Government News 18/1 Vietnam, Cambodia reach 2015 anti-crime plan Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security and Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior have signed a plan on their cooperation in 2015 following talks between the two ministers in Phnom Penh on January 16. During the talks, Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng agreed on measures to fight hostile forces’ plots and attempts aimed at undermining the traditional friendship between the two countries and harming national security and social order in each country. They said the two sides will jointly work to combat criminal and economic offenders, especially those engaging in the trafficking of drug, women and children, cross-border smuggling by road and air, and criminals on the wanted list. They consented to ensure security and order in border areas and the development triangle as mentioned in a joint statement of Vietnamese, Cambodian and Lao Prime Ministers during the eighth summit of Vietnam – Cambodia – Laos development triangle in Vientiane, Laos on November 25, 2014 and a joint statement reached at the second Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam ministerial meeting on anti-crime cooperation in Vietnam on July 29, 2014. The same day, meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen later, Minister Quang informed the host of the outcomes of his talks with the Interior Minister. He expressed his belief that the Cambodian people will reap more successes on their path to prosperity. PM Hun Sen voiced his hope for stronger bilateral cooperation to ensure security and order, defeat all undermining plots and activities by hostile forces, prevent terrorism and fight all kinds of crimes.- Thai Royal Armed Forces Day marked in Hanoi The Thai Embassy in Hanoi hosted a banquet in Hanoi on January 16 to celebrate the Royal Thai Armed Forces Day (January 18, 1852). Ambassador Panyarak Poolthup said the Thai army has been and will closely cooperate with other ASEAN members, including Vietnam, in the joint effort to build a frim foundation for the formation of the ASEAN Community in late 2015. Lieutenant General Nguyen Quoc Khanh, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, said the relations between the two armies are developing well, especially since the two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation in September 2012. He expressed his belief that the bilateral coordination will see new developments for the interests of the two nations and for peace and prosperity in the region and the world. Specific action plans essential to ease poverty in North-western region More specific action plans and programmes along the direction of economic and labour restructuring are needed to further reduce poverty in the North-western region, where the poverty rate remains as high as 17.9 percent, according to Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Chairing a conference of the Steering Committee for the North-western Region on January 16, the Deputy PM, who is also head of the committee, asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to assist in selecting plants and animals suitable for farming in the region. He also required the ministry to design projects helping mountainous localities to develop forestry, which is an important sector for the region taking into account its natural conditions. At the same time, Deputy PM Phuc urged better planning for residential areas in border area in the context of rampant migration of ethnic minority people, in order to be more proactive in dealing with the issue. The leader asked ministries, sectors and localities to pay due attention to fostering the political system and develop the Party membership at the grassroots level, whilst police and border guards need to keep close control of border security and crack-down on human trafficking, trade of drug and contraband goods. In 2014, the North-western region recorded an average gross domestic produce (GDP) growth of 8.14 percent, deputy head of the steering committee Truong Xuan Cu reported. The region’s total industrial production was valued at over 83.2 trillion VND (3.9 billion USD), while average per capita income was estimated at 24.7 million VND (1,157 USD), up 2.6 million VND against 2013. The proportion of poor households was 17.9 percent, down 4.6 percent from the previous year. The North-western region comprises Lao Cai, Hoa Binh, Son La, Yen Bai, Lai Chau and Dien Bien provinces. Party leader urges procuracy sector to be a pillar of justice Party Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has asked the procuracy sector and each of its staff to set an example in abiding by the Party’s guidelines and policies as well as the State’s laws, thus being a real pillar of justice. Addressing the Supreme People’s Procuracy’s conference in Hanoi on January 16, the Party leader emphasized that Party-building work and personnel training in the sector are very important, which has a decisive importance to the sector’s working efficiency. He hailed the sector’s efforts in performing its tasks during the past year, particularly in curbing the increase in crimes, maintaining political security and social order, safeguarding the socialist legal institutions, human rights and citizen rights as well as the State’s interests and the legitimate rights and interests of individuals and organisations. On the priorities for the year 2015, he stressed that the sector should continue to implement the 2013 Constitution and the new Law on the Organisation of People’s Procuracies. At the same time, the sector should work closely with relevant agencies to build the Penal Code, Civil Code, Civil Procedure Code and other laws to ensure the effective enforcement of the 2013 Constitution. The Party General Secretary also underlined the need for the procuracy sector to abide by democratic judicial principles and jurisdiction as stipulated in the Constitution. He asked the sector to expand international cooperation to improve its capacity in effectively preventing and fighting against crime, especially transnational crime and those related to foreigners. The conference heard that last year, the sector had accelerated the process of many key cases of public concern, including 18 cases related to corruption and power abuse. A number of cases with respect to law violations and mistakes in legal process were also brought to light, contributing to protecting human and citizen rights. Participants discussed and agreed on four key tasks for the sector in 2015, focusing on promoting judicial reform, accelerating the building of legal institutions, intensifying party building and improving the quality of prosecution practice. During the two-day conference, participants will conduct a vote of confidence on the Prosecutor General and the Deputy Prosecutors General of the People’s Supreme Procuracy. Vietnam builds headquarters for Cambodia’s Military History Institute The Military History Institute of Cambodia has inaugurated its new headquarters in Phnom Penh, which was built with funding from the Vietnamese Ministry of Defence (MoD). At the inauguration ceremony on January 16, Gen. Nem Sowath, director general of the Cambodian Defence Ministry's Policy and Foreign Affairs Department, said the building is a new symbol of the traditional solidarity and close cooperation between the two countries’ defence ministries. The valuable aid from the Vietnamese government and Defence Ministry has contributed importantly to Cambodia’s national development and defence, he said. Besides paying for the institute’s construction, the Vietnamese Defence Ministry also purchased equipment for the new facility, according to Vietnamese military attaché to Cambodia Colonel Nguyen Anh Dung. He also noted that many Cambodians have also received training in military history in Vietnam to serve the development of this field in Cambodia. Deputy PM calls for better poverty reduction policies Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh has asked the Central Steering Committee for Sustainable Poverty Reduction to continue perfecting its policies in a bid to achieve positive changes in poverty reduction. Ninh, who is head of the committee, made the call while chairing the committee’s conference in Hanoi on January 16 reviewing its work in 2014 and launch tasks for this year. He stressed the need to continue implementing policies on sustainable poverty reduction and overcoming shortcomings in the work, including an overlap of mechanisms. The committee should carry out a scheme to shift the poverty measurement method from the uni-dimensional to the multi-dimensional, he said, adding that the review of poverty reduction policies needs the involvement of all relevant ministries and agencies which make concrete proposals to improve the effective implementation of the policies. Priority should be given rural and mountainous areas with high poverty rates, he noted. According to a report delivered at the conference, 34.7 trillion VND (1.65 billion USD) was invested in reducing poverty in 2014. As a result, the country’s poverty rate was brought down to 5.8 percent and that of poor districts fell to 33.2 percent. In 2015, the committee set a goal of bringing the national rate of poor households down to below 5 percent and that of poor districts to below 30 percent. In 2016-2020, it aims to reduce the national poverty rate by 1-1.5 percent each year and increase poor people’s access to basic social services. Infrastructure in poor districts and communes will be improved while the income of poor households is expected to double the 2015 level.- Vietnam-funded guard headquarters inaugurated in Cambodia On January 17, the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces debuted its new headquarters in Takeo province, which was built with funding from the Vietnam Defence Ministry. In his address at the inauguration ceremony, General Moeung Samphan, Secretary of State of the Cambodia Defence Ministry said along with a series of buildings constructed with financial support from the Vietnam Defence Ministry which were inaugurated and put into use recently, the new building is seen as a vivid manifestation of the close cooperation and valuable assistance the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) given to the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. General Moeung Samphan also highlighted the great support from Vietnam to the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, noting that the process of reforming and modernizing the force in recent years can not spare the help and close cooperation from the VPA. Construction work on the new facility commenced in late 2013 at a total cost of nearly US$600,000, including the construction and installation of specialized equipment. This funding is part of aid package for basic construction of the Vietnam Defence Ministry for its Cambodian counterpart. Defence Minister’s Cambodia visit boosts friendship A high-level delegation from the Vietnam Ministry of Public Security led by General and Minister Tran Dai Quang has paid a working visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng. During the talks on January 16, both host and guest discussed measures to smash hostile forces’ plots and attempts aimed at undermining the traditional friendship and harming national security and social order in their respective country. Both sides pledged to work cohesively to combat crime and economic offenders, especially those involved in the trafficking of drug, women and children, cross-border smuggling by road and air, and criminals on the wanted list. They agreed to ensure security and order in border areas and the development triangle as clarified in a joint statement of Vietnamese, Cambodian and Lao Prime Ministers during the eighth summit of Vietnam – Cambodia – Laos development triangle in Vientiane, Laos on November 25, 2014 and a joint statement reached at the second Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam ministerial meeting on anti-crime cooperation in Vietnam in 2014. Meeting with Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen later the same day, Minister Quang briefed the host of the outcomes of his talks with Interior Minister Sar Kheng. He said he hopes the Cambodian people will achieve more successes on their path to prosperity. PM Hun Sen expressed his wish for stronger bilateral cooperation to ensure security and order and sabotage plots and activities by hostile forces, prevent terrorism and fight all kinds of crimes. The Vietnam’ Ministry of Public Security and Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior signed a plan on their cooperation in 2015. VNA/VOV