Leader of Belgian region visits to discuss relations

President Truong Tan Sang yesterday, April 9, met with Rudy Demotte, Minister-President of the Wallonia-Brussels Region of Belgium, during his official visit to Viet Nam.

The visit takes place as Viet Nam and Belgium celebrate their 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
Sang expressed his delight at Viet Nam's cooperative relations with Belgium – Wallonia in particular. Viet Nam treasures its ties with Francophone countries, including Belgium, he said.

The President also expressed gratitude to the region for providing non-refundable development assistance to Viet Nam to help the country implement projects in education, vocational training, health and environment.

Rudy Demotte proposed the two countries increase all-level delegation exchanges and hoped the Vietnamese State leader would continue facilitating cooperation between the two countries, especially in applied science, education and training, energy, mechanical engineering and bio-technology.

France Year in Vietnam kicks off

Source: anneefrancevietnam.com

The France Year in Vietnam was launched at a ceremony in Hanoi on April 9 with the attendance of Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh and visiting French Minister for Foreign Trade Nicole Bricq.

Held to mark the 40 th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties (1973-2013), the France Year in Vietnam is scheduled to last until mid-2014 and feature a broad range of activities in various areas such as economics, education, research, culture, arts, tourism, sports, architecture, fashion and national defence.

Addressing the ceremony, Minister Nicole Bricq highlighted the friendly and trusting relationship between the two countries, saying France hopes to continue developing cooperation with Vietnam based on the existing solid ground.

The 2013 France Year in Vietnam, to be followed by the 2014 Vietnam Year in France, aim to offer more opportunities for the two countries to explore each other and increase exchange, she said.

Minister Hoang Tuan Anh said the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties 40 years ago marked a milestone and opened up a new page in the relationship between the two countries.

The relationship has seen dynamic and comprehensive development since then and France is now Vietnam’s leading economic partner in Europe, he said, adding that France’s effective assistance has contributed to Vietnam’s poverty reduction, socio-economic development and sustainable development.

The minister also stressed that the two countries share a common vision on the modern world and strive for the common goal of peace, equality, humanity, cooperation and development.

He noted that this similarity between the two countries can be seen clearly in the outcome of numerous visits of their senior officials, of bilateral dialogue mechanisms and cooperation between their localities, as well as in the cooperation between the two countries in regional and international organisations and forums, particularly the Francophone organisation.

The relations between Vietnam and France have been further cemented by cultural and education-training cooperation. The number of Vietnamese students and researchers studying in France has been increasing at an annual rate of 30 percent over the past decade. With more than 7,000 citizens studying in France at present, Vietnam has become the second biggest Asian community in French tertiary institutions.

The minister affirmed that Vietnam will do its utmost, together with France, to successfully organise the Vietnam-France/France-Vietnam Year in 2013 and 2014.

Party General Secretary eyes expanded co-operation with Brazilian communists

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong expressed hope that relations between the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV) and Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB) would flourish and the two countries' co-operation would intensify.

At a reception yesterday for President of PCdoB Renato Rabelo on the occasion of his official working visit to Viet Nam, the PCdoB leader said he hoped the solidarity, friendship and co-operation between the two parties, countries and people would continue to bloom.

He highly appreciated Viet Nam's socio-economic achievements in the past years as well as its higher status in the region and the world.

Party General Secretary Trong hoped PCdoB would achieve more success and contribute to the common fight of Brazilian and Latin American people for peace, national independence, democracy and social advancement.

Earlier, the Brazilian delegation held talks with a Communist Party of Viet Nam delegation led by Hoang Binh Quan, head of the CPV Central Committee's Commission for External Relations.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest.

They also talked about measures to improve the two parties' relations, including exchanges of delegations, information and materials as well as sharing of experiences and research.

The two sides agreed to maintain close co-ordination in multilateral forums and assist each other in developing co-operation with political parties in both Southeast Asia and Latin America.

Rabelo invited Viet Nam's delegation to attend the 13th Congress of PCdoB in November.

German parliamentary delegation visits Vietnam

Chairwoman of Ho Chi Minh City’s People Council Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam received a delegation of the German Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, led by Chairman Ruprecht Polenz, on April 9 during their working visit to Vietnam.

Tam briefed the guests on the city’s current administrative system as well as socio-economic development activities, saying that HCM City is making every effort to develop into a modern, civilised city, improving citizens’ living conditions.

HCM City hopes to receive more support for municipal transport infrastructure from Germany in the coming time, she said.

Polenz expressed his impression of the city’s positive development, saying that it should focus on completing infrastructure, particularly in transport.

The delegates shared their experience in building underground railway systems, and noted that HCM City should pay attention to issues relating to water resources and other problems caused by large scale and prolonged construction sites.

They expressed their hope that the municipal authority will provide preferential treatment for the German House project to complete necessary procedures and start construction, because it is a big project that will help German companies operate in the city.

Vietnam, Cambodia boost friendship

A ceremony marking the debut of the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Association of Kampong Chhnang Province took place in the Cambodian province on April 9.

Cambodia’s permanent Deputy Prime Minister Men Som On attended the event as Chairwoman of the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Association.

Addressing the ceremony, Men Som On stressed the special solidarity between Vietnam and Cambodia, saying that Cambodian people always remember Vietnamese volunteer soldiers’ timely and effective assistance to their country during the national liberation against the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime in the past as well as the current national construction and development.

The Vietnam-Cambodia friendship and solidarity is an invaluable asset that needs to be fostered and consolidated day by day, she said.

The debut of the association is a vivid evidence for efforts to protect and develop the special relationship between the two nations, she noted.

At the ceremony, Men Som On granted a decision to establish the association, consisting of 19 members led by provincial governor Tuoch Marim.

On the occasion, the Deputy PM presented the Cambodian Government’s Friendship Order to some Vietnamese provincial leaders who have made great contributions to the two countries’ relationship and Cambodia’s construction and development.

VNN/VNS/VNA