Political News Headlines 28/2 Keeping the economy on the right track: Government Cabinet members have focused their discussions on a score of measures to steer the national economy in the right direction in line with the set targets. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on February 28 chaired a regular cabinet meeting to review the socio-economic performance in February and the first two months of this year and debate other important issues and how to deal with epidemics and alleviate obstacles for the market. In the first two months of 2014, ministries, sectors and localities have actively implemented National Assembly (NA) and Government resolutions and instructions on market price stabilization. Cabinet members said abundant supplies of commodities and services contributed to stabilizing market prices after the lunar New Year Festival (Tet) and preventing price fevers. February’s consumer price index (CPI) saw a 10 year low record of 0.55% from a month earlier while exports, agricultural and industrial production value posted high growths against the same period last year. Material and spiritual attention has been given to people credited with revolutionary services, families of social policy beneficiaries, poor households and people living in remote and mountainous areas. However, prolonged cold spells and widespread cattle and poultry epidemics have adversely affected husbandry activities and people’s lives. Despite the traffic situation keeping under control, the number of serious traffic accidents remained high during and after Tet. Many enterprises were still facing difficulties in production and business operations. NA Vice Chairwoman receives UNICEF award National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan has been given a humanitarian award from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), in recognition of her efforts to reduce child mortality in Viet Nam. UNICEF's Chief Representative in Viet Nam Lotta Sylwander presented the award to the NA leader at a ceremony held in Ha Noi yesterday, Feb 27. Speaking highly of the assistance given by UNICEF to improve child care and protection in Viet Nam, Ngan said she hoped the fund would continue its important role in coordinating with other UN organisations to support Viet Nam's younger generations. She stressed Viet Nam valued caring for and protecting children and that it was an important cornerstone of the country's policy platform. Sylwander praised the NA Vice Chairwoman for her contributions to promoting the enforcement of child rights, expressing her hope that Ngan would continue her work in the field. Viet Nam has made significant progress in ensuring the rights of children. Most notably, the country's child mortality rate dropped to 16 per cent in 2010 from 36.7 percent a decade earlier. President honours top physicians President Truong Tan Sang yesterday (Feb 27) presented the title of People's Doctor to 67 outstanding physicians at a ceremony to celebrate the 59th year of Viet Nam Physicians' Day.   President Truong Tan Sang yesterday offered outstanding physicians the "People's Doctor" title in Ha Noi.  The President called on the health sector to implement critical reforms, including the extension of the healthcare network, improving the quality of checkups and treatment, and improving professionalism in the industry. Sang also said that demonstrating ethics and integrity was vital to the role of physicians and medical staff in delivering top-notch health services. Also yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam urged the health sector to push up health care initiatives and praised the efforts of doctors and medical staff in treating and preventing disease. Speaking at a conference on the rollout of health programmes in 2014, Dam called on the health ministry to target patient satisfaction through the improvement of medical services, the medical ethics of doctors and medical staff, an increase in health equity and transparency in examination and treatment. The deputy PM also suggested the sector take full advantage of existing medical facilities at the central and local levels and investment sources in the private sector to handle shortcomings due to hospital congestion and the shortage of beds and human resources. Dam added that the sector should review and reform medical education; financial mechanisms; and policies for medical workers in mountainous and remote areas or difficult fields such as preventive medicine, tuberculosis treatment and HIV/AIDS prevention. Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said the sector will focus on handling hospital congestion, disease and dangerous epidemic prevention, human resource training and improvements in medical ethics in 2014. Tien noted that the sector has been facing many challenges posed by the increasing demand for quality health care, changes in morbidity trends, complicated developments in communicable diseases, and emerging diseases, as well as epidemics. Low expenditures for health care, limited quantity and quality of medical workers at the community level, inadequate infrastructure, and a shortage of medical facilities also influenced the quality of medical services, she said. At the event, the health ministry launched a patriotic emulation movement with a focus on improving patient satisfaction and confidence in the health sector. The movement aims to improve medical ethics among doctors and health staff; improve examination and treatment methods; strengthen the health care system at the grassroots level; and educate the public on various health policies, including universal health insurance, encouraging Vietnamese people to use locally manufactured medicines. Disease prevention and food safety and hygiene are also covered under the movement. The ministry's statistics showed that the country had 22.5 beds for every 10,000 people, far below the World Health Organisation's recommendation of 39 beds. Health insurance coverage reached nearly 70 per cent of the country's population, seeing low participation from near-poor and middle-income groups. Vietnam keen on boosting ties with Australia The Party, State and people of Vietnam wish to further boost the comprehensive partnership with Australia in all fields, said newly-accredited Ambassador to Australia Luong Thanh Nghi.   Australian Governor-General Quentin Bryce receives Ambassador to Australia Luong Thanh Nghi (Source: VNA) The diplomat made the statement while presenting his credentials to Australian Governor-General Quentin Bryce on February 27. He said that based on the achievements of the bilateral relationship over the last four decades and the efforts of both sides, Vietnam-Australia relations will continue expanding. Ambassador Nghi said the visit of Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to Vietnam earlier this month was a step forward in bilateral cooperation in various fields, especially economics-trade-investment, security-defence, and education-training. He also lauded Australia’s maintenance of ODA provision to Vietnam, while welcoming the country’s New Colombo Plan, which offers Australian undergraduates new opportunities for prestigious scholarships and grants for study opportunities and internships/mentorships in the Indo Pacific region. The Governor-General expressed her delight at the robust growth of the bilateral ties, especially since the comprehensive partnership was set up in 2009. Last year, various joint activities to celebrate the 40 th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties (1973-2013) contributed to strengthening people-to-people contacts, she noted. The Australian host said she believes that with the building of a new plan of action for the 2014-2016 period, the all-round cooperation between the two countries will be promoted. She voiced her hope that Vietnam will join the Colombo Plan to foster people-to-people diplomacy, especially among younger generations. Bryce also expressed her hope that in his new position, Ambassador Nghi will make positive contributions to the development of the Vietnam-Australia comprehensive partnership. Province shares legislative experience with Laos Officials of the People’s Council of the southern province of Binh Duong on February 27 shared their legislative experience with a visiting delegation of the Lao National Assembly’s Committee for Cultural and Social Affairs. At the working session, Vice Chairwoman of the council Tran Thi Kim Van informed the guests about the local socio-economic situation while sharing the council’s experience in supervising the activities of the People’s Committee. She said based on supervision results, the provincial council proposed practical suggestions so that the committee can work out measures to remove shortcomings in realising socio-economic targets. At the function, local officials also shared their knowledge of implementing social welfare policies and those on creating jobs and training the workforce. Expressing his admiration for the province’s development, head of the Lao committee Phonethep Pholsena said through the visit, they learnt a great deal of invaluable experience from Binh Duong. On the same day, the Lao delegation visited the Binh Duong Centralised Administration Centre and Binh Duong New City.- Hai Phong, Australia’s Northern Territory forge links The northern port city of Hai Phong and Australia’s Northern Territory on February 27 inked a memorandum of understanding on bilateral trade, economic and education cooperation on the basis of mutual respect and benefits. Signatories were Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Duong Anh Dien and Chief Minister of Australia’s Northern Territory Adam Giles. Receiving Adam Giles in the city the same day, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Van Thanh said Hai Phong hopes for win-win cooperation with the region. He informed his guest that Hai Phong has seen industry, construction and services grow by 90 percent in 10 years. As a major sea gateway in the north, it handled 55 million tonnes of goods last year. The total foreign direct investment inflow hit 9 billion USD, with much coming from the world’s top 500 businesses. It is working on the 1.5 billion USD Lach Huyen international gateway seaport and Tan Vu-Lach Huyen sea bridge, the longest in Southeast Asia. Besides advantages in marine transport, Hai Phong is strong in aviation, road traffic, railway and inland waterways. The city is developing a marine-based economy on the back of logistics, tourism and seafood, he said. Referring to education, Thanh said Hai Phong is in partnership with Australian universities and experts. Giles said the Northern Territory in Australia is ramping up infrastructure in Darwin city, particularly in aviation, seaports and its road network. It is strong in mining, cultivation, animal husbandry and farming. The territory is keen to forge long-term cooperation with Hai Phong in seafood and education, he noted. The region sprawls over 130,000 sq.km and has a population of over 200,000. Over 90 percent of its ore has yet to be mined. Army officers awarded Laos’ Labour Orders Twelve serving and former officers of the Vietnam People’s Army have been given the Lao State’s Labour Orders for their contributions to rural development and poverty alleviation in Laos’ border areas. The accolades were presented at a ceremony in Hanoi on February 27. Bounheuang Duangphachanh, head of the Lao National Committee for Rural Development and Poverty Eradication, said the cooperation project on developing Laos–Vietnam border areas is of importance to build a border of economic, political and social stability, thus improving the well-being of both countries’ border dwellers. Voicing his thanks to the Vietnamese Defence Ministry for its aid in the work, Bounheuang Duangphachanh, who is also the Minister of the Lao Government’s Office, expressed his hope that the ministry will further cooperation with Laos in this field. Procuracy sector accelerates Constitution enforcement The Supreme People’s Procuracy on February 27 organised a teleconference on the implementation of the newly-adopted Constitution with the participation of 63 municipal and provincial People’s Procuracies. Prosecutor General Nguyen Hoa Binh, who chaired the event, highlighted major changes in the justice system in the legal document, urging the procuracy sector to popularise such new points of the Constitution widely. The sector was also asked to review relevant regulations while actively partnering with other sectors to build documents guiding the implementation of the Constitution. Participants at the event said the amendments aim to elevate the role and position of the procuracy sector and that they should be publicised to help the sector better protect human rights. The Constitution, which was revised on the basis of the 1992 document, was adopted at the sixth session of the 13 th National Assembly with nearly 98 percent of votes. The revised Constitution is divided into 11 chapters with 120 articles (one chapter and 27 articles fewer than the previous version). Hai Phong, Australia’s Northern Territory forge links     The northern port city of Hai Phong and Australia’s Northern Territory on February 27 inked a memorandum of understanding on bilateral trade, economic and education cooperation on the basis of mutual respect and benefits. Signatories were Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Duong Anh Dien and Chief Minister of Australia’s Northern Territory Adam Giles. Receiving Adam Giles in the city the same day, Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Van Thanh said Hai Phong hopes for win-win cooperation with the region. He informed his guest that Hai Phong has seen industry, construction and services grow by 90 percent in 10 years. As a major sea gateway in the north, it handled 55 million tonnes of goods last year. The total foreign direct investment inflow hit 9 billion USD, with much coming from the world’s top 500 businesses. It is working on the 1.5 billion USD Lach Huyen international gateway seaport and Tan Vu-Lach Huyen sea bridge, the longest in Southeast Asia. Besides advantages in marine transport, Hai Phong is strong in aviation, road traffic, railway and inland waterways. The city is developing a marine-based economy on the back of logistics, tourism and seafood, he said. Referring to education, Thanh said Hai Phong is in partnership with Australian universities and experts. Giles said the Northern Territory in Australia is ramping up infrastructure in Darwin city, particularly in aviation, seaports and its road network. It is strong in mining, cultivation, animal husbandry and farming. The territory is keen to forge long-term cooperation with Hai Phong in seafood and education, he noted. The region sprawls over 130,000 sq.km and has a population of over 200,000. Over 90 percent of its ore has yet to be mined. Province shares legislative experience with Laos Officials of the People’s Council of the southern province of Binh Duong on February 27 shared their legislative experience with a visiting delegation of the Lao National Assembly’s Committee for Cultural and Social Affairs. At the working session, Vice Chairwoman of the council Tran Thi Kim Van informed the guests about the local socio-economic situation while sharing the council’s experience in supervising the activities of the People’s Committee. She said based on supervision results, the provincial council proposed practical suggestions so that the committee can work out measures to remove shortcomings in realising socio-economic targets. At the function, local officials also shared their knowledge of implementing social welfare policies and those on creating jobs and training the workforce. Expressing his admiration for the province’s development, head of the Lao committee Phonethep Pholsena said through the visit, they learnt a great deal of invaluable experience from Binh Duong. On the same day, the Lao delegation visited the Binh Duong Centralised Administration Centre and Binh Duong New City. VNN/VNS/VNA