GOVERNMENT IN BRIEF 14/8 Party chief presses Kon Tum’s economic development General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong has asked the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum to direct socio-economic development by drastically mobilising investment resources and achieving more goals as scheduled. Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong speaks at the event. (Photo: VNA) He made the call in Hanoi on August 13 while working with the Standing Board of the provincial Party Committee on its implementation of the Resolutions set at the 11 th National Party Congress and the 14 th provincial Party Congress. At the working session, Party leader Trong highlighted Kon Tum’s important strategic position in terms of economics, national defence-security and external relations in the Central Highlands region and the whole country. Hailing the province for its socio-economic performance over the past time, he also pointed out its shortcomings like unstable growth, a lack of breakthrough sectors, outdated industrial and farming technology and untapped agriculture, forestry and tourism potential. He requested Kon Tum to head planning and management, shift economic and rural structures to more promising fields, expand all-around links with the central and Central Highlands provinces, Ho Chi Minh City, and the provinces of southern Lao and northeastern Cambodia as well. The province was asked to develop transport and infrastructure, protect forests and the environment, while improving the lives of ethnic groups and maintaining traces of national culture. The Central Highlands and Kon Tum province in particular, must firmly safeguard national defence and security, socio-political stability and ensure border security, the Party leader said. Together with socio-cultural development, the provincial Party Committee must be serious about Party building with persistent implementation of the Resolution of the fourth meeting of the 11th Party Central Committee in line with the campaign “Studying and following President Ho Chi Minh’s moral example”, as well as improving State management to speed up administrative reforms. Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Ha Ban said during the course of implementing the Resolutions, Kon Tum has seen progress in almost all fields. From 2011-2013, its economic growth hit nearly 13.5 percent. State budget collection rose from 1.28 trillion VND (600 million USD) in 2010 to 1.63 trillion VND (700 million USD) this year. The quality of education has improved, especially in remote and mountainous areas. The level of skilled workers went up to 36.7 percent in 2012 from 33 percent in 2010. The rate of poor households is expected to dip to 18.2 percent in 2013 from over 33 percent three years ago. Between now and 2015, the Standing Board will act to clear business and investment difficulties, prioritise the development of spearhead industries and services in rural areas, improve resettlement and tackle the shortage of housing and production land. It also pledged to ramp up infrastructure and boost trade at Bo Y international airport and promptly kick-start poverty reduction projects in remote and poor areas. HCM City, Vientiane beef up telecom cooperation Ho Chi Minh City will help the Lao capital city of Vientiane improve the capacity of its telecommunication sector through professional sharing. A memorandum of understanding on the work was inked by the HCM City Department of Information and Communication and the Vientiane Department of Post and Telecommunications during an ongoing visit of HCM City officials. On August 13, Vice Chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee Le Manh Ha met with Secretary of the Vientiane Party Committee and Mayor Soukan Mahalath. Ha told the host that he and his entourage had a working session with officials from StaTelecom Unitel, a joint venture between Vietnam’s military-run telecom group -Viettel and the Lao Asia Telecom. They also presented scholarships to Vientiane students, he said. Soukan Mahalath spoke highly of HCM City’s support for the Lao capital city over the past years, especially in the fields of telecommunications and personnel training. Vientiane is making all-out efforts to fulfil the set targets, including those for the development of information technology, he said. He expressed his hope that the two sides will step up their cooperation and create favourable conditions to facilitate the implementation of joint projects, contributing to nurturing the Vietnam-Laos relationship. Vietnam, India enjoy all-around cooperation Vietnam and India have seen profound and comprehensive development in a wide range of fields, from politics, diplomacy, economics and trade to culture, science, education and defence, at bilateral, regional and international levels. The remark was made by Chairman of the Vietnam-India Friendship Association in Ho Chi Minh City Huynh Thanh Lap at a ceremony held in the city on August 13 to mark the 66 th anniversary of Indian Independence Day (August 15, 1947-2013). Lap underscored the close traditional relationship between Vietnam and India, which originates from both nations’ similarities in history, culture, art and religion, and was nurtured by President Ho Chi Minh and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The two sides will continue reinforcing and furthering their bilateral relations to realise the strategic cooperative partnership, which was established in 2007, he added. Sharing these views, Indian Consul General in HCM City Deepak Mittal said that the sound relationship between Vietnam and India has become stronger, especially after the visits of high-ranking leaders from both countries. Two-way trade between Vietnam and India reached nearly 2.6 billion USD in the first half of this year, up 40 percent against the same period last year. The figure is expected to hit 7 billion USD in 2015, said Deepak Mittal. India is investing in 86 projects worth 936 million USD in Vietnam, mainly in the fields of oil and gas, mining, sugar cane, information technology and farm produce processing. PM, provincial leaders discuss development Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has called on northern Phu Tho and Ha Nam provinces to increase the use of technology in agricultural production, during recent a workshop with provincial officials. The PM also urged both provinces to capitalise on opportunities in the tourism and services sectors and provide incentives for more investment in new technology and environmental sustainability. During his meeting with leaders of Phu Tho, Dung praised the region's social and economic achievements, adding that the province still faced a number challenges, including poverty, low economic growth and a poor infrastructure system. He urged the province to stick with current economic targets and to promote growth in agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry. The province is also tasked to preserve cultural heritages like xoan singing and Hung Kings' Temple, that have been added to UNESCO's list of heritage sites. The PM added that the protection and preservation of these sites would provide significant gains to tourism. According to the chairman of the provincial People's Committee, Chu Ngoc Anh, Phu Tho's growth was estimated at 6.48 per cent, with export earnings rising 13.4 per cent this year. Agriculture, forestry and fisheries grew 6.54 per cent while industrial manufacturing rose 6.8 per cent year on year. Speaking with leaders of Ha Nam province, Dung urged that Ha Nam's proximity to Ha Noi and convenient transport system provided opportunities for further investment in clean and advanced tech-industries that would add value to the region. He advised the province to accelerate construction of new rural areas and large-scale agricultural and processing projects. According to Mai Tien Dung, Chairman of the Ha Nam People's Committee, the province recorded a 10.1 per cent jump in GDP in the first half of this year, while export turnover rose by 50.1 per cent. Industrial production also recorded gains of 17.54 per cent, while the agriculture sector enjoyed stable growth, he added. Russia to soon complete third submarine for Vietnam The third of the six submarines that Russia is building for Vietnam named HQ-184 Hai Phong will be launched later this month, according to the Voice of Russia. The submarine is part of a contract to supply six Kilo-class submarines to Vietnam signed during Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s official visit to Russia in 2009. The contract, which also stipulated the training of Vietnamese crews in Russia, is scheduled to be completed in 2016. The Voice of Russia quoted Russian military experts as saying that the first two submarines, named HQ-182 Hanoi and HQ-183 Ho Chi Minh City, would journey to Vietnam through Suez Canal. The first of the vessels for which a Vietnamese crew has been training since April, is expected to be delivered to the country in November this year. Varshavyanka (Kilo) diesel-electric submarines, which feature 533-millimetre torpedo tubes, are armed with torpedoes, mines and Kalibr 3M54 cruise missiles. They have displacement of 3,100 tonnes, reach speeds of 20 nautical miles per hour, can dive to 300 metres and carry a crew of 52. They are primarily designed for anti-shipping and anti-submarine missions in relatively shallow waters. MoU with Japan focuses on human resources training Viet Nam and Japan have signed a memorandum of understanding on human resources training as part of the fifth phase of a joint initiative running until December next year. The document was signed in Ha Noi yesterday by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Association of Japanese Enterprises in Viet Nam. Addressing the event, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan hailed Japan as a strategic partner, adding that the co-operation could extend to politics, economics, culture, education and science-technology. He also asked signatories to hold a meeting every six months and report on progress. The new memorandum is expected to offer Vietnamese labourers more employment and training opportunities in Japan, even managerial-level training. It also aims to entice more Japanese investment in Viet Nam. Visiting Uzbek official urges closer bilateral ties Deputy Director of the Uzbek General Procuracy, Khalimov Khakimbai Ashirovich, wants Viet Nam and Uzbekistan to cement wide-ranging links and work out concrete cooperation agreements, including in law-making. Ashirovich was speaking at a meeting with National Assembly Vice Chairman Uong Chu Luu in Ha Noi yesterday, Aug 13. He told his host of the outcomes of his talks with the Deputy Prosecutor General of the Vietnamese Supreme People's Procuracy, Tran Cong Phan, and about the signing of a memorandum on personnel training. VN, Singapore strengthen defence co-operation Defence cooperation between Viet Nam and Singapore needs to be stepped up in the near future, in line with their bilateral socio-economic ties. This consensus was reached during a meeting between the Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Viet Nam People's Army Lieut. Gen. Tran Quang Khue and visiting Assistant Chief of General Staff of the Singaporean Infantry Force, Col. Wong Yue Han in Ha Noi yesterday. During their talks, both sides praised the positive cooperation shown in defence matters between Viet Nam and Singapore over the past few years. They agreed to increase the exchange of delegations at all levels and work together to provide English language training courses for staff. Singapore also pledged to share its experiences and create the right conditions so that the Viet Nam People's Army can join the United Nations Peacekeeping Force. Vietnam, Thailand eye stronger links in crime fight The Vietnamese and Thai police forces have committed to strengthening their close coordination in combating crimes in the coming time. The consensus came at talks between Deputy Head of the General Department of Crime Prevention and Control under the Ministry of Public Security, Lieutenant General Trieu Van Dat, and visiting Deputy Chief of the Royal Thai Police, General Pansiri Prapawat, in Hanoi on August 12. Dat said the move is to match with the two countries’ strategic partnership. He expressed his delight at the sharing of valuable information in the field, mutual support at international forums and joint investigations in specific cases between the forces in recent time. The Thai General, for his part, voiced his hope that the two sides will regularly exchange and cooperate in training officers to serve the safeguarding of social order in each country in the new periods. VNN/VNS/VNA