Vietnam, Netherlands boost defence ties

Defence Minister General Phung Quang Thanh paid an official visit to the Netherlands on August 18-19 at the invitation of Defence Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaer.

During talks in Amsterdam on August 19, Thanh noted that both sides have well implemented a signed memorandum of understanding on national defence cooperation, especially in delegation exchanges, training, and the defence industry, to promote mutual trust and friendship between the two armies.

Defence Minister Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaer (left) welcomed Vietnamese Defence Minister General Phung Quang Thanh in Amsterdam. (Photo:qdnd.vn)

Thanh confirmed that Vietnam wants to increase defence cooperation and experience sharing with the Netherlands, particularly in building ships for the navy, marine police, and search and rescue forces.    

He proposed that the Dutch military share experience in overcoming the consequences of natural disasters, engaging in search and rescue work, and responding to climate change.

Effective cooperation in national defence will make a substantial contribution to mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries, for peace, stability, cooperation, and development in Asia, Europe and the rest of the world, Thanh told his host.

Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaer agreed with Thanh’s proposals, and said both militaries should realise the key contents of the MoU, with a major focus on reciprocal delegation visits, training, naval exchanges, and defence industry cooperation.

The same day, General Thanh was received by Prime Minister Mark Rutte who voiced his support for stronger cooperation between the two countries’ militaries.

The Netherlands government creates the best possible conditions for the two militaries to strengthen their ties, Rutte assured Thanh.

He noted with satisfaction the positive development in cooperative relations between the Netherlands and Vietnam, notably in economics, trade, agriculture, energy, climate change adaptation and national defence.

General Thanh proposed that the Netherlands will continue assisting Vietnam to respond to climate change and sea rising levels.

While staying in the Netherlands, General Thanh visited the Damen Shipyards Group, made a fact-finding tour of the country’s major sea dyke system, and met with Vietnamese embassy staff.

Cao Bang ordered to play to its strengths

President Truong Tan Sang yesterday, Aug 21, urged the northern mountainous province of Cao Bang to focus on forestry, agricultural production and the processing industry to lift economic growth, in a meeting with local authorities.

The instruction comes at a time when the region is grappling with a high proportion of poor households (28.22 per cent) and attracting low levels of investment. The region is also hampered by poor infrastructure and educational systems in remote areas, he added.

Provincial Party Committee Secretary Ha Ngoc Chien said authorities paid special attention to stabilising the region's security, boosting socio-economic development and improving living standards because it was a ‘frontier' zone and home to 8 ethnic minority groups.

During the past five years, the province has achieved an average annual growth rate of 9 per cent. Services accounted for 55.2 per cent of GDP, with industry and construction growing at 20.4 per cent and forestry and agriculture, 24.4 per cent.

President Sang praised the province's achievements, acknowledging the challenges of the downturn in the global and domestic economies.

He urged the province to conduct feasibility studies into the mining and tourism sectors in order to develop suitable policies for investors.

He also said the locality needed to be determined to complete key transport projects at Ta Lung border gate in Phuc Hoa District, to enable trade with neighbouring countries.

The leader also urged the province to speed up construction of new rural areas to reduce the high proportion of poor households.

Vietnam seeks US support for HIV/AIDS prevention

Vietnam hopes the US President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) will continue providing resources, including technical assistance, to HIV/AIDS prevention in Vietnam to make it more effective.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc made the proposal in a meeting with PAPFAR leaders in Washington DC on August 21 (local time).

Phuc, who is also chairman of the Vietnam National Committee for HIV/AIDS, Drugs and Prostitution Prevention and Control, said as Vietnam is becoming a middle-income nation, aid for HIV/AIDS prevention is decreasing, affecting treatment for AIDS patients and drug users under the Methadone therapy.

However, Phuc voiced the Vietnamese government’s commitment to maintaining its existing HIV/AIDS prevention programme by increasing budget, mobilising social engagement, and optimising resources for the fight in Vietnam.

Vietnam has formulated an important legal corridor for combating the disease, including promulgating an AIDS prevention law, devising a national strategy for HIV/AIDS prevention, and issuing a decree on treating drug users with alternative medicines.

Phuc appreciated PEPFAR’s assistance for HIV/AIDS prevention in Vietnam, saying the US programme is currently the biggest aid donor for the fight in Vietnam. More than 70% of the patients are benefitting from a PEPFAR-funded Methadone treatment project.

Deborah von Zinkernagel, Principal Deputy Global AIDS Coordinator, confirmed that her organisation - the Office of the US Global AIDS Coordinator - will provide continued support for Vietnam’s AIDS prevention efforts.

The office leads implementation of the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Deputy PM Phuc is visiting the US from August 21-30 to attend Vietnam’s Advanced Management and Leadership Program at Harvard University.

Vietnam, Canada celebrate 40-year ties

Vietnam and Canada have enjoyed a favourable politic atmosphere and growing economic and trade ties, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh said on the occasion of the 40 th anniversary of the Vietnam-Canada diplomatic ties (August 21, 1973-2013).

Addressing a get-together in Hanoi on August 21 to mark the anniversary, the deputy prime minister noted that since the two countries signed their bilateral Trade and Commerce Agreement in 1995, two-way trade surged by 20 times, hitting 1.6 billion USD in 2012.

Canada jumped from the 23 rd position among foreign investors in Vietnam in 2006 to the 15 th position currently, he said, adding that both countries are now joining the negotiations for a Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – the largest trade agreement in the region.

Deputy PM Ninh went through the achievements of the friendship and cooperation between the two countries over the past 40 years.

He particularly stressed Canada’s contributions to the process of ending war in Vietnam through its participation in the International Commission for Control and Supervision of the Implementation of the 1954 Geneva Accord and the 1973 Paris Agreement.

Ninh expressed thanks to the Canadian Government for maintaining official development aid (ODA) provision to Vietnam as one of its 20 prioritised ODA recipients. He said Canadian ODA-funded projects in various fields including environment, education, vocational training and banking restructure have positively contributed to Vietnam’s socio-economic development.

Canadian Ambassador Deboral Chatsis said her country attaches much importance to cooperation with Vietnam, particularly in the field of training with the number of Vietnamese students in Canada rising by four times from 2007 to 2011.

She said Vietnamese students in Canada can help further the friendship, cooperation and investment ties between the two countries in the future, and the 250,000-strong Vietnamese community in Canada has also made great contributions to the development of the host country.

The event was jointly organised by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO), the Foreign Ministry and the Vietnam-Canada Friendship Association.

Party Secretary advises Bac Giang to embrace hi-tech farming boom

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has called on Bac Giang Province officials to boost applications of science and technology in agricultural production to create high-value products and lift exports.

The request came during a working session held yesterday, Aug 21, on the implementation of an official resolution on Party building.

He said Bac Giang's agricultural advantage promoted development production and processing on a commercial scale, adding the province could achieve the same level of development as neighbouring provinces.

Trong urged that further efforts were needed to boost construction of new rural areas, provide workforce training and build sustainable high-tech industries.

He highlighted the importance of improving infrastructure; particularly in the areas of transport, land clearance and planning; and administrative reforms for economic development.

The Party leader emphasised the leadership role of party organisations at the grassroots level in achieving sustainable, socio-economic development, and poverty reduction; encouraging the province to continue strengthening local Party authorities in the implementation of the Central Committee's 11th Resolution.

According to reports given at the session, Bac Giang maintained an average annual growth rate of 9.2 per cent between 2011 and 2013, with per capita GDP reaching US$1,080 this year. Notably, agriculture was reported to have benefited from developments in large-scale production and improvements in productivity.

The province has also made it into the nation's top 20 regions for education and training, with the poverty rate falling from 19.6 per cent of households in 2010 to an estimated 11 per cent this year.

Later in the day, Trong visited Canh Thuy Commune in Yen Dung District, home to a pilot programme on "large-scale paddy fields", where he praised the programme as an important foundation for industrialising and modernising agricultural production.

He hailed local efforts in allocating agricultural land in line with the new rural development programme.

ASEAN business, investment summit looks for drawcards

The 10th ASEAN Business and Investment Summit opened in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei on Tuesday, with the aim of seeking ways to increase the group's attractiveness as a region for trade and investment, and enhance regional competitiveness.

Organised annually by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, the summit provides a platform for the business community to engage with ASEAN leaders, economic ministers and key decision makers.

Bruneian Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who chairs the summit, stressed that regional economic co-operation is one of the important pillars in ASEAN's agenda, which underpins the establishment of an ASEAN Economic Community by 2015. ASEAN will continue implementing new initiatives to support businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, by addressing barriers to integration and improving business mobility, he stated.

Hassanal Bolkiah also emphasised the importance of active regional engagement with key economies in ensuring ASEAN is a vital part of the global economy.

ASEAN has completed free trade agreements with Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan and the Republic of Korea with the aim of creating new opportunities to expand its trade and business links, said the sultan, adding that the group has promoted negotiations for an even wider andmore ambitious trade agreement to ensure closer economic integration in East Asia.

Investment Forum

The 3rd ASEAN Investment Forum opened in Brunei focusing on supply chain in the association and how to enhance ASEAN's role in the global chain.

Participants, who were leaders of the ASEAN Head Investment Agencies (AHIA), agreed to work on specific measures, while enhancing co-operation and collaboration between investment promotion agencies of member countries.

The same day, representatives of 16 Asia-Pacific countries started the first ministerial-level negotiation with the aim to establish the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which will be one of the largest free trade groups in the world.

Ministers of 10 ASEAN countries and six regional partners, namely China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand, are scheduled to discuss ways to promote negotiations on tariff cuts and abolishment within the framework of the RCEP.

‘Think big', President tells Bac Kan

President Truong Tan Sang on Tuesday urged northern Bac Kan Province to focus on large-scale production and processing to raise competitiveness and meet growth targets of 15 per cent.

The suggestion came during his meeting with the province's leaders, with President Sang emphasising that local officials should use the results of pilot production models to develop areas with high resource endowments.

The provincial party committee secretary, Ha Van Khoat, said the province wanted greater financial assistance for its forest protection and development activities.

He also suggested relevant ministries invest more in the province's road building - particularly in the upgrade of national highways 3 and 3B - and develop specific policies to attract investors.

Sang praised the province's Party Committee, saying it had made numerous efforts to improve agriculture and forestry production, infrastructure and the standard of living.

The province has edged from the bottom of a list of localities with poor results in hunger and poverty reduction.

The province's growth rate has now hit 10 per cent per year, with industrial production 15 times higher than in 1997.

Sang visited the province's largest wood processing factory SAHABAK, which is expected to generate at least 3,600 jobs for the local people.

Lao People’s Army delegation visits Vietnam

Deputy Chief of the General Staff of Vietnam People’s Army Lt. Gen. Vo Van Tuan received Acting Director of Commando Department of the Lao People’s Army Lt. Col. Khamvong Xayalat on August 21 in Hanoi.

At the meeting, the two sides appreciated the cooperation between the two armies in training.

They agreed to work together to boost their traditional relations through the exchange of delegations for experience and information sharing and furthering cooperation in training.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA