Vietnamese embassy stands by Laos over crash tragedy

The Vietnamese embassy in Laos has pledged to cooperate with the Lao side to support families of plane crash victims.

The Vietnamese Ambassador asked the Vietnam Consulate in Pakse to pay homage and offer help to these families.

President Truong Tan Sang, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh extended sympathy and condolences to the Lao President Chummaly Saynhasone, Prime Minister Thongsinh Thammavong and Foreign Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, the Lao people and the families of the victims.

On October 16, a Lao Airline-run plane ATR 72, on the way from the capital city Vientiane to Pakse went down in the Mekong River.

The crash killed 49 crew and passengers, including three Vietnamese nationals. $0 $0$0 $0 $0The Lao side is making all efforts to seek for the dead bodies and deal with the accident’s consequences. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Vietnam, Myanmar enhance cooperation in fighting crimes

Vietnam and Myanmar have agreed upon measures to consolidate and strengthen cooperation and experience sharing in preventing and combating crimes, thus contributing to developing the traditional friendship between the two nations.

The agreement was reached at talks between Vietnamese Minister of Public Security General Tran Dai Quang and Myanmar Minister of Home Affairs Lieutenant General Ko-ko during the former’s October 13-16 visit.

The two sides spoke highly of bilateral cooperation over the past time, especially in the fight against organised and trans-national crimes, terrors, drug and human trafficking crimes.

During his stay, Minister Quang also paid a courtesy visit to Myanmar President General U Thein Sein.

Binh Duong, Italy’s region boost bilateral cooperation

The southern Binh Duong province and Italy’s Emilia Romagna region on October 16 signed a joint statement on strengthening bilateral friendship and cooperation, and an agreement on economic and trade cooperation.

Accordingly, the two sides agreed to enhance their friendship ties and expand cooperation in economy, science-technology, education-training and culture.

In the immediate future, Binh Duong province and Emilia Romagna region will focus on intensifying trade promotion and cooperation in industry, service and tourism sectors, and on exchanges and experience sharing activities in science-technology, education-training and culture-society.

The outcomes of the cooperation will serve as the foundation for the two sides to sign an official cooperation agreement.

Under the economic and trade cooperation agreement signed the same day, the two sides will create favourable conditions for their businesses to study each other’s markets and increase trade and investment promotion activities in sectors of great potential for mutually beneficiary cooperation.

Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Mai The Trung took the occasion to brief the Italian guests on the province’s current socio-economic situations.

Binh Duong province enjoys a growth rate double the national average and has so far attracted 2,174 foreign direct investment projects with total investment capital of 18.6 billion USD. Among them, Italian enterprises invested around 30 million USD in eight projects.

Trung said he hopes to see more Italian investors coming to the province.

According to President of the Legislative Assembly of Emilia Romagna region Palma Costi, Emilia Romagna has a population of 4.5 million. This is a wealthy region, with export turnover of industries reaching 50 billion EUR in 2012.-

Leaders express sympathies to Laos and the Philippines

Vietnamese leaders yesterday (Oct 17) sent their sympathies to the people of Laos and the Philippines over the deadly plane crash and earthquake that occurred this week.

Official Lao sources have said the tragedy occurred after a Lao Airline ATR72 aircraft, travelling from the capital city of Vientiane to the southern city of Pakse, hit bad weather and crashed into the Mekong River, killing all 49 people on board including three Vietnamese nationals.— File Photo

In their messages to Laos, President Truong Tan Sang and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung conveyed their condolences to Lao Party General Secretary and President Chummaly Sayyasone and Prime Minister Thoongsinh Thammavong over the tragic plane crash in the country on Wednesday.

The same day, Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh also sent a message of sympathy to his Lao counterpart Thongloun Si Soulith.

Official Lao sources have said the tragedy occurred after a Lao Airline ATR72 aircraft, travelling from the capital city of Vientiane to the southern city of Pakse, hit bad weather and crashed into the Mekong River, killing all 49 people on board including three Vietnamese nationals.

President Sang and Prime Minister Dung yesterday also conveyed their sympathies to President of the Philippines Benigno S. Aquino III over a powerful recent earthquake which struck the country's central region, resulting in great loss of human life and property.

On the same day, Foreign Minister Minh also sent his condolences to his Philippines counterpart Albert F. del Rosario.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council of the Philippines, the 7.2-magnitude quake near Balilihan town on Bohol Island killed at least 107 people, leaving hundreds of others injured and affecting millions of people.

Yesterday, Minh also conveyed his sadness to his Indian counterpart Salman Khurshid over a recent stampede at an Indian Hindu temple that left 115 people dead and hundreds more injured.

The stampede occurred as nearly 150,000 pilgrims gathered at the Ratangarh temple in the central state of Madhya Pradesh to celebrate the Hindu holy festival of Navratri, local police said on Monday.

VN checks laws on world crime

In 2012, Viet Nam ratified the UNTOC, the only global international convention relating to organised crime. It seeks to address all aspects of transnational organised crime and constitutes an effective tool as well as necessary legal framework for international co-operation in preventing and combating all forms of transnational organised crime.

Adopted in 2000, the convention has so far been ratified by 178 states.

Speaking at a workshop yesterday (Oct 16) held by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and Ministry of Justice, Nguyen Thi Kim Thoa, director of the ministry's Criminal and Administrative Laws Department, said that with the support of UNODC, the ministry and Supreme People's Court had conducted an assessment of the legal framework, including the 1999 Penal Code and 2003 Criminal Procedure Code.

"The assessment aims to identify gaps and provide recommendations for improving the country's legal framework to meet the obligations and requirements of the convention," she said.

Last April, Viet Nam's Government also approved an action plan to implement the convention as well as a protocol to prevent human trafficking.

Zhuldyz Akisheva, country director of UNODC Viet Nam, applauded Viet Nam's activities in this field, saying now was the right time for the country to boost co-operation in advocacy, legislation development and capacity building as organised crime in the region was increasing and becoming more complicated.

Vice Director of Criminal and Administrative Laws Department Le Van Anh said that there were many gaps between Viet Nam's Penal Code and the convention and urged revisions and amendments to the law. At present, contributions to the draft of the revised law are welcomed; it will likely be on the National Assembly's agenda for 2015.

The Penal Code does not currently meet all requirements of the convention concerning criminalisation. Some criminal acts are not punished promptly, such as participation in organised crime, money laundering and obstruction of justice.

In particular, the Penal Code does not have separate regulations concerning conspiracy or participation in organised crime. Under the code, those who belong to an organised crime syndicate but do not commit crimes or counsel others are not committing crimes (except cases regulated in Article 79).

When an individual committed crimes on behalf of a legal entity, they were not prosecuted and punished properly, Anh said, a problem the revised penal code should address.

Cuba, Vietnam exchange views on constitutional revision

The draft amendment of Vietnam’s 1992 Constitution aims to make economic and political improvements towards a law-governed socialist State of the people, by the people and for the people.

Le Minh Thong, Deputy Head of the National Assembly’s (NA) Law Committee made the remarks at an October 17 reception for the Cuban delegation in Hanoi led by the Secretary of Cuban Council of State Homero Acosta Alvarez, who is also the coordinator of a research working group on constitutional reform, and his entourage.

Thong told his guests that constitutional draft amendment was open for public feedback, collecting more than 8 million opinions. It will continue to be adjusted before submission to the NA at its forthcoming sixth session.

The constitutional amendment’s aim is to develop the socialist-orientated market economy and promote human rights in the country, Thong said.

The two sides also used the occasion to discuss operational structure of tribunals and procuracies in legal administrative activities, the relations between NA deputies and voters and election organization.

Viet Nam, Malaysia pledge to increase co-operation efforts

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung yesterday (Oct 17) suggested the joint co-operation committee of Viet Nam and Malaysia hold a meeting as soon as possible to promote effective cooperation in the fields of economics, trade, investment, tourism, education and training.

The PM was receiving Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who has been in Ha Noi for a working visit.

Dung declared that Viet Nam attached great importance to fostering co-operation with Malaysia, adding that he wanted the two sides to promptly sign a co-operation agreement on food security and labour, and co-ordinate in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations.

He urged both sides to step up their work together in maintaining peace, stability, maritime security and safety in the East Sea.

The Malaysian guest confirmed that his country would work closely with Viet Nam in peacefully addressing disputes in the East Sea based on international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), fully realising the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and advancing towards the early establishment of the Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC).

Yassin said his visit aimed to strengthen bilateral co-operation, especially in the areas of education, training and agriculture.

Notably, the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on higher education and human resources training with the view to bolstering exchanges in the field.

Emphasising the co-operation potential between the two countries, the guest called for the Vietnamese Government to continue creating favourable conditions for Malaysian businesses, enabling them to make long-term investments in the country as well as facilitating two-way trade.

The same day, the Malaysian deputy PM met with Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Thien Nhan. The two politicians highlighted major areas to speed up their work together and to continue the rapid and impressive development of their ties.

The two sides expressed their high hopes for mutually beneficial bilateral education and training projects, at a time when both need to develop high-quality human resources to serve their socio-economic development from now to 2020.

Following the talks, Yassin signed an MoU on tertiary education co-operation with Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan to create a legal foundation for positive co-operation in the field.

Former Japanese minister hailed for thriving friendship

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan received former Japanese Minister of State for Science and Technology Policy Matsuda Iwao in Hanoi on October 17.

At the reception, Deputy PM Nhan expressed his pleasure at the growing relationship between Vietnam and Japan, especially since the two countries agreed to lift their bilateral ties to a strategic partnership.

He appreciated Iwao’s contributions to the two countries’ friendship and cooperation, including his active part in the signing of the governmental agreement on science and technology cooperation in 2006, and exchange activities between law makers.

Nhan emphasised that the former minister’s recommendations for a Vietnam festival in Japan have helped deepen the friendship and mutual understanding between the two peoples, particularly younger generations.

For his part, former Minister Iwao expressed his honour at receiving Vietnam’s noble Friendship Medal, believing that the close links between the two sides over the past time will further blossom in the future.

Thai Cabinet approves members of joint commission with Vietnam

The Thai Cabinet has approved the composition of a Thai panel in the Thailand-Vietnam Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) to be set up to strengthen strategic partnership.

Proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Thai sub-commission comprises Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul as chairman and 38 other high-ranking officials of the ministry as members.

Thailand and Vietnam have agreed to elevate bilateral relations to the level of strategic partnership. The agreement was confirmed in talks held in Bangkok in June between visiting General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

The two leaders pledged to boost two-way trade to US$15 billion in 2020 from over US$8.6 billion last year.

Thailand is the ninth biggest investor in Vietnam with 313 projects worth US$6.4 billion.

FM conveys condolences over India temple stampede

Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on October 17 conveyed his condolences to his Indian counterpart Salman Khurshid over a recent stampede at an Indian Hindu temple that left 115 people dead and hundreds more injured.

The stampede occurred as nearly 150,000 pilgrims gathered at the Ratangarh temple in the central state of Madhya Pradesh to celebrate the Hindu holy festival of Navratri, said local police on October 14.

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