Government News 18/7 Chinese Vice Premier tours Vietnam-China Friendship Palace China’s Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli, who is on an official visit to Hanoi, surveyed on July 17 the status of construction of the Vietnam-China Friendship Palace in the Tu Lien district of the capital city. “The project is the Chinese Government’s gift to the Vietnamese people so the two nation’s have facilities to perform friendship and cultural exchange activities and host other international events,” said Vice Premier Zhang during the tour. For his part, Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) Chairman Vu Xuan Hong said the palace is a significant political and cultural project and a vivid symbol of the friendship between Vietnam and China in the new era. “The palace project aims to promote mutual understanding, co-operation and deepen the friendship between the two neighbouring nations,” Hong underscored. The palace spans an area of 3.3 ha at Le Quang Dao Boulevard in the Tu Liem district and it is estimated will cost about VND799 billion and be completed in 2017. The site for the palace was identified during the visit of former Premier Wen Jiabao to Vietnam in October 2004 and construction of the project began on March 4, 2015. Seminar spotlights legal harmonisation in building ASEAN Community Vietnamese lawmakers and scholars have joined EU and ASEAN experts at an international seminar in the central city of Da Nang to discuss the harmonisation of laws while building the ASEAN Community. At the two-day forum, beginning on July 16, the participants examined the example of the EU integration process and explored common standards on the regional market, the ASEAN integration process and legal needs for the transition process, among others. Ngo Duc Manh, Vice Chairman of the NA's Committee for External Relations, stated that legal harmonisation is a relatively new topic in Vietnam, expressing his interest in using the EU example to accelerate the legal harmonisation process within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and promote the roles of the member states’ respective lawmaking agencies, including the Vietnamese National Assembly. According to Juan Zaratiegui Biurrun, Politic Advisor to the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam, EU considers the National Assembly as a major agency in Vietnam’s modernisation process. The revision of the Law on the Press and the Criminal Law in 2015 and 2016 demonstrate Vietnam’s commitment to human rights and deepen Vietnam-EU ties. The event, co-organised by the National Assembly Office and the Delegation of the European Union to Vietnam, is part of the Vietnam–EU Strategic Dialogue Facility. NA chairman receives Lao PM National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung received the visiting Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong in Hanoi on July 17. At the meeting, the host praised Laos’ recent socio-economic achievements and wished the 10th National Congress of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party will be a great success. He informed the Lao government leader on the growing cooperation between the two countries’ legislative bodies and suggested that the two sides continue working closely together in external relations and in monitoring cooperative projects of their governments. For his part, the Lao PM said his visit aims to learn from Vietnam’s useful experiences in socio-economic development. Vietnam and Laos should continue to boost exchanges between high-ranking officials and enhance the implementation of agreements signed between the two governments in the fields of defence, security, economics, and trade, he added. He also asked the Vietnamese National Assembly to share experience in amending the Constitution with the Lao counterpart. Vietnam, Cambodia conduct joint field inspection on border incident A Vietnam-Cambodia joint working group on July 16 made a field inspection in the area between border marker 202 and 203 at Binh Bac village, Binh Hoa Tay commune, Moc Hoa district in Vietnam’s Long An province where a violent incident caused by some Cambodian extremists happened on June 28. The Vietnamese team joining the group was led by Nguyen Anh Dung, Deputy Chairman of the National Boundary Commission under the Foreign Ministry, while the Cambodian team was headed by Long Visalo, Secretary of State at the Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and head of Cambodia’s investigation board for the incident. At the site, the two sides inspected and clarify the specific site where the incident happened, while listening to witnesses from both countries and defining the reason behind the incident. The Cambodian team expressed sympathy to the injured Vietnamese and asked for their understanding. Following their investigation at the site, the two sides sat for talks in Cambodia’s Svay Rieng province, during which they agreed to determinedly prevent the recurrence of similar cases. They also vowed to respect reached agreements and treaties as well as the joint press communiqué between Vietnam and Cambodia issued on January 17, 1995. Conference gathers ideas on draft Law on Belief, Religion The National Assembly Committee for Culture, Education, Youth, Adolescents and Children held a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on July 17 to gather opinions from experts and religious dignitaries on a draft Law on Belief and Religion. A report reviewing 10 years of implementing the Ordinance on Belief and Religion delivered at the event pointed to many shortcomings in the current regulations amid the development of religious and belief activities, as well as the need for legal system renovation. The majority of participants agreed that it is necessary to issue a Law on Belief and Religion to replace the ordinance which reflects the responsibility of the State in observing the rights to belief and religious freedom as stated in the 2013 Constitution. According to Most Venerable Thich Thien Thong, Deputy Secretary of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, the institutionalisation of belief and religious policies will make the policies more effective, providing an efficient legal tool for religious practice in line with the law. Meanwhile, Ly Du So, Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of the Representative Board of the Ho Chi Minh City Muslim Community, asserted that the draft law is a big step forwards from the current ordinance, as it is more open and suitable to international regulations and creates favourable conditions for religious organisations to operate in conformity with relevant laws. Assessing the draft law, Professor Dr Tran Ngoc Duong, former Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Office, said the document reflects a new mindset on the rights to beliefs and religious freedom while expanding beneficiaries and encouraging and supporting religious activities for the interest of the community and the nation. As scheduled, the draft law will be debated for the first time at the 10 th session of the 13 th National Assembly.- VNA