Category: Politics

New York: A delegation from the State Audit Office of Vietnam (SAV) led by Auditor General Ngo Van Tuan attended the global meeting on the engagement of Supreme Audit Institutions (SAI) in assessing government actions related to climate change in New York on March 25-26.

At the meeting, which drew leaders of SAIs from 60 countries, Tuan highlighted the efforts of the Vietnamese Government in building and issuing policies and national strategies to effectively respond to climate change and realise international commitments on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Vietnam is an active and responsible member of the International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and the Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) Governing Board for the 2021-2024 period. In order to implement commitments stated in the Hanoi Declaration, over the years, SAV has conducted environmental audits related to environmental protection and climate change response, he said.

Bruno Dantas, President of the Fe
deral Court of Accounts of Brazil, the Chair of the INTOSAI, emphasised that solving the problem of climate change is not only a common responsibility of countries but also of SAIs as these agencies hold an extremely important position in promoting action by governments to cope with the phenomenon.

The ClimateScanner initiative under the Strategic Plan 2023-2030 and Work Plan 2023-2025 of the INTOSAI Working Group on Environmental Auditing (INTOSAI WGEA) is considered an ambitious project that can contribute to dealing with the climate crisis at both national and international levels, he held, noting that last year, the tool was developed by 17 SAIs.

However, the success of this project depends on the cooperation and participation of SAIs, said Dantas, expressing his hope that delegates will understand the tools and related aspects in detail as well as the benefits that SAIs and states receive to be able to fully exploit the potential of this project.

The two-day meeting focused on various issues, includin
g existing initiatives of INTOSAI on climate change response, exploration of the ClimateScanner tool, and the global call for implementation of the ClimateScanner initiative. On the first day, participants were guided to use ClimateScanner, a tool enabling SAIs around the world to promote a global assessment of government actions related to climate change, in their country.

The same day, Tuan and Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, head of the Permanent Delegation of Vietnam to the United Nations, attended a meeting of the UN General Assembly to adopt a resolution of taking June 11 every year as the International Day of Play, which was initiated by Vietnam and co-sponsored by 138 countries. The resolution was approved by consensus./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: The fifth meeting of full-time National Assembly (NA) deputies opened under the chair of NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue in Hanoi on March 26.

In his opening speech, the top legislator said that the NA Standing Committee has held four meetings of full-time deputies since the start of the 15th tenure (2021 – 2026) to discuss important issues.

He noted since the tenure’s beginning, the NA has adopted 32 draft laws, including 25 submitted to full-time deputies for opinion. Thanks to meetings of full-time deputies, some difficult bills such as the draft revised Land Law and the draft revised Law on Medical Examination and Treatment had their quality improved and secured very high unanimity and support from legislators when they were put for consideration or approval.

The fifth meeting of full-time NA deputies, scheduled to last for two and a half days, will discuss eight draft laws, namely the revised Capital Law; the revised Law on Organisation of People’s Courts; the revised Law on Social Insurance; the La
w on Roads; the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety; the Law on Defence, Security Industries and Industrial Mobilisation; the revised Law on Archives; and a law amending and supplementing some articles of the Law on Property Auction.

These eight bills were previously scrutinised at the NA’s sixth session, held in late 2023, Chairman Hue said.

Stressing this meeting’s importance to the fulfillment of lawmaking tasks, he asked the deputies to give responsible and valuable opinions so that the NA Standing Committee can continue perfecting the drafts to ensure the best quality and submit them to the NA for consideration and adoption at the coming seventh session.

He added the building of draft laws and legal documents in general needs to keep adhering to Resolution No 27-NQ/TW, issued at the sixth meeting of the 13th Party Central Committee on November 9, 2022, on the continuation of building and perfecting the law-governed socialist state of Vietnam in the new period./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Washington D.C.: Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son held a working session with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Washington D.C. on March 25 as part of his US trip to co-chair the first annual dialogue between the foreign ministers of Vietnam and the US.

Sullivan reaffirmed that the US attaches great importance to relations with Vietnam and supports a strong, independent, self-resilient and prosperous Vietnam with increasingly important role in the region and the world.

He expressed delight at the two sides actively and proactively implementing their comprehensive strategic partnership and high-level agreements reached by US President Joe Biden and General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong during the former’s visit to Vietnam in September 2023.

For his part, Son said he is pleased at the specific and positive results recorded during the implementation of the Vietnam-US comprehensive strategic partnership so far, especially the regular high-level delegation exc
hanges.

Affirming Vietnam’s external policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, multilateralisation and diversification, the FM underlined that Vietnam considers the US a partner of strategic importance, and highly valued the US’s support to a strong, independent, self-resilient and prosperous nation of Vietnam.

He extended regards of Party General Secretary Trong and senior leaders of Vietnam to President Joe Biden, and invited Sullivan to visit Vietnam.

The Vietnamese FM suggested that the two sides continue to promoting cooperation across all key pillars of the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership, with priority to making preparations for delegation exchanges and meetings between the two countries, especially at high levels, maintaining existing dialogue mechanisms and seeking new ones, especially in issues of differences.

The two sides should continue to expand economic-trade and science-technology cooperation, especially in innovation and human resources training, he said, pro
posing the US recognise Vietnam’s market economy regulations soon, and strengthen cooperation in overcoming war consequences.

Sullivan pledged that the US will continue realising agreements reached by leaders of the two countries, and supports Vietnam in developing high technology industries, energy transition, climate change response, overcoming war aftermaths, and making bilateral relations more intensive, extensive, substantial and effective.

The two sides also discussed a number of regional and global issues of shared concern.

The same day, FM Son also had a meeting with Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power who affirmed that the agency always prioritises the development of relations with Vietnam, and vowed that the USAID will continue to work for the implementation of the US-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership and agreements reached by senior leaders of the two countries.

Reviewing the partnership between Vietnam and the USAID in overco
ming war consequences, supporting persons with disabilities, education-training, and health care, Son highly valued the USAID’s assistance to Vietnam, and expressed his hope that the agency will continue to provide resources for the implementation of dioxin detoxification in Bien Hoa airport, searching for missing Vietnamese soldiers, enhancing Vietnam’s capacity in DNA analysis, supporting persons with disabilities, and war victims. At the same time, the US should consider new areas of cooperation such as high-quality human resources training, climate change response, energy transition, while turning Fulbright University into a regional training centre.

Power briefed the Vietnamese FM on the situation of USAID projects in Vietnam, underlining that the agency will continue to focus on cooperation in dealing with war aftermath, including dioxin detoxification in Bien Hoa, enhancing the DNA analysis for Vietnamese scientists, improving health care and social services in order to enhance the living conditions f
or persons with disabilities, and support Vietnam in mitigating climate change impactsand promoting sustainable development, human resources training, health care infrastructure, and disease prevention and control.

The two sides concurred to continue to work closely together in approving and effectively developing USAID projects in Vietnam, contributing to fostering the Vietnam-US comprehensive strategic partnership./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Washington DC: Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken co-chaired the first Vietnam-US Dialogue at the foreign ministerial level in Washington DC on March 25 (local time).

This was also the first ministerial-level dialogue between the two countries since they established their comprehensive strategic partnership in September 2023.

Describing the dialogue as an important opportunity to review and promote the implementation of high-level agreements, Blinken affirmed that the US values its comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam, and supports a strong, independent, resilient, and prosperous Vietnam that bolsters regional prosperity and stability and takes on an increasingly important role in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as in the region and the international arena.

He emphasised the US’s commitment to implementing the new relationship framework and agreements of the two countries’ high-ranking leaders.

Son, for his part, assert
ed the US is a strategically important partner of Vietnam, emphasising that the upgrade of the bilateral relations is a right decision demonstrating the strategic vision of the two countries’ high-ranking leaders and efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation in accordance with the interests of the two peoples, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region.

Vietnam will continue working with the US to implement the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership in an increasingly effective, substantive, and stable direction, while expanding the room for cooperation on the basis of respect for each other’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity and political institutions to maintain development momentum for decades to come.

The two officials discussed measures to deepen relations between the two countries. They agreed to promote the foreign ministerial-level dialogue to strengthen the close collaboration between the two foreign ministries in implementing high-leve
l agreements, effectively implement existing bilateral cooperation mechanisms, and actively coordinate with each other to hold activities to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the normalisation of the two countries’ relations in 2025.

They also exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual concern. Son proposed the US continue to play an active role contributing to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation and development in Asia – Pacific and the Indian Ocean as well as in the world.

Blinken affirmed that the US supports ASEAN’s central role in the region and will maintain cooperation within the framework of the ASEAN-US comprehensive strategic partnership. He also stressed his country’s backing for the Mekong – US cooperation.

The two sides then discussed the East Sea issue and agreed on the importance of peace, security, stability, freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea; solving disputes through peaceful means, in accordance with international law, including the 1982 UN Con
vention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC); and working towards an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC)./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: The Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security (MoPS) is very interested in cooperation and professional exchange programmes with institutes and research centres of Harvard University, Minister General To Lam has said.

During a reception for Professor Thomas J. Vallely, Senior Advisor for Mainland Southeast Asia at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation on March 25, Lam said that cooperation between the MoPS and US IT companies can bring significant benefits in improving capacity to prevent and combat cyber threats, developing cyber security measures and enhancing the effectiveness of fighting cybercrime in Vietnam.

The two sides agreed that the relevant agencies of Vietnam and the US have held many dialogue sessions, focusing on promoting cooperation on cybersecurity such as initiatives on improving capacity in cyber security and foreign languages as well as professional coordination between them.The two sides have hastened the signing of documents on cybersecur
ity between the MoPS and the US National Security Council authorities as well as the US-ASEAN Business Council.

The MoPS has proactively contributed opinions to the development of a comprehensive international convention on countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes of the United Nations (UN) as well as a UN General Assembly resolution on promoting ‘safe, secure and trustworthy’ artificial intelligence (AI) systems initiated by the US, Lam said.

Collaborative activities between the MoPS and Harvard University will be a demonstration of cooperation efforts between Vietnam and the US in the context of the two countries upgrading their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, he added.

Vallely, for his part, spoke highly of fruitful cooperation between US law enforcement agencies and the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security, emphasising that Vietnam has many opportunities to deploy and develop AI infrastructure.

He expressed his delight that Vietna
m and the US have shared good collaboration in the fight against cybercrime and wished that their cooperation will be expanded in the coming time./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Speaker of the Parliament of Finland Jussi Halla-aho and his entourage left Hanoi on March 26, concluding their three-day official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.

This is the first official visit of the Speaker outside Europe since he took office, demonstrating Vietnam’s special position in Finland’s foreign policy and the excellent friendly relations between the two legislatures. It was also a high-level exchange activity marking the 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Finland diplomatic ties (1973-2023).

During his stay, Halla-aho held talks with NA Chairman Hue and met with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat and head of the Party Central Committee’s Organisation Commission Truong Thi Mai.

The two sides concurred on the need to explore new directions, approaches and impetus to further deepen bilateral relationship. They agreed to promote the exchange of delegations at all levels and across the Pa
rty, State and NA channels to enhance political trust while strengthening collaboration at multilateral forums in pursuit of stability, peace and sustainable development.

Within the framework of multilateral cooperation, they agreed to maintain contact, coordination and mutual support at global and regional parliamentary forums such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Asia-Europe Parliamentary Partnership Meeting (ASEP).

They vowed to enhance the monitoring of the effective implementation of international treaties and cooperation agreements signed between the Governments, ministries, agencies and localities of the two countries; as well as facilitate stronger business-to-business and locality-to-locality connections.

The two countries will fully tap the benefits from the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), especially in areas of their demand and strengths such as hi-tech, green development, environment, agriculture, forestry and information technology.

On global and regional issues of shar
ed concern, the two sides affirmed their readiness to cooperate bilaterally and at multilateral forums based on respect for international law and the United Nations Charter, for the sake of peace, stability and development in the region and the world, including the East Sea./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency