Danish minister pledges to boost ties with Vietnam

Danish Minister of Trade and Investment Pia Olsen Dyhr has pledged to do her best to boost economic-trade ties with Vietnam.

During her meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Hanoi on March 7, the minister, who is on a working visit, also asked the Vietnamese government to facilitate long-term investment by Danish businesses in Vietnam.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives Denmark Minister for Trade and Investment Pia Olsen Dyhr in Ha Noi.— Photo chinhphu.vn

Deputy PM Phuc affirmed Vietnam always considers Denmark one among leading economic and trade partners in the European Union (EU).

Phuc suggested that Denmark continues supporting Vietnam in the negotiations with EU on a bilateral free trade agreement. Vietnam also wishes that Denmark helps urge EU to soon recognise Vietnam as a market economy, he noted.

The Deputy PM said Vietnam appreciates Denmark’s support and assistance over the past time, especially during the time it held the EU presidency.

Prime Minister determined to seal EU free trade agreement

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has declared that Viet Nam aims to boost two-way trade with the European Union (EU) and speed up negotiations on the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two sides after receiving EU Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht in Ha Noi yesterday, March 7.

Dung said he believed that with mutual effort and political determination, the FTA negotiations would conclude later this year to help significantly bolster trade with the bloc.

Gucht, who is in Viet Nam to attend the 19th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting, said the EU wants to increase links with Viet Nam and other ASEAN member nations.

He vowed that the EU would make every effort to promptly conclude bilateral FTA negotiations with Viet Nam.

During his visit to the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Administration the same day, Gutcht said he and Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang launched the EU - Viet Nam FTA negotiations in Brussels, Belgium on June 26, 2012. The two sides were seeking a comprehensive agreement on taxation, trade and a non-tariff barrier, he added.

The first round of negotiations took place in Ha Noi last October. The second round got underway in Brussels in January. The third round is scheduled to start on April 22 in Ha Noi. Gucht said the EU had devised a trade assistance programme to help Viet Nam improve its infrastructure and education, and partly implement agreements reached by the two sides.

Last year the EU’s development assistance to Viet Nam stood at around 750 million euros.

Viet Nam's sovereignty over archipelagoes unequivocal

Viet Nam re-affirmed its sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes yesterday, March 7.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Luong Thanh Nghi said that Viet Nam would oppose all actions in the region that take place without permission and view them as violations of its sovereignty.

State leader pays tribute to Venezuelan President

A Vietnamese delegation led by President Truong Tan Sang paid tribute to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias at the Venezuelan Embassy in Hanoi on March 7.

Sharing his condolences with the embassy staff, Sang said the Vietnamese people will forever remember the deep sentiments that Chavez offered to the country and people of Vietnam, as well as his great contributions to tighten the friendship, solidarity and cooperation between the two countries.

In the funeral register book, Sang expressed his profound sympathy to the family of the President and the Venezuelan United Socialist Party, as well as the State, Government and people of the Latin American country.

He wrote that he believes the Venezuelan people will overcome this great loss to inherit and bring into full play the noble ideals of Bolivarian revolutionary soldier Chavez Frias, and continue making great achievements in multifaceted development.

Earlier, President Sang and other Vietnamese Party and State leaders conveyed their condolences to First Vice President of the Venezuelan United Communist Party cum National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello and Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro.

The same day, former President Nguyen Minh Triet and representatives of Vietnamese ministries and departments laid wreaths at the Venezuelan Embassy in Vietnam.

The funeral register book is open until March 11.

VN, Malaysia agree to share trade information

Viet Nam and Malaysia will work together on trade defence measures in order to protect enterprises in both countries, according to an agreement between Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang and Malaysian Minister for International Trade and Industry Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed forged during the second meeting of the Viet Nam-Malaysia Joint Committee for Trade yesterday, March 7.

The meeting, which occurred on the sidelines of the ongoing 19th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Retreat in Ha Noi, focused on bilateral trade ties and economic and trade co-operation.

The two parties agreed to create favourable conditions for boosting co-operation in the fields of trade, investment, agriculture and industry. They also pledged to open markets for their respective products by sharing market information and publicising relevant regulations and rules to enterprises.

Viet Nam-Japan culture centre set to build in Da Nang

The central city’s people’s committee allocated an area of 7,000sq.m for building a Viet Nam-Japan Cultural Friendship Centre on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relationship between the two countries.

The city’s chairman Van Huu Chien told Charge d'affaires of the Japanese Embassy in Viet Nam Hideo Suzuki in a meeting on Wednesday that the centre would be built in Ngu Hanh Son District.

It will provide a space for Vietnamese and Japanese to exchange cultural performances, fashion shows and bonsai exhibitions.

The centre will also organise Japanese language courses for Vietnamese people in the Central region.

Suzuki said he would call for contributions from Japanese businesses to construct the centre – the first of its kind in the region.

Vietnam, Cambodia upgrade border gate

The southern province of Binh Phuoc and Kampong Cham province of Cambodia on March 7 jointly held a ceremony to announce the upgrade of the pair of Ta Vat - Tonle Cham auxiliary border gates into main ones under the new name of Loc Thinh-Tonle Cham.

The upgrading was made under the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 2089 issued on December 28, 2012.

Addressing the event, Vice Chairman of the Binh Phuoc People’s Committee Pham Van Tong said Binh Phuoc is always willing to cooperate and exchange experience with the Cambodian locality in building a stable border area that develops in line with the two Governments’ agreement.

He expressed his hope that the upgrading will help to boost the two provinces’ cooperation in all areas, especially in trade and tourism.

Sharing Tong’s expectations, Lotlim Thay, Kampong Cham Vice Mayor, said the upgrading will facilitate each province’s socio-economic development and ensure border security.

The border gates lie on the nearest route from Binh Phuoc to Phnom Penh and the northwestern Siem Reap province of Cambodia.

Vietnam, Cambodia increase planning cooperation

President Truong Tan Sang suggested that the planning ministries of Vietnam and Cambodia effectively implement the agreements reached during their talks. He made the comments at a meeting with Cambodian Minister of Planning Chhay Than in Hanoi on March 7.

During the meeting, Sang applauded Cambodia’s achievements gained amid the gloomy global economic situation, and thanked the country for creating favourable conditions for Vietnamese investors in Cambodia.

He highly valued the effective cooperation of ministries and sectors from both countries in the demarcation, and marker planting on shared land border.

Sang took the occasion to extend his regards to Cambodian King Sihamoni.

Chhay Than thanked the Vietnamese Party, State and people for their warm sentiments, especially during the funeral of late King Norodom Sihanouk.

He said the results of the talks between the two planning ministers will contribute to the implementation of high-level agreements between the two countries.

Vietnam has contributed to Cambodia’s achievements over the past years, he said, expressing his belief that with joint effort, two-way trade between the neighbouring countries will reach 5 billion USD by 2015.

Earlier on the same day, Chhay Than and his delegation made a fact-finding tour to the northern province of Nam Dinh to learn from the locality’s experience in building a new model of rural areas.

They were introduced to the advantages as well as the difficulties the province faced during the process of implementing the model.

Nam Dinh has 96 communes involved in the programme to build new rural areas. By the end of 2012, the province had constructed and upgraded over 1,100 km of roads and dredged more than 43,500 waterways.

Chhay Than valued the experience that Nam Dinh shared, especially the development of rural infrastructure.

Vietnam: Active ASEAN member

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has affirmed that Vietnam will continue to be an active and responsible member of ASEAN, especially during the development of the ASEAN Economic Community.

On March 7, he met economic ministers from the association’s member countries and its Secretary General Le Luong Minh, who are in Hanoi for the 19 th ASEAN Economic Ministers ’ Retreat and related meetings from March 6-9.

The PM expressed his hope that the economic ministers will foster cooperation for a successful ASEAN Community, and the elevation of economic, trade and investment links among the association’s member nations and between ASEAN and other countries.

On the occasion, Dung congratulated Brunei for taking the position of ASEAN Chair in 2013, and affirmed that Vietnam will do its utmost to support the country.

The economic ministers highly valued Vietnam’s role in the association and applauded the country’s achievements in all fields during the past years.

The ministers and Secretary General Minh asserted that they will continue their efforts and coordinate closely to fulfil the association’s set targets, especially the successful building of an ASEAN Community by 2015.

ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) comprises of 10 member countries, including Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

CLMV seek ways to narrow development gap

Senior economic officials from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (CLMV) held a conference in Hanoi on March 7 to discuss initiatives and solutions to bridge the development gap between the four countries and other ASEAN members.

The conference, the fifth of its kind, took place within the framework of the 9 th ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting.

Conference Chairman Aung Naing Oo, who is Head of the Myanmar delegation, said that due to the low level of CLMV development relative to other ASEAN countries, reducing the gap is a constant challenge to the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.

The meeting focused on evaluating the results of the projects that Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam had carried out to narrow the development gap between the four countries and other ASEAN members.

The officials agreed to promote the implementation of the projects within the framework of the Initiative for ASEAN Economic Integration (IAI) supported by the remaining six ASEAN members and some developed countries, focusing on developing infrastructure, transport, technology and communication, human resources, poverty reduction and tourism promotion in CLMV countries.

The 6 th CLMV conference will be held in Laos at the end of 2013.

More than 200 projects are being carried out to promote the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015, including the reduction of the gap between CLMV and other ASEAN members. The projects have received support from ASEAN’s partners such as Japan, China, the EU and the US.

ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) comprises of 10 member countries, including Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

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