Political News 23/10 Viet Nam, US to expand defence collaboration Viet Nam and the United States yesterday (Oct 22) agreed on the need to expand bilateral defence collaboration to new areas including human resources training, UN peacekeeping missions, co-operation in army medicine as well as disaster relief operations. The agreement was reached during a defence policy dialogue between Vietnamese and US delegations led respectively by Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh, Deputy Minister of National Defence, and Amy Searight, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for South and Southeast Asia. The two sides exchanged views on regional and global issues of common concern and reviewed implementation of a memorandum of understanding on bilateral defence co-operation, especially in the search for missing in action (MIA) soldiers; clearing bombs, mines and other unexploded ordnance (UXO); and cleaning up Agent Orange/dioxin clean-up. The same day, the US guests were received by Minister of National Defence Gen. Phung Quanh Thanh, who said the dialogue would help consolidate and strengthen the ties of comprehensive partnership between Viet Nam and the US. Searight expressed her hope that defence relations between the two countries would thrive in the future, contributing to peace, stability and development in the region and the world. VN sends condolences to Australia Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung conveyed a message of sympathy over the death of former Australian PM Gough Whitlam to his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott on Tuesday. On the same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh sent a message of condolence to Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop. VN told to prepare for TPP by complying with int'l regulations The US wanted Viet Nam to comply with international regulations on intellectual property, the environment and labour in order to facilitate the conclusion of Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, visiting Trade Representative Michael Froman told President Truong Tan Sang in Ha Noi yesterday.   President Truong Tan Sang (left) receives US Trade Representative Michael Froman yesterday in Ha Noi.  Once the deal was signed, Viet Nam would see a number of benefits, including stronger inflow of investment, Froman said. Praising Vietnamese fishermen for establishing a fisheries union, saying that the move benefited the ongoing TPP talks, he assured the host of the US's continued support for Viet Nam on its path to becoming a prosperous economy deeply integrated into the global market. President Sang agreed that the negotiations were progressing soundly and affirmed that Viet Nam would do its best to narrow the development gap between other countries in the region. He asserted that Viet Nam would also adopt international criteria and standards, including those set out by the International Labour Organisation, of which Viet Nam is a member. Viet Nam and the US would continue their discussions to reach agreements on existing differences, the president said. He also called upon the US to completely lift its ban on arms sales to Viet Nam in a timely manner. Vietnam active at APEC finance ministers’ meeting Vietnam actively contributed to the Finance Ministers' Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) which was held in Beijing, China on October 21-22. The head of the Vietnamese delegation to the meeting, Deputy Minister of Finance Truong Chi Trung called for greater efforts in economic restructuring and more cooperation in seeking financial resources for infrastructure development. He said as infrastructure development is an issue of great interest in developing countries like Vietnam, experience sharing and collaboration will be very useful to facilitate investment flows for infrastructure development, especially from private enterprises in the form of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP). Vietnam supports the inclusion of a roadmap on the implementation of PPP infrastructure projects in the finance ministers’ joint statement, which will be submitted to the APEC Summit for approval. At the meeting, Deputy Minister Trung also shared Vietnam’s experience in implementing measures to restructure its economy and boost investment in infrastructure in the context of the global economic crisis. The APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting, which was chaired by Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei, zoomed in on the Asian-Pacific and global economic situation, cooperation on infrastructure investment and financing, fiscal policies for economic restructuring, and financial support for the region’s economy. Cuban journalists visit Ha Noi Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Bac Son received the Vice Chairperson of the Cuban Journalists' Association Barbara Virginia Doval Martinez in Ha Noi yesterday, Oct 22. Son said he hoped both sides would continue to share their professional experience and create conditions for their members to learn about each other's lands, peoples and cultures, thus contributing to the consolidation of the two countries' traditional friendship and the promotion of mutual understanding between the two peoples. The guest expressed her hope to learn more about State management in Viet Nam and practical measures to engage the media in national communication efforts, which contributed substantially to the country's socio-economic development. VFF to work with Singapore group The Viet Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee (VFFCC) and the People's Association of Singapore signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on co-operation for the 2014-2016 period in Ha Noi yesterday, Oct 22.   VFFCC President Nguyen Thien Nhan (L)  meets Chief Executive Officer of the Singaporean association Ang Hak Seng.  The MoU was signed by VFFCC Vice President and General Secretary Vu Trong Kim and Chief Executive Officer of the Singaporean association Ang Hak Seng. The signing followed talks between VFFCC President Nguyen Thien Nhan and the Singaporean guest, during which the two sides updated each other on socio-economic development in their respective countries during the first nine months of 2014. NA official greets China counterpart National Assembly Vice Chairman Uong Chu Luu expressed his hope for stronger co-operation between the Viet Nam Peace Committee (VPC) and the Chinese People's Association for Peace and Disarmament (CPAPD) for the benefit of Viet Nam and China. The NA Vice Chairman, who is also Chairman of the VPC, said at a meeting with CPAPD Deputy Secretary General Tao Tao in Ha Noi yesterday (Oct 22) that Viet Nam was keen to work with China to continue fostering their comprehensive strategic co-operative partnership. NA Chairman receives US Trade Representative National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung welcomed US Trade Representative Michael Froman in Ha Noi on Oct 21, saying that Viet Nam always stood ready to boost its comprehensive co-operation with the US, especially in trade and investment. The Vietnamese legislature strongly supported the signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, he said. Global peace, stability and prosperity depended significantly on close collaboration among nations, the top legislator said, voicing his hope that bilateral ties would develop fruitfully in the future. Froman suggested both countries exert greater efforts to complete the TPP agreement, adding that the deal offered a great opportunity for economic development and would usher in a new chapter for economic and political co-operation between Viet Nam and the US. Froman also met with Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh yesterday. Both officials hoped for an early signing of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement. Ninh said that despite facing numerous difficulties, Viet Nam was determined to successfully negotiate the agreement with the US. He said the US should consider Viet Nam's main interests in key export products like garment and footwear. Viet Nam was making efforts to join the TPP free market, and together with the US, hoped to overcome every challenge in the negotiation process, he said. VN-RoK ties to go from ‘strength to strength': PM Viet Nam attached great importance to its ties with the Republic of Korea and wished to step up collaboration in all fields including the economy, trade, investment, tourism, politics and culture, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said on Tuesday, Oct 21. Hosting a reception for the former President of the Republic of Korea (RoK), Lee Myung-Bak, in Ha Noi, Dung said he was happy with the strong, comprehensive development of bilateral relations, particularly since the two countries elevated their ties to trategic partnership in 2009. Dung said he was also confident that with efforts from both sides, a bilateral free trade agreement would be signed by the end of this year. From then on, bilateral economic, trade and investment ties and co-operation between ministries, sectors and businesses of both countries would go "from strength to strength," he said. He expressed his hope that the former Korean President would continue to contribute to the development of Viet Nam-RoK relations. Lee Myung-Bak stated that the RoK business community was particularly interested in Viet Nam, as could be seen in the large number of leading hi-tech companies in his entourage. He said the two countries did not need to worry about trade imbalances since the presence of an increasing number of Korean investors in Viet Nam would result in rising demand for imported materials and equipment from the RoK. He also expressed his hope that the Vietnamese Government would continue to support RoK investors and businesses. Source: VNN/VNS/VOV/VNA