Government News 23/12 Party chief greets Cuban minister of armed forces  Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong meets the Minister of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, Leopoldo Cintra Prias yesterday. Minister of Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces Leopoldo Cintra Frias reiterated strong will to further strengthen the fraternal friendship and cooperation with the Vietnamese Party, State and people as he met Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in Hanoi on December 22. Leopoldo Cintra Frias said Cuba considers what Vietnam has achieved as a reference to its policy of updating socio-economic development model. He informed the host of the recent outcomes of his talks with Vietnamese Defence Ministry units, and expressed his belief that Vietnam will reap more rewards on its path to development under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The Party chief affirmed the Vietnamese Party and people’s support to Cuba’s revolutionary cause. He congratulated the Cuban Party, State and people on their tireless fight over the past 50 years, which has led to the normalisation of ties with the US. Vietnam and Cuba share a special and loyal relationship, which is a precious and admirable asset, he said. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army and the 58th anniversary of the Traditional Day of Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, the host expressed his wish that both sides will deserve the trust of the two Parties and peoples. Ho Chi Minh City honours RoK’s Consul General Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan has presented the city’s badge to out-going Consul General of the Republic of Korea (RoK) in Ho Chi Minh City, Oh Jae-hack, in recognition of his contribution to the relations between Vietnam and the RoK. The Consul General paid his farewell visit to the Chairman on December 22. The same day, Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City’s Party Committee Le Thanh Hai received the RoK official. He hailed the Consul General for what he has done during his mission to foster multifaceted cooperation between Vietnam and the RoK in general and Ho Chi Minh City and Busan City in particular.- Vietnamese army’s foundation celebrated in Asia, Europe A series of activities were held by the Vietnamese Embassies in Asian and European countries over the last few days to celebrate the 70th founding anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army (December 22, 1944-2014). During a December 22 ceremony attended by Lao Vice President Bounnhang Volachit and Deputy Prime Ministers Somsavad Lengsavad and Phankham Viphavanh, Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Manh Hung reviewed the formation, development, and resounding victories of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), such as the Dien Bien Phu Campaign in 1954 that ended the French colonial rule in Indochina, the “Dien Bien Phu on air” Campaign in 1972 that defeated the US airstrike in Hanoi, and the Ho Chi Minh Campaign in 1975 that liberated southern Vietnam and reunified the country. Nowadays, the VPA is further developed so as to firmly safeguard national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, while actively and proactively integrating into the international community and increasing cooperation with armies around the world, especially with the Lao People’s Army, he said. At a similar ceremony the same day held by the Vietnamese Embassy and the Vietnamese Attaché’s Office in Phnom Penh, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Tea Banh said under the sagacious leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the VPA has continuously developed and fulfilled the international mission of helping his country abolish the Khmer Rouge genocidal regime in January 1979. The Cambodian and Vietnamese armies have been standing side by side throughout history and will expand their mutual support in the future, he added. On this occasion, the Royal Cambodian Army organised a photo exhibition on the solidarity and cooperation between the two armies. Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials and war veterans highly valued the heroic tradition of the VPA while attending a December 22 ceremony marking its 70th founding anniversary hosted by the Vietnamese Embassy in Kiev. They voiced their wish for strengthened friendship and multifaceted cooperation, including in defence, between the two nations. On December 21, the Vietnamese community in Germany also marked the VPA’s foundation with a number of activities across the European country.- NA Standing Committee convenes 33rd session The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee convened its 33rd session in Hanoi on December 22 under the chair of NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung. The two-day session will review the outcomes of the 13th NA’s eighth plenary session and debate four draft Laws and two draft Ordinances, especially the draft Civil Code (revised) since it will deal with daily transactions and civil relations of people. Opening the session, NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung said the 13th NA’s eighth plenary session was successful, helping strengthen voters’ trust in the Party and the State. He emphasised the importance of the 33rd meeting as it will gather opinions on the working agenda for the NA’s 9th plenary meeting in early 2015. The meeting will look at the working programme on the NA’s external relations in 2015. On the day, the lawmakers discussed the draft State Audit law (revised), among others.   President Truong Tan Sang leaves for Cambodia President Truong Tan Sang left Hanoi on the morning of December 23, beginning his two-day State visit to Cambodia at the invitation of King Norodom Sihamoni. The President is accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, Head of the Presidential Office Dao Viet Trung, Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh, and Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang, among others. During his stay, President Truong Tan Sang will hold high-level meetings and working sessions to discuss measures to intensify bilateral cooperation in many fields, including politics, security, economics and trade. Regional and international issues of mutual concern are also expected to be on the agenda of the meetings. Vietnam and Cambodia set up their diplomatic ties on June 24, 1967. Since then, the relations continue thriving on the motto of good neighbourliness, time-honoured friendship, comprehensive cooperation and long-term sustainability in many fields. Two-way trade reached 3.34 billion USD in 2013 and 2.6 billion USD in the first 10 months of this year. The two countries are aiming for 5 billion USD in bilateral trade turnover by 2015. Vietnamese investors are running 134 projects in Cambodia with registered capital of 3.36 billion USD, focusing on industrial tree farming, mining, oil and gas exploration, telecommunications, and banking. United Russia Party delegation welcomed in HCM City Strengthening cooperation in all fields between Vietnam and Russia as well as among localities will create a firm foundation for promoting traditional ties of bilateral friendship and cooperation. The statement was made by Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, during her meeting in the city on December 22 with a delegation of the United Russia Party (ER) headed by Andrey Klimov, a member of the presidium of the ER’s General Council. HCM City has established friendly and cooperative ties with four Russian localities, namely Sverdlovsk, Moscow, St Petersburg and Vladivostok, Ha said, adding the city is discussing to set up relations with other localities. Russia is running 21 foreign direct investment projects with a total capital of 32.4 million USD in HCM City. In 2014, two-way trade between the city and Russia is estimated at 250 million USD, of which HCM City export reaches 150 million USD. Ha said that the city treasures and pays attention to promoting relations with Russia, contributing to the two countries’ ties. For his part, Andrey Klimov suggested the two countries enhance cooperation in each field, each region and Party-building work. He stressed the important role Party work and the need to educate the younger generation about the traditional friendship between the two Parties and countries in the past and at present. At the meeting, the two sides discussed measures to boost cooperation between the two countries, between the Communist Party of Vietnam and the United Russia Party, as well as between HCM City and Russian localities. They also touched upon a number of international and regional issues of common concern. The same day, the ER delegation worked with leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Council on the world of the local legislative body in social life.- Laos meeting marks Vietnamese army’s foundation The Defence Ministry of Laos held a meeting in Vientiane on December 22 to mark the 70 th founding anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA). Secretary of the Lao Party Central Committee and Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Sengnoun Saynhalat recalled the 70-year history of the VPA which was founded and trained by late President Ho Chi Minh. Over the past seven decades, the Vietnamese army has made a lot of glorious victories, including the 1954 Dien Bien Phu triumph over the French forces, the “Dien Bien Phu in the air” campaign to safeguard Hanoi capital in 1972 and the historic Ho Chi Minh campaign that liberated the south and unified the country in 1975, the minister said. He reminded participants of the close coordination of the two armies during wartime, showing his profound gratitude to the VPA for helping Laos in the past struggle for liberation as well as the current national construction and development. He said he believes that in the time to come the two armies will continue intensifying cooperation to become stronger, thus contributing to consolidating and developing the Laos-Vietnam traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation. Procuracy sector strives to tackle corruption President Truong Tan Sang met with officials from the Supreme People's Procuracy in Ha Noi yesterday, and hailed the sector's efforts to bring major corruption cases to light. Sang, who also chairs the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform, condemned large-scale corruption and drug crimes in the country, and urged the procuracy sector and the entire political system to continue fighting them. Sang said the sector has thoroughly and strictly dealt with major corruption cases, such as Duong Chi Dung, former chairman of the State-owned shipping corporation Vinalines; Huynh Thi Huyen Nhu, former deputy head of the Risk Management Department of Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank); and Nguyen Duc Kien, former vice chairman of the founding council of Asia Commercial Bank (ACB). Sang also highlighted the sector's success in detecting and investigating violations requiring prosecution in northern Bac Giang and Ha Nam, central Thanh Hoa and southern Soc Trang provinces. However, prosecution of major economic and corruption cases still didn't meet expectations, he said. He urged the sector to fine-tune their performance to meet public demand. He also ordered intensive training for prosecutors, so they could keep up with judicial reform in Viet Nam. In 2014, 77,500 cases were prosecuted, up by 1.4 per cent from 2013, according to Nguyen Hoa Binh, prosecutor general of the Supreme People's Procuracy. Relevant agencies uncovered an array of cases where people used their positions and authority to appropriate assets at banks and State-invested projects, Binh said. Civil disputes and administrative complaints continued increasing, with some likely causing social disorder, he said. VNA/VNN