UN appreciates Vietnam’s participation in peacekeeping

The United Nations (UN) appreciates Vietnam’s active participation in peacekeeping operations and believes the country will be a reliable peacekeeping partner, UN high-level officials said.

The remark was made by Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, Ameerah Haq, and Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Edmond Mulet, during their receptions for Lieut. Gen. Vo Van Tuan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army. Tuan, who is also deputy head of the Defence Ministry’ steering committee for Vietnam’s peacekeeping activities, led a Vietnamese military delegation to attend working sessions with UN representatives from October 14-16.

The two UN officials said Vietnam’s establishment of a peacekeeping centre and its deployment of two officers to the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) demonstrated the country’s resolve to participate in the UN’s peacekeeping activities. They acknowledged the sound performance of the two officers in UNMISS.

Tuan expressed his gratitude for the UN’s support for Vietnam’s participation in peacekeeping missions.

He affirmed that Vietnam will soon set up a level 2 field hospital and a company of sappers based on UN guidelines.

He asked for the organisation’s continued assistance in building Vietnam’s legal framework, including the signing of a memorandum of understanding on Vietnam’s registration for the UN Stand-by Arrangement System (UNSAS), in order to ensure the level 2 field hospital can begin its operations as soon as possible.

The UN Under-Secretary-General spoke highly of Vietnam’s commitment to establish a level 2 field hospital in order to take part in the UN’s peacekeeping efforts, saying that the organisation would promptly send officials to Vietnam to help set up the hospital.

Edmond Mulet said instabilities in the global arena are causing new challenges and forcing peacekeeping operations to constantly be improved. He urged more contributions from Vietnam and suggested the country consider sending female officers to join the UN’s peacekeeping missions.

French political parties treasure relations with Vietnam

Regardless of differences in opinions and policies on domestic and international issues, political parties in France always treasure and hope to boost the relationship between their country and Vietnam.

President of the Senate of France Gerard Larcher made the remark at a working session with Le Hong Anh, Politburo member and permanent member of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee’s Secretariat, in Paris on October 17.

Senator Larcher said the French Senate and National Assembly pledged to further support the government’s multilateral foreign policy, which facilitates the ratification of documents relating to cooperation with Vietnam in economics, science-technology, and arts.

As a member of the Union for a Popular Movement (UPM), the Senator confirmed that the UPM will coordinate with other French political parties, including the French Communist Party (PCF), in a joint effort to boost the friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

Politburo member Le Hong Anh thanked the Senator and French parliamentarians for their significant contributions to strengthening the Vietnam-France strategic partnership, especially in the fields of economics, science-technology, education-training, and socio-culture.

He briefed the host on Vietnam’s socio-economic development and discussed the regional and global issues of common concern.

The Vietnamese official earlier worked with the PCF National Secretary Pierre Laurent and First Secretary of the French Socialist Party Jean-Christophe Cambadelis to seek measures to push the relations between the parties and nations.

Foreign media feature PM’s European trip

Foreign media have turned the spotlight on Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s agenda during his ongoing working trip to Europe.

Germany’s ASEAN Today wrote on October 15 that the country is a leg of the PM’s tour to several European countries, including Belgium and the Vatican. In addition, his meetings with the European Union representatives and participation in the 10th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM - 10) Summit are also planned in Italy .

One focus of the talks with the European partners is the highly-anticipated conclusion of the negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) between Vietnam and the EU ( EVFTA), which aims to boost their trade significantly .

From the perspective of the Vietnamese Government, the negotiations are going very well . A possible earlier completion is expected later this year , it said.

Later on October 16, Italy’s Sudestasiatico.com published an article “Italy and Vietnam: missing prospects and opportunities”.

It saw the summit as a chance for the PM to reiterate the Vietnamese Government’s position on the issue of disputes in the East Sea, adding that it was also mentioned during the PM’s talks with his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi.

Italy now stands at the 29th place in the rankings of foreign investors in Vietnam . Its newly-inaugurated Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City should give the necessary support to small and medium- sized Italian firms, and they could find a new life through the future FTA deal between the EU and Vietnam, it added.

Deputy PM receives President of Harbinger Capital

Vietnam always creates favourable conditions for foreign enterprises and investment funds to invest in Vietnam, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh said in a meeting with President of Harbinger Capital Philip Falcone on October 17 in Hanoi.

The Deputy PM stressed Vietnamese State agencies are promoting public administrative reforms with the aim of saving time and money for investors.

He added that the government also encourages projects in the form of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) to attract domestic and foreign private enterprises.

On his side, Philip Falcone thanked Deputy PM Ninh for receiving him, saying that Harbinger Capital has pumped more capital in its Grand Ho Tram Strip project on building five resorts in the southern province of Ba Ria- Vung Tau.

He also expressed his wish to expand investment in Vietnam in the coming time.

Party leader launches new school year at Security Academy

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong beat the drum to open the 2014-2015 academic year at Hanoi’s People’s Security Academy (PSA) on October 17.

In his speech at the launch ceremony, the Party leader praised the academy’s outstanding achievements over the past 68 years, saying that it has trained tens of thousands of officers, with many of them now holding important positions in the Party, State and public security sector.

In the face of a complex global and domestic context, as a major training and scientific research centre for the entire sector and the country at large, PSA should take the basic viewpoints of the Party and State on board to clarify and implement its vision, objectives and tasks, he said.

The academy needs to continue to renovate and improve the quality of education, training and scientific research, while focussing on creating a healthy educational environment, he added.

The Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong reminded the academy to pay special attention to educating its students on political thought and morals, turning them into first-rate officers upon graduation.

He expressed his belief that with its 68-year tradition and responsibility for the nation and people, PSA will achieve even greater successes in the time to come, contributing to the creation of a modern public security force that acts as the right hand of the Party, State and people to safeguard national security and maintain social order and safety.

Party chief calls cultural well-being a measure of progress

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has underscored the significance of culture, saying that it is a spiritual foundation of the society, a measure of national progress and on par with politics, economics and environment.

Human being and the environment in which they stay are what matters in any cultural development policy, the Party leader told senior officials of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Hanoi on October 18.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Hoang Tuan Anh briefed Nguyen Phu Trong about outstanding achievements made by the sector over the past four years.

The nation now records over 5,000 artists, 446 training centres of culture, sports and tourism, nearly 1,000 vocational schools that benefit as many as 80,000 students.

It is also home to 20 world heritages, 48 special national relic sites, 67 national treasures, 3,211 national relic sites, 69 national intangible cultural heritages and 145 museums holding close to 3 million objects and materials of different kinds, he said.

With nearly 2 million jobs generated in January-September, the tourism sector brought home 179 trillion VND (8.5 billion USD), up 19 percent on-year.

Over 38 million arrivals were recorded during the period, with 6 million from overseas that marked an annual rise of more than 10 percent.

To leverage the past successes, the leader called for culture officers around the country to be given better training, in both virtues and professional skills, as well as all possible resources for the cause.

He took the occasion to ask the ministry to spread more images of Vietnam, its life and country to all over the world.

Participants suggested improving relevant regulations and laws while strengthening the State management in cultural affairs.