Political News 15/9 VN, Australia vow more co-operation Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong urged Viet Nam and Australia to bolster economic and trade ties as he welcomed Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives Bronwyn Bishop on Saturday during her official visit to Ha Noi, which wrapped up yesterday, Sept 14.   Party Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong receives Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives Bronwyn Bishop on Saturday.  More Australian support would help Vietnamese firms do business with local partners, especially those active in the mining, coal purchasing and agro-fisheries sectors, he said. He thanked the Australian government for its assistance in education, personnel training and construction of My Thuan and Cao Lanh bridges as part of the central Mekong Delta region connectivity project. He suggested both countries work closely together and share views at regional and global forums. Bishop said she was pleased with the countries' bilateral friendship and co-operation in the spirit of comprehensive partnership, especially in education, with 26,000 students currently taking courses in Australia. At his talks with Bishop in Ha Noi the same day, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung said Vietnamese and Australian legislatures should exchange more visits and work closely together at international parliamentary forums.   National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung meets with Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives Bronwyn Bishop on Saturday.  Hung asked for further national defence, security and education co-operation and used the occasion to invite Bishop to the 132nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, slated for next March in Ha Noi. Bishop told Hung that her visit aimed to tighten relationships between the two legislative bodies and peoples, adding that both countries should come up with more co-operation channels in order to realise their commitments. She agreed that the potential of joint work in education had not yet been fully tapped. PM praises former Japanese leader Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung hailed the contributions of former Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio to the friendship and co-operation between Viet Nam and Japan.   PM Nguyen Tan Dung receives former Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio yesterday. Welcoming his guest yesterday (Sept 14) in Ha Noi, Dung thanked Hatoyama for his donation of 50 wheelchairs to children with Agent Orange/Dioxin (AO) disabilities at the opening ceremony of the Viet Nam-Japan clinic in Ha Noi. He said he highly valued Hatoyama's efforts to boost bilateral ties as Prime Minister, as well as in his current position as a member of the Japanese parliament and President of the Japan-Viet Nam Parliamentarians Alliance. Hatoyama replied that he was keen to help provide humanitarian assistance for child AO victims. He proposed the Vietnamese Government ask its Japanese counterpart to include AO victim support in its ODA provision programme. He added that Japan was capable of helping Viet Nam detoxify its environment and provide surgery for children suffering from exposure to the toxin. He also pointed to the need for the partnership to enhance vocational training and agricultural development. He pledged to encourage Japanese localities to work with Vietnamese provinces on high-tech agriculture, especially in rice production and aquaculture. Acknowledging Hatoyama's ideas, Dung said Viet Nam would ask for Japan's help in overcoming the consequences of AO. On regional and international issues, Hatoyama expressed his opinion that disputes in the region should be settled peacefully, especially those in the East Sea and the East China Sea, in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. These preclude the use or threat of force. Dung spoke of the coming performance of the Tokyo Orchestra, in which Hatoyama's son, Kiichiro, plays. The PM described the event as significant adding that it would promote mutual understanding between the two peoples. S Korean air chief visits Defence Minister General Phung Quang Thanh hosted a reception in Ha Noi on Friday for visiting South Korean Air Force Chief of Staff, Choi Cha-Kyu. Thanh highlighted the strong development of relations between the two countries, particularly in security and defence. He suggested the two air forces continue working closely and sharing experiences to develop their armed forces to meet national defence tasks. NA chairman off to Laos Chairman of the Viet Nam National Assembly, Nguyen Sinh Hung, will lead a delegation to the 35th General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Assembly (AIPA-35) being held in Vientiane, Laos, from September 15-20. Hung was invited by the Chairwoman of the Lao National Assembly, Pany Yathortou, who is head of AIPA. Vinh Phuc team visits S Africa Representatives from the northern province of Vinh Phuc presented business opportunities to more than 70 South African enterprises at a conference in Johannesburg, one of South Africa's economic and financial hubs. The event, held last week, was part of a five-day South African visit by a working group from Vinh Phuc, led by Pham Van Vong, member of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of the provincial People's Council. Charles Manuel, head of Investment Promotion at the South African Department of Trade and Industry, introduced his country's potential as a promising investment partner. He said the South African Department of Trade and Industry would continue to work closely with Viet Nam's relevant agencies and support South African businesses to build stronger partnerships with businesses in Vinh Phuc and Viet Nam, particularly in the fields of mining and processing. VNS