Political News 9/9 PM Dung meets with visiting Cuban official   Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung met with Cuban Minister of Food Industry Maria Del Carmen Concepcion Gonzalez yesterday during her working visit to Viet Nam. Highlighting Viet Nam and Cuba's traditional friendship, PM Dung said his country would undertake maximum efforts to deepen co-operation. He shared Viet Nam's experience in agricultural development and added that the country was willing to work with Cuba on food production and seafood farming and processing. The leader also hoped the joint project on wet rice cultivation would help the Latin American country guarantee food security. Concepcion outlined Cuba's wish to intensify its co-operation with Viet Nam, particularly in the fields of food production and aquaculture. She hoped Viet Nam would continue to provide assistance and share its expertise on the intensive cultivation of wet rice and the cross-breeding of crop varieties. Previously, Concepcion met with Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat. They agreed to speed up the signing of a veterinary medicine and animal quarantine co-operation agreement during their talks in Ha Noi yesterday. Viet Nam and Cuba are also expanding several agricultural co-operation programmes, including a rice production project and a master plan for aquaculture in Cuba until 2020. In accordance with the agreements reached during the 30th and 31st meeting of the Viet Nam-Cuba Inter-Governmental Committee, Viet Nam provided VND42 billion (US$2 million) for the second phase of a project to develop crop varieties in Cuba during the 2014-17 period and VND12 billion (over $571,000) for a project supporting Cuba's aquaculture sector during the 2014-16 period. Both projects were launched in March. In addition, the two sides worked together to draft a coffee co-operation agreement. Concepcion highly appreciated Viet Nam's support for Cuba's rice production programme and expressed her hope for co-operation when it came to processing. A joint rice production project in Cuba for the 2009-15 period helped raise Cuba's average rice output from 3.45 to 4.57 tonnes per ha, she noted. President Sang visits Quang Tri province President Truong Tan Sang toured the central province of Quang Tri on September 7-8, where he visited Con Co island district and inspected the new-style rural area building programme in Vinh Thanh commune, Vinh Linh district. Emphasising the importance of Con Co island district for national security and defence strategy, President Sang called on the locality to apply measures to promote local socio-economic development without affecting defence efforts. He also suggested islanders should pay more attention to protecting the island’s forests. During his visit to Vinh Thach commune, the State leader hailed the locality’s efforts to implement the new-style rural area building programme, fulfilling 15 out of the total 19 criteria and targeting to achieve the rest by the end of this year. He urged Vinh Thach to accelerate the application of agricultural production technologies to improve the quality of products, particularly pepper and rubber, and share their experience with other localities. In a working session with key provincial leaders, President Sang urged Quang Tri to increase its GDP to bring it in line with the national average. He said more attention should be paid to national defence and security, agricultural development and the new-style rural area building programme. The locality was also requested to make full use of its strengths in processing agricultural, forestry and aquatic products and effectively utilise its resources. Labour-intensive sectors such as garment, textile and footwear manufacturing should be regarded as leading industries, the leader noted. In terms of services, he urged Quang Tri to review the East-West Economic Corridor development programmes and work on tourism in collaboration with neighbouring countries. The President also highlighted the need for provincial leaders to clarify the role of the Lao Bao border economic area in the East-West Economic Corridor. According to the Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Nguyen Duc Cuong, Quang Tri recorded an annual GDP growth of 7.2 percent, with a budget rise of 55 percent and an increase in exports of 21 percent. The province has invested VND11.26 trillion in the building of new-style rural areas, he said. He suggested that more central support be provided for a number of projects, including bringing electricity to Con Co, building a dyke system on the island, and constructing My Thuy port. On the occasion of the Mid-Autumn festival, President Sang also presented gifts to the children of Con Co. Tatarstan President welcomed in Hanoi reception Chairman of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Vu Xuan Hong hosted a reception for the President of the Republic of Tatarstan - a federal subject of Russia - R. Minnikhanov, in Hanoi on September 8. VUFO Chairman Hong hailed the visit as a contribution to the time-honoured friendship between Vietnam and Russia while underlining the advances in their comprehensive strategic partnership, including cooperation on education, as demonstrated by the numerous Vietnamese officials and experts trained in Russia. He said he hopes trade links and people-to-people exchanges would prosper in times to come. President Minnikhanov said there are many ways to enhance collaboration between Tatarstan and Vietnam, adding that Tatarstan would actively implement the outcomes of the visit to help strengthen the Vietnamese-Russian partnership. During the meeting, the two sides expressed their belief that the visit marks the beginning of long-term cooperation between Tatarstan and the ministries and localities of Vietnam. Kuwait, Vietnam boost parliamentary cooperation Vietnam and Kuwait should enhance cooperative relations between the two legislative bodies by promoting high-ranking delegation exchange and sharing law-making experiences. The statement was made by Vietnam’ National Assembly (NA) Vice Chairman Uong Chu Luu at a reception for the Kuwait-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians Group in Hanoi on September 8. Luu proposed the two countries’ legislative bodies increase closer coordination at regional and international parliamentary forums. He expressed his wish that both sides will continue strengthening reciprocal delegation exchange bilateral cooperation in such fields as economics, trade and development aid. For his part, Chairman of Kuwait-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians Group, Khalil Abdulla Ali said his delegation’s visit aims to step up relations and trade links alike with Vietnam. HCM City asks for Myanmar’s support to boost business ties Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Le Thanh Hai requested the Speaker of the Myanmar Assembly of the Union, Thura U Shwe Mann, to support businesses in the city and Myanmar to boost their partnership in the future. Welcoming his guest to the city on September 8, Hai said the vast future potential and strong reform policies in Myanmar represented favourable conditions for both sides to increase their cooperation in all fields, including trade, investment, tourism, urban planning and management, and knowledge exchange. Ho Chi Minh City and Myanmar’s city of Yangon have benefitted from their cooperation since partnering in 2012, with bilateral trade tripling during the 2012-2014 period, he noted. Currently, many enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City seek investment opportunities in Myanmar and Yangon in particular, he added. Thura U Shwe Mann said he was impressed by the dynamic development of Ho Chi Minh City, attributing it to good leadership and municipal management. Lauding the significant contribution of the city to Vietnam’s growth, he expressed his wish for stronger cooperation with the city, especially with regard to the construction and development of industrial zones and urban areas. Thura U Shwe Mann reckoned that Yangon and Ho Chi Minh City had many similarities as key economic hubs of their respective countries. Currently, Myanmar is looking to boost economic development in Yangon by investing in industrial parks, ports and airports. Myanmar could therefore learn from Ho Chi Minh City’s experience in these areas, he stressed. Source: VNA/VOV