Lao PM visits Quang Tri, Quang Binh provinces

Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong on July 15 paid working visits to the central provinces of Quang Tri and Quang Binh.

At a meeting, Chairman of the Quang Tri provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chinh informed the Lao leader about the local socio-economic situation, poverty elimination efforts and the province’s cooperation with bordering Lao localities.

Speaking on behalf of the province, Chinh said he valued the sound socio-economic relations with the localities, saying they contributed greatly to the provinces’ rapid economic growth.

Chinh unveiled plans for the establishment of a new La Lay international border gate between Quang Tri and Salavan with the aim of facilitating trade, tourism and economic cooperation.

The new border crossing will greatly boost collaboration with Lao localities, Chinh said, contributing to the time-tested friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive affiliation between the two countries.

The Lao PM is scheduled to arrive in Hanoi to meet with Party, State and government officials on July 17-18.

Guaranteed financial resources for rural development

The Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance have been tasked with allocating sufficient financial resources to localities for rural development, especially in disadvantaged areas.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh, head of the Central Steering Committee for the target programme on new-style rural area building, assigned this task during a conference held in Hanoi on July 15.

The two ministries should advise the Government on commending and rewarding localities that perform well in this field, he suggested.

He requested Dak Nong, Dien Bien, Cao Bang, Son La and Bac Kan provinces, which currently have no new-style rural communes, to promote the programme so each province can report at least one new-style rural commune that meets the criteria by the end of this year.

The steering committee for the programme should continue to collect feedback on amending and supplementing the current set of criteria, which includes the construction of infrastructure and public facilities, production capacity improvement, environmental protection and cultural preservation.

The committee should also conduct fact-finding tours and host conferences that provide an opportunity to discuss the set of criteria in-depth and assess whether they are appropriate for the context of each locality, he concluded.

The committee will award the 10 most outstanding provinces.

Members proposed the Government amend and supplement the following criteria: development of irrigation systems, information and communications, production organisation, education, health, the environment, and local system of political and social organisations. They recommended supplementing the criteria on planning, transport and electricity.

To date, 889 communes and five districts have been recognised as new-style rural areas.

Inspection sector told to improve reception of citizens

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc urged the inspection sector and leaders of ministries, agencies and local governments to improve the reception of citizens in order to better deal with complaints and petitions.

Addressing an online conference reviewing inspection work in the first half of the year on July 15, the Deputy PM noted that the reality is that localities where officials keep in close contact with citizens do very well in settling complaints and petitions.

He also told the inspection sector to focus on developing a national database on complaints and petitions as well as software for compiling statistics on corruption-related complaints and petitions.

The sector’s task for the second half of the year is to maintain security and social order for Party congresses at all levels and the 12th National Party Congress, the Government leader said.

Deputy Chief Government Inspector Tran Duc Luong reported that the sector carried out 2,842 administrative inspections and 116,334 specialised inspections, which revealed violations of economic laws and regulations involving the use of nearly 11.3 trillion VND (around 525 million USD) and 655.7 ha of land. The sector proposed reclaiming 7.6 trillion VND and 514.7 ha of land, of which 6.2 trillion VND has so far been retrieved for the State budget.

Inspectors also issued 106,562 decisions on punishment on offending organisations and individuals, collecting 1.8 trillion VND in fines and passed 28 cases involving 76 individuals to the criminal investigation agency.

Also according to the Deputy Chief Government Inspector, 86.6 percent of complaints and petitions filed during the reviewed period have been settled, up 0.7 percent compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, the rate of accuracy in complaints and petitions has dropped, reflecting improvements in the performance of State administrative agencies, he said.

However, he pointed to some localities which are slow in dealing with prolonged petitions, adding that there are also problems in enforcing administrative orders and inspecting the enforcement of laws regarding complaints and petitions.

The Deputy Chief Government Inspector noted that the sector uncovered 29 corruption-related cases involving 58 individuals in the six-month period and proposed administrative punishments on 9 individuals while 9 cases with 7 offenders were passed over to relevant agencies for criminal investigation.

At the same time, the police launched investigations into 225 corruption cases involving 600 suspects and prosecuted 103 cases and 272 defendants. One whistle-blower was rewarded in the period.

At the conference, participants raised the problem of overlapping inspections conducted by central- and local-level agencies, as well as the weak coordination among inspection agencies, which resulted in a waste of efforts and hindrance to inspection work.

Feedback invited for draft revised Criminal Code

A resolution of the National Assembly Standing Committee on collecting public opinions on the draft amended Criminal Code and the Prime Minister’s Decision on a plan to carry out the move were made public in Hanoi on July 15.

Resolution 972/NQ-UBTVQH13 said the collection of public feedback for the bill aims at promoting the people’s right to mastery and optimizing the brainpower of the people for building a Criminal Code that meets the requirements of crime prevention and control in the new situation, thus fully and promptly institutionalizing the Party’s resolutions and enforcing the 2013 Constitution.

Vietnamese at home and abroad are invited to send in their feedback on the draft amended Criminal Code from July 15-September 14.

The full text of the draft bill is published on Nhan Dan newspaper, Dai Bieu Nhan Dan newspaper and the electronic portals of the National Assembly, the Government and the Ministry of Justice.

Opinions can be mailed to 60 Tran Phu Street, Hanoi or emailed to [email protected].

The decision recently signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said all the contents of the Code are subject to public feedback, with a focus on criminal liability of legal entity, the scope of criminal liability of adolescents and measures to be used instead of criminal treatment toward adolescent criminals, the elimination of death sentence on several offences, among others.-

Deputy PM extolls Vietnam- Bangladesh economic cooperation

Deputy Prime Minster cum Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has praised expanded economic cooperation and robust growth in bilateral trade between Vietnam and Bangladesh.

At a July 15 reception for Bangladeshi Ambassador Md. Shahab Ullah in Hanoi upon assuming his new tasks in Vietnam, Minh said Vietnam attaches high importance to developing the time-tested friendship with Bangladesh as well as with traditional Southeast Asian nations.

He also praised Bangladesh for stepping up cooperation with Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam.

Over recent years, bilateral trade volume has increased from US$93 million in 2009 to US$710 million in 2014. Defence and security cooperation has made remarkable progress.

FM Minh suggested the two sides fully and effectively implement signed agreements and the results achieved during the Vietnam visit by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in November 2012, and exploit the potential of bilateral cooperation in economics, trade, investment, education and technology.

Bangladesh hails Vietnam’s tremendous achievements in socio-economic development and its role and position in the region and is desirous of bolstering cooperation with Vietnam in the areas of its strength such as agriculture, aquaculture seafood processing, cement production, engineering and garments and textiles, the Bangladeshi diplomat said.

He also underlined the need for both nations to maintain cooperation and provide mutual support at international and UN forums.

The two sides agreed to work together on preparations for the Vietnam visit by Bangladeshi President Abdul Hamid at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang.

Deputy PM tells local authorities to step up efforts to fight crime

Leaders of local administrations should be held responsible for rampant crime in their localities, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said on Tuesday.

At a conference held in Ha Noi to review the fight against crime in the first half of the year, he said local authorities have to consider it a standing duty to limit and prevent crime in areas under their jurisdiction.

Phuc, who heads Board 138, the Government's anti-crime task force, asked every province to prepare an action plan for fighting crime.

"Though this fight is the task of the entire political system, specialised agencies tasked with the job still play the key role," he said.

He also admitted that the task is complicated by the fact that "corruption is still found in the ranks of law enforcers".

The Deputy PM urged local administrations to prioritise purchase of special equipment and other materials needed to fight crime.

The conference heard that the number of criminal crime cases registered in the first half of 2015 saw a year-on-year decline of three per cent.

During this period, police investigated and busted 21,400 criminal cases, arrested 42,000 people, including those belonging to 1,200 gangs. Of these, 7,800 were economic crimes, 114 cases were corruption cases and 6,400 cases had to do with violations of the Law on Environment Protection.

The police also cracked 150 human trafficking cases and rescued 449 people. In 7,300 drug trafficking cases, 11,600 were arrested and the police seized 561kg of heroin, 321kg and 83,500 pills of synthetic drugs, 1,378kg of marijuana and nearly 42kg of cocaine.

Public Security Minister Tran Dai Quang, a member of Board 138, told conference participants, including leaders of local governments, that they should review the crime situation in their localities, identify challenges and propose specific measures that they feel are suitable.

Minister Quang said the police force have proven their skills in fighting organised crime, drug trafficking, homicide, robbery and break-ins, as also economic crimes and trade fraud.

However, he called for intensified vigilance towards the end of the year, noting that many major events were to be held then, including the 70th anniversary of proclamation of national independence on September 2, 1945.

Deputy PM Phuc asked the Public Security Ministry to focus efforts on developing a national strategy for fighting crime and submit it to the Government in the fourth quarter this year. The ministry should also increase co-operation with international organisations in the fight against crime, he said.

Referring to the recent headlines-grabbing murder of six people in Binh Phuoc Province, HCM City Mayor Le Hoang Quan said the case marked an alarming degradation in social values, which he said was a major factor in rising crime. The case showcased the need for educating people in traditional values, especially family values, he said.

The heinous killing of six people earlier this month happened after a 24-year-old man working as a hired carpenter for a family-run wood trading business got into a relationship with his boss's daughter when living in their villa. When the family discovered this and tried to stop it, the man went on a killing spree at night, slitting the throats of the business owner, his wife, son and daughter as well as two relatives.

Deputy PM Phuc agreed with Quan, saying education by the family, clan and community played a key role in preventing crime, but this has been neglected for a while.

Youth Volunteer Force receives award to mark heroic service

President Truong Tan Sang attended a ceremony yesterday to mark the 65th anniversary of the Viet Nam Youth Volunteer Force.

The President said that since it was formed by late President Ho Chi Minh 65 years ago, the force had overcome numerous difficulties to fulfil its tasks, joining hands with the people and army in victories that led to the success of the revolution and national reunification.

The Party, State and people remember the great sacrifice and devotion that former youth volunteers made during the struggles, he said.

At the ceremony, President Sang also presented the Hero of People's Armed Forces title to Youth Volunteer Team 36, which was directly involved in protecting leaders and the Government during wartime - and took part in the fighting.

He highlighted the contributions of Youth Volunteer Team 36 members who faced hardships and danger, made sacrifices and protected President Ho Chi Minh, the Party Central Committee, the Government and central agencies in the Viet Bac safety zone during the struggle against French colonialists.

He praised older volunteers for engaging in social activities and making contributions to national construction and development despite their old age.

Sang said these volunteers had taken the initiative to transfer revolutionary heroism to the young generation.

The State leader urged the Party Committee, Government at all levels and authorised agencies to offer preferential policies to all ex-youth volunteers to improve their living conditions. He also called on the ex-youth volunteers to provide more ideas to improve policies.

Chairman of the Viet Nam Ex-Youth Volunteer Association, Nguyen Anh Lien, said the first youth volunteer team appeared on July 15, 1950, in Hong Mountain, Dai Tu district, in the northern province of Thai Nguyen.

Two months later, the young volunteers were sent into battle and fought hand-in-hand with the military to eliminate the enemy's Dong Khe post, making the first victory in the Border Campaign.

After that, the force expanded and took part in glorious victories, including the Dien Bien Phu victory and the Great Victory in the spring of 1975.

The youth participated in socio-economic and cultural programmes to reconstruct the nation after reunification day.

Currently, tens of thousands of youths help maintain national territorial integrity by protecting the country's border, sea and islands, Lien said. 

Vietnam, Laos step up archive cooperation

Vietnam and Laos will further collaborate in archive staff training and history-related document exchanges in 2016 as agreed in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between two countries on July 15.

Accordingly, the Vietnamese archive agency will propose the inclusion of the training of Lao archive personnel in the governmental agreement on bilateral economic, cultural and scientific-technological cooperation. Vietnamese experts will also be sent to Laos to assist in professional training for Lao staff.

The archive departments of the two nations will work together to get their government’s approval for an insurance centre for Lao national archives funded by the Vietnamese Government. The two sides will continue to compile and share documents related to Vietnamese and Lao history.

Conferences will be held in both countries to enhance information exchange among archive staff.

Hoang Truong, Deputy Head of the State Records Management and Archives Department of Vietnam said the two countries have efficiently implemented a number of MoUs in recent years, including training Lao archive officials, experience exchange and receiving archive apprentices.

Meanwhile, Director of the National Archives Department of Laos Thongsy Vang highlighted that the newly-inked MoU creates an impetus to enhance collaboration between the two archive departments, making contributions to tightening the solidarity between the two nations.

Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Duy Thang pledged to support the collaboration of the two departments.

VFF leader hails Lao front senior official’s visit

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan hailed the visit by permanent Vice President of the Lao Front for National Construction Tong Yerthor in Hanoi on July 15, saying it is taking place as Vietnam prepares for the 12 th National Party Congress that will debate ties between the two Fronts.

Nhan expressed hope that both sides would share experience in personnel training and operation overhaul during their talks.

The VFF Central Committee will do its best to educate young generations about the special solidarity, friendship and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, States and peoples, Nhan said.

Yerthor said he hopes the visit will push ties between the two countries and fronts in particular forward.

He also pledged his determination to foster friendly and all-around coordination between the two Parties, States and peoples.

Son La works with Lao provinces in border marking

Vietnam’s northern Son La province and Laos’ Houaphan and Luang Prabang provinces have erected 126 border markers to date along their shared border line, said the Son La Steering Committee on border-marker planting.

Son La and the two Lao provinces share 250km of border line.

The boundary markers planted in accordance with international law have provided the two countries with a fundamental legal foundation for their border management and protection.

Son La has 17 border communes with most of their residents, about 93,000 people, belonging to ethnic minority groups including the Thai, Kho Mu, Mong, Lao, Xinh Mun and Muong.

The communes have received significant attention from the Party and State to boost their socio-economic development and ensure local security and defence.

VNA, PRD to boost links

Vietnam News Agency and the Public Relations Department (PRD) of Thailand agreed to foster links to popularise information on the ASEAN Community and promote relations between the two nations.

The two sides will continue cooperating in the fields of news and video exchanges, language training, and a possible joint production project to mark 40 years of diplomatic relationship between Vietnam and Thailand.

The consensus was reached by VNA Deputy Director General Ngo Ha Thai and PRD Deputy Director General Charoon Chaisorn during the 12 th Joint Technical Committee (JTC) meeting in Bangkok on July 15.

The two sides reviewed the results of implementing their cooperation agreement over the last 12 years, highlighting the efficiency and significance of their links, including enhanced professional exchanges.

Increasing VNA-PRD cooperation will contribute to enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between the two countries and peoples, they noted.

According to VNA Deputy Director General Ngo Ha Thai, the two sides effectively implemented their cooperation programmes, fostering information popularisation and promoting images of the land and people of Vietnam and Thailand.

Deputy Director General Charoon Chaisorn, for his part, spoke of the intensive cooperation between his agency and VNA, expressing his desire that commitments made at this year’s meeting will strengthen connections within plans for the ASEAN Community, which is scheduled to be formed by the end of this year.

The VNA and PRD signed an MoU on cooperation in information and news exchange in 2003, expanding the two agencies’ links to various fields such as exchanges of visit and news and video, and language training.

Cooperation between the media agencies under the Vietnamese and Thai Governments is in line with the set plans to bring the bilateral relations to a higher level in the future.

Da Nang, Lao localities cooperate in development

A series of agreements have been reached between the central city of Da Nang and Lao localities in recent years, pledging an increase in cooperation.

So far, the city have signed 29 cooperation documents in delegation exchange, business, planning, healthcare and education with the Lao provinces of Savannakhet, Champasak, Sekong, Salavan, Attapeu, Bolikhamsay, Xayaburi, and the capital city of Vientiane.

By 2012, Da Nang had provided Lao localities with about 57 billion VND (2.65 million USD) through 51 projects to develop agriculture, socioeconomic planning, human resources, transportation and sports.

From 2013 to 2017, the city has pledged to support southern Lao provinces with 50 billion VND (2.3 million USD) in education and agriculture.

Last year, export turnover from Da Nang to Laos reached 34.4 million USD with commodities including gasoline and oil, plastic and rubber products.

Laos is now home to four investment projects from the city with total registered capital of 52.3 million USD.