Category: Politics

Hanoi: The National Assembly Standing Committee completed the entire working programme of its 31st session in Hanoi on March 19 after three and a half days of sitting.

In his closing remarks, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said the lawmakers had given opinions on amendments to the Capital Law, the Law on the Organisation of People’s Courts and the Law on Social Insurance. They also debated the draft Law on Road Traffic, the draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety, the draft Law on Defence Industry, Security and Industrial Mobilisation and the draft Law on amendments and supplements to several articles of the Law on Asset Auction.

Besides, the committee also passed two resolutions on the establishment of Ben Cat city in Binh Duong province and Go Cong city in Tien Giang province, which also included the establishment and rearrangement of relevant wards within the newly designated cities.

The lawmakers additionally reviewed the February report ombudsman work and adopted a resolution approving the appointment
of new standing members of the NA’s National Defence and Security Committee and the Committee for Judicial Affairs.

Chairman Hue also noted the success of the Q and A session held the prior day, which dealt with matters of public concerns related to the ministries of finance and foreign affairs./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang highly valued the valuable support for Vietnam provided by Nippon Foundation, Sasakawa Peace Foundation and their Chairman Yohei Sasakawa since 1980, during a reception in Hanoi on March 19 for the Japanese guest.

Deputy PM Quang highlighted the effectiveness of the foundations’ assistance delivered through specific programmes, including the Vietnam-Japan defence exchange and initiatives aimed at poverty reduction and socio-development development in Vietnam’s disadvantaged areas.

He hailed Japan as Vietnam’s leading important partner which is the top provider of official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam, the second biggest partner in in labour cooperation, and third in investment and tourism.

The Deputy PM wished that Sasakawa would continue to contribute to strengthening political trust between the two countries and carry more support projects in Vietnam.

Sasakawa, in turn, expressed delight at the elevation of Vietnam-Japan ties to a Comprehensive Str
ategic Partnership last year, affirming his commitment to expanding the scope of this new partnership.

The Nippon Foundation, he noted, has provided scholarships for Vietnamese students for 40 years, with 80 beneficiaries to date. It has also rolled out socio-economic development projects and assisted people with disabilities in Vietnam, with a total aid of 30 million USD.

Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to fostering closer ties and trust, not only at the Government level but also among all sectors and people of both countries, through various cooperation activities and mutual exchange./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

HCM City: Ho Chi Minh City wishes to promote comprehensive cooperation in politics, economy and culture with partners of the Czech Republic, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Phan Van Mai said on March 19.

The focus of the collaboration will be agriculture and the food industry, the official told visiting Czech Minister of Agriculture Marek Vyborny in a reception in the city, noting HCM City, as an economic and cultural centre of Vietnam, is aware of its pioneer role in materialising cooperation projects between Vietnam and other countries, including the Czech Republic.

Highly valuing the Czech Republic’s strengths in agriculture, and food and agricultural processing, Mai held that its traditional products like milk, meat and materials for the food industry would easily enter the HCM City market, and from there accessing Vietnam’s southern region.

Mai also suggested HCM City and the Czech Republic enhance cooperation in tourism and catering and lodging services, contributing to raising trade rev
enue between the two countries and the efficiency of their economic collaboration.

Sharing Mai’s views, Vyborny said the Czech Republic and Vietnam, including its HCM City, should take more measures to boost the two-way trade, which was valued at over 2.5 billion USD last year.

The minister spoke highly of HCM City’s economic potential, and noted his belief that Vietnam’s biggest economic hub will be a destination for Czech businesses.

The Czech Republic welcomes Vietnamese businesses, including those from HCM City, to visit the country and scope out cooperation opportunities in agriculture and food processing, he said, adding that the country stands ready to work together with Vietnam to carry out exchanges and meetings for their enterprises./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai welcomed the continued long-term US investment in Fulbright University Vietnam (FUV) during a reception in Hanoi on March 19 for Director of the Vietnam Programme at Harvard University Prof. Thomas Vallely and FUV’s experts.

Deputy PM Khai assured them of the Vietnamese Government’s commitment to continued support to the FUV, aiming to establish it as a premier centre for quality human resources development in Vietnam.

He accorded his praise to Vallely for his significant contributions to advancing the Vietnam – US relations, particularly in the realms of education and policy dialogue, stressing that he is truly a close friend of Vietnam.

He believed that a ministry-level cooperation agreement on education and training signed in November 2023 will provide a solid foundation for deeper collaboration between US and Vietnamese universities.

On the occasion, the Deputy PM thanked Vallely, Harvard Kennedy School, and Fulbright University for their close collaboration w
ith the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoF) to prepare for the 2024 Vietnam Executive Leadership Programme (VELP).

Vallely, for his part, stressed that he is looking forward to the discussions at 2024 VELP with more dynamic and updated content, in line with the current global developments and the evolving landscape of Vietnam’s economy, especially solutions to both ensure macroeconomic stability, fiscal and monetary policy, and sustainable economic development amid global fluctuations.

According to him, experts will share insights and ideas on topics regarding renewable energy development, cybersecurity, cloud computing, semiconductor industry, chip manufacturing, global AI, and the prospects for Vietnam’s involvement in these value chains at 2024 VELP.

In response, Khai hoped that the 2024 VELP will not only spark new ideas for Vietnamese agencies to formulate and perform development policies tailored to Vietnam’s conditions but also identify priority areas and outline a roadmap to connect with i
nternational resources.

Expressing hope for further substantial development in cooperation between Vietnam and its US partners, particularly in policy dialogue, human resources development, and education-training, he voiced his desire for the continued success of high-level policy exchange programmes like VELP in the coming years./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Beijing: Le Hoai Trung, Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and Chairman of the CPV Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations, held talks with Liu Jianchao, Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chairman of the CPC Central Committee’s International Liaison Department, in Jilin province on March 18.

The talks formed part of the CPV delegation’s visit to China at the invitation of the CPC Central Committee.

The two sides informed each other about the situation of each Party and country while looking back on the important strides in the Vietnam – China relations since the historic visits by CPV General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to China in late 2022 and by CPC General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping to Vietnam in late 2023.

They discussed orientations for realising the common perceptions reached by the senior leaders, continuing to intensify and elevate the countries’ comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, build
ing the Vietnam – China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, and making efforts for the sake of the two peoples’ happiness as well as peace and progress of the humankind.

The officials agreed to maintain frequent high-level exchanges and meetings, further promote the effectiveness of Party-to-Party relations to set strategic orientations for the countries’ ties, and step up exchanges and cooperation between the two Governments, parliaments, and fatherland front organisations. They agreed to strengthen ties in defence – security and between the two countries’ localities, foster people-to-people interaction, and increase communications about the traditional friendship between the two Parties, countries, and peoples.

As the two strategic advisory bodies in terms of external relations of the two Parties, the CPV Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations and the CPC Central Committee’s International Liaison Department will boost coordination to help promote their Partie
s’ strategic orientations for continuing to develop the Vietnam – China relations in a healthy, stable, and sustainable manner, they noted.

Trung affirmed that in its foreign policy of independence and self-reliance, Vietnam views the development of relations with China as the top priority and a strategic choice.

Noting China’s consideration of Vietnam as a priority orientation in its neighbourhood foreign policy, Liu stated developing the cooperation and friendship with Vietnam is a strategic choice of his country, which supports Vietnam to maintain its strategic self-reliance and play a greater role in the region and the world.

With regard to sea-related issues, Trung asked the two sides to consolidate the common perception on the importance of maintaining peace and stability at sea, coordinating to satisfactorily resolve sea-related issues in line with the high-level common perceptions, and settling differences by peaceful means and in conformity with international law, including the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The two sides need to bring into play the negotiation mechanisms on sea-related issues, seriously and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and promote the building of a substantive and efficient code of conduct in the waters (COC) that matches international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS, he added.

During his stay in Jilin, Trung is set to meet with Jing Junhai, Secretary of the provincial CPC Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Congress, to discuss ways to bolster economic, trade, investment, cultural, and tourism ties between Jilin and Vietnamese localities. He will also visit some local economic and cultural establishments./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Foreign affairs and diplomacy have played a pioneering role in mobilising external resources to serve the country’s socio-economic development, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son told a question and answer session at the National Assembly Standing Committee’s 31st sitting on March 18.

The minister said the sector has coordinated with ministries to organise external activities on all continents, at various multilateral forums, through which the country can firmly consolidate favourable diplomatic relations for the cause of national construction and development.

The Party and Government have also utilised foreign affairs and diplomacy in the process of policy transition to serve recovery and development, boosting economic cooperation with different partners, and signing agreements and commitments of long-term strategic significance. This has contributed to promoting economic growth, boosting exports, and attracting investment and many other important resources.

Son noted that over the past thre
e years, the sector has coordinated with ministries and sectors to successfully advocate for 16 more titles recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), raising the total number of Vietnamese heritage sites, places and famous people recognised by the organisation to 67.

Efforts have been made to care for overseas Vietnamese communities, provide timely citizen protection, and repatriate thousands of citizens from places affected by conflicts and disasters, he stressed.

Attention has been also paid to the Party building work and the prevention of corruption, he added./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency