Political News Headlines 13/3 Vietnam, Belgium discuss judicial bond Vietnam and Belgium possess great potential in bilateral judicial collaboration if they exchange more experience in judicial execution and delegations, according to a key diplomat. Vietnamese Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Community Pham Sanh Chau made the remark at a recent meeting with leaders from the Court of Cassation of Belgium, discussing the two sides’ judicial cooperation programme. Ambassador Chau introduced Belgian officials to Vietnam’s legal system and the progress made by its judiciary in the recent past. He said he hopes Belgium will carry out judicial cooperation programmes with both the People’s Supreme Court and the People’s Supreme Procuracy of Vietnam. Vietnam and Belgium have been seeing a thriving growth in their bilateral ties, and collaborated in the fields of investment, trade, education, and health, the ambassador noted. The two countries share a fine political relationship and similarities in their legal systems, making co-operation in judicial matters mutually beneficial, the diplomat asserted. For his part, Jean-Francois Leclercq, General Prosecutor of the Belgium court, said he hopes that a stronger bilateral judicial bond will be established through the exchange of legal documents and delegations in the time to come. Judicial Reform committee outlines 2014 legal agenda The Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform held a conference in Ha Noi yesterday, March 12, to gather opinions for a report reviewing last year's judicial restructuring and tasks for 2014.   President Sang urges the delegates to soon solve existing problems and asked them to avoid overlapping to reduce unjust cases. President Truong Tan Sang, who is head of the committee, presided over the 14th working session. According to the draft report prepared by the committee, Viet Nam had seen remarkable results in judicial reform in recent years. Positive changes have been made in the processes of investigation, prosecution, trial and execution, which helped prevent incorrect verdicts. At the session, delegates focused on clarifying the shortcomings in recent reforms, analysing the reasons and suggesting several major solutions to improve procedures in the future. According to the delegates, the slowness in the implementation of some projects, such as the restructuring of investigative agencies towards one collective lead and the organisation of both the people's procuracy and the people's court systems into four levels (instead of three as now) had affected the process of judicial reform. Regarding this year's targets, delegates attached importance to amending legal documents in line with the recently revised Constitution. In addition, attention was paid to clarifying litigation laws and further specifying judicial power in building a socialist, law-governed State, they said. Agreeing with the meeting's report, President Sang urged the delegates to soon solve existing problems and asked them to avoid overlapping to reduce unjust cases. SE Asia forum explores green growth funding Policy-makers and climate change experts from Southeast Asia have discussed ways of financing low-carbon green growth in the region at a workshop held yesterday, March 12, in Ha Noi. The participants also held a dialogue to explore options for funding green investments in energy, transport, agriculture, and manufacturing. The two-day workshop was hosted by the Ministry of Planning and Investment with support from Asia LEDS Partnership's members, including the United Nations Development Programme, US Agency for International Development, and the World Bank. "Investment in low-carbon technologies, businesses, and infrastructure are central to achieving green growth," stated Orestes Anastasia, the co-chair of the Asia Low Emission Development Strategies Partnership. It can simultaneously help in reducing poverty, increasing economic competitiveness and energy security, and reducing emissions that contribute to climate change, he emphasized. In the meantime, achieving green growth requires a significant shift in investment, and identifying and accessing new sources of climate change funding, as well as mainstreaming climate change and environmental aspects into business financing strategies, all of which continue to pose key challenges to the governments, businesses, and other organisations that seek ways to implement low-carbon strategies, the participants noted. In response to accelerating environmental degradation and the growing threat of climate change, an increasing number of countries in Asia are transforming their economies towards a more sustainable and low-carbon development model. Speaking at the workshop, Deputy Minister Nguyen The Phuong stated that Viet Nam had developed a National Green Growth Strategy to help improve people's living standards through employment in green industries, agriculture and services, investment in natural capital, and development of green infrastructure. He added that all of these investments will require funding from the Government, non-State sector, and the international community. Pham Hoang Mai, the head of the ministry's Department of Science, Education, Natural Resources and Environment, remarked that the cost of damage to the economy of Viet Nam due to the climate change should be about 2-6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product per year. So, Viet Nam was not just swift in taking steps to mitigate the effects of climate change, but was also keen to join the international community to deal with climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, though, at the moment, the emissions of the country are still low, he claimed. The workshop, which wraps up today, covered a variety of financing mechanisms, including public climate investment funds to programmes for small and medium-sized enterprises. Vietnam attends ASEAN-EU defence seminar A Vietnamese delegation led by Colonel Vu Van Khanh from the Ministry of Defence’s Institute for Defence Strategy joined an ASEAN-EU security-defence seminar on defence and security policy which is taking place in Belgium from March 11-14. Colonel Vu Van Khanh reiterated Vietnam’s stance on the settlement of all disputes arising in the East Sea by peaceful means in line with international law, especially the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC). Regarding maritime security, Vietnam hopes the EU to make positive contributions to resolving the issue of China’s unilateral establishment of an air defence identification zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea and prevent similar actions in other regions, while sharing its experience and providing support for regional countries to deal with the issue, Khanh said. Vietnam protests against China’s “nine-dotted line” claim in the East Sea and the country is greatly concerned about uncertainties in some Southeast Asian countries, such as religious and racial conflicts in Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines and internal instability in Thailand and Cambodia, he added. The event, the first of its kind, is hosted by the European External Action Service (EEAS), the European Security and Defence College and the European Union Military Staff. Representatives from defence agencies of member nations of the EU and ASEAN and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) discussed the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) and the Union’s intervention in external activities such as police intelligence, border patrol and marine control. Participant also debated the EU-ASEAN relations relating to marine security and safety as well as the prospect for their cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. Within the framework of the seminar, they will tour EU security-defence models in the Netherlands. Korean Chairman honoured with PM certificate Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc presented the Prime Minister’s Certificate of Merit to Chairman of the Kumho-Asiana group Park Sam Koo for his contribution to trade, culture, and education cooperation between the two countries. At the awards ceremony in Hanoi on March 12, Phuc spoke highly of Park’s commitment to social, cultural and educational activities, including granting scholarships to Vietnamese students. Phuc confirmed that the Vietnamese Government always creates favourable conditions for foreign enterprises, including Kumho Asiana Group, to invest in Vietnam. He pledged Vietnam will continue to further improve the business and investment environment to attract more foreign investors. In response, Park thanked the Vietnamese Government for helping RoK businesses expand their operation in Vietnam. He confirmed that the certificate of merit crates a great source of encouragement for him to work harder in Vietnam in the future. Leaders send condolences over death of Cuban heroine The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) on March 12 conveyed condolences to its Cuban counterpart over the death of Cuba’s revolutionary heroine Melba Hernandez Rodriguez del Rey, who passed away at the age of 93 on March 9. The same day, a delegation from the CPV and the Vietnamese State led by Politburo member and permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Le Hong Anh came to the Cuban Embassy in Hanoi to pay final tribute to the Cuban icon. On behalf of the Party, State, and people, Anh expressed his deep sadness over the passing in a book of condolences. Melba Hernandez, a member of the Communist Party of Cuba’s Central Committee and a National Assembly deputy, was one of the two women who joined Fidel Castro in the famous 1953 attacks on the garrisons at Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Cespesdes in order to kick-start the revolution against Fulgencio Batista’s dictatorship. Born on July 28, 1921 in Las Villas, central Cuba, she held many important positions following the victory of the Cuban revolution in 1959. In 1963, she became the first President of the Cuban Committee of Solidarity with Southern Vietnam, which is now the Cuba-Vietnam Friendship Association. She also once served as Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam. VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA