Government News 27/4 ASEAN Ministers meet in Kuala Lumpur The ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) commenced in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on April 26, as the first event of the 26 th ASEAN Summit. Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh attended at the event together with his counterparts from nine other ASEAN member states of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The ministers will discuss the establishment of an ASEAN Community and its post-2015 vision and related documents together with the progress towards the formation of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). As the kick-start for the 26 th ASEAN Summit between April 26 and 27, the AMM was held the same day with the 13 th ASEAN Economic Ministers and EU High Commissioner for Trade (AEM-EU) Consultation Meeting, the 12 th meeting of the ASEAN Political-Security Community Council, the 11 th Meeting of the ASEAN Coordinating Council and the ASEAN Leadership Forum.- Party chief asks for stronger anti-corruption efforts Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has called for more efforts to combat corruption, with focus on accelerating the progress of works relating inspection, proceeding commencement and judgment and increasing coordination among relevant agencies in the work. Chairing the seventh session of the Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption in Hanoi on April 25, the Party leader assigned the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Internal Affairs to map out measures to deal with instances of petty corruption, and to work closely with members of the Steering Committee to supervise the implementation of approved missions. Looking back the fight against corruption in the first quarter of this year, the leader hailed the committee for its comprehensive performance to prevent and combat corruption in all fields and those across localities nationwide, which have recorded significant results. In the first three months of the year, anti-corruption work was actively carried out in all fields with the implementation of various corruption prevention solutions, especially administrative reform, and the coordination of relevant agencies in the fight, heard the event. In the second quarter, the committee continues to speed up educational work on the fight against corruption, and perfect socio-economic management regulations and legal documents on the issue in accordance with the Constitution. Vietnam’s northern localities promote ties with China’s Guangxi Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh called on border localities of Vietnam and China to continually implement reached agreements on border trade and boost tourism cooperation. He made that statement during the seventh conference of the joint working committee between China’s China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Vietnam’s northern border provinces of Lang Son, Cao Bang, Ha Giang, and Quang Ninh on April 25 in Ha Giang. He also called on the localities to work closely together in simplifying customs clearance procedures at border gates, thus contributing to socio-economic development and improving local living conditions. Minh expressed his hope that after the conference, the localities will further their cooperation and exchange activities to promote mutual understanding and friendship among their people. The four Vietnamese localities share a nearly-700-km land border with the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Cooperation between the Vietnamese provinces and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has grown robustly across sectors, according to Zhang Xiao Qin, Head of the Chinese delegation to the conference. The region will press ahead with cooperative programmes with the four Vietnamese localities for the shared borderline of peace, stability, cooperation and development, he added. After the conference, several cooperation documents were signed, including the building of Hoanh Mo-Dong Zhong border gate and the development of an economic border zone, between Quang Ninh and Lang Son, respectively, with the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Vietnam active in collecting information of nationals in Nepal The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has asked for a swift coordination between Vietnam’s representative agencies in India and Bangladesh and authorities of the two countries and Nepal to find out if any Vietnamese nationals have fallen victim to the devastating earthquake in Nepal. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh made it clear in his reply to reporters’ query on the issue on April 26. According to the Vietnamese Embassies in India and Bangladesh, they have not yet received any information about Vietnamese casualties in the quake. The agencies are working closely with local authorities and those of Nepal to collect more relevant information. Hotlines serving the search of Vietnamese nationals in Nepal are +84981848484, +84462844844, +911126879852 and +88029854052. The devastating 7.8 magnitude quake hit Nepal on April 25, killing at least 1,800 people. It is said the worst disaster in the quake-prone Himalayan nation in more than 80 years. Vietnam, Belgium boost cooperation in legislation A delegation from the Vietnam National Assembly’s Law Committee, led by its head Phan Trung Ly, visited Belgium from April 22-24 to seek experience and cooperation in making laws. They had a working session on April 24 with Belgian Senate Chairwoman Christine Defraigne who praised Vietnam’s successful organisation of the 132th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly and it growing international reputation. Christine Defraigne informed them of her Vietnam visit in November to discuss increasing bilateral cooperation in healthcare and implementing agreed projects in the field. Ly expressed his hope for the Belgian Federal Parliament’s continual assistance to Vietnam in developing and completing laws. In the previous meeting with the Belgian Senate’s Law Commission, the Vietnamese delegation was introduced to the Belgian Federal Parliament structure and its reform as well as the practice of decentralisation in administration from central level to local level. The delegation also had a working session with the Inter-Parliamentary Commission’s Belgium-Vietnam Division. New ambassador promises to boost Vietnam-Ecuador ties Vietnam’s newly-appointed Ambassador to Ecuador Ngo Duc Thang said that he would do all what he can to contribute to promoting the Vietnam-Ecuador relationship. He made the remark when presenting his credentials to Ecuador’s interim President Jorge Glas recently. The Ambassador said he hoped Ecuador will soon recognise Vietnam’s market economy status and support Vietnam running for a seat in the United Nations Economic and Social Council in the 2016-2018 term and the United Nations Security Council during 2020-2021. He also met with Ecuadorian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Maria Guijarro and the Ecuadorian Ministry of Trade’s Coordinator Isabel Albornoz to discuss measures to strengthen the friendship relationship and bilateral cooperation in future. The diplomat was asked to convey Ecuadorian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ricardo Patino’s greetings to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on the 35th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between the two countries. Vietnam sends condolences to Nepal over quake tragedy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung on April 26 extended condolences to his Nepalese counterpart Sushil Koirala over human losses caused by a devastating earthquake on April 25. According to incomplete statistics, the death toll passed 1,800 after the devastating 7.8 magnitude quake, which is said the worst disaster in the quake-prone Himalayan nation in more than 80 years. Severed communications and landslides in the country posed challenges to relief efforts. On the day, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh cabled a message of sympathy to Nepalese Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey. In their messages, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Deputy PM and FM Pham Binh Minh sent their heartfelt sympathies to Nepal and expressed their hope that Nepalese people would soon overcome the tragedy and resume their regular activities. Cabinet meeting discusses socio-economic performance Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung chaired the Government’s regular meeting in Hanoi on April 25 to discuss socio-economic performance in the month and the first four months of 2015. Cabinet members agreed that Vietnam has recorded positive changes in socio-economic development during January-April. They exchanged views on measures to accelerate agricultural production, expand consumption market, speed up economic restructuring, increase the application of science and technology in business and manufacturing, and foster administrative reform. The adjustment of vaccine prices, how to increase the national competitiveness, and measures to promote tourism, increase the quality of services, and address bottle-necks in visa granting to foreign tourists to Vietnam were also on the agenda. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat said that the two biggest challenges facing the sector are drought and market. The ministry has actively carried out measures to cope with impact caused by drought. It also wants to work closely with relevant ministries and offices to expand export market for Vietnam’s main products such as rice, coffee, rubber, pepper and fruits. Governor of the State Bank Nguyen Van Binh affirmed that the central bank will continue flexible monetary policy management, keep the foreign currency market stable and prioritise credits for agriculture and rural development. Addressing the meeting, PM Nguyen Tan Dung stressed the need for the synchronous implementation of tasks and measures in order to achieve set targets. Priority should be given to dealing with difficulties in production and business in the fields of agriculture, industry and services, he stated. He assigned the Ministry of Industry and Trade to seek any possible ways to boost trade promotion, expand export market, well control import activities and ensure domestic production in accordance with international practices and commitments. Regarding tourism, the Government leader asked for a report reviewing the implementation of the Government’s resolution on tourism development in the next meeting. He also stressed the importance of inflation control and economic restructuring, with the focus on the equitisation of State-owned enterprises. The ministries, sectors and localities were requested to speed up administrative reform, especially in administrative procedures, in order to improve the business and investment climate, while effectively implementing measures to ensure social welfare and gain sustainable poverty reduction, particularly in extremely disadvantageous areas and those prone to disasters. The PM emphasised the need to continuously strengthen security and defence, maintain political security and social order and safety, and actively combat all kinds of crime to ensure a peaceful life for people. He also highlighted the importance of information sharing on socio-economic affairs between the ministries and localities and press agencies to create a concurrence among the society. Party popularisation commission delegation visits Venezuela, Chile A delegation of the Party Central Committee's Commission for Education and Popularisation led by Deputy Head Lam Thi Phuong Thanh has made a long-week visit to Venezuela and Chile. The visit from April 15-21 was to exchange experience with Venezuela and Chile’s ruling parties and left-wing parties on the Communist Party of Vietnam’s educational and ideological works. In Venezuela, the delegation had working sessions with Vice Presidents the United Socialist Party (USP) Victor Clark, Dario Vivas and Eduardo Pinate, and Editor-in-Chief of the February 4 newspaper Ciudadano Gustavo Villapol. The delegation met some members of the Venezuela Communist Party’s Political Bureau. In Chile, the Vietnamese delegation had work sessions with the Communist Party of Chile leaders, including the Party’s President Guillermo Teillier and General Secretary Juan Andres Lagos. The delegation also met Rene Schneider, Executive Secretary of the Chilean Social Party and Patricia Abarzua, Chairman of the Chile-Vietnam Culture Institute. During the meetings, the two sides discussed and agreed on mechanisms such as exchanging delegations, taking part in scientific conferences, sharing experience on theories about development and introducing each other on media. The delegation also visited Vietnam’s embassies in Venezuela and Chile and paid tribute the late President Ho Chi Minh at his statue in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. President meets outstanding naval staff State President Truong Tan Sang met naval staff who excelled in the force’s patriotic emulation movement in Hanoi on April 25, ahead of the 60th founding anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Navy (August 5). On August 2 and 5, 1964, patrol boats from the Vietnamese navy, in coordination with other forces, drove the US destroyer USS Maddox and aircraft out of Vietnam’s territorial waters in the Tonkin Gulf, marking the first victory for the northern army in the resistance war against the US aggressors. The August 5 was declared the traditional day of the navy. In the era of renewal (doi moi), the navy has accomplished its mission to safeguard sea and island sovereignty. The force has worked as an advisor to the Party, State, Central Military Commission and Defence Ministry in sea-related issues, living up to its expectation as a source of support for fishermen working at sea. The President congratulated the navy on its 60th anniversary, saying that it should build on its tradition to deal with problems arising from complicated developments. He also asked the force to protect fishermen, marine-based economic activities, and scientific research. With a vision of maintaining an environment of peace in line with international law, the navy should build a modern and capable revolutionary force while performing well on defence external relations both in and outside the region, the leader concluded.- Vietnam’s national reunification marked in Cuba A seminar was held by the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) on April 24 in Havana, Cuba to mark Vietnam’s Southern liberation and national reunification anniversary (April 30, 1975). Addressing the event, Vice President of the Cuba-Vietnam Friendship Association Martha Rojas, who is a former war correspondent in Vietnam, recounted the hardship, yet heroic spirit during the resistance wars in Vietnam, expressing her admiration for President Ho Chi Minh and other revolutionary leaders. She highlighted the establishment of the Cuban Committee of Solidarity with the South of Vietnam as a symbol of the faithful friendship between the two nations, as well as the great historical significance of the April 30 victory to Vietnam and the world. Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Duong Minh affirmed that the victory turned a new page in the history of Vietnam, creating opportunities for development and peace. He also briefed the audience on the achievements Vietnam has made during nearly 30 years carrying out renovation, and at the same time reiterated the ever-lasting friendship and solidarity between Vietnam and Cuba. Two documentary films were screened during the event. “Thang Tu nam Mao tai Vietnam” (April in the Year of the Cat in Vietnam) features the war time in Vietnam while “Chao mung toi Vietnam” (Welcome to Vietnam) introduces a peaceful, independent, and developing Vietnam. VNA