NA leader meets with Vietnamese diplomats

National Assembly (NA) Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung held a June 25 reception for 21 recently appointed ambassadors and chief foreign representatives before their commencement of the 2013–2016 working term.

Photo: VOV

At the reception, Vietnam’s top legislator emphasised the trust placed in the diplomatic representatives by the Party, State, and people. He expressed hopes no effort would be spared to elevate the country’s status in the eyes of the world.

Hung urged the officials to court international support for Vietnam’s ongoing integration and its national construction and development processes.

He also stressed the diplomats’ duty to protect overseas Vietnamese, updating citizens and businesses on the latest legal information relevant to their countries of residence.

Ambassadors and consuls general should closely coordinate with the NA Office and its Committee for External Affairs to foster closer relations between the Vietnamese NA and legislatures around the world.

Hung reminded the officials of their responsibility for making 2015’s 132nd Inter-Parliamentary Union General Assembly a success and the value of cooperating with foreign members of parliament and parliamentary friendship groups.

Vietnamese, Lao armies cement ties

Viet Nam and Laos agreed to promote co-operation between their army units and enhance security links with the goal of building a shared borderline of peace, friendship, cooperation and development.

The agreement was reached during talks between Sen. Lieut. Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich, Chief of the General Department of Politics under the Viet Nam People's Army (VPA), and Lao Deputy Defence Minister and Director of the General Politics Department of the Lao People's Army (LPA) Sengneun Saynhalath in Luang Prabang yesterday, June 25.

The two sides also planned to increase coordination in searching and repatriating the remains of Vietnamese soldiers who died in Laos during the war. They aim to uncover the remains of 1,000 remaining Vietnamese martyrs.

In the 2012-13 dry season, the two sides exhumed the remains of 413 Vietnamese volunteer soldiers, raising the number of martyr remains collected in Laos since 1994 to over 16,000.

People's Army leader visits France

Sen. Lieut. General Do Ba Ty, Chief of General Staff of the Viet Nam People's Army, is on a four-day official visit to France to boost defence ties between the two nations.

During talks with Admiral Edouard Guillaud, the French Chief of Defence Staff, Ty affirmed that Viet Nam hoped to develop all-round ties with France for a strategic partnership.

Ty reviewed several recent acts of cooperation between the two sides, including the annual Joint Defence Committee mechanism, cooperation in defence science and technology, military medicine and hydrography.

The Vietnamese general suggested Viet Nam and France increase the exchange of all-level delegations and the sharing of experience in joining UN peacekeeping operations as well as maintaining the annual Joint Defence Committee and strengthening training cooperation.

Ty expressed his hope that France would continue to support Viet Nam's bid to join the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO).

For his part, Admiral Edouard Guillaud highly valued the role of Viet Nam in the Asia-Pacific region and ASEAN. He said France applauded Viet Nam's participation in UN peacekeeping operations and was certainly willing to share its experience with the Southeast Asian nation.

As an IHO founder, France would back Viet Nam in its quest to become a member of the organisation, he affirmed.

VN, RoK maritime police hold fire fighting exercise

Maritime police forces of Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) held a fire fighting and rescue exercise off the coastal waters of southern Ba Ria–Vung Tau Province on June 25.

The exercise involved Maritime Police Boat JuJakHam of the RoK Coast Guard and the Vietnam Maritime Police Zone 3.

The drill saw RoK sailors play the part of rescuers who provided timely help to a blazing Vietnamese vessel with 17 sailors aboard.

Ko Myung Suk, Head of the Equipment and Technology Division under the RoK High Command of the Maritime Police, said

the exercise has helped improve fire fighting and rescue coordination between the two countries’ maritime police forces.

The visiting sailors will continue their trip around Ho Chi Minh City and engage in cultural and sporting activities with Maritime Police Zone 3 and the Maritime Police Department.

The RoK ship, coded 6M31, is 113 metres long and 14.2 metres wide. It is one of the biggest ships in the RoK Coast Guard fleet.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA