Political News Headlines 10/4 Vietnam attends ASEAN-EU defence officials’ dialogue A Vietnamese delegation attended a Defence Officials’ Dialogue between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union in Brussels, Belgium on April 8-9. Participants at the Dialogue (Source: VNA) Participants, including defence and diplomatic officials from ASEAN member countries, the EU, and ASEAN’s dialogue partners, focused on discussing maritime security and the role of the armed forces in disaster relief. They also exchanged measures to boost mutual understanding and trust through the ASEAN Regional Forum on defence and to intensify cooperation in the defence industry with the EU. Representing the Vietnamese delegation, Deputy Director of the Defence Ministry’s Institute of International Relations, Colonel Nguyen Thanh Dong, delivered a speech on ensuring maritime security in the Asia-Pacific, where a number of traditional and non-traditional security issues, including territorial disputes, relational conflicts, terrorism, trans-national crime and food security are posing challenges to all surrounding countries. Territorial disputes in the East Sea and the East China Sea are complex, Dong noted, adding that to avoid clashes ASEAN has conducted many initiatives, such as setting up hotlines, pledging not to use force, and strictly obeying the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) towards the early approval of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). As a coastal country, Vietnam always takes the initiative and is ready to take part in sea-related cooperative activities. The country also maintains its consistent point of view on solving all disputes by peaceful measures with respect for international law, he added. Deputy PM Ninh to visit Sweden, Britain Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh will make a week-long tour of Sweden and Great Britain and Northern Ireland from April 9-17, to strengthen bilateral cooperation in various areas, especially economics, trade, and investment. While in Sweden, Ninh will pay a courtesy visit to Parliament Speaker Per Westerberg, and meet with acting Governor of the central bank Kerstin Jochnick, Minister for Financial Markets Peter Norman, Minister for Trade Ewa Helena Björling, and State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Frank Kurt Claude Belfrage. He will visit Erickson multinational company, Volvo-Bus corporation, and the Vietnamese embassy in Stockholm. The ties of traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and Sweden have developed well in all areas. Two-way trade reached more than US$1 billion in 2013, a year-on-year increase of 24% over 2012 and a twofold increase compared to 2008. Currently, more than 60 Swedish companies are operating in Vietnam, including big companies such as ABB, Electrolux and IKEA. Both countries will mark 45 years of diplomatic ties in 2014. During his trip to Britain, Ninh is scheduled to hold talks with Foreign Secretary William Hague and meet with Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Vince Cable, and Lord Mayor of London Fiona Woolf. He will attend a Vietnam-UK business forum and meet with representatives of Vietnamese expatriates in the UK. Vietnam and the UK upgraded their relations to a level of strategic partnership in 2010. Both countries organized various activities in 2013 to mark 40 years of diplomatic ties, especially the UK visit in January 2013 by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. The UK is one of Vietnam’s leading trade partners in the European Union, with two-way trade reaching US$4.2 billion in 2013. A number of leading UK companies, including Rolls-Royce and Prudential, are operating in Vietnam. The UK has committed official development assistance (ODA) to Vietnam till 2016. It has pledged GBP74 billion in non-refundable aid for Vietnam between 2011 and 2015. Deputy Prime Minister takes a tough stance against smuggling Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has affirmed efforts to combat smuggling and trade fraud, urging for strict punishments for officials found to be covering up violations. Addressing the launching ceremony and the first meeting of the National Steering Committee on the Prevention and Control of Smuggling, Trade Fraud and Fake Commodities (or Steering Committee 389) in Ha Noi on Tuesday, Phuc said smuggling and fraud remained serious problems for Viet Nam with impacts on health and domestic production. The Deputy PM, who is also head of the committee, urged the media to raise awareness of counterfeit goods and encourage consumers to protect themselves from low-quality products. According to Deputy Defence Minister Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Thanh Cung, who is also deputy head of the committee, a specific force in every locality would take charge of efforts to prevent smuggling, trade fraud and the import of counterfeit goods. Under the new plan, leaders of forces would be responsible for any remaining problems with smuggling in that locality, he said. Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Public Security Senior Lieutenant General Le Quy Vuong, also deputy head of the committee, noted that more effective measures needed to tackle smuggling across land, air and marine borders, particularly in the north where poultry and low-quality food trafficking remain rife. According to a report by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, authorities reported 32,000 cases of smuggling worth VND430 billion (US$20 million) in 2013, up nearly 8,500 from the number of cases in 2012. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Do Thang Hai, said efforts to crack down on smuggling and fake goods had not been effective. He described the number of cases addressed as modest and said co-operation between authorities had been sub-standard. Meanwhile, smuggling is still prevalent along Viet Nam's sea borders, with oil and gas smuggling along the sea zones of Nam Dinh, Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh provinces and HCM City remaining a serious problem. Cattle and poultry smuggling along sea borders is also providing a challenge for authorities. This is despite the fact Coast Guard, Maritime Border Guard and customs forces reportedly handled around 940 trafficking cases in 2013. While smuggling remains a headache for authorities, efforts are being taken to enhance current measures to crack down on illegal products. The Steering Committee has since been upgraded from Steering Committee 127, with representation from across various ministries and sectors, in order to improve the effectiveness of prevention efforts. Deputy PM Phuc has called on ministries and localities to recommend competent officials to join the committee at the local level. Phuc has also called on mass media to beef up coverage on the illegal activities to raise awareness and encourage consumer boycotts. Boycotts are an effective way to reduce the health risks of inferior products and support local industries, he said. Ho Chi Minh City official visits China to boost local ties As part of her ongoing visit to China, Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Thi Thu Ha on April 9 met Ma Xingrui, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Guangdong province, to discuss ways to further the partnership between the two localities. Ha expressed her delight at the growing comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and China , to which Ho Chi Minh City and Guangdong province have made significant contributions. She praised the dynamic development of Guangdong province which made the highest contribution to the country’s GDP in 2013, with 11 percent. The official said that Ho Chi Minh City currently has about 100,000 enterprises, most of which are private and foreign-invested ones. The city makes up one-third of Vietnam’s total GDP and 30 percent of the national budget. The city has also set up youth unions in all the companies with more than 10 workers, while organising Party committees in nearly 1,000 private enterprises with about 15,000 Party members, she said. Ma Xingrui said that Guangdong and Ho Chi Minh City have long enjoyed a sound relationship with regular exchange activities. He stressed that boosting the cooperation and experience sharing between the two localities is of great importance. Ma also briefed his guest on the socio-economic development of the province over recent years, with 2013’s GDP exceeding 1 trillion USD, maintaining its leading position among Chinese localities in GDP value since 1989. By 2015, the service sector is expected to account for more than 50 percent of the province’s GDP, while hi-tech production will make up 20 percent of the total, he said. Ma added that his province will continue opening its doors and strengthening reforms to play a more important role in the silk route at sea in the 21 st century, as requested by President Xi Jinping. On April 10, Ha is scheduled to visit the Guangzhou Automobile Company and the Vietnamese General Consulate in Guangzhou. Vietnam presents Laos with political classics The Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics on April 9 handed over to Laos a collection of works by Karl Marx, Frederic Engels, Lenin and Ho Chi Minh which were translated from Vietnamese into Lao language. The translation work was done over six years, from 2008 to 2013 by experts from the academy and the Laos National Academy for Politics and Public Administration. The collection comprises six volumes of Marx and Engels’s works, four volumes of Lenin’s, and three volumes of Ho Chi Minh’s, with a total of 15,000 pages. Addressing the hand-over ceremony in Vientiane, Lao Vice President Bounnhang Volochith and the Communist Party of Vietnam Politburo member Dinh The Huynh said the publication will be very helpful to Lao officials in mastering the principles of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought, in order to further prefect the policies of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, as well as to serve the research and training in the country. Bulgarian Prime Minister concludes visit to Vietnam Bulgarian Prime Minister Plamen Vasilev Oresharski left central Thua Thien-Hue province on April 9, successfully concluding his official visit to Vietnam, which came at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung. Earlier, he met with Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Cao, who introduced him to the locality’s socio-economic development, advantages and potential. Cao expressed his hope to further strengthen his province’s cooperation with Bulgaria in investment, trade, high-quality human resources training and health. Oresharski said he believes that Bulgarian localities and Thua Thien Hue province will enjoy a long-lasting and sustainable relationship. During his stay in Vietnam from April 6-9, the Bulgarian PM held talks with PM Dung and paid courtesy visits to Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Truong Tan Sang. In the meetings, the two sides agreed to intensify connections in all fields, especially in economics, science, education, tourism and defence. They also pledged to implement the new Vietnam-Bulgaria cooperation model, deepening the bilateral ties ahead of a future strategic partnership. Oresharski also paid floral tribute to late President Ho Chi Minh, witnessed the signing of several bilateral cooperation documents, visited the central city of Da Nang and attended a Vietnam-Bulgarian Businesses Forum. Russia, Viet Nam to co-operate on aerospace project The Russian government's legislative commission on Tuesday passed a bill to approve a cooperation agreement with Viet Nam to explore and use aerospace for peaceful purposes. Drafted by Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Space Agency, the document aims to foster co-operation between the two countries on the basis of mutual benefit in fields such as satellite positioning, aerospace telecom technology, remote earth exploration, and space medicine and biology. It is also intended to create an organisational and legal framework for bilateral collaboration in researching and using space for peaceful purposes. According to the agreement, the financing of joint activities will be implemented in accordance with the law in both countries, while specific financial responsibility for joint activities will be defined through supplementary documents. If the agreement is ratified, it will help organisations and enterprises operating in space and missile industries in Russia to promote their production activities. The bill is scheduled to be discussed at Russia's cabinet meetings in the near future. VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA