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Home  Vietnam Daily Brief Vietnam Brief, 2010 July 12 |
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Vietnam Brief, 2010 July 12 |
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Monday, 12 July 2010 |
ASEAN Family Day in Switzerland, France Geneve (VNA)-An ASEAN Family Day took place in a joyful atmosphere in Geneve state, Switzerland on July 10.
Attending the event were diplomats and their families from ASEAN countries, representatives of the World Trade Organisation and other international organisations in Geneve.
The participants had chance to enjoy music performances, culinary competitions and various sport games including football, tennis, badminton, volleyball, bowling and golf.
Ambassador Vu Dung, chairman of ASEAN delegations to the United Nations and head of the Vietnamese delegation sent thanks to Ambassador Evans Garcia, head of the Philippine delegation for their host of a successful event, stressing that its success is the best vivid proof for ASEAN’s unity in diversity.
The same day, the ASEAN Family Day was also held in Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines city in the southern outskirt of Paris, France by Brunei.
At the opening ceremony, Vietnamese ambassador to France Le Kinh Tai as a chairman of ASEAN underlined that ASEAN family day is one of important events contributing to strengthening the solidarity and mutual understanding among ASEAN diplomatic corps in France in particular and ASEAN countries in general. Vietnam makes global strides, says US press
Washington (VNA) - Vietnam, the country called the Smaller Dragon, has fast emerged as a globalisation winner - a success recognised by its selection this year as host of the World Economic Forum East Asia Summit, a local media reported on July 10.
The “Real Clear World” website in its article entitled “Smaller Dragon makes global strides” said that in economic terms Vietnam is a rapidly rising power. Since the beginning of this century, it's held third place in average annual GDP growth, just behind China and India and been most successful in poverty reduction.
Vietnam has become a major exporter, ranking 40th in the world. Ironically the country it most exports to, at almost 20 percent, is the US, the article said. It added that the US is also a prominent presence in inward investment, along with others, including the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Switzerland, Australia and the EU. In 2007, following more than a decade of intense negotiations, Vietnam joined the World Trade Organisation.
One major indicator of Vietnam's success is the degree of active engagement of its overseas Vietnamese (OVs) in the development of the country. Many of the OVs or their progeny return, bringing valuable capital, know-how and networks.
The article praised the amazing speed of change in the country, stressing that in the last decade Vietnam has become an entrepreneurial, open and dynamic society. In pursuing policies of reform, liberalisation and further integration with the world economy, the Vietnamese government aims to achieve the status of industrialised nation by 2020. The Vietnamese people have a renewed sense of achievement in the present, pride in the past - this year Vietnam celebrates the 1000th anniversary of the establishment of the city of Hanoi - and confidence in the future.
However, the article warned that there are many risks inherent in the Asian regimes, including Vietnam's. Problems of infrastructure, governance, corruption, weak institutions, rising inequality - though not as bad in Vietnam as in some other East Asian countries - could jeopardize future prospects. Vietnam-US relations grow fast, says Vietnamese diplomat Washington (VNA) – Vietnam-US ties are developing fast and effectively in all fields of economics, politics, trade, investment, science-technology, culture and education.
Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Le Cong Phung made the remark in an interview granted to Washington-based Vietnamese reporters on the occasion of the 15 th anniversary of the normalisation of the two countries’ diplomatic relations (July 12).
While assessing the bilateral ties over the past 15 years, Phụng said that these are special relations.
“The two countries experienced a period of ups and downs, especially the war heritages, and it is unimaginable that the bilateral ties have developed so well,” Phung said.
The Ambassador noted that the US leaders are all determined to boost ties with Vietnam , referring to Vietnam policies of the two former administrations of Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and the current administration of Barack Obama.
According to the Vietnamese diplomat, Vietnam-US ties have recorded fast developments over the past 15 years in all fields, especially in economics, trade, investment, science-technology and education.
Regarding to economic and commercial ties, Phung said that the two countries’ trade turnover climbed from some 600 million USD in 2000 when the two signed a bilateral trade agreement to 1.2 billion USD in 2001 and jumped up to 15 billion USD in 2009.
The US provided Vietnam with its active supports in the country’s bid to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO), agreed to grant Vietnam the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status and is now considering to apply its Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) on Vietnam, said Phung.
Last year, despite negative impacts from the world financial crisis, the US was still one of the largest foreign investors in Vietnam .
In terms of education, there are some 13,000 Vietnamese students in the US , Phung said, adding that Vietnam is going on with its policy to create conditions for Vietnamese undergraduates and postgraduates to go to the US for study.
As for cooperation in security and national defence, Phụng reckoned that this is a sensitive issue.
However, he said, “with Vietnamese leaders’ and people’s determination to leave the past behind and look forwards to the future as well as efforts made by both sides”, the cooperation in the field has achieved positive results.
Vietnam and the US had agreed to set up a strategic dialogue mechanism on security and national defence and so far three such dialogues have been made.
“ Vietnam is one of the few Southeast Asian countries securing the mechanism with the US ,” Phung said. He added that the cooperation in the field will help boost bilateral ties in politics, economics and investment, contributing to enhancing the mutual understandings.
While mentioning differences in several fields between the two countries, Phung reckoned that they are not obstacles and the two sides can narrow and remove them by discussions.
Regarding to nearly 2 million Vietnamese expatriates in the US , the Ambassador said that this is the largest Vietnamese community overseas and they are trying to maintain the Vietnamese cultural identity.
“In general, the majority of them always bear their homeland in mind. They are among pioneers in the normalisation of the ties between the two countries as well as support of the national construction and development cause. Only a few people have after historic events still showed different viewpoints, even hostility, and acted against their nation,” Phung said.
Chairman works with Long An on economic development Long An (VNA) – National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong hailed the agriculture-based province of Long An in the Mekong delta for setting a bold target of becoming an industrialised one by 2020.
The NA Chairman made the compliment during his working session with Long An province’s authorities on July 11 to review its socio-economic performance as well as preparations for Party congresses at all levels.
He noted that the locality, while still based largely on agriculture, has made drastic moves to steer its economic structure to industries to realise it set goal.
Chairman Trong was delighted that while allocating part of its farming land for industries, Long An has still managed to record a food output of about 2 million tonnes a year, ensuring that each person will have an increase in food supply on average.
He shared with Long An difficulties it is facing, such as a lack of investment capital and electricity for production and daily use, explaining that these problems are common during the development process.
Discussing the locality’s preparations for the ogranisation of Party congresses at all levels, the NA Chairman asked Long An to focus on reviewing the implementation of the Party’s major guidelines and policies.
He laid special stress on assessing of the locality’s 20 years of implementation of the 1991 Platform, 25 years of carrying out the renewal process, and 10 years of executing the 2001-2010 socio-economic development strategy.
By doing so, Long An can formulate strategic orientations and visions for its development course in the following phases and draw interesting lessons and experiences to contribute to the Party Central Committee, Chairman Trong said.
He suggested that apart from making careful preparations in terms of personnel, Long An should pay special attention to the compilation of documents, mobilising all Party members and people from all walks of life to the work.
According Secretary of the Long An Provincial Party’ Committee Truong Van Tiep, Long An posted an average GDP growth rate of 11.6 percent in the 2006-2010 period.
By the end of this year, the local economy will have a structure that encompasses 37.5 percent coming from agriculture, forestry and fisheries, 33 percent from industrial sector and construction, and 29.5 percent from services.
This year, the province’s per capita income is estimated to be 22.3 million VND.
In the first half of this year, Long An has been invested by 6,150 local businesses with a combined registered capital of 185 trillion VND and housed 323 foreign invested projects with a total capital of 3.19 billion USD.
At present, the locality has 23 industrial zones and 41 industrial clusters covering 15,500 ha in total.
The provincial party official also reported that 865 out of 871 party cells in Long An have to date held congresses and the province is urgently making final preparations for its ninth party congress. VN, New Zealand to make efforts to expand ties Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and New Zealand will make active efforts to expand bilateral cooperative ties, especially in trade and investment, in the coming time.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key made the statement in a banquet he hosted in Hanoi on July 11 to mark the 35 th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties (June 19).
Vietnamese Deputy PM Hoang Trung Hai, officials from several ministries and branches and representatives from businesses of the two countries were present at the banquet.
The New Zealand PM, who is on a three-day official visit to Vietnam, stressed that the 35 th anniversary is a chance for both countries to review achievements the bilateral cooperation has brought about.
On behalf of the Vietnamese government and people, Hai said he was happy to see the two countries’ cooperative and friendly ties ceaselessly developing over the past 35 years and the ties have been raised to a new height.
The upcoming signing of an Action Plan will be legal foundation for the two countries to implement the comprehensive partnership established during Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh’s trip to New Zealand last September, said Hai while speaking highly of increasing Official Development Assistance (ODA) New Zealand has provided for Vietnam.
On the same day, Key paid a floral tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his Mausoleum and laid a wreath at the Memorial of War Martyrs.
US House of Representatives to hold AO hearing Washington (VNA) - A hearing on Agent Orange (AO) in Vietnam will be held in Washington D.C. on July 15 by the US House of Representatives to examine how to meet the needs of Vietnam’s AO victims who have been exposed to the toxic dioxin contained in the Agent Orange used by the US during the Vietnam War.
The hearing, the third of its kind, was called by Congressman Eni Faleomavaega, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia , the Pacific and the Global Environment of the US House of Representatives' Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Faleomavaega also called and presided over the first US Congress hearing on AO in Vietnam in May 2008 and the second in June 2009.
The congressman on July 8 sent a notice to members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs informing that the open hearing will be held under the subject "Agent Orange in Vietnam : Recent Developments in Remediation".
This hearing will be attended by Matthew Palmer, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US Department of State's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs; Ph.D. John Wilson, Director of the Office of Technical Support under US Agency for International Development's Bureaus for Asia and the Middle East; M.D. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong, Director General of Ngoc Tam Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City and presently Member of the US-Vietnam Dialogue Group on AO/Dioxin; and Tran Thi Hoan, AO victim.
According to the July 10 press release of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign, Hoan, 24, from Duc Linh district of Binh Thuan province in Central Vietnam is a second generation victim of AO.
The press release said Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong is Vietnam ’s leading medical expert and researcher on the affects of AO on the health of the Vietnamese people and is Vice President of VAVA, a Vietnamese NGO representing hundreds of thousands of AO victims.
The July 12-16 visit to the US by Hoan and Phuong will be sponsored by the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief & Responsibility Campaign, a group made up of US veterans, Vietnamese Americans, public health, environmental and legal experts, people of faith and peace activists.
According to the New York-based organisation, during the week, the two Vietnamese, accompanied by American veterans, will meet with other members of the US House of Representatives and the US Senate.
The team will call for justice and US government assistance for Vietnam ’s AO victims as well as medical care for the children of US veterans and Vietnamese Americans exposed to AO.
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