VN, RoK expand defence dialogue

Viet Nam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) on Friday held their second strategic defence dialogue in Seoul, during which they reviewed bilateral defence co-operation outcomes over recent years and plotted the direction of future collaboration.

During the dialogue, co-chaired by Vietnamese Deputy Defence Minister Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh and his RoK counterpart Baek Seung-joo, the two sides also discussed the security situation in Northeast and Southeast Asia, as well as the armed forces capabilities and defence policies of each country.

They agreed that there were positive developments in regional security but acknowledged that risks still remained.

While nuclear matters, conflict risks, non-traditional security issues and maritime safety scares faced the Northeast Asian region, Southeast Asia was encountering problems in maritime security, territorial disputes and piracy, they said.

The two sides were unanimous that all security challenges must be settled through peaceful methods on the basis of international law, especially through strengthening dialogues between countries, thus preventing clashes from being exacerbated.

They also agreed that some new challenges were emerging, including those around non-traditional security and cyber security.

Regarding bilateral defence ties, the two sides worked together to develop and deepen the contents of the Viet Nam-RoK memorandum of understanding on defence co-operation, as well as the contents agreed by the two defence ministers.

They also defined key issues to focus on in the future, including the increase of delegation exchanges, discussion of strategic matters, as well as enhancement of co-operation in training, military medicine and cyber security.

Earlier, the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation attended the second Seoul Defence Dialogue from November 11-13, where they gave opinions on Northeast Asia region peace and co-operation initiatives, plus comprehensive security in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Vietnamese delegation also shared its stance on the global non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the role Asia-Pacific states play in this area.

The delegation also co-chaired a discussion on the building of sound defence plans with a limited budget.

Namibian President arrives in Viet Nam

Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba is scheduled to start his three-day official visit to Viet Nam today, Nov 18.

His visit affirms the African country's wish to foster co-operation with Viet Nam, especially in investment, trade, agro-forestry, seafood, education and aviation.

The visit is being made at the invitation of Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang.

Viet Nam and Namibia set up diplomatic ties in 1990, based on the fine traditional relationship first started in the '70s between the Communist Party of Viet Nam and the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) – the current ruling party in Namibia.

President Sang congratulates top educators

President Truong Tan Sang met with 104 outstanding teachers from pre-school to tertiary levels nationwide who were in Ha Noi to attend a ceremony commending their achievements over the last five years.

State President Truong Tan Sang meets outstanding teachers in Ha Noi on Saturday.

At the meeting on Saturday, the president spoke highly of the Ministry of Education and Training's achievements in providing universal education at primary and secondary levels and improving human resources training at the tertiary level.

He added that the Party and State were discussing the renovation of the education system so that it could better serve the country's industrialisation and modernisation efforts.

The teachers proposed the Party and State pay attention to supporting educators, particularly those at the pre-school and tertiary levels.

Anti-corruption effort intensifies

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong praised the Central Anti-Corruption Steering Committee for its thorough work at a meeting in Ha Noi on Friday.

There are ten cases currently on the committee's watch list, according to Party Central Committee member Nguyen Ba Thanh, head of the Internal Affairs Commission and permanent deputy head of the steering committee.

Trong, who is also head of the committee, said the group had contributed to reducing corruption in accordance with the 10th Party Central Committee's third plenum resolution and fourth plenum resolution on reforming Party agencies.

However, the committee pointed out that few corruption cases had been uncovered through inspections and it still took a long time for each case to be tried, factors that substantially weakened public opinion about the quality of Government anti-corruption measures.

Trong urged committee members to resolve any difficulties and step up investigations.

Chief legislator sings praises of developing commune

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung has applauded the development achievements recorded by people in Tran Phu Village, Kien Xuong District, northern Thai Binh Province.

Located in Binh Dinh Commune, the village has made remarkable progress in building the cultural life of residential areas and new-style rural areas.

At a meeting with local people on November 17 on the occasion of the 83 rd founding anniversary of the Vietnam National United Front (now the Vietnam Fatherland Front), the top legislator praised the villagers’ active contributions to the war for national salvation, saying this is a concrete example of the strength created by national unity.

He affirmed the building of new-style rural areas is a political resolve for the entire Party, people and army in a bid to constantly improve farmers’ material and spiritual life.

Binh Dinh commune has fulfilled 16 out of 19 criteria on new rural area construction and is striving to meet all the criteria this year.

On this occasion, NA Chairman Hung presented gifts to collectives and individuals in Tran Phu for their outstanding performance in the campaigns.

President of Mongolia Tsakhiagiin Elbegdori will pay a State visit to Viet Nam from November 21-24.

The visit is made at the invitation of Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang.

The two countries established diplomatic ties in 1954.

Association of Vietnamese set up in Belgium

The General Association of Vietnamese in Belgium (GAVB) was established on November 16 with 12 founding members, aiming to strengthen solidarity among overseas Vietnamese in the country and contribute more to the homeland.

The organisation has a three-member executive board headed by chairman Huynh Cong My.

Speaking at the GAVB’s debut ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg Pham Sanh Chau applauded the establishment of the general association, and hoped that it will link the OVs with people in the homeland, thus strengthening the bilateral ties between Vietnam and Belgium.

My said the association’s motto is solidarity and it will be the representative of the Vietnamese community in the host country.

The GAVB is planning a wide range of activities in the time ahead, including celebrations of the 2014 Lunar New Year.

An estimated 13,000 Vietnamese people are living and working in Belgium.

Embassy supports Haiyan victims

A working team from the Vietnamese Embassy in the Philippines visited Tacloban City in Leyte province on Thursday to bring relief goods and money to two Vietnamese families stuck in the locality due to typhoon Haiyan.

As security in Tacloban is not yet assured, the families were asked to move to Ormoc, a city 105km away.

The team is also in touch with about 30 Vietnamese citizens in Naval and Biliran.

No deaths in the Vietnamese community in the Philippines have been reported.

As of November 15, all Vietnamese people in the hard-hit East Visayas in central Philippines were pronounced almost certainly safe.

The Vietnamese government sent initial emergency aid worth US$100,000 to the Philippines to help typhoon victims.

NA elects personnel, considers legislation

National Assembly (NA) deputies meeting on November 16 discussed the legislature’s personnel and debated a number of draft laws.

They voted to elect members of the Standing Committee; the Vice Chair of the Ethnicity Council; Vice Chair of the Legal Committee; Vice Chair of the Committee on Culture, Education, Youth, and Teenagers; Vice Chair of the Committee on Social Affairs; and Vice Chair of the Committee on External Relations.

The deputies listened to the government’s appraisal of the draft Law on Public Investment. Its report stressed the importance of issuing a public investment law as soon as possible in order to minimise waste and satisfy the expectations of foreign partners regarding transparency in state management.

Economic Committee Chair Nguyen Van Giau said some deputies recommended evaluating the impact of any public investment law on preexisting legislation. They also suggested expanding the regulations governing investments in businesses using state funding to build public infrastructure.

The NA deputies also used the meeting to debate the revised Customs Law as well as officially approve the Employment Law and amendments and supplements to the Law on Emulation and Rewards.

Defence Minister receives three new Asian ambassadors

Defence Minister General Phung Quang Thanh has welcomed the incoming Indian, Japanese and Korean Ambassadors as they arrived to begin their new working term in Vietnam.

At a November 15 reception, General Thanh congratulated Indian Ambassador Shrimati Preeti Saran, Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Fukada, and Korean Ambassador Jun Dae Joo on their recent appointments.

Thanh promised the Vietnam Defence Ministry would do its best to ensure the ambassadors are provided with whatever they require to fulfil their responsibilities and encourage defence cooperation with Vietnam.

Party Chief meets newly-accredited Indian ambassador

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong received newly-accredited Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Shrimati Preeti Saran in Hanoi on November 15.

At the reception, Trong wished the new Indian diplomat a successful working term in Vietnam while hoping that she will make practical contributions to developing Vietnam-India ties.

He emphasised Vietnam’s consistent policy of enhancing its strategic partnership with India as well as its support to India’s national construction, noting that both nations share a traditional friendship, abundant values and many areas of mutual interest.

Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong (R) welcomes newly-accredited Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Shrimati Preeti Saran.

The Party leader also praised the Indian ambassador’s efforts and active coordination with the Vietnamese side to make thorough preparations for his forth coming visit to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which is expected to contribute to further boosting the bilateral strategic partnership.

For her part, Indian ambassador Preeti Saran shared her good impression of Vietnam and its people, as well as the country’s renewal achievements under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV).

She said that her country is trying to complete preparations to welcome General Secretary Trong and the CPV high-ranking delegation, expressing her belief that the visit will be an important milestone in bilateral ties.

She also pledged her utmost efforts to make positive contributions to pushing up the strategic partnership between the two countries in all fields.

NA passes resolution on 2014 State budget allocations

National Assembly (NA) deputies have adopted a resolution on the allocation of the 2014 State budget, after the proposal received 87.75 percent of the votes at the November 15 morning sitting.

According to the resolution, over VND 495.19 trillion (US$23.57 billion) of the approved State budget’s total collection estimates of VND 782.7 trillion (US$37.27 billion) will be allocated for the central budget and VND 287.5 trillion (US$13.69 billion) will go to the local budget.

The total central budget balance expenditure will be more than VND 719 trillion (US$34.24 billion).

In the same sitting, the deputies considered the personnel organisation of the NA’s Standing Committee, Council for Ethnic Minority Affairs and some other committees.

They approved increasing the number of Vice Chairpersons on the Council of Ethnic Minority Affairs among others with 80.52 percent of votes.

After hearing Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung presenting a list of nominees to be added to the NA bodies, the deputies discussed this issue.

Party leader chairs anti-corruption meeting

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong hosted a November 15 meeting of the Central Steering Committee on Corruption Prevention and Control in Hanoi.

Nguyen Ba Thanh, head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Internal Affairs, reviewed the investigation and trial of major corruption cases, particularly the 10 serious and complicated cases which are being dealt with under the direct instruction of the steering committee.

He also proposed several more cases that need the steering committee’s attention and instruction to resolve.

The Party General Secretary, who is also head of the Central Steering Committee for Corruption Prevention and Fight, stressed that the deployment of seven committee teams to oversee the investigation into the corruption prosecutions has been effective.

He said that it has helped speed up the prosecution of key cases, following Party resolutions on fighting corruption in a timely manner.

Chief legislator sings praises of developing commune

National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung has applauded the development achievements recorded by people in Tran Phu village, Kien Xuong district, northern Thai Binh province.

Located in Binh Dinh commune, the village has made remarkable progress in building the cultural life of residential areas and new-style rural areas.

At a meeting with local people on November 17 on the occasion of the 83 rd founding anniversary of the Vietnam National United Front (now the Vietnam Fatherland Front), the top legislator praised the villagers’ active contributions to the war for national salvation, saying this is a concrete example of the strength created by national unity.

He affirmed the building of new-style rural areas is a political resolve for the entire Party, people and army in a bid to constantly improve farmers’ material and spiritual life.

Binh Dinh commune has fulfilled 16 out of 19 criteria on new rural area construction and is striving to meet all the criteria this year.

On this occasion, NA Chairman Hung presented gifts to collectives and individuals in Tran Phu for their outstanding performance in the campaigns.

Association of Vietnamese set up in Belgium

The General Association of Vietnamese in Belgium (GAVB) was established on November 16 with 12 founding members, aiming to strengthen solidarity among overseas Vietnamese in the country and contribute more to the homeland.

The organisation has a three-member executive board headed by chairman Huynh Cong My.

Speaking at the GAVB’s debut ceremony, Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg Pham Sanh Chau applauded the establishment of the general association, and hoped that it will link the OVs with people in the homeland, thus strengthening the bilateral ties between Vietnam and Belgium .

My said the association’s motto is solidarity and it will be the representative of the Vietnamese community in the host country.

The GAVB is planning a wide range of activities in the time ahead, including celebrations of the 2014 Lunar New Year.

An estimated 13,000 Vietnamese people are living and working in Belgium.-

Vietnam committed to combating corruption

Despite obtaining encouraging results in its combating and preventing corruption, Vietnam will continue to place a high priority on its fight against corruption, said Deputy Inspector General Le Tien Hao at the 9 th Southeast Asian Parties Against Corruption meeting (SEA-PAC 9).

Vietnam has determined to implement more effective measures on cleaning up corruptions, while wanting to cooperate and share experiences with anti-corruption agencies of the regional nations and international organisations, added Hao.

The meeting, which is being held in Vientiane , Laos on November 14 and 15, has discussed combating and preventing corruption measures to build people and investors’ trust, ensuring the sustainable economic development in the region.

Speaking at the event, Laos ’ Deputy Prime Minister Asang Laoly affirmed that the Lao Government always attaches importance to preventing corruption, strengthening legal documents, while raising public awareness of the matter.

The Lao Deputy Prime Minister also said Laos will increase the state management capacity and promote anti-corruption activities at both central and local levels.

Source: VNN/VNS/VNA/VOV