Political News Headlines 9/7 UK diplomat honoured with Certificate of Merit Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Phuong Nga on July 8 awarded a Certificate of Merit from Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh to UK and Northern Ireland ambassador Antony Stokes. This award is in recognition of the UK diplomat’s positive and effective contributions to strengthening the friendship between the two peoples and reinforcing the strategic partnership between Vietnam and the UK during his terms in Vietnam. In his statement, Ambassador Antony Stokes extended sincere thank to the Vietnamese State and Government and expressed his great honor to receive this noble award, which is considered the sentiment of friendship given by the Vietnamese Government and people to the British people. He said he will continue to make further contributions to consolidating and developing the Vietnam-UK strategic partnership in the future. Czech Republic, Vietnam strengthen crime prevention cooperation A Vietnam Ministry of Public Security (MoPS) delegation led by Minister General Tran Dai Quang recently visited the Czech Republic to discuss bolstering crime prevention cooperation. During talks with Czech Minister of Interior Milan Chovanec in Prague on July 7, Gen. Quang said cooperation between the two countries has achieved significant results in recent years, contributing to ensuring social security and order in each country. Both host and guest agreed to a number of measures to boost cooperation in crime prevention, especially drug-related, organised, transnational, and cyber crimes. They pledged to speed up negotiations of and sign agreements on crime prevention and fighting, prisoner and criminal extradition, and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, creating a firm legal foundation for comprehensive cooperation between the two ministries. The two sides will exchange information and share experience in crime prevention and fighting and coordinate in ensuring security and safety for investment and trade activities and legitimate rights of citizens and representative offices. While staying in the Czech Republic, Minister Quang paid courtesy visits to the Vietnamese Embassy and representative office of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) in Prague and met with overseas Vietnamese community there. Quang briefed them on the country’s socio-economic development, security and defence in recent times, particularly China’s illegal placement of Haiyang Shiyou-981 rig deep inside Vietnam’s Exclusive Economic Zone, as well as Vietnam’s stance on this issue. Meeting with the OVs community, Quang stressed that the Party and State always pay attention to OVs, including those in the Czech Republic and create the best possible conditions for them to integrate into the residing countries, promote cultural identities and look towards the homeland. The Vietnamese community has been recognized as the 14th ethnic minority in the Czech Republic, showing the Czech Government’s acknowledgment for their contribution to the country. Vietnam-Japan defence ties develop well The ties of national defence and security cooperation between Vietnam and Japan are developing well on the back of the two countries’ extensive strategic partnership. Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, deputy defence minister of Vietnam, was speaking at a reception in Hanoi on July 8 for Akinori Eto, chairman of the Japanese House of Representatives’ Security Committee. Both sides need to work closely together to effectively implement a bilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation and exchange signed in 2011, said Vinh. He thanked Japan for strongly opposing Chinese placement of its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 deep inside Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and supporting Vietnam’s stance of resolving the dispute through peaceful measures. He expressed hope that China will continue supporting Vietnam in its just struggle for justice in the East Sea. Akinori Eto hailed Vietnam’s decision to establish the national peacekeeping centre and join the UN peacekeeping operation. He said Japan will assist Vietnam in developing human resources in this regard. Japan is considering providing official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam to build new patrol ships for its law enforcement force, he said. He expressed hope that bilateral defence ties will develop in a substantive manner in line with the two countries’ strategic partnership, for peace, stability and development in the region.   PM calls for better implementation of ethnic policies Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has underscored the need to effectively implement ethnic policies and ethnic affairs of the Party and State’s strategic issues at a working session with the National Assembly (NA) Ethnic Council and the Government Committee for Ethnic Affairs on July 8. According to an ethnic policy report for 2006-2014 released by the Government Committee for Ethnic Affairs, there are currently 130 ethnic policies reflected in 177 documents from 37 Government Decrees and Resolutions and 140 Government Decisions. Localities have institutionalized the Party and State’s view on ethnic affairs by issuing guidelines and policies in line with localities’situation. Approximately VND150,000 billion has been allocated for carrying out ethnic policies in the 2006-2012 period. Despite facing budgetary difficulties, the State has prioritized allocating resources in combination with other financial assistance from international organizations, businesses and localities to invest and support socio-economic development in mountainous areas inhabited by ethnic minority groups. The 135 programme is a case in point as it covers full content of policies for infrastructure investment, development assistance and capacity building for the community, legal aid for the people, cultural preservation and support for students from poor households. The programme has drawn the participation of 7 international organizations which provided nearly US$400 million. Under the guidance of the Prime Minister and local authorities, ethnic policies have been implemented properly and obtained significant achievements with an improved material and spiritual life, a sharp fall in the number of poor households, remarkable progress in education, healthcare and culture and reinforced solidarity. Besides these achievements, ethnic minority and mountainous areas still reveal many weaknesses and limitations such as high poverty rates, poor infrastructure and low quality of education and human resources and complex situation of nomadic farming, deforestation and illegal religious activities. In his speech, PM Dung emphasized ethnic policies and ethnic affairs are the Party and State's strategic issues with importantly political significance. The effective implementation of ethnic policies has contributed to ensuring political stability and sustainable national development. “The guidelines set out in Party and State ethnic policies are very realistic and appropriate and has been brought to life, thereby bringing a facelift to mountainous areas. The efforts of the political system as well as the results achieved in the socio-economic development in ethnic minority areas, especially poverty reduction outcomes, narrowing the development gap have earned international and UN plaudits” Dung said. The Government leader asked ministries, sectors and localities to thoroughly grasp, raise public awareness of ethnic affairs and Party and State ethnic policies and pay attention to ethnic affairs through programs, plans, specific solutions to carry out them properly and effectively. He also underlined the need to deal with limitations and weaknesses and further strengthen inspection and supervision of the implementation of ethnic policies. At the meeting, Dung and leaders of central ministries and agencies also considered and gave opinions on recommendations and suggestions related to the ethnic policies on allocating funding for ethnic minority and mountainous areas in 2014 and 2015, building ethnic policies for 2016-2020 period and orientations to 2030 and governance mechanisms for ethnic policies. HCM City People’s Council opens session The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council on July 8 opened its 14th working session, with a focus on outlining measures to reach its socio-economic development goals in the remaining months of 2014. Opening the four-day session, Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, Chairwoman of the council, said the city spared no efforts in overcoming difficulties to accomplish its socio-economic development goals in the first half of the year, while ensuring public order. The city managed to maintain its economic growth in the reviewed period and stabilise its market as well as guarantee social welfares, she noted. During the function, participants are scheduled to analyse the achievement the city reaped and point out causes of shortcomings and weaknesses, with the aim of completing tasks set for the city in the remainder of the year. Urban management work and results of an administrative reform will be also reported at the session. President visits Supreme People’s Procuracy The increasing complexity of crimes, particularly corruption and drug cases, requires the procuracy sector and the political system as a whole to take more drastic measures to handle, President Truong Tan Sang has said. At a working session with leading officials of the Supreme People’s Procuracy in Hanoi on July 8, President Sang asked it to improve personnel, investigation and prosecution works, especially in the settlement of economic and corruption cases. He stressed the need to perfect the legal system in line with the 2013 Constitution, urging the procuracy sector to work with other judicial agencies on draft laws in order to make the law enforcement effective. According to Prosecutor General Nguyen Hoa Binh, in the first half of this year, the number of cases relating to ownership, economic management and position increased by 7.5 percent, while corruption and drug cases recorded decreases of 2-14 percent. Notably, on May 13-14, some individuals took advantage of workers’ rallies against China’s illegal dispatch of its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou – 981 in Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone to cause social disturbances in central Ha Tinh and southern Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces. They incited others to destroy and loot the property of foreign firms, the State, and private domestic businesses, and acted against law enforcement officials, disrupting social order and business activities. In face of the situation, the sector coordinated closely with other judicial agencies to make legal proceedings against the rioters, helping stabilise political security and social order in the localities. Voters interested in sea, island sovereignty defence Voters in various localities have voiced their strong support for Party and State guidelines on peaceful and amicable settlement of the East Sea disputes with China. During their meeting with National Assembly (NA) deputies on July 7, voters in the southern central province of Binh Thuan expressed anger at the Chinese side’s wrongful act of positioning its Haiyang Shiyou-981 drilling rig inside Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. They showed their determination to resolutely safeguard the country’s sea and island sovereignty under the leadership of the Party and State. Meanwhile, voters from ethnic minority groups in the Central Highland province of Dak Lak held out hopes that the Party and State will take effective measures to protect law enforcement forces, fishermen and their vehicles at sea. The voters were interested in how the Government will deal with the trading of fake and low-quality goods such as fertilizer, pesticide and animal feed, seek markets for key local products, combat corruption and ensure social security. Ethnic minority voters in Krong Buk and Ea H’leo districts in Dak Lak raised their concerns about difficulties in building new-style rural areas while asking for more support policies for poor households as well as the upgrade of local infrastructure system. Laos, Vietnam foster cooperation in religious affairs A Lao Front for National Construction (LFNC) delegation led by Vice Chairman Keta Koong Bun Mi is on six-day working visit to Vietnam within the framework of a cooperative agreement on religious affairs. The delegation held a working session with the Vietnam Government Committee for Religious Affairs (GCRA) headed by Vice Chairman Bui Thanh Ha in Hanoi on July 8 to exchange experiences in state management of religion. The LFNC and the GCRA first began religious cooperation in 2002, and they have obtained significant results through visit exchanges and training of Lao officials since they signed a cooperative agreement in June 2007. The two sides signed a cooperative agreement for the 2014-2020 period, under which they will exchange experience, hold seminars on religion and train religious officials. They will continue disseminating information on the traditional ties of friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries. During their stay in Vietnam from July 7-12, the Lao delegation will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and visit the Vietnam Fatherland Front and some religious foundations in Bac Ninh and Quang Ninh provinces. Region bands together to beat floods Experts from ASEAN countries met in Ha Noi this week, discussing ways to make their nations less vulnerable to flood disasters. The seminar was held by Viet Nam's Ministry of Public Security and France's Ministry of Interior. Officials from fire and rescue squads in Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, and other ASEAN nations stressed the need for strong training and good equipment when facing flood crises. They also exchanged ideas on the efficient use of flood control services. This is especially valuable, they agreed, as the region is facing the impacts of climate change. French experts described their own successes with flood risk management. Representatives from Airbus Helicopters, Systel SA, Gimaex and other French firms also presented their civil security services to assist rescue work, including helicopters and vehicles for research and rescue, and communications and warning network. A seminar focused on civil safety and security equipment will be held in September in Ha Noi. Among the participants, French enterprises specialising in supplying equipment for disaster prevention, and search and rescue operations are expected to attend. Deputy PM urges more effective crime measures Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc yesterday met with the Ministry of Public Security's General Police Department for Crime Prevention (General Department 6) to discuss a report on recent crime prevention work. According to Lieutenant-general Trieu Van Dat, deputy director of General Department 6, criminal activity remained a serious concern throughout the country, with vandalism, football-related gambling and homicide remaining focal points. Meanwhile, there had been an increase in the number of robberies, he said. From the beginning of the year, police have recorded more than 22,000 crimes and dealt with nearly 1,500 gangs of criminals. Police across the country have also arrested and dealt with 45,260 suspects. Drug-related crimes remained a difficult area to control, according to Dat. However, police still managed to bust more than 9.300 cases and arrest nearly 14,000 suspects this year. Phuc praised the crime prevention police force for fulfilling the majority of their work responsibilities and helping to maintain the country's social order and security. While pointing out existing problems in recent crime prevention work, such as the failure to pre-empt crimes and the lack of good crime prevention strategies, Phuc said the crime prevention police force needed to affirm its responsibility to fight crime and draw lessons from the past. He stressed the need to raise the effectiveness of responding to complaints or reports of crimes to limit unsolved cases and incidences of false accusations. Officials of border province updated on territory management The National Boundary Commission under the Foreign Ministry organised a conference in the northernmost province of Ha Giang on July 8 to update local officials about the management of Vietnam’s border and territory. Attending the event were more than 300 representatives of the provincial administration, 34 border communes, and border guard posts in the locality. Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Van Son spoke highly of the commission’s close coordination with Ha Giang in implementing regulations on border issues and agreements between Vietnam and China on the demarcation and management of the land boundary and border gates. Their cooperation has helped ensure stability and facilitated socio-economic development in border areas as well as the whole province, he said. At the conference, the ministry’s experts spoke about issues related to the management of national territory and the safeguarding of sea sovereignty after China illegally stationed the oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 in the country’s waters. Participants also heard progress made in the increasing and upgrading of markers along Vietnam ’s border with Laos and the demarcation and boundary marker planting along the border with Cambodia . Ha Giang province shares some 270km of border line with China.- Vietnamese Ambassador bids farewell to Mexican senate leader Vietnamese Ambassador to Mexico Le Thanh Tung on July 7 bid farewells to President of the Mexican Senate Raul Cervantes Andrade and thanked him for his help during the ambassador’s three-year tenure in the country. Ambassador Tung took the occasion to inform the Mexican Senate leader on the current tension on the East Sea triggered by China’s illegal placement of its drilling rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 in Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf since early May. He also underlined Vietnam’s consistent stance of pursuing all peaceful means in line with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to settle any disputes and contribute to the maintenance of peace, stability in the region and the world. The Mexican senate leader said his country admired the great achievements that Vietnam has gained during 20 years of Doi Moi (renewal) process, adding that he hopes to visit Vietnam soon to increase mutual understanding and expand relations between the two nations, especially parliamentary ties. Regarding the East Sea issue, he called on all parties concerned to prevent the tension from escalating, while expressing his hope that both Vietnam and China will address the issue as soon as possible through peaceful dialogues on the basis of respect for sovereignty, independence, peace and stability in the region and the world. Senior military leader visits surviving soldiers of helicopter accident Senior Lieutenant General Ngo Xuan Lich, Chairman of the Vietnam People’s Army’s General Department of Politics, on July 8 visited soldiers injured in the military helicopter accident one day earlier in the outskirt of Hanoi. The soldiers are receiving intensive treatment in the Le Huu Trac National Institute of Burns under the Military Medical Institute 103 in Hanoi . The doctors in charge reported that among the five victims who survived after the accident, two had died due to serious injuries, raising the fatalities in the accident to 18. Sen. Lt. Gen. Lich urged relevant agencies to promptly investigate the cause of the incident. He also hailed the timely response of the Defence Ministry in overcoming consequence of the accident. A memorial service for the fallen soldiers will be held at the Military Hospital 108 in Hanoi on July 11. The Russian-made MI-171 helicopter with 21 military personnel on board lost contact and came down in Hoa Lac village, Binh Yen commune, Hanoi’s outskirt Thach That district at 7:46 am on July 7, only 16 minutes after it took off from Hoa Lac Airport in the west of Hanoi for a parachute training exercise.- Hanoi People’s Council convenes 10th session The Hanoi People’s Council on July 8 opened the 10th session of the 14th tenure, during which a number of resolutions and reports on important issues will be scrutinised and approved. Opening the function, Chairwoman of the council Ngo Thi Doan Thanh said the capital’s economy encountered an array of difficulties in the first half of 2014, which was partly due to the impact of China ’s illegal placement of the oil rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 in Vietnam ’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. She noted that Hanoi ’s economic growth has slowed down compared to the same period last year and fallen behind the set target. Meanwhile, there remain many problems in urban management, land use, environmental protection and health care. Standing Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Vu Hong Khanh reported that the city’s gross domestic product grew by 7.4 percent in the first six months, about 1.5 times higher than the national average. He said in the last months of the year, local authorities will continue with efforts to remove difficulties for production and business activities and step up development investment. During the 10 th session, the council’s members are expected to mull over several proposals submitted by the municipal People’s Committee including one on biodiversity conservation. They will also discuss regulations on prices of some new medical services at local State-run medical establishments and fines for administrative violations in construction and culture. The event, which will run through July 11, will hear reports summing up voters’ feedbacks and recommendations and the implementation of decisions made by the council at its previous session. Source: VNA/VOV/VNN