Government News 16/6 Vietnam-China Bilateral Cooperation to meet for eighth session Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh will lead a Vietnamese delegation to attend the 8th session of the Steering Committee for Vietnam-China Bilateral Cooperation to be convened next week. The visit is made at the invitation of Chinese State Councilor Yang Yiechi. Laos, Vietnam step up inspection cooperation Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on June 15 received Vice President of the Lao Government Inspection Bounpone Sangsomsak. Phuc said the Vietnamese Government has paid great attention to inspection work, dealing with complaints, and denunciations and considered corruption prevention to be a major task. The Vietnamese Government will create the best possible conditions for the two countries to bolster their cooperation in inspection and fighting corruption, Phuc told his guest. He also  reiterated the nation's willingness to help the Government Inspectorate receive and train their Lao counterparts each year, he said, adding that the two countries are working to deliver on commitments by their leaders at the 37th meeting of the Vietnam- Laos Inter-Governmental Committee last January. The Deputy PM lauded the significance of the visit in enhancing the ties friendship and cooperation between the two Parties and countries for mutual benefit. The Lao official informed Mr Phuc about the outcomes of his talks with the Vietnamese government inspectorates while expressing his hope that the two governments, States and peoples would continue fostering their ties. Vietnam-New Zealand mark 40 years of diplomatic relations The New Zealand Embassy in Vietnam is planning a vast array of activities to introduce New Zealand’s culture, customs and traditions on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties. ‘We held a wine and food festival in HCM City, and worked with VNnexpress to conduct a contest on New Zealand’s land and people and with Jennifer Pham – a tourism ambassador – to promote New Zealand tourism to Vietnamese tourists,’ said Ambassador Haike Manning. Plans for a fashion event are also in the works, the Ambassador said adding that, in addition, Maori art troupes are scheduled to take part in education and cultural programmes in Hanoi, Danang and HCM City. Ambassador Manning said the two countries have great potential for boosting cooperation on a number of fronts and he looks forward to the elevation of their relationship to that of a comprehensive partnership. During a visit to New Zealand earlier this year in March, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his counterpart John Key signed agreements regarding expanding aviation and tourism cooperation. According to a recent official report, around 30,000 New Zealand visitors came to Vietnam to visit Ha Long, Hue, Hoi An and Nha Trang in 2014. New Zealand expects to receive more Vietnamese tourists in the coming time, the Ambassador said. Defence cooperation is an important part in bilateral relations, Manning said, noting that the two countries signed a defence cooperation agreement late 2013, which focussed on officer training and exchange, English language training courses and coordination in peace-keeping issues. Lawmakers in discussions on legal reforms Lawmakers discussed amendments to the Civil Procedure Code in their plenary session in the morning of June 15 during the National Assembly’s ongoing ninth sitting. A majority of deputies agreed that revisions were needed to cement the Party's guidelines for legal reform. Areas addressed include the organisation of court trials, the rights and responsibilities of people involved in court proceedings and the quality of proceedings. Vu Xuan Truong of Nam Dinh province and Dang Dinh Luyen of Khanh Hoa province asked the drafting committee to carefully review the law, explaining each change they made. Vi Thi Huong of Dien Bien province and Pham Van Ha of Nghe An province said the Supreme People's Procuracy's role in proceedings must jibe with the 2013 Constitution. According to the Constitution, the procuracy controls and supervises trial proceedings. Giang Thi Binh of Lao Cai province, Nguyen Minh Lam of Long An province, Nguyen Xuan Thuy of Phu Tho province and others asked the drafting committee not to change Article 21, which mandates the Supreme People's Procuracy's presence during court proceedings. Deputies also asked the committee to adhere to the Constitution's protection of legal rights, and the interests of the Vietnamese State and its citizens. Other topics included adjournment rights and applying legal precedents during trial. In the afternoon, NA members discussed the amended Code of Criminal Procedure. Talk mostly focused on Article 2, which stipulates that the court cannot reject a civil case even if there are no related law articles to apply. Nguyen Cong Hong, NA member from Ha Tinh, said the new amendment was in accordance with the Constitution 2013. He said the regulation was also in line with Government efforts to build a governance system that focused on protecting citizens' rights. Therefore, he said, it was not right for the court to reject a civil case because there "there are no laws to apply". Hong said the rejection could lead to citizens using personal ways to deal with conflict, adding that this could be very dangerous. Nguyen Thai Hoc, an NA member from Phu Yen province, said the new regulation would help citizens to increase their trust in courts. However, NA member Vo Thi Hong Thoai said it would not help the court if there was no legal basis to solve the case. Speaking at the discussion, Chief Judge of the People's Supreme Court Truong Hoa Binh, said the basis for the new article was that the Government wanted to protect people's rights. He added that Vietnam also participated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which stipulated the legal rights of citizens and ensured the law to recognise the civil rights of the people. Binh acknowledged that there should be further research on the shortcomings of the regulation. However, he noted that the court would protect justice, the rights of the people and organisations, but would ensure it would strictly refuse cases that violated the law and affected the political system. Draft law on civil procedures discussed The National Assembly continued its plenary session in Hanoi on June 15 with a focus on the revised draft Civil Procedure Code. Under the chair of NA Vice Chairman Uong Chu Luu, 47 legislators raised questions about the position and role of the People’s Procuracy and regulations in civil procedures, among other aspects. On June 16, the amended Penal Code will dominate the NA’s discussions. Vietnamese party newspaper leaders visit Cuba A delegation from the Nhan Dan (People) newspaper –the central organ of the Communist Party of Vietnam – led by Deputy Editor in Chief Editor Le Quoc Khanh paid a working visit to Cuba from June 6-14 as part of cooperation exchanges with Cuba’s Granma newspaper. At talks with the Granma’s Editor in Chief Pelayo Terry Cuervo, the two sides discussed the functions and development experiences of the two newspapers. The Vietnamese delegation also held a working session with Alberto Alvarino, Deputy Head of the Ideology Department of the Cuban Communist Party’s Central Committee. During their talks, Alvarino touched on Cuba’s results in its process of updating its economic model as well as the roles of ideology in the renovation process. For his part, Khanh appreciated Cuba’s recent socio-economic achievements. The Vietnamese delegation also had working sessions with the Cuba Institute for Friendship with the Peoples and the Union of Journalists. They also visited a joint Vietnamese-Cuban project on rice planting and several economic and cultural centres in Pinar del Rio and Matanzas provinces. VNA/VOV