President: prosecutors need to make changes

The nation's top prosecuting agency, the People's Supreme Procuracy, should improve the quality of work done by its agencies at all levels and enhance supervision towards avoiding unjust convictions, President Truong Tan Sang said yesterday, Dec 24.

President Truong Tan Sang asks the agency to seriously implement Party policies and National Assembly resolutions on judicial activities.

It should also be very strict in handling cases of economic corruption and accelerate their settlement, he said at a working session with leaders of the agency that aimed to review its performance in 2013 and set the agenda for 2014.

He said the agency should focus on removing existing flaws and come up with measures to fulfill tasks more efficiently and effectively.

Sang said he believed there would be positive changes in the operations of prosecuting agencies next year as judicial reforms continue and important legal documents, particularly the newly-adopted Constitution, take effect.

He asked the agency to seriously implement Party policies and National Assembly resolutions on judicial activities.

Leading procuracy officials told the President that the agencies nationwide had increased the quality of investigations and prosecutions, and improved its response to public denunciations of corrupt officials and other forms of corruption.

The agency has brought 98.7 percent of lawsuits to resolution, they said.

VN, China links see steady growth

Increased people-to-people links have strengthened the strategic partnership between Viet Nam and China, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said yesterday, Dec 24.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (R) receives China Association for International Friendly Contact (CAIFC) led by its chairman Li Zhaoxing in Ha Noi.

Speaking at a reception held to welcome a delegation from the China Association for International Friendly Contact (CAIFC) led by its chairman Li Zhaoxing, Minh said the steady growth of friendship between both countries is reflected in the successful organisation of the fifth People's Forum in Viet Nam's Ninh Binh Province and the second Youth Festival in China's Nanning City.

Li Zhaoxing said that in the coming months, the association would further strengthen its international interactions, paying particular attention to cementing the friendship between China and Viet Nam.

Vietnam-Laos army ties praised

Former Lao Prime Minister General Sisavath Keobounphanh has lauded the close relationship between the armies of Laos and Vietnam over the past 65 years, especially during the two wars against France and the US.

He made the praise at his December 23 meeting with 500 officials of the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism on the occasion of the 65th founding anniversary of the Laos People’s Army.

Keobounphanh, who is also a former Politburo member and former President of the Lao Front for National Construction, stressed it was Vietnam’s Dien Bien Phu victory in 1954 that brought back independence to the three Indochinese countries of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

In the war against the US, the Laos People’s Army also fought side by side with Vietnamese voluntary troops for glorious victories, he noted.

Implementation key to fulfilling goals of new Constitution

Proper implementation of the recently revised 1992 Constitution will be key to realising intended impacts on all aspects of social life, members of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee said yesterday.

NA Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong and Deputy President of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee, Nguyen Van Pha, said that implementation of the newly adopted constitution should ensure stability in the management of all national affairs.

They said priority should be accorded to reviewing legal documents relating to the State apparatus.

Member of the parliamentary Law Committee, Phan Trung Ly, said that the implementation plan should detail the responsibilities and tasks of the NA Standing Committee, State President, the Government, the People's Supreme Court, the People's Supreme Procuracy, the Fatherland Front and overseas representatives of national organisations in disseminating the constitution's provisions within the country and abroad.

Deputies agreed that one of the activities that the NA Standing Committee should initiate for this purpose is an online conference.

Chairman of the NA's Finance and State Budget Committee, Phung Quoc Hien, said due importance should be given to reviewing economic laws and regulations.

Members of the NA Law Committee said they would carry out research for drafting an ordinance that would provide guidelines and instructions on implementing the revised Constitution, and would submit their findings soon.

President calls for support to AO victims

President Truong Tan Sang has called on Vietnamese people at home and abroad and international friends to continue supporting Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin victims.

Visiting the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin (VAVA) in Hanoi on December 24, President Sang also lauded VAVA officials, honourary members and volunteers for their efforts in support of the victims, affirming that this is an urgent and long-term duty of both the political system and the whole people.

He asked the association to proactively give consultations to the Party and State on addressing consequences by the toxic chemical.

VAVA President Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Van Rinh said that the association has established its chapters in 59 cities and provinces with over 315,000 members.

It has relations with about 500 organisations and individuals in 30 nations around the world in its struggle for justice.

According to VAVA, US forces sprayed 80 million litres of Agent Orange totalling almost 400 kg of dioxin on Vietnam’s southern battlefields during a 10-year period beginning on August 10, 1961.

Preliminary statistics by Vietnamese scientists indicated about 3 million Vietnamese people were exposed to dioxin. The toxic chemical still has a severe impacts on Vietnam’s filial generations today.

PM asks for more market development efforts

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has called for greater efforts to develop both domestic and foreign markets, boost exports and effectively control imports.

He made the request on December 24 while chairing the teleconference between the Government and localities which was started on December 23 and saw participants focus their discussions on the Government’s draft resolution on its guidelines and management of the implementation of the 2014 socio-economic development plan and budget estimates.

Dung urged ministries, industries and localities to make full use of opportunities created by international commitments, and to stay active and positive in negotiations for free trade agreements, especially the Trans-Pacific Partnership and those with the EU, the Republic of Korea and the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Looking back on the 2013 socio-economic development, PM Dung noted that despite many difficulties and challenges, the country has maintained the macro-economic stability, reduced the inflation rate and recorded a higher growth compared with 2012.

The forex and gold market has been stabilized, with foreign reserves increasing robustly, he said, adding political security and social order and safety have been maintained while national sovereignty ensured.

However, he also pointed out a number of shortcomings that need to be addressed, saying that GDP growth falls short of plan, business and production face difficulties, the settlement of bad debts remains slow and economic restructuring moves at a snail’s pace.

The government leader also requested breakthroughs in restructuring the economy, renovating the growth model and improving the efficiency and competitiveness of the economy.

He asked ministries, industries and localities to drastically reform public investment and reshuffle the banking system.

In addition, he said, it is necessary to speed up agricultural restructuring in combination with building new-style rural areas, providing training and generating more jobs for rural labourers.

PM Dung also called for the tightened management of the licensing and exploitation of minerals and better environmental protection.

He ordered ministries, industries and localities to effectively control market prices, ensure goods supply and maintain social order, security and safety in the upcoming New Year and Lunar New Year.

VNN/VNS/VNA/VOV