VN eyes more trade with Iran

State President Truong Tan Sang yesterday, May 14, urged Viet Nam and Iran to raise their two-way trade turnover by removing all barriers.

He made the statement while meeting Iranian Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade Mehdi Ghazanfari, who was paying an official visit to Viet Nam.

Sang said the country always highly appreciates the relationship and wishes to strengthen Iran's co-operation with international forums.

He suggested the two sides mobilise their potential co-operation with each other in the fields of economy, trade and culture.

Iranian Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari said Iran was willing to raise the two countries' trade turnover to US$500 million in the near future.

He advised that the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Iranian Ministry of Industry,Mining and Trade had agreed to appoint a group of representatives to realise co-operation agreements.

He suggested Viet Nam form favourable mechanisms to introduce its agricultural products, especially rice and rubber to Iran's market, calling for similar measures to assist the introduction of Iran's oil and wheat.

Ghazanfari added that Viet Nam and Iran should also push co-operation in the fields of tourism and science and technology, so that more Iranian businesses and tourists could come to Viet Nam to discover the potential for investment and trading.

The visit of Ghazanfari marked the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Public Security Minister visits Japan

Japan’s Deputy Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso on May 13 received a Vietnamese delegation from the Ministry of Public Security led by Minister Tran Dai Quang.

Photo: VOV

At the reception, Japanese Deputy PM Aso expressed his delight at the constant development of the strategic partnership between the two nations and hoped the bilateral relations will continue to grow and flourish in the time to come.

Minister Quang asked Mr Aso to support cooperative activities between the Vietnam Ministry of Public Security and Japanese relevant agencies as well as celebration of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Year and the 40th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties.

At a meeting with Minister Quang on the same day, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said his country always attaches great importance to the strategic partnership with Vietnam, adding that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe choosing Vietnam as the first stop-over in his overseas trip after taking office is a testimony to the close-knit relations.

The Vietnamese delegation is also scheduled to work with some Japanese agencies on cooperation plans during the visit.

Party mass mobilisation delegation visits US

A delegation of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Mass Mobilisation led by its deputy head Nguyen Duy Viet paid a working visit to the US from May 10-14.

During its stay in the US, the delegation had working sessions with the US Government’s agencies, the Special Assistant to President Barack Obama and the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs.

They also met with a number of US scholars and the Vietnamese community in the US.

According to Viet, many overseas Vietnamese (OVs) appreciated Resolution 36 on the overseas Vietnamese community. They also asked the Vietnamese government to continue creating favourable conditions for OVs to visit or seek business opportunities in the home country.

The official also said there are many things Vietnam can learn from the US in the process of enhancing democracy, promoting people’s right to mastery and building mechanisms to bring into full play the monitoring and social criticism role of the people and organisations.

Viet Nam, Thailand increase defence co-operation

Viet Nam and Thailand will further strengthen defence co-operation in the near future, following productive talks between senior defence officials.

The assertion was made yesterday at a meeting between Deputy Defence Minister Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh and Permanent Secretary of the Thai Defence Ministry General Tanongsak Apirakiotin, who is leading a high-ranking defence delegation on a visit to Viet Nam.

The two armies' co-operation will focus on exchanging delegations at all levels, training, sharing experiences, joint sea patrols, search and rescue, as well as other fields of common concern, the two generals said.

Vinh appreciated the co-operation between the two sides in recent years and expressed gratitude for the support the Thai Defence Ministry provided for Viet Nam in organising the first ASEAN Defence Ministerial Meeting Plus (ADMM+).

General Apirakiotin said the people and military of Thailand always attach importance to developing solidarity and friendly relations with their Vietnamese counterparts.

The pledge builds on the agreement on defence co-operation signed by the defence ministries of Viet Nam and Thailand last September.

VN, Cambodia discuss draft extradition treaty

Delegations of Vietnam and Cambodia on May 13 met in Hanoi for the first round of negotiations on a draft bilateral extradition treaty.

Vietnam’s delegation was headed by Major-General Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Director of the Ministry of Public Security’s Legal Department while the Cambodian delegation was led by Hy Sophea, Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice.

The draft treaty has 20 articles regulating mutual extradition obligations and procedures, which state clearly when and how they will transfer convicted persons.

Over the recent years, Vietnam and Cambodia have signed various important agreements on cooperation in different fields, while promoting their partnership within regional and international framework such as ASEAN Convention on Counter-terrorism and Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia Development Triangle.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA