Category: Politics

Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ali Asadov has sent a letter of condolences to Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin.

In his letter, Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov said he was deeply saddened by the news of numerous casualties and injuries as a result of a terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall concert venue in Moscow.

PM Ali Asadov extended his sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of those who were killed and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

Source: Azerbaijan State News Agency

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has sent a letter of condolences to President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin regarding the terrible terrorist attack that occurred in Moscow.

‘We were deeply shocked by the news of the terrible terrorist attack that took place in the Crocus City Hall concert venue.

I strongly condemn this act of terrorism, and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan and on my own behalf, I wish you, the people of Russia, and the families and loved ones of those who were killed patience, and the injured a speedy recovery,’ the head of state said in his letter.

Source: Azerbaijan State News Agency

The Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network and the Inter-Parliamentary Union have inked a Memorandum of Understanding on the margins of the 148th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva.

The document was signed on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network by Sahiba Gafarova, the Speaker of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Chairwoman of the Parliamentary Network, and on behalf of the Inter-Parliamentary Union by Martin Chungong, the IPU Secretary General.

Following the signing ceremony, the sides noted that the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network, established on the initiative of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, plays an important role in expanding parliamentary diplomacy and deepening cooperation between the legislative bodies of the Non-Aligned Movement member states. They emphasized that the cooperation between the Non-Aligned Movement Parliamentary Network and the Inter-Parliamentary Union will serve to diversify activities in
this area.

They also hailed the development of relations between the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Inter-Parliamentary Union.

The signed memorandum will enhance ties between the two organizations and promote cooperation through parliamentary diplomacy on issues of common concern.

Source: Azerbaijan State News Agency

Hanoi: Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang hosted a reception in Hanoi on March 20 for Second Minister for Trade and Industry of Singapore Tan See Leng, who is on a visit to Vietnam.

During the meeting, the Deputy PM highlighted the sound development of the Vietnam – Singapore relations across a variety of fields in recent times.

In 2023, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the diplomatic relations, and 10 years since Vietnam and Singapore established the strategic partnership, the two countries signed many important cooperation agreements, opening up new opportunities to boost sustainable development cooperation between the two countries, especially in new areas such as energy transition, digital economy, digital transformation, and the green economy, he said.

The host said he supports cooperation in new areas in line with global trends, thus contributing to further deepening the Vietnam-Singapore strategic partnership in the coming time.

The two sides focused their discussion on the prospects of
cooperation in areas of semiconductors, artificial intelligence, innovation, digital and green economic development, and establishing free trade zones.

They also mentioned the possibility of establishing legal support channels for Singaporean investors in Vietnam, the potential signing of agreements on carbon credits, and cooperation in energy transition towards achieving the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

Regarding trade cooperation, two-way trade between Vietnam and Singapore hit 9.1 billion USD in 2023, and is estimated to reach 2.4 billion USD in the first quarter of 2024, up 8.3% year-on-year, and higher than the average trade growth between Vietnam and ASEAN (7.2%).

Singapore is the largest Southeast Asian investor in Vietnam, and the second biggest investor among 143 countries and territories, with a total registered capital of 73.5 billion across 3,274 valid projects.

Vietnam and Singapore also closely cooperate in regional and international forums such as ASEAN, APEC, WTO, particularly withi
n frameworks and mechanisms led by ASEAN. Both countries are members of major free trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement.

Vietnam and Singapore, as ASEAN members, signed FTAs with the UK and the European Union, facilitating stronger cooperation between their business communities./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: The fourth Vietnam – Laos ministerial-level defence policy dialogue was held in the northwestern province of Dien Bien on March 20 under the chair of Deputy Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Hoang Xuan Chien and his Lao counterpart Vongkham Phommakone.

At the event, Chien and Vongkham Phommakone agreed that the bilateral defence cooperation has carved out practical outcomes that help promote the sound friendship between the two governments, armies and peoples, especially in the areas of delegation exchange at all levels, dialogue mechanisms, border management and protection, training, consultation and support for each other at multilateral forums.

Touching the global and regional situations, Chien spoke highly of ASEAN’s role in shaping up and maintaining the regional security architecture, and boosting practical cooperation among its member states as well as between ASEAN and its partners.

He expressed his belief that as the ASEAN Chair 2024, Laos will effectively run the bloc’s cooperation mechani
sms, create consensus in the bloc, and continue developing the ASEAN community.

Both sides concurred to continue cooperation in the above-mentioned fields, and proposed to assign delegations of experts from the two ministries to review and evaluate the outcomes of the implementation of the protocol for the 2020-2024 period and recommend collaboration contents for 2025-2029.

As Laos’ traditional Bunpimay festival is approaching, Chien conveyed Minister of Defence General Phan Van Giang’s new year greetings to Minister of Defence General Chansamone Chanyalath./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

An Giang: Officials and Party members in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang are paying great attention to and showing their support for Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s speech at the recent meeting of the sub-committee for personnel affairs of the 14th National Party Congress.

In his speech, the Party chief set the standards for members of the 14th Party Central Committee to truly be exemplary Party members in terms of political mettle, moral qualities and working capacity, emphasising that they must have both virtue and talent, in which virtue is the root.

Appreciating the speech, Nguyen Manh Ha, deputy head of the provincial Party Committee’s Commission for Information and Education, agreed with the leader’s idea that personnel work not only plays a decisive role in Party building but also is a vital link in all Party activities, and a factor determining the success or failure of the revolution.

The Party General Secretary gave summaries about the important role of personnel work in the coun
try’s revolution, which enabled the country to make important steps forward in development, and gain stature, potential, position and reputation as it has today, said Ha.

Truong Long Ho, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Home Affairs, said that the Party leader’s speech was very profound, specific and objective, affirming the importance of personnel work at any Party congress.

According to Ho, personnel work that is carefully prepared in accordance with the regulations and standards set by the Party will create a great breakthrough for the nation building and development cause.

The preparation of personnel for Party congresses at all levels is a task, an honour and a heavy responsibility, requiring each Party member to be truly responsible and impartial in selecting and introducing competent individuals to ensure that the selected officials must have enough virtue, vision, talent, confidence and health to meet the requirements of the Party’s political tasks in the new term, he added./.

Sour
ce: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

– The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) must join hands with competent agencies to fully and effectively implement timely measures to stabilise the gold market under a recent dispatch by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

The Government has repeatedly requested the central bank to keep a close watch on the global and domestic gold prices so as to control the market as its recent complicated developments have had a negative impact on the monetary market and market sentiment.

– The International Francophone Day (March 20) offers an opportunity for the Francophone community to honour its common values and the desire shared by French-speaking people to live and cooperate in cultural diversity.

Over the past years, Vietnam has made continuous efforts to contribute to promoting the image and presence of the French-speaking community in the Asia-Pacific and the world at large.

– Dang Ha Viet, Director of the General Depart
ment of Sports and Physical Training (GDSPT) under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, on March 19 held a working session with Alain Goudsmet, Chairman of Mentally Fit Global of Belgium to discuss cooperation in the field of physical training and sports.

Earlier, Belgium expressed the wish to work with the GDSPT in implementing a project on building a mental training network in Vietnamese sports, aiming to further promote collaboration between the two countries in this field on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic ties (March 22, 1973 – March 22, 2023).

– Vietnamese and Dutch experts shared experience in policy building, nature-based and technical solutions and mobilisation of financial resources for sustainable development, at a workshop held in Hanoi on March 19.

At the event, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Le Cong Thanh and Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Mark Harbers held that both nations have simi
lar natural environments and been hard hit by climate change, with Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region experiencing land erosion, saline intrusion and sand depletion, and 25% of the Netherlands’ areas below the sea level.

– Infobae, a renowned newspaper in Argentina, has recently published an article by economist Damián Di Pace about the contributions of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to Vietnam’s economic growth after he visited the Southeast Asian country.

According to the article, the Doi Moi (Renewal) process launched by the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1986 has turned Vietnam into a nation with the highest economic growth rate in the world in over 30 years.

– Some members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have become important trade partners of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), and Vietnam is a typical example, an Argentinian expert has said.

In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency, Ezequiel Ramoneda, Coordinator of the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies (CES
EA) at the Institute of International Relations of the National University of La Plata of Argentina, said trade relations between Mercosur and ASEAN have enjoyed the great progress over the last 15 years.

– Vietnam was the third largest cryptocurrency gainer in the world in 2023, only after the U.S. and UK, with nearly 1.2 billion USD, according to U.S. blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis.

It was one of five Asian markets in the top 10 countries for cryptocurrency gains last year, besides China, Indonesia, India, and the Republic of Korea.

– VinFast Auto has signed a cooperation agreement with Guam AutoSpot on the distribution of its electric vehicles (EV) in Micronesia, announced the Vietnamese automaker in its recent press release.

As per the pact, Guam AutoSpot will be VinFast’s first official distributor in the region, with the former expected to begin its import of the latter’s EVs and components in May.

– The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), in collaboration with the Vietnam Assoc
iation of Photographic Artists and relevant agencies, launched the ‘Happy Vietnam’ photo and video contest for this year on March 20, in response to the International Day of Happiness.

Addressing the launching ceremony, which drew the online participation of representatives from the 63 localities across the country, MIC Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Lam said that the UN-designated day highlights the role of happiness and satisfaction during sustainable development promotion and poverty reduction, and the importance of happiness and human rights in the policy-making process of each country.

– Home to 19 ethnic groups with various cultural festivals, the northwestern province of Dien Bien is tapping its strengths in this regard to lure more tourists.

Ethnic minority groups accounting for up to 83% of the local population have maintained their traditional festivals like boat racing of the Thai Trang (White Thai), crop praying of the Kho Mu, and fire dance of the Dao, featuring multiple folk dances and songs./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency