Government News 5/8 Bangladeshi President to visit Viet Nam President of Bangladesh Abdul Hamid and the First Lady will begin a five-day visit to Viet Nam starting this Sunday. He comes at the invitation of President Truong Tan Sang. Lao PM extends sympathy to Vietnam over flooding Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong has sent a message of condolences to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung over great losses of lives and property caused by rain-triggered floods in northern Vietnam, particularly Quang Ninh province. In the message, the Prime Minister, on behalf of Lao Party, State and people, extended his deepest sympathy to flooding victims and expressed his hope that Vietnamese people would soon overcome the difficulties and return to normal daily life. Torrential rains over the last week has claimed a total of 28 lives and caused economic losses amounting to trillions of Vietnamese dong in northern mountainous provinces. Quang Ninh is the hardest hit province with 17 persons killed. HCM City ceremony marks Singapore’s 50th National Day Ho Chi Minh City hopes to continue fostering its friendship and people-to-people contacts with Singapore, said Chairman of the Vietnam-Singapore Friendship Association in the city Nguyen Thanh Rum at a ceremony on August 4 to mark the 50th anniversary of Singapore’s National Day (August 9). Rum noted that over the past years, Vietnam-Singapore relations have flourished, especially since Vietnam became a member of ASEAN in 1995. After 40 years of diplomatic ties, the two countries have become one of each other’s major trade and investment markets in the region, he said, adding that the bilateral strategic partnership has also expanded with stronger political relations and trust. Meanwhile, Singapore’s Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City Leow Siu Lin reviewed the friendship and cooperation between Singapore and Vietnam as well as Ho Chi Minh City in particular over recent years, noting that bilateral ties have expanded and deepened in various fields. In-depth political partnerships between the two countries have laid a firm foundation for their economic collaboration, she said, adding that Government-level projects and investments as well as Vietnam-Singapore industrial parks have become symbols of strong economic affiliation. She also believed that the people-to-people relationship between Singapore and Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City specifically will be bolstered in the future. Thus far, Singapore has had 578 projects in Ho Chi Minh City with total capital of 8.7 billion USD. Trade between the two sides reached 4.4 billion USD in 2014.- Vietnam, Chile strengthen relations A friendly meeting with Chilean journalists was held in Chile by the Vietnamese Embassy and the Chile-Vietnam Cultural Institute to honour the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnamese diplomacy (August 28). The event drew the participation of executive officials of the Chilean press and local radio station Radio Cooperativa as well as journalists of the Socialism Party of Chile. Addressing the event, Chairwoman of the institute Patricia Abarzua briefed the current ASEAN situation, relations of ASEAN country members with Chile as well as East Sea disputes and its effects on the Latin American region and Chile in particular. For his part, Vietnamese Ambassador to Chile Ngo Duc Thang highlighted the Vietnamese diplomacy’s achievements and asserted the Party and State’s firm determination that East Sea disputes will be solved through peaceful measures in accordance with international laws. Vietnam and Chile established diplomatic relations in 1972 and Vietnam is currently the second largest trade partner of Chile in ASEAN. The Vietnam-Chile free trade agreement (FTA) was signed in November 2011, taking effect in early 2014. It is also the first FTA that Vietnam signed with a Latin America country. Stellar achievements from mountainous poverty reduction project Over 800 social infrastructure projects covering rural roads, irrigation systems and fresh water facilities have become operational under the Northern Mountains Poverty Reduction Project, which aims to improve the livelihoods of mountainous residents. This was just part of the outcomes of the project as reported by Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Van Hieu at a conference to review the project’s second implementation phase (2010-2015) in Hanoi on August 4. Efforts to develop production chains with the involvement of farmers have paid off in raising the local farming techniques, expanding commercial-scale farming and diversifying local products. At the same time, management capacity of local officials has been improved remarkably through training courses and participation in specific poverty reduction projects. At the event, Victoria Kwakwa, the World Bank’s (WB) Country Director for Vietnam, highlighted that the Ministry of Planning and Investment needs to improve the dissemination of information among local residents using practical and down-to-earth methods, focusing more on nutrition and environment improvement while maintaining results for sustainable development. The Northern Mountains Poverty Reduction Project was funded with 150 million USD in capital from the WB and corresponding funds from the Vietnamese Government. It has operated in 2,366 villages in six northern provinces of Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Son La, Hoa Binh, Yen Bai and Lao Cai. Over 133,000 families, including 67,000 impoverished households, have benefited from the project. The poverty reduction project aims to increase resident living standards in targeted areas, improve the productivity and institutional capacity of local authorities and boost market links and business innovations. Accordingly, it targets to reduce 3 percent of impoverished households and raise local income by 10 percent annually. Based on the achievements from 2010-2015, the Ministry is determined to scale up the project’s implementation in 259 communes of the six beneficiary provinces with a focus on impoverished and ethnic families. Communist Review honoured during 85th anniversary ceremony The Communist Review newspaper was honoured with the Ho Chi Minh Order for the second time during a ceremony marking its 85th founding anniversary (August 5) in Hanoi on August 4. On behalf of Party and State leaders, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong presented the accolade to its staff. Founded by Nguyen Ai Quoc who was also Editor-in-chief, the Communist Review has successfully fulfilled its function as a political and theoretical body of the Party Central Committee. Throughout its history, the paper has grown in stature, contributing to disseminating and defending Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh thought as well as political education and Party theory development, Editor-in-chief Vu Van Phuc said at the ceremony Looking back at the past 30 years, it has been at the forefront of spreading Party policies, State laws, core issues regarding Party building and socio-economic-cultural affairs and national defence-security and diplomacy. Its collection of theoretical studies has provided evidence and reference for policymaking, he added. In his speech, Politburo member Dinh The Huynh, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Popularisation and Education, called on the review’s staff to recommend ideas for policymaking based on theory and realities at home and abroad. For the foreseeable future, it was asked to prepare documents for submission to the 12th National Party Congress and improve the quality of each article. The review should take initiative in countering wrongful opinions and hostile allegations as part of Party safeguard efforts, he said. Huynh expressed his confidence that the Communist Review staff, with their firm political stance and professional skills, will continue their excellent work and do deserve the trust of the Party, State, people and readers nationwide.- VNA/VNS