GOVERNMENT IN BRIEF 1/8 President Sang hosts review of judicial reform strategy President Truong Tan Sang yesterday, July 31, hosted a joint-working session with the Ministry of Justice's Party committee to review judicial reform strategy. The session highlighted the results of an eight-year implementation schedule from a Political Bureau resolution. President Truong Tan Sang yesterday hosted a joint-working session with the Ministry of Justice's Party committee to review judicial reform strategy. The State leader, Head of the Central Steering Committee on Judicial Reform, said that 35 percent of the total 178 laws and ordinances issued between June, 2005 and June, 2013 were directly related to judicial reform. The Ministry of Justice confirmed it had compilied 22 out of the 23 draft laws on the organisation and operation of the judicial sector, institutionalising viewpoints and orientations in Resolution 49-NQ/TW. Important judicial reforms have also made to the 1992 Constitution. In an effort to strengthen judicial activities, Resolution 49 legislated the establishment of 62 bar associations in 63 centrally run provinces, comprising 8,500 lawyers and 3,500 interns. Forensic centres have been established in 47 centrally-run provinces under the management of provincial Health Departments. Civil verdict agencies have also been expanded to encompass the grassroots, said the report, adding that the Law University has trained more than 28,000 students. Insufficient regulations in justice and judicial assistance, as well as a lack of strategic vision, are hampering the judicial sector. The Party Committee of the Ministry of Justice will continue to act in an advisory role to the government to improve the judicial sector. As part of this effort, the Committee will undertake to the 1992 Constitution and work with other agencies to build develop draft legislation. Efforts will now be focused on improving law enforcement and judiciary assistance in the lead up to 2020, while standardising State management models in law enforcement, notary service, examination and legal assistance. Addressing the session, President Sang said the conclusion will serve as an important basis for future decisions made by the Political Bureau. The Ministry of Justice should also collaborate with relevant agencies to shorten the time to achieve targets assigned by the Party, State and people in judicial reform, he added. The day also included the Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is the deputy chairman of the Central Committee for Judicial Reform, chairing a working session with the Party Committee of the Supreme People's Court to review the results of the eight-year implementation of a judicial reform strategy created by the Political Bureau. Expressing his appreciation for the efforts made by the Supreme People's Court in promoting judicial reforms, Phuc noted that the court had left many cases incomplete. He also asked the court to play an active role in developing laws and in the amendment of the draft Constitution. Phuc expressed the importance of preparing for the new Constitution and the need for capacity building and supervision and inspections to prevent violations in proceedings. According to data from the Supreme People's Court, more than 1.88 million cases have been solved out of a total 1.97 million (96 per cent) that were submitted. Deputy PM Nhan wraps up visit to Hungary Vietnam and Hungary have agreed on measures to promote mutually-beneficial cooperation between the two countries in various fields during Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan's visit to Hungary from July 28-31. During his visit, Deputy PM Nhan met with Acting National Assembly Speaker Istvan Jakab, held talks with his counterpart Zsolt Semjen, visited the Paks nuclear power plant and met with the Vietnamese community there. At the meetings, Hungarian leaders spoke highly of the socio-economic achievements Vietnam has made over the past years, especially its fairly high economic growth rate in the context of global crisis, as well as the country's position in the region and the world. Deputy PM Nhan thanked Hungary for its great support to the Vietnamese people during the fight for independence in the past as well as the present national construction and development while affirming Vietnam's consistent policy of attaching importance to the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Hungary. Besides measures to enhance their bilateral cooperation, especially in economic, trade, investment, human resources training, energy, culture, tourism and sports, the two sides agreed to continue the exchange of visits at different levels to further ties in specific sectors. The Vietnamese leader also thanked Hungary for considering Vietnam as a priority partner in its policy on official development assistance (ODA) provision, and affirmed that Vietnam is willing to create favourable conditions for Hungarian enterprises to strengthen trade and investment ties with the Southeast Asian country. The two sides promised to encourage their businesses to meet and attend seminars and trade fairs to learn about each other's demands and potentials. They spoke highly of the results of the fourth meeting of the Vietnam-Hungary Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation (which took place in October, 2012 in Hanoi), noting that the two countries need to collaborate to carry out the meeting's outcomes and improve the working efficiency of this cooperation mechanism. The Hungarian side affirmed that it will continue to strengthen education and training cooperation with Vietnam and create favourable conditions for Vietnamese students to study in the country. On the occasion, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training and the Hungarian Human Resources Ministry signed an exchange programme for the 2013-2015 period, under which the Hungarian side committed to provide 40 scholarships for Vietnamese students every year. Vietnam and Hungary will also strengthen cooperation and mutual support at multilateral forums and international organisations. Hungarian leaders spoke highly of the Vietnamese community in the country. The two sides agreed that the community will be a bridge to further boost the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between them. During the visit, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Thanh Son, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Viet Thanh and Deputy Minister of Education and Training Tran Quang Quy had separate working sessions with Hungarian partners. FM pays courtesy visit to Philippine President Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on July 31 paid a courtesy visit to Philippine President Benigno Aquino III on the occasion of his visit to the Philippines to co-chair the 7th session of the Vietnam-Philippines Bilateral Cooperation Committee. At the meeting, President Aquino III said his country always attaches importance to its friendship and multi-faced cooperation ties with Vietnam, both as neighbours and ASEAN members. He expressed pleasure at the robust development of the ties over the past time, especially Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang's Philippines visit in 2011 and his visit to Vietnam in 2010. The Philippine president applauded the effective work of the bilateral cooperation committee, adding that the 7th session will be a success with the careful preparations of both sides, helping expanding and deepening the bilateral ties in the coming time. He also suggested the two countries' foreign ministers seriously review and timely address remaining issues relating to the bilateral cooperation ties in order to ensure the scheduled implementation of the Vietnam - Philippines Action Plan for the period 2011-2016 as well as agreements to be reached at this time's session. For his part, FM Minh briefed the Philippine president on outstanding outcomes in bilateral cooperation since the previous session, especially in the fields of politics-foreign relations, economics-trade-investment, sea-ocean, and agro-fishery. The Vietnamese minister said he believes the two sides will put forth many measures to expand cooperation to new fields in line with both sides' potential. He also expressed his wish that President Aquino III will direct Filipino relevant agencies to settle cases of detained Vietnamese fishermen and ships on the basis of humanitarian spirit and the fine bilateral ties between the two countries. Discussing matters on the East Sea, the two sides upheld the principles of ASEAN on ensuring peace, stability, security, and maritime safety and freedom, settling disputes by peaceful means in conformity with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, carrying out seriously the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and ASEAN's Declaration on Six-point Principles on the East Sea, and advancing towards the early building of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). On this occasion, FM Minh conveyed Vietnamese leaders' invitations to President Aquino III to visit Vietnam. NZ Governor General Mateparae to visit The Governor General of New Zealand, Lt Gen Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae, will undertake an official visit to Viet Nam from August 3-8, at the invitation of State President Truong Tan Sang. The visit is the second visit to Viet Nam by a Governor General of New Zealand. It is Sir Jerry Mateparae's third visit to Viet Nam, his last visit was in 2008, as Chief of the New Zealand Defence Force. Condolence to Italy over coach accident President Truong Tan Sang yesterday, July 31, conveyed his condolence to his Italian counterpart, Giorgio Napolitano, over the deaths from a recent coach accident in Italy's Campania region. The incident occurred on July 28, when the bus fell 30 metres from a bridge, killing 38 people and leaving 10 others seriously injured. Singapore FM: Vietnam-Singapore relations grow steadily The relationship between Vietnam and Singapore has been growing very steadily, at a very healthy level, affirmed Singapore Minister of Foreign Affairs K. Shanmugam. “Vietnam-Singapore relationship is excellent at both levels of leadership and people-to-people,” Shanmugam said in his interview granted to a Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Singapore on the occasion of the 40 th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties (August 1, 1973-3013). Vietnam and Singapore, for decades, have forged a close relationship and understanding on worldview, reflected by regular visits and exchanges between the two countries’ high-ranking leaders, he said. Meanwhile, their people-to-people relationship is very strong, he added. According to the minister, Singapore is the second largest investor in Vietnam with its investment amounting to 30 billion USD. “We have this Connectivity Framework Agreement which has allowed the economic relationship between the two countries to increase very substantially,” he said. At present, Singapore has four industrial parks in Vietnam and the fifth one will be coming up soon this year, he said, adding that there are nearly 140,000 Vietnamese employed in companies in those parks, including 450 from over 20 countries. Regarding public sector cooperation, under the Singapore Cooperation Programme, nearly 14,000 Vietnamese have benefited from training, he stated. “So at the people-to-people level and at the Government level, it is a very strong relationship within ASEAN,” Shanmugam affirmed. As Vietnam and Singapore are heading for Strategic Partnership this year, the minister said the steady and healthy relationship between Vietnam and Singapore gives an appropriate base and a framework for the two countries to elevate the relationship to a Strategic Partnership. “This Strategic Partnership allows our two countries to come closer together and cooperate even more on the economic front, on a front of greater connectivity, greater interactions,” he noted. According to Minister Shanmugam, to achieve the common goal of establishing the ASEAN Community by 2015, Singapore and Vietnam should focus on three pillars, including economics, politics and socio-culture. “More physical connectivity, more people-to-people connectivity will allow us both to understand each other’s culture, benefit from it, but also compete internationally in economic terms,” he concluded. Vietnamese, Japanese PMs hold phone talks Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe talked over the phone on August 1, discussing measures to strengthen bilateral ties. During the phone talks, PM Dung congratulated Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on their win in Japan’s recent Upper House election, saying that the result reflects the advocacy and confidence of the Japanese people in PM Abe and his Government. The Japanese PM affirmed that his Government always attaches special attention to the relationship with Vietnam, which is considered a reliable partner in the region. The two Government leaders affirmed to continue working closely to lift the Vietnam-Japan Strategic Partnership to a new height, for the interests of the two peoples, and for peace, stability, cooperation and development in the Asia-Pacific region and the world. They agreed to maintain regular visits and exchanges of the two countries’ high-ranking leaders as well as effectively implement dialogue mechanisms on specific cooperation fields. They will also direct relevant agencies to focus the Vietnam-Japan Cooperation Committee’s upcoming meeting discussions on strengthening coordination to effectively implement reached agreements, particularly in economics, trade and investment and official development assistance (ODA) The two PMs agreed to continue instructing the organisation of activities celebrating the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Year 2013 on the occasion of the 40 th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties, thus contributing to intensifying the friendship and mutual understanding between the two peoples as a firm foundation for the two nations’ fine cooperation. They also exchanged views on several regional and international issues of mutual concern and agreed to promote cooperation between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Vietnam’s Party delegation visits Argentina A delegation from the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations, led by its Permanent Vice Chairman Vuong Thua Phong, paid a working visit to Argentina from July 29-30. During its stay in Argentina, the delegation had a working session with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Argentina (PCA) Patricio Echegaray. The two sides informed each other of the current situation of their Parties and countries and discussed measures to boost bilateral cooperation in the time to come as well as regional and international issues of mutual concern. General Secretary Echegaray said that Vietnam is a never-ending source of inspiration and encouragement for Argentinean communists, affirming that his Party always attaches importance to strengthening ties with the CPV. Phong stressed the CPV’s hope to boost its friendship and cooperation with Argentina ’s political parties, including the PCA, contributing to intensifying cooperation for development in the new era, especially in the fields of economics, trade, investment and culture. At the meeting with Argentinean Deputy Foreign Minister Eduardo Zuain, the two sides said they are pleased with the new development of the bilateral ties over the past years, which was marked by visits by their high-ranking leaders. In addition to trade, the two countries have also paid attention to fostering cooperation in culture and science and technology, they said. During the meetings, both sides agreed that in the current international context, the two countries should increase the exchange of all-level delegations and the sharing of information, as well as coordination at international forums. On the occasion, the Vietnamese guests also met PCA high-ranking officials, who expressed their admiration at Vietnam’s past struggle for liberation as well as its great achievements in the current industrialisation and modernisation. On July 31, the delegation left Argentina for the 19 th Sao Paula Forum in Brazil. Vietnamese honorary consul general in Busan re-appointed The Vietnamese Honorary Consul General in Busan-Gyeongnam Park Soo-kwan has been re-appointed for another term at a ceremony in Busan city, the Republic of Korea (RoK) on July 31. On behalf of the Vietnamese government, Ambassador Tran Trong Toan congratulated the honorary consul general, who is President of the Dongwon Heavy Industry Corporation, the Youngchang New Tech Corporation and the YC Tec Vietnam Corporation. He said since being appointed to the post in January 2010 by the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry, Park Soo-kwan has made great efforts to promote the Vietnam-RoK friendship and cooperation, including those between the twin cities of Busan and Ho Chi Minh City. He has also worked hard to protect the Vietnamese citizens in Busan-Gyeongnam, sponsored their cultural-sport activities as well as the publication of a book on Vietnam’s Law on Marriage and Family. For his part, Park Soo-kwan pledged to try his best to fulfill his assigned task, thus making contribution to strengthening the two countries’ friendship and cooperation. Central Highlands Steering Committee’s delegation visits South Africa A delegation of the Central Highlands Steering Committee headed by Vice Standing Chairman Tran Tien Hung paid a working visit to South Africa from July 26-31. The visit aims to research and share experience in developing specific policies for the less developed regions in South Africa. At a working session with the delegation, the head of the International Relations Department under South Africa’s Ministry of Social Development, Edzi Ramaite said the visit is an opportunity for the two countries to learn from each other how to solve many issues relating to ethnic minority communities in their respective countries. The Vietnam delegation paid special attention to South Africa’s recent changes in poverty reduction policy, under which the provision of aid in cash and kind for the poor is gradually replaced by investment in creating jobs and improving capacity and skills for needy people. The delegation toured Cape Town and a successful poverty reduction model in Atlantis region, 45 kilometres from Cape Town. VNN/VNS/VNA