GOVERNMENT NEWS Deputy PM holds bilateral talks in Davos, VN backs global food security Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh held bilateral meetings on Thursday, on the cusp of the 45th annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. At a meeting with Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, both countries said their relationship is growing, and that efforts would be made to boost bilateral co-operation, especially in climate change adaptation and sustainable agriculture. Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh (right) attends the "Global Food Security Agenda" session at the 45th World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland on Friday, Jan 23.  Queen Maxima, the UN Secretary-General's special advocate for inclusive finance for development, invited Viet Nam to join a group of inclusive finance friends, most of whom were ambassadors to the UN. She said Viet Nam was selected as one of the 25 countries that would participate in the inclusive finance programme, and expressed her hope to visit Viet Nam in 2016. Deputy PM Minh and US Trade Representative Michael Froman said they highly valued the robust development of the partnership between Viet Nam and the US. They decided to collaborate closely to plan celebrations for the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties, aiming to bring bilateral relations to a new height. Minh said the US should continue allowing Viet Nam some flexibility when it came to the early conclusion of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. Viet Nam is working hard to ensure the agreement is balanced and of high quality, he said. Froman said the fresh round of TPP negotiations had progressed positively, and that he hoped involved parties could find solutions so the negations could wrap up as quickly as possible. Minh also held a meeting with his Thai counterpart, Devacula Pridyathorn, in the presence of a number of Vietnamese and Thai businesses. The two sides agreed to press ahead with their strategic partnership, particularly in reference to regional and sub-regional economic cooperation and connectivity. Minh said Viet Nam was willing to help facilitate Thai firms' investments and help Thailand launch projects that benefit both countries. Sustainable agriculture Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat attended the "Global Food Security Agenda" session at the ongoing World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland, on Friday. In his speech delivered at the event, the minister talked about the creative and sustainable development of Viet Nam's agricultural sector. He then joined more than 1,000 officials from around the globe to discuss measures to develop agriculture sustainably, including investing in smart value chains, improving resilience to climate change and expanding cultivation. Talking to Vietnam News Agency correspondents in Davos, Minister Phat said that Viet Nam's attendance at the session aimed to contribute to global efforts to ensure food security while promoting the country's agricultural achievements and calling for foreign investments in the sector. The event also offered a good chance for Viet Nam to share its experience in implementing public private partnership (PPP) models in the sector, particularly the "Grow Asia" initiative, of which Viet Nam was a stakeholder, he added. Vietnam-Russia diplomatic ties marked in Ba Ria-Vung Tau The Union of Friendship Organisations and the Vietnam-Russia Friendship Association in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province co-organised a ceremony on January 23 to mark the 65 th anniversary of Vietnam-Russia diplomatic ties. Attending the event were Russian Deputy Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Maria Mizonova and leaders of the province and Vietsovpetro joint venture, who all affirmed they will continue working to nurture the two countries’ friendship and solidarity. Vietnam and the Soviet Union set up their diplomatic ties on January 30, 1950. The Soviet Union’s support contributed greatly to the success of Vietnam’s national liberation, reunification and constrction cause, while laying a firm foundation for the relationship between Vietnam and Russia. In March 2001, Vietnam and Russia signed a joint statement on establishing a strategic partnership and promoting comprehensive cooperation in all fields. The Vietsovpetro joint venture in Ba Ria-Vung Tau is a vivid manifestation of the close relationship between the two countries. As of January 1, 2015, the joint venture pumped 213 million tonnes of crude oil and nearly 25 billion cubic metres of gas, equivalent to 65 percent of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), contributing importantly to socio-economic development of Vietnam in general and Ba Ria-Vung Tau province in particular. Ba Ria-Vung Tau has so far inked memoranda of understanding on cooperation with authorities of Russia’s Rostov Na Dony and Sverdlovsk cities and Nenetsky Autonomous Region. Vatican Cardinal visits Da Nang Diocese Vatican Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, visited the Da Nang Diocese on January 23 and extended greetings on the 400th anniversary of the evangelization and the 50th founding anniversary of the diocese. Cardinal Fernando Filoni, who started his Vietnam visit on January 20, thanked Da Nang Catholics for the warm welcome, expressing his hope that the followers will continue making contributions to the country’s development. On the occasion, leaders of the central city of Da Nang also paid a visit to the Diocese’s office. The leaders hailed Catholics’ active coordination with local governments and Party organisations in the implementation of various movements for the city’s development. The municipal leaders also voiced wish for further efforts of the Catholic community in the building of the city. Priest Tran Quoc Viet said local Catholics will always do their best to accompany the nation for the growth of the country and Da Nang City in particular. US war veteran activist welcomed in Hanoi Vice President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Bui Khac Son has asked the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) to continue its humanitarian activities in Vietnam, especially the “Veterans Initiative”. Receiving VVA Vice President Marsha Lynn Four in Hanoi on January 23, Son also asked for more VVA support to post-war recovery efforts, especially those aimed at overcoming the consequences of Agent Orange/dioxin which the US army sprayed in Vietnam during the war. Lynn Four agreed with the host’s proposal, saying that her visit is to provide more information about Vietnamese soldiers who were killed or reported as missing in action (MIA), as well as to study the Vietnam-US cooperation in the search for US MIAs in Vietnam. She vowed to continue working closely with the Vietnamese side to deal with war consequences. Ceremony kicks off anniversary year of Vietnam-German ties A ceremony to kick off the 40th anniversary year of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Germany (1975-2015) was held in Ho Chi Minh City on January 24. The 2015 Vietnam- Germany year will see a myriad of political and socio-cultural activities to be held across Vietnam, with the highlight to be a German festival scheduled for March 28. Vietnam and Germany has fostered cross-sector cooperation since two country set up diplomatic relations on September 23, 1975, said Nguyen Huu Thien, Chairman of the Vietnam-Germany Friendship Association in HCM City. He stressed that the two countries lifted their relationship to a strategic partnership with the signing of the Hanoi joint statement in October 2011. Meanwhile, Anke Stahl, director of the DAAD Regional Office in Hanoi, said that in the past 40 years, Vietnamese students who studied and worked in Germany had made great contributions to bilateral relations. She said the DAAD in Hanoi has planned numerous activities in the anniversary year, which include organising meetings of those who used to study and work in Germany, facilitating collaboration between Vietnamese and German universities and granting scholarships for outstanding students. Vietnam, US hold 7th political, security, defence dialogue The seventh Vietnam-US Political, Security and Defence Dialogue took place in Hanoi on January 22-23 under the chair of Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Ha Kim Ngoc and US Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Puneet Talwar. During the dialogue, both sides took note of encouraging progress in bilateral ties since the comprehensive partnership was established in July 2013. They exchanged views on activities to mark 20 years of normalisation of diplomatic ties between the two countries. They also discussed measures to promote Vietnam-US cooperation in regional and global mechanisms, including those in which ASEAN plays the central role. The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral relations in the spirit of friendship, mutual respect and trust as well as joint commitments for peace, stability, prosperity and security in Asia-Pacific. Attention was also paid to ways to enhance collaboration in numerous fields, including maritime security, disaster relief, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the fight against drug smuggling, peacekeeping operations and law enforcement issues. Regarding the East Sea issue, both sides reaffirmed their common interests in maintaining peace, stability and aviation and navigation freedom, as well as in addressing disputes by peaceful diplomatic measures in line with international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea while avoiding unilateral provocative acts. The two sides discussed ways on enhancing defence-security collaboration in the framework of the 2011 MoU on bilateral defence cooperation. They agreed to continue cooperating in law enforcement at sea, especially in capacity building to cope with disasters and carry out search and rescue, as well as in searching for missing-in-action persons, dealing with Agent Orange/dioxin and removing unexploded ordnance. The two sides reiterated their intention to cooperate to deal with regional and international security challenges of their common concerns. The next dialogue will be held in Washington in 2016. Vietnam-Ukraine diplomatic ties celebrated The Vietnam-Ukraine Friendship Association (VUFA) and the Ukrainian Embassy in Vietnam jointly held a ceremony in Hanoi on January 23 to mark the 23rd anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties (January 1, 1992) and 20 years of the association (January 12,1995). VUFA Chairman Dang Van Chien said Vietnamese people always remember and are grateful to the valuable assistance and support of their Ukrainian friends in the past struggle for national independence as well as in the current national construction and development. Vietnam and Ukraine have witnessed rapid growth in two-way trade which increased from 151 million USD in 2007 to 350 million USD in 2013. Vietnam mainly exported farm and forestry products, seafood, garment-textile and footwear to the European market, while importing iron and steel, fertiliser, chemicals and machines. Ukraine is running four investment projects worth around 24 million USD in Vietnam, focusing on marine transport, hydropower, and vegetable processing. Bilateral cooperation in science-technology and education-training has been fostered, with some 1,400 Vietnamese students pursuing their study in Ukraine. Chien said that over the past 20 years, the VUFA has made active contributions to strengthening the traditional solidarity, friendship and cooperation between the two nations. Ukrainian Ambassador to Vietnam Oleksiy Shovkoplias said he hopes the association will continue friendship exchanges in the coming time to enhance the mutual understanding between the two peoples. VNS/VNA