|
Home  Vietnam Daily Brief Vietnam Daily Brief, 2010 July 23 |
|
Vietnam Daily Brief, 2010 July 23 |
|
|
|
|
Friday, 23 July 2010 |
Agent Orange victims receive more aid relief Hanoi (VNA) – Various activities to support Agent Orange (AO) victims are being held nationwide in response to the day for Vietnamese AO victims, Orange Day, which falls on August 10.
At a press briefing on July 22, President of the Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange (VAVA), Senior Lieutenant-General Nguyen Van Rinh said between July 10-August 10, VAVA continued its campaign to mobilise 60 billion VND in support of AO victims.
Starting last August, the campaign has so far raised 47 billion VND.
The Vietnam Data Communication Company (VDC) will continue its charitable texting programme called “Justice and heart 2010.” Each message sent to 8788 containing the words, “vava” or “vava_loichiase”, starting from July 23, will contribute 15,000 VND to a fund in support of AO victims.
Last year, VDC transferred 30 million VND collected from its charitable texting programme to VAVA.
VAVA will ask the Government to adopt more preferential policies for Vietnamese AO victims, Senior Lieutenant-General Rinh said, adding that the association will continue to mobilise support from individuals and organisations for the construction of 550 houses and 55 centres to care for AO victims and their children.
Since 2004, local and international individuals and organisations have donated 150 billion VND in cash and kind to help AO/dioxin victims.
The collected money has been used to build and repair more than 1,400 houses, build caring centres, provide scholarships and give medical and flood aid to the victims.
On the occasion of Orange Day, VAVA called for the US government and parliament to show more their responsibility for the aftermath of the toxic war to increase the Vietnam-US friendship in peace and development.
It also called for all victims in all countries, especially the US veterans and war victims to stand side by side with the AO victims of Vietnam for justice and their legitimate interest.
According to VAVA statistics, Vietnam has 4.8 million people exposed to AO/dioxin, including 3 million AO victims.
Luxembourg helps with safe blood transfusions
Hanoi (VNA) – A technical assistance project of the safe blood transfusion programme in Vietnam has gained satisfactory results after being implemented at health services and hospitals nationwide under the sponsorship of Luxembourg in the 2004-2010 period, said a health ministry official.
Deputy Head of the Health Ministry’s National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) Bach Quoc Khanh said the project has provided technical and professional consultation and financial assistance to his institute in building technical standards and professional guidance for blood banks and blood transfusion services.
According to Khanh, under the project, a number of training courses on blood quality management were held for cadres at the blood transfusion centres and a programme on screening blood transfusion transmitted diseases was successfully carried out at more than 20 test labs nationwide.
The project has also mobilised and maintained the number of volunteer blood donors. In 2009, there were more than 500,000 volunteer blood donors and more than 132,000 professional blood donors and patients’ relatives.
Vietnam ’s blood transfusion sector will finalise its blood transfusion system in the 2011-2020 period. It will increase the capability for four new blood transfusion centres at the NIHBT, the Hue Central Hospital , the Cho Ray Hospital in HCM City and the Can Tho City Health Department and establish similar centres in the northern province of Dien Bien, the central province of Binh Dinh and the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang .
The sector will also assist the establishment of the blood transfusion system for the military and public security sector and organise blood transfusion services in remote, mountainous and island regions.-Enditem
NEC helps build data management system for Hanoi Tokyo (VNA) – Japan’s NEC electronic firm has signed a contract worth 260 million JPY (3 million USD) with Hanoi to help the Southeast Asian city build and manage a database of its residents.
NEC is also expected to sign another contract worth 20 billion JPY with Vietnam for a planned project that will include the management of data about Vietnamese citizens during the next five years. At present, Vietnamese cities and provinces mostly manage their population data by hard documents.
Since 2005, Vietnam has exerted efforts to build a modern information system to digitalise the database on its people.
Other Japanese electronics firms like Hitachi and Fujitsu also have plans to win contracts to build information systems overseas.
ARF Defence Officials’ Dialogue opens in Hanoi Hanoi (VNA) – The fourth ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Defence Officials’ Dialogue (DoD) opened in Hanoi on July 22 under the chairmanship of the Head of Vietnam’s Institute for Defence International Relations.
The DoD focuses on the ARF defence organisations’ role in regional security structure and the consideration, assessment and future orientation of the ARF defence coordination/cooperation.
This year’s event drew 120 delegates who are representatives of 27 ARF member countries, members of the ASEAN Secretariat’s ARF group and ARF specialised agencies and 10 delegates from the host country’s Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Public Security and Defence.
As Chair of ASEAN in 2010, Vietnam will host conferences within the ARF framework with the Ministry of Defence hosting four DoD conferences at department and institute levels and the ARF Security Policy Conference (ASPC).
The first DoD was held in New Delhi , India , from Nov. 8-10, 2009, the second in Nha Trang city of the southern coastal province of Khanh Hoa from March 17-20, 2010, and the third in the central coastal city of Da Nang from May 17-20, 2010.
Following the fourth DoD, defence officials’ delegations will join in activities of the ARF ministers’ meeting held by the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry at Hanoi ’s National Convention Centre on July 23.
Int’l sound, light exhibition opens in HCM City
HCM City (VNA) – An international exhibition showcasing professional sound, light, audiovisual, broadcast, systems integration and entertainment technologies called “PALME Vietnam 2010” opened in Ho Chi Minh City on July 22.
Co-organised by the IIR Exhibitions Pte. Ltd and Vietnam International Trade Fair and Advertising Company (Vinexad), the three-day exhibition has drawn the participation of more than 200 companies from 20 countries and territories, including the US, the UK, Italy, Spain, Germany, China, Taiwan, France and Singapore.
The first-ever exhibition in Vietnam promises to bring the latest technologies and equipment in the field of audio, sound, lighting and connection systems to visitors, especially those in Southeast Asia.
The exhibition provides a good chance for companies operating in the industry to share experiences and seek business opportunities.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tran Chien Thang said that PALME Vietnam 2010 is being held at a right time as Vietnam is considered one of the countries with the fastest growing communication and entertainment industries in the world.
With a population of over 86 million people, Vietnam is a potential market for the development of new technologies, he said, adding that the country is now ready to acquire products and services of the communication and entertainment industry.
The Vietnamese communication and entertainment industry’s revenues are expected to exceed 2.3 billion USD in 2013.
One million signatures for no-smoking campaign
Hanoi (VNA) – More than 1.2 million signatures have been collected during a one-month campaign entitled “Non-smoke house” in Vietnam .
The figure was released by the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) Central Committee and the Office of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Vietnam at a meeting to sum up the campaign in Hanoi on July 22.
The “Non-smoke house” campaign, which was launched on May 31, was part of activities in response to the World No Tobacco Day themed “Tobacco and Gender”, focusing on the harmful effects of smoking on women and children.
Together with signature collection, the VWU Central Committee trained its staff and officers in 30 provinces and cities on the harmful effects of smoking, the smoking situation in Vietnam and the benefits of a non-smoking environment.
Over 820,000 women were provided with information on the damaging effects of cigarette smoke and passive smoking through activities of the grassroots women associations.
The women associations of all levels delivered 200,000 WHO-issued postcards on tobacco’s bad effects.
Speaking at the meeting, a WHO representative emphasised the important role of the VWU in accessing and disseminating information to families about the dangers of tobacco.
ASEAN exhibition on biodiversity comes to Hanoi
Hanoi (VNA) –The preservation of nature and biodiversity as well as threats to biodiversity will be the focus of an exhibition to take place in Hanoi from August 4-6.
The ASEAN exhibition on biodiversity, to be coorganised by Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, is part of activities in response to the International Year of Biodiversity 2010 with the slogan “Biodiversity is life. Biodiversity is our life”.
According to Bui Cach Tuyen, director to the ministry’s General Department on the Environment, the event is aimed at raising public awareness among the ASEAN community of biodiversity, climate change and its impacts on biodiversity.
A number of dialogues and orientations on the conservation of biodiversity in Vietnam will also take place within the framework of the event.
Although ranking 16 th in terms of biodiversity, the increasing population plus the penetration of exotic organisms and polluted environment are destroying Vietnam’s ecosystem.
The forest industry has made numerous efforts in biodiversity preservation to reduce harmful impacts on the ecosystem.
Vietnam prioritises relations with China
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam consistently attaches importance to developing the traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation with neighbouring China .
Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh affirmed that cooperation while receiving Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, who is in Vietnam to attend the ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the 17 th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), in Hanoi on July 22.
The Party leader said he was pleased with the continuously developing ties between the two countries, with many practical activities marking “Vietnam-China Friendship Year 2010”.
He expressed his wish that the two sides successfully organise the upcoming Vietnam-China Youth Festival in China ’s Guangxi province and the 6 th theoretical workshop between the Communist Parties of Vietnam and China in Vietnam ’s central city of Da Nang .
General Secretary Manh also highly valued China ’s support for Vietnam during the year it assumes the position of ASEAN Chair.
For his part, Minister Yang Jiechi said he was delighted with the great achievements the Vietnamese people have made during the renewal process.
He expressed his determination to boost cooperation with the Vietnamese in implementing high-level agreements as well as activities celebrating the 60 th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties and China-Vietnam Friendship Year 2010.
He spoke highly of Vietnam ’s preparations for the ASEAN meetings and vowed to actively cooperate with the Southeast Asian country during the year it assumes the ASEAN Chair.
State leader hails VN-Soviet aerospace flight
Hanoi (VNA) – The successful aerospace flight of the “Union-37” spaceship with cosmonauts Pham Tuan and Victor Gorbatko aboard from July 23-31, 1980, became a historical event and the pride of the two nations’ people, said the State President.
State President Nguyen Minh Triet delivered the remark while hosting a reception in Hanoi on July 22 for Vietnam’s hero cosmonaut Pham Tuan and Russian hero spaceman Victor Gorbatko on the 30 th anniversary of the successful aerospace flight jointly performed by the two nations.
President Triet said the flight also made a glorious symbol for the 60-year-long traditional friendship, comprehensive cooperation and strategic partnership between Vietnam and the former Soviet Union and the current Russia Federation.
The image of Pham Tuan and Gorbatko in space is also a proud memory for the two cosmonauts themselves and has strengthened the Vietnamese people’s confidence in the everlasting solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, he said.
President Triet took this occasion to thank the people of the former Soviet Union and the current Russian Federation for their valuable support and assistance to the Vietnamese people during their past struggle for national independence and the cause of national construction and development at present.
The Vietnamese people wish that the Russian Federation would further develop and play a more important role in the region and the world, the State leader said.
Gorbatko recalled his memories about the joint training and flight on the “Union-37” spaceship with Pham Tuan 30 years ago as well as his earlier visits to Vietnam .
The friendship sentiments between the families of the two cosmonauts in particular and between the two countries’ peoples remain unchanged from 30 years ago, he said.
On behalf of the Russian cosmonauts’ federation, Gorbatko presented the President with a badge marking 50 years since astronaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in the world to make a flight into space.
Defence Minister greets Chinese military advisors
Hanoi (VNA) – Defence Minister General Phung Quang Thanh on July 22 met with a delegation of experts and advisors from China who helped Vietnam during the anti-US war.
At the meeting, Minister Thanh stressed that during the struggle for national independence, Vietnam received strong supports from international friends, especially the Party and State of China.
The assistance of thousands of Chinese experts and advisors contributed to the Vietnam’s victory over the US imperialists, he said.
He also expressed his belief that the delegation will reap good outcomes through the visit which would contribute to increasing mutual understanding and bolstering traditional friendship as well as cooperative relations between the two parties, states and armies.
Lt. Gen. Gong Gucheng, head of the delegation, expressed his delight to visit Vietnam where he served in the US war, saying he hoped the traditional relations between the two nations would continue to prosper and reach a new height.
Vietnamese, US foreign ministers hold talks
Hanoi (VNA) – Top diplomats of Vietnam and the US have agreed to further economic ties to create an impetus for the development of relations between the two nations, both bilaterally and multilaterally.
Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reached consensus on the issue during their talks in Hanoi on July 22.
Khiem applauded Clinton ’s visit to Vietnam and her attendance at ASEAN-related meetings, reflecting the US ’s desire to strengthen relations with the bloc in general and Vietnam in particular.
Both ministers noted with pleasure that the bilateral relationship has reaped significant achievements over the past 15 years on the basis of mutual respect, equality and reciprocal benefit, bringing great benefits to the two countries’ people and contributing to peace, security, stability and development in the Asia-Pacific.
They agreed to build a model partnership in response to climate change and rising sea levels.
Khiem requested the US government not apply trade barriers or “anti-dumping” and “anti-subsidy” duties on Vietnamese exports. He also called on the US to recognise Vietnam ’s market economy and grant the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) status to the country.
The official urged the US to increase its funding to detoxify the environment and support Agent Orange/dioxin victims in Vietnam .
Khiem and Clinton also discussed a number of regional and international issues of mutual concern.
Following the talks, the two ministers attended a ceremony celebrating the 15 th anniversary of normalisation of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the US .
The event was co-hosted by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) and the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham).
Later in the day, Vietnamese Minister of Justice Ha Hung Cuong and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed an inter-governmental framework agreement on cooperation in HIV/AIDS prevention and control.
|
|
|
