that among the three Indochinese countries in the field.

Khamphan Sitthidampha expressed his hope that the court conference will receive experience from the Vietnamese side.

The Lao judge is in Vietnam to attend a meeting of ASEAN Chief Justices.-

The Military Attaché Office at the Vietnam Embassy in Berlin held a ceremony on December 10 to mark the 70th anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), gathering about 160 Vietnamese and German guests.

Addressing the event, Vietnamese Ambassador in German Nguyen Thi Hoang Anh reviewed the gorgeous history of the VPA, stating that the Vietnamese people, who had fought against several foreign aggressors to defend the country, treasure the value of peace.

The army, while constantly reinforcing its defence strength, has actively participated in international operations bilaterally and multilaterally, aiming to build strategic partnership and develop a peaceful environment in the region and the world, she said.

She noted that after setting up their strategic partnership in 2011, Vietnam and Germany have enjoyed growing ties in all fields, including defence, contributing to strengthening mutual trust and understanding.

The Vietnamese Government and the VPA highly value Germany’s support, especially in personnel training, she said, stating that the trained officers will help cement the ties between the two armies and peoples.

The same day, the Military Attaché Office attached to Vietnam’s Embassy in Thailand also celebrated the VPA’s 70th founding anniversary, seeing the attendance of Thai Deputy Prime Minister Yongyouth Yuttavong and senior officials.

Ambassador to Thailand Nguyen Tat Thanh reiterated Vietnam’s external defence policy of not joining any military alliance or affiliating with other parties against a third party, and not allowing foreign armies to set up base in Vietnam’s territory.

Defence partnership between Vietnam and Thailand has developed, with a focus on naval cooperation, said the diplomat.

The two sides worked together in joint patrols at sea, which helped strengthening mutual understanding and trust between the two armies, while ensuring security and safety in the waters for fishermen’s operations, he said.

Admiral Nguyen Van Hien has become the first Vietnamese to receive Knight Grand Cross, first class, of the Thai Royal Family, which reflects the solidarity and friendship between the two countries, added the ambassador.

RoK President vows ODA priority to projects in Vietnam

President of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Park Geun-hye has reiterated that the RoK considers Vietnam as the top partner in its policy of official development assistance (ODA), pledging priority to infrastructure, green growth and human resources projects in Vietnam.

The President made the commitment during talks with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on December 10, as the Vietnamese PM is in the RoK for a working visit and also to attend the commemorative summit marking 25 years of the ASEAN-RoK dialogue relations.

Both leaders agreed that the sharing of strategic benefits and political trust between the two countries over recent times has laid an important foundation to further expand and deepen bilateral ties, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in Asia-Pacific.

They agreed to maintain regular high-level visits and contacts and extend coordination between ministries and agencies while effectively implementing dialogue mechanisms in the fields of diplomacy, national defence and security, especially in defence industry, training, trans-national crime prevention and anti-terrorism.

The two leaders were rejoiced at the conclusion of negotiations on the bilateral free trade agreement (FTA), hailing it an important event in bilateral ties which will not only help increase two-way trade to 70 billion USD by 2020 but also lift the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries to a new height.

Speaking highly of the RoK’s coordination to improve trade imbalance between the two nations, PM Nguyen Tan Dung asked the RoK government to encourage both big corporations and small- and medium-sized enterprises to invest in Vietnam, especially in hi-tech, support industry, electronics, manufacturing and processing industry, energy and infrastructure development in industrial zones.

The PM also appealed to the RoK for more policies to assist the Vietnamese community in the RoK.

President Park Geun-hye, for her part, promised to consider extending a special memorandum of understanding on labour cooperation between the two countries which, she said, will benefit both sides.

Both host and guest concurred that the maintenance of peace, stability, security, maritime and aviation safety in the East Sea is the common interest of countries in and outside the region, and voiced support of ASEAN and China in seriously abiding by the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea, towards the early finalisation of the Code of Conduct in the East Sea.

Turning to regional and global issues of shared concern, they expressed pleasure at the strong development of the ASEAN – RoK strategic partnership and agreed to work closely together at ASEAN cooperative mechanisms and other multilateral forums.

After the talks, they witnessed the signing of a document on concluding the Vietnam-RoK FTA negotiations.

Vietnam expects huge investment inflows from RoK

The enforcement of the Vietnam-Republic of Korea (RoK) free trade agreement (FTA) in the near future is likely to trigger a massive influx of RoK investments into the Southeast Asian country, Korean entrepreneurs have said.

The executives from leading RoK groups doing business in Vietnam such as Doosan, CJ, Teakwang, Lotte, Posco, and Samsung had meetings with visiting Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in Busan on December 11.

While Doosan is keen on expanding power turbine factories, Posco and Teakwang are interested in building major thermal power plants and steel refining facilities in Vietnam. Samsung pledged to complete a smartphone manufacturing complex in Thai Nguyen province in mid-2015 and create jobs for some 100,000 workers in the country.

Apart from the industrial sector, RoK entrepreneurs also proposed a number of projects relating to stem cell research, vocational training, high-quality agricultural production, construction, film production, and television and digital development.

They also expressed their willingness to take part in the equitisation of Vietnamese State-owned enterprises.

At the meetings, PM Nguyen Tan Dung welcomed the proposals, adding that RoK companies have proved their capability through profitable projects in Vietnam.

Once the bilateral FTA is signed and enforced, RoK businesses will gain more opportunities to expand their operation and reap success, he added, committing to supporting RoK projects with the best possible conditions.

The leader also said he hopes during their operation in Vietnam, RoK firms will pay attention to applying advanced and environmentally friendly technologies, developing support industries, exporting Vietnamese goods to the RoK, as well as giving intensive training and better working and living conditions to local labourers.

On December 10, Vietnam and the RoK signed a minutes on the conclusion of negotiations of their FTA in Busan.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is in the RoK for a working visit and to attend the commemorative summit marking 25 years of the ASEAN-RoK dialogue partnership.

Busan mayor hails conclusion of FTA talks

Mayor of Busan city Suh Byung-soo has hailed the conclusion of free trade agreement talks between the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Vietnam, saying that it is an important milestone in bilateral cooperation across economics, trade and investment.

Meeting Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in Busan on December 11, Suh expressed hope for closer friendship between the two nations, and suggested Vietnam allow Busan Bank to open a branch in the country.

Busan and Ho Chi Minh City are twinning cities, with nearly 340 Busan companies operating in Vietnam and about 10,000 Vietnamese living and working in the city, he said.

The host pledged to do his best to assist the Vietnamese community in Busan.

The PM proposed Busan enhance coordination with Vietnam in education-training and health care, including providing more scholarships for Vietnamese students and making it easier for Vietnamese expatriates to integrate into the society.

The same day, the Vietnamese government leader met with executives of Doosan, CJ, Teakwang, Lotte corporations, during which, he promised all possible support for them to operate in Vietnam.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is in the RoK for a working visit and to attend the commemorative summit marking 25 years of the ASEAN-RoK dialogue partnership.

Japan’s National Day marked in HCM City

The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations and the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Association (VJFA)’s Ho Chi Minh City chapter jointly held a ceremony in the city on December 11 to mark the 81 st birthday of Japanese Emperor Akihito and the country’s National Day (December 23, 1933-2014).

Addressing the event, Chairman of the VJFA HCM City Nguyen Cong Tanh and Japanese Consul General to the city Nakajima Satoshi highlighted the increasingly developing ties between the two nations in recent years, saying the two countries have become each other’s important partners in all aspects, from politics, diplomacy, economy, trade, investment and sci-technology, to cultural and people-to-people exchange.

Nakajima Satoshi noted that the year 2013 witnessed eventful cooperation and exchange activities between the two sides, with visits by their high-ranking leaders.

During President Truong Tan Sang’s state visit to Japan in March this year, bilateral relations was lifted to an intensive strategic partnership for peace and prosperity in Asia, he said.

The Japanese diplomat revealed that the Japanese Government will continue maintaining official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam at the highest level, especially in infrastructure and human resources development, competitiveness improvement, and disaster prevention.

The country will also retain many preferential policies for Vietnamese students who wish to study in Japan , he added.

Japan is now one of the leading foreign investors in Vietnam , with 2,300 projects worth over 35 billion USD. The country is also the largest provider of ODA for Vietnam.

India-Vietnam Solidarity Committee’s delegation welcomed

A delegation from the India-Vietnam Solidarity Committee in West Bengan state led by its President Geetesh Sharma is paying a working visit to Vietnam from December 4-14 to discuss measures to further mutual understanding between the two peoples.

On December 10, the delegation was received by Nguyen Hoanh Son, member of the Vietnam-India Friendship Association’s Standing Board, who spoke highly of the activities the Indian committee has conducted over the past time to promote mutual understanding and bilateral cooperation.

Son expressed hope that Geetesh Sharma, in his position as the committee’s head, will continue his efforts to deepen the two countries’ relations.

According to Sharma, the committee was established in January 1972 with 200 members, mainly journalists, writers and voluntary social activists.

Over the past four decades, it has actively organised a wide range of activities, including seminars and meetings, to foster the bilateral ties. It has also published several books on the Vietnamese land and people, particularly late President Ho Chi Minh, and the two countries’ relations.

During its stay in Vietnam, the delegation is scheduled to meet leaders of the Party, State and Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, as well as visit the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

VNA/VNS/VOV