Vietnam, Germany reinforce solidarity

The future of solidarity with Vietnam was the main theme of an international seminar held recently in Dusseldorf, Germany.

The event was attended by representatives from Vietnam Friendship Associations in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark and Germany.

The seminar aims to map out new orientations for developing solidarity with Vietnam in the future as the country continues to integrate into the global economy

In his speech, President of the German-Vietnam Friendship Association, Professor Guenter Giesenfeld, emphasized that Vietnam is a dynamic nation undergoing significant changes and said he believes strongly in prospects for solidarity with Vietnam.

Vietnamese ambassador to Germany Nguyen Thi Hoang Anh highlighted the German association’s initiative to organize the seminar, saying that Vietnam friendship associations can promote equal partnerships with European nations by providing information about cooperation between all parties, especially in culture and science.

Participants also proposed measures to develop friendship and solidarity with Vietnam in the coming years.

Official detained for destroying forest land

Authorities in the Central Highlands province of Dak Nong yesterday, May 28, detained an official from the forest development project management board for destroying forest land.

The suspect, Chu Van Lam, deputy head of the board under the Kien Truc Moi Construction and Investment Company in Tuy Duc District, is accused of supervising illegal virgin soil reclamation in the area, which caused 70 hectares of forest destruction.

The local authorities is conducting investigations to strictly handle the violation.

Seminar highlights civil society’s input into ADB policies

The supervisory role played by the Vietnamese civil society in the implementation of the Asian Development Bank (ADB)’s sponsor policies was discussed at a seminar in Hanoi on May 28.

The event was co-organised by the Centre for Water Resources Conservation and Development (WARECOD) and the Vietnam River Network (VRN).

The seminar provides a clear panorama of the implementation of the bank’s communication and sponsor policies while creating an alliance of civil society organisations in this field, said Hoang Phuong Thao, Director of Action Aid, an international non-governmental organisation dedicated to worldwide poverty reduction.

According to Dang Ngoc Quang from the VRN, most ADB-funded projects have failed to fulfil all set commitments.

The VRN has organised an array of activities to supervise ADB-funded projects and met with local people to study the projects’ impacts on their lives and sent collected recommendations to the ADB, he added.

Accordingly, the bank should detail policies in Vietnamese regarding compensation, livelihood recovery and resettlement for ethnic groups, as well as consultation outcomes with local communities.

Vietnam is one of the countries to receive the largest amount of financial support and loans from the bank, which significantly contribute to the country’s infrastructure development and natural resource management.

Diverse activities mark Children’s Day

Many activities supporting children have been carried out across the country on the occasion of the upcoming International Children’s Day (June 1).

In the southern province of Quang Nam, representatives from the Japan Democratic Women Association on May 28 visited and presented gifts to children in the provincial centre for Agent Orange/Dioxin victims and disadvantaged children.

The centre is now home to 100 children, 34 of them are the offspring of veterans exposed to Agent Orange/Dioxin during the war.

On the occasion, the provincial Association of Agent Orange/Dioxin victims offered 34 gift packages to children in the centre.

In response to Action Month for Children, the southern province of Dong Nai plans to present 350 gifts valued at VND300,000 each to poor children and children from ethnic minority groups until June 1.

From June, the province will offer 50 scholarships worth VND2 million each to children with disabilities and another package of 1,000 scholarships to poor children at a total cost of about VND900 million.

Besides, it is scheduled to coordinate with local hospitals to provide free check-ups, medicine and operations for poor children with congenital malformation, while organising a summer camp for more than 1,200 children from ethnic minority groups.

In the central city of Da Nang, the provincial Department of Education and Training honoured 500 students with excellent exam results.

In the 2012-2013 academic year, 67 students from Da Nang won prizes at national contests.

Fishermen receive $2,000 to fix boats

Two fishermen from central Quang Ngai Province's Binh Son District, whose boats were recently damaged in the sea area of Hoang Sa (Paracel), were granted VND20 million each (about US$1,000) on Monday for repairs.

The funding came from the Fishermen Support Fund and the provincial Fatherland Front Committee.

One of the boats, owned by Tran Van Dung from Binh Chau Commune, was struck by a Chinese vessel on May 20. The second boat, owned by Tran Van Quang from Binh Thanh Commune, was damaged during an accident in April.

According to Nguyen Xuan Hue, chairman of the Quang Ngai Fishermen Support Fund, as well as financial support, Quang will be able to ask for a loan from the fund at a reduced interest rate to fix his boat.

Soldier remains repatriated from Cambodia

Thirty-seven sets of remains of volunteer Vietnamese soldiers who died during wartime in Cambodia were handed over to the Central Highland Province of Gia Lai on May 28.

Um Mara, governor of the Cambodian province of Preah Vihear presented the remains to Pham The Dung, chairman of the Gia Lai provincial People’s Committee.

Cambodian monks held a solemn requiem for Vietnamese combatants before the remains were repatriated to their homeland.

Gia Lai province has decided to build the Vietnam-Cambodia Combat Alliance Monument in Preah Vihear.

Since 2005 the Central Highland province has received 445 sets of remains of volunteer Vietnamese soldiers from Preah Vihear.

Hygienic slaughter houses set up

Nearly VND20 billion (US$950,000) will be invested in building hygienic slaughter houses in northern Bac Giang Province, according to Vice Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Lai Thanh Son.

The slaughter houses are expected to provide the domestic market with over 45,000 tonnes of safe meat by 2015, Son added.

The local authority also plans to make livestock and poultry traders more aware about food safety issues and improve the supervision skills of veterinarians.

JICA supports human resource development

A Japanese-funded project on enhancing human resource capacity for the water sector in Vietnam’s central region has been a success, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) said at a review conference on May 28.

The three-year project starting in August 2010 targeted 18 water companies in the central region with the aim of helping them ensure safe and stable water supply.

The project’s major partner, a training centre in Hue city, has been provided with adequate skills and equipment to develop short-term training courses for local water companies.

In addition, the project organised training trips and seminars in Japan for the target companies’ leaders to increase their awareness of the importance of human resource development.

Accordingly, five leading companies have completed theirs plans of safe water supply, human resource development and operation manuals.

The training centre in Hue also succeeded in building a cooperation model with Thua Thien-Hue Water Supply and Construction Company (HUEWACO), which will be maintained and expanded after the project ends.

JICA has worked with Vietnam’s water sector for almost 10 years supporting, particularly in human resource development.

Central province faces severe drought

A heavy drought in many areas of central Nghe An Province has negatively affected rice crops and disrupted the daily lives of local residents, authorities have said.

A recent report from the provincial Department of Irrigation showed that as many as 400 hectares of rice fields and 200 hectares of sugar-cane in Que Phong District have dried up. Water in the province's reservoirs has also decreased to below average levels.

Prolonged hot weather has been blamed for the water shortage in the area.

VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA