City of London Lord Mayor visit to boost ties


London (VNA) - Lord Mayor of the City of London , Michael Bear, will head a business delegation to Vietnam from March 19-24 to strengthen bilateral financial and trade ties.

The announcement was made on March 11 at a briefing in London ahead of his Asian market tournament including Malaysia and Taiwan .

The Lord Mayor told VNA that he was excited to go to Vietnam as the two countries had signed a joint declaration to establish a strategic partnership, and as a result “There are huge opportunities for Vietnam and the UK to increase bilateral trade and investment.”

He also said that Vietnam had a strong need for new infrastructure, that developing a modern emerging market economy would require substantial investment in physical infrastructure and human capital, and the challenge would be to fund these investments in a fiscally sustainable manner.

“The City stands prepared to assist the Vietnamese economy in providing development solutions. Businesses in the Square Mile can not only bring capital, but also technical expertise and management know-how to share with Vietnamese partners,” the Lord Mayor added.

When asked what his assessments about the Vietnamese market were, Michael said: “We see it extremely important. Our bilateral trade is probably only about 1.2 billion pounds and we would like to double that, triple that and we see every opportunity that can happen.”

He also said that Vietnam had huge programmes of development and the British businesses would like to be involved in. “That’s why I am bringing a very strong team including those from physical infrastructure and finance. It is very important visit for us.”

During his stay in Vietnam , Michael Bear is scheduled to meet the State Bank Governor and other high-ranking government officials. He will also take part in an urban development ‘round table’ event at the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange.

Michael Bear, the ambassador for UK-based financial and professional services, on March 12 begins a visit to Malaysia before he comes to Taiwan . Vietnam is the final leg of his Asian market tour./.

 


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Hawaii to better ties with Vietnam: Governor

 

Honolulu (VNA) – The Governor of the State of Hawaii , Neil Abercrombie, promised to better relations with Vietnam and to develop cooperation with the Southeast Asian country in terms of business and exchange of students and tourists.

At a reception for Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Le Cong Phung on March 10 in Honolulu , the Hawaii Governor agreed upon the Ambassador’s proposal that while Vietnam – US relations have matured after more than 15 years of diplomatic relations, Hawaii should strengthen relations with Vietnam as well as establish ties with its cities and provices.

“You can rest assured that our relations with the Vietnamese community here will be better,” Governor Abercrombie told the Vietnamese diplomat. “I will continue supporting the Vietnamese community here”.

He informed the Ambassador that the Vietnamese community in Hawaii , who account for 3 percent of the State’s population (about 36,000 people), has integrated itself in an exemplary way in Hawaii .

He expressed satisfaction at the considerable contributions made by the Vietnamese community in Hawaii to the State’s achievements.

Dung his working visit to Hawaii from March 9-12, Ambassador Phung was briefed by the State Lieutenant Governor, Brian Schatz, about Hawaii ’s preparations for the Asia – Pacific Cooperation Forum summit, scheduled for Nov. 7-13 this year in Honolulu .

Ambassador Phung had a working session with senior officers of the United States Pacific Command (PACOM) at the headquarters in Honolulu .

Ambassador Phung and Admiral Robert Willard discussed the desire of Vietnam and the U.S. to increase broad bilateral cooperation as well as military relations.

During their constructive conversation, they agreed on the importance of maintaining a stable and secure maritime common, noting that disagreements over territorial claims and the appropriate use of the maritime domain appear to be a growing challenge to regional stability and prosperity.

They addressed how both Vietnam and the United States , in addition to other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members, ASEAN Regional Forum participants, other maritime nations and the broader international community, all have national interests in freedom of navigation with respect for relevant international law.

They held that it was ripe for the two countries to boost greater cooperation, including humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, search and rescue, peacekeeping operations, maritime security, exchanges including defence research institutions, military medicine, as well as high-level dialogues. They also highlighted Vietnam ’s role in ASEAN and the ARF.

During his stay in the newest state of the U.S. , Ambassador Phung had working sessions with senior officials of the East – West Centre, the Asia – Pacific Centre for Securities Studies and the University of Hawaii . He also met with members of the Association of Vietnamese Students in Hawaii and attended the Association members’ participation in Honolulu festivals./.

 


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Blast at Japan’s quake-hit nuclear plant injures four

 

Tokyo (VNA) – Four people have been injured in an explosion that occurred at the No. 1 reactor of the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, according to Japan ’s Kyodo News.

The operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. said that explosion was heard at 3:36 p.m of March 12 (local time), following large tremors and white smoke were seen at the facility in Fukushima prefecture, 250 km to the northeast of Tokyo .

Fukushima No. 1 is one of the nuclear power plants being seriously affected by the 8.9 magnitude quake that hit northeastern Japan on March 11. The explosion took place after the Japanese Nuclear Energy Safety Organisation had ordered the plant to discharge radioactive waste to protect the reactor.

The authorities issued an emergency situation to all the five reactors, two in Fukushima No. 1 and three in the Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power plants. The five reactors stopped working after the quake.

All the people living in the nuclear plant area were asked to evacuate./.

 


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Nearly 300 Vietnamese workers in Algeria to return home

 

Hanoi (VNA) – A Vietnam Airlines plane is planned to take 292 Vietnamese workers, who escaped from chaotic Libya to the neighbouring country of Algeria , home on March 13.

These workers entered Algeria on Feb. 27 and rested in the town of In Amenas , 1,200 km from the capital city of Algiers , until they were transported to Hassi Messaoud city on March 11.

According to the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, by March 9, as many as 8,795 Vietnamese workers had returned home safely. 1,079 others are on the way to Vietnam by sea.

Before the unrest in Libya, there were more than 10,000 Vietnamese workers in this country, including 2,000 in Benghazi city and 8,000 in the capital city of Tripoli and surrounding areas./.

 


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Condolences to Japan over quake’s losses

 

Hanoi (VNA) – Party General Secretary and Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Phu Trong on March 11 sent a message of sympathy to Japanese Prime Minister and President of the Democratic Party, Naoto Kan , over human and property losses caused by powerful earthquake and tsunami.

State President Nguyen Minh Triet cabled a message of condolences to Japanese Emperor Akihito on March 12, expressing solidarity and willingness to help Japan and saying he believed that the Japanese people will soon overcome the aftermaths of the disaster to resume normal life.

On March 11, Politburo member and Standing member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Truong Tan Sang sent a message of sympathy to Yoshito Sengoku, Acting President of the Japan Democratic Party.

Representatives of the Foreign Ministry and the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan met their representatives of the Japanese Embassy in Hanoi and the Japanese Foreign Ministry on March 12, asking the Japanese government to take timely measures to support Vietnamese citizens in Japan .

The Japanese side said the Japanese government and people are willing to help Vietnamese people and other expatriates in Japan .

Hundreds of deaths and extensive devastation have been reported since the earthquake, measuring at 8.9 on the Richter scale, hit northeastern Japan on March 12 afternoon and triggered a massive tsunami in the Pacific Ocean./.

 


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Cambodia, Thailand agree to talk about Preah Vihear

 

New York (VNA) – Cambodia and Thailand on March 11 agreed to attend a United Nations-sponsored meeting over the damage caused to an historic temple during the recent border clashes.
Representatives from both countries will meet to discuss ways to safeguard the Preah Vihear Temple , a World Heritage List site. The meeting will be held at the Paris headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on May 25.
The agreement was reached after a UNESCO mission, led by special envoy for Preah Vihear, Koichiro Matsuura, went to Cambodia and Thailand to have talks with the Prime Ministers and high-level leaders of the two countries on UNESCO’s support in protecting the temple.
In 2008, the Hindu temple, Preah Vihear, was inscribed on the World Heritage List in recognition of its outstanding universal value. It is considered an outstanding example of Khmer architecture and consists of a complex of sanctuaries linked by pavements and staircases on an 800-metre-long axis./.

 


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Cyclo race raises fund for disadvantaged children

 

HCM City (VNA) – The 11 th cyclo race, named Cyclo Challenge 2.0, was held in Ho Chi Minh City on March 12 to raise fund for disadvantaged children in southern cities and provinces.

The event organiser, the Saigon Children’s Charity, expected to collect 30,000 USD from organisations and individuals.

The race was first organised in 2001 and has so far collected 500,000 USD to help 3,500 disadvantaged children to continue their education./.

 


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No Vietnamese confirmed dead in Japan quake

 

Tokyo (VNA)- Vietnamese students and guest workers in Japan have been found safe after the biggest earth quake in Japan ’s modern history and high wave tsunami hit the northeast region on March 11.

The Tokyo-based Vietnam News Agency correspondent reported that no name of Vietnamese nationals was included in the list of 564 deaths and over 1,000 missing announced by the Japanese Police Agency on March 12. Until now, no Vietnamese in Japan was reported dead in the most devastating disaster.

The President of the Vietnamese Youth and Students’ Association (VYSA) in Japan , Nguyen Ngoc Tu, told VNA that he had reached Hai Duong-born Dong Quang Diep, a student at the Tohoku University in Sendai city by paging on March 12. Sendal is capital of Miyagi refecture, the hardest hit by the recent earthquake and tsunami.

He quoted Diep as saying that his Vietnamese fellows, estimated at between 30 and 40, were evacuated to shelters erected by the Sendai administration.

“It is lucky that the university is located in a high place so all the students are safe and no one was reported injury,” Diep was quoted as saying.

However, the power, water supply and gas systems in the region have not resumed operation.

The VYSA leader however expressed concerns over the fate of other students following education in provinces adjacent to Miyagi such as Aomori , Akita , Iwate and Fukushima , though in small numbers.

Four Vietnamese engineering interns working in a site about 30 minutes by tram to Sendai were reported safe in shelters. At the point the deadly quake occurred on March 11, these people were still at the workplace. They were immediately evacuated to the existing safe shelters, avoiding the workplace destruction by the disaster.

Relevant Vietnamese agencies are working hard to contact these workers to determine the number of Vietnamese workers evacuated to these shelters and the fate of others.

Statistics released by the Vietnamese embassy in Japan showed that some 31,000 Vietnamese nationals are living in Japan , including permanent residents. Of them, some 3,700 are students and almost 17,000 interns or apprentices./.

 


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Art critics seek French folklore conservation experience

 

Paris (VNA)- A delegation of the Central Council of Theory and Criticism of Literature and Art visited France from March 6-11 to study experience in conserving national identity in culture and art amidst integration trend.

The delegation, led by the Council’s Permanent Deputy Chairman, Dr Nguyen Hong Vinh, had a working session with the French National Heritage Institute Director, Eric Gross. The French director shared experience that his institute often allocated an annual budget of some 150 million Euros to the research and personnel training in conservation and restoration of cultural heritages.

The guests also met with honourable senators and respective chairs of the France-Vietnam Friendship Association (FVFA) and the Club of the French-Vietnamese Friends, Helene Luc and Jacques Oudin.

The hosts were informed of the result of the 11 th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

The Vietnamese delegation held a gathering with overseas Vietnamese and representatives of Paris-based organisations and associations, such as the Students’ Association and the Association of Workers and Labourers, as well as businesspeople of the Vietnamese community./.

 


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Thai “Red shirts” hold massive demonstration

 

Bangkok (VNA)- “Red Shirt” demonstrators held a huge gathering in Bangkok on March 12 to mark one year since protests turned violence, killing some 90 people.

Police estimated 10,000 “Red Shirt” demonstrators flocked to the Democracy Monument on Ratchadamnern street , adjacent to the political and administrative centre of Thailand . Some out-on-bail leaders of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), which leads the movement, also took part in the demonstration.

Police predicted some 40,000 would join the gathering with the number to surge in the evening as many expect “Red Shirt” leaders to deliver speeches and former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to give a video-link address.

The rally is believed to be the largest held by the “Red Shirt” since May, 2010, when the Government sent troops to end the prolonged protests. After the crack-down, 19 UDD leaders were arrested on charges of terrorism.

Some 3,500 police have moved in streets around the Red Shirts’ rally. Deputy Prime Minister in charge of security Suthep Thaugsuban said police are able to keep security and will be backed by stand-by military just in case. He added this “Red Shirt” demonstration could not prolong as Thai people are looking forwards to a general election expected to take place by late June or early July.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced on March 11 that he would dismiss the lower house in the first week of May, making the general election to get