Category: Politics

Hanoi: Vietnam’s elevation of relations with major and important partners reflects the strongly enhanced mutual understanding and political trust between the country and the partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son told a question-and-answer session on March 18.

Replying to legislators’ questions at the event, part of the 31st meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee, Son cited Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong as saying at the 32nd Diplomatic Conference that the upgrade of Vietnam’s relations with important partners to comprehensive strategic partnerships was a highly important result that carries historic significance.

Among the 30 strategic partners and comprehensive partners, Vietnam now has comprehensive strategic partnerships with seven countries. It has established comprehensive strategic partnerships or strategic partnerships with the five permanent member states of the UN Security Council, he noted.

He highlighted the strongly enhanced mutual understanding and politica
l trust as seen in the elevation of Vietnam’s ties with major and important partners.

Taking the US as an example, the minister said Vietnam normalised relations with this country in 1995, and bilateral ties were upgraded to a comprehensive partnership in 2013 and a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2023. Mutual trust has also improved much while exchanges and cooperation have been unceasingly fostered.

On the basis of enhanced political trust, Vietnam’s cooperation with the partners has also seen progress in other fields such as labour, science – technology, education – training, and culture, according to Son.

Establishing and upgrading ties with partners, Vietnam has paid attention to reinforcing political trust and basing on each partner’s strengths to promote relations in trade, investment, science – technology, and education – training in a more intensive and comprehensive manner.

Vietnam has identified certain breakthroughs to be made in relations with partners, he said, elaborating that it tar
gets breakthroughs in infrastructure connectivity with China, in the semiconductor industry with the US, in high-tech agriculture and education – training with Australia, and in official development assistance (ODA) with Japan.

At the Q and A session, Minister Son also fielded questions about the implementation of economic, trade, and investment cooperation agreements in border localities, the planning of border gates, and the optimisation of border localities’ advantages to boost socio-economic development.

He also gave further information about some focuses of economic diplomacy, the maintenance and development of traditional cultural values and the Vietnamese language in overseas Vietnamese communities, and the mobilisation of overseas Vietnamese intellectuals’ contributions to national development./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vientiane: The Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security on March 18 handed over 50 vehicles to the Lao Ministry of Public Security to help it ensure safety for activities held during Laos’s Chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year.

With the hand-over being part of the Vietnamese Government’s assistance package to Laos in 2024, Deputy Minister of Public Security Sen. Lt. Gen. Luong Tam Quang presented 20 cars and 30 motorcycles at the ceremony in Vientiane.

In his remarks, Quang expressed his confidence that Laos will effectively utilise the vehicles.

Receiving the gifts, Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Security Gen. Vilay Lakhamphong highly appreciated the timely and practical assistance, which meets the actual needs and professional requirements of the Lao ministry. This reflects the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries’ Parties, States, and people, he said.

Earlier on the same day, while hosting a
reception for the Vietnamese delegation, the Lao official expressed his wish for further cooperation with Vietnamese security force so that the Lao counterpart successfully fulfill its tasks this year and ensure the absolute safety for international conferences held in the country.

For his part, Quang affirmed that the Vietnamese ministry always stands side by side with and is ready to cooperate and assist the Lao ministry in all situations. The two sides will maintain and improve the quality of their information exchange, situation grasp, and experience sharing, he said./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son held talks with his visiting Uzbek counterpart Bakhtiyor Saidov in Hanoi on March 18.

Stressing that it is the first visit to Vietnam by an Uzbek foreign minister since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992, Son said this occasion serves as an opportunity for both sides to review and agree on directions and measures to strengthen the longstanding friendship and to promote practical bilateral cooperation in areas of their strengths.

He took note of the impressive growth of bilateral trade between 2021 and now, averaging over 30% per year. In 2023, the figure reached 159.7 million USD, up 32% year on year.

Vietnam always values its relations with traditional friends, including Uzbekistan, the minister affirmed, hoping that the two nations will continue to leverage their political foundation and good relations, creating new momentum for enhanced cooperation that aligns with their needs, desires, and strengths.

Saidov, who is on
an official visit to Vietnam from March 17-19, praised the results of Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, and ‘bamboo’ diplomacy, which have contributed to enhancing its position in the region and the world.

Stating that Vietnam is among Uzbekistan’s traditional and important partners in the region, he expressed his desire to deepen the bilateral collaboration towards effectiveness, especially in economy, trade, investment, agriculture, and education.

Saidov expected that Vietnam would serve as a bridge to help Uzbekistan further strengthen its cooperation with the region, including the expansion of joint work between ASEAN and Central Asia.

The ministers exchanged information on their respective country’s socio-economic development, major foreign policy directions, while reviewing the bilateral cooperation and the implementation of agreements reached by high-level leaders in the past period.

They agreed that the Vietnamese and Uzbek foreign ministries need to maintain their informati
on exchange mechanism, enhance coordination, and play a coordinating role to connect the two countries’ ministries and sectors to explore potential and seek new collaboration opportunities.

On this occasion, Son thanked Uzbekistan for creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese expat community in the country./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Beijing: Le Hoai Trung, Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and Chairman of the CPV Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations, held talks with Liu Jianchao, Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chairman of the CPC Central Committee’s International Liaison Department, in Jilin province on March 18.

The talks formed part of the CPV delegation’s visit to China at the invitation of the CPC Central Committee.

The two sides informed each other about the situation of each Party and country while looking back on the important strides in the Vietnam – China relations since the historic visits by CPV General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to China in late 2022 and by CPC General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping to Vietnam in late 2023.

They discussed orientations for realising the common perceptions reached by the senior leaders, continuing to intensify and elevate the countries’ comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, build
ing the Vietnam – China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, and making efforts for the sake of the two peoples’ happiness as well as peace and progress of the humankind.

The officials agreed to maintain frequent high-level exchanges and meetings, further promote the effectiveness of Party-to-Party relations to set strategic orientations for the countries’ ties, and step up exchanges and cooperation between the two Governments, parliaments, and fatherland front organisations. They agreed to strengthen ties in defence – security and between the two countries’ localities, foster people-to-people interaction, and increase communications about the traditional friendship between the two Parties, countries, and peoples.

As the two strategic advisory bodies in terms of external relations of the two Parties, the CPV Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations and the CPC Central Committee’s International Liaison Department will boost coordination to help promote their Partie
s’ strategic orientations for continuing to develop the Vietnam – China relations in a healthy, stable, and sustainable manner, they noted.

Trung affirmed that in its foreign policy of independence and self-reliance, Vietnam views the development of relations with China as the top priority and a strategic choice.

Noting China’s consideration of Vietnam as a priority orientation in its neighbourhood foreign policy, Liu stated developing the cooperation and friendship with Vietnam is a strategic choice of his country, which supports Vietnam to maintain its strategic self-reliance and play a greater role in the region and the world.

With regard to sea-related issues, Trung asked the two sides to consolidate the common perception on the importance of maintaining peace and stability at sea, coordinating to satisfactorily resolve sea-related issues in line with the high-level common perceptions, and settling differences by peaceful means and in conformity with international law, including the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

The two sides need to bring into play the negotiation mechanisms on sea-related issues, seriously and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and promote the building of a substantive and efficient code of conduct in the waters (COC) that matches international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS, he added.

During his stay in Jilin, Trung is set to meet with Jing Junhai, Secretary of the provincial CPC Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Congress, to discuss ways to bolster economic, trade, investment, cultural, and tourism ties between Jilin and Vietnamese localities. He will also visit some local economic and cultural establishments./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: Foreign affairs and diplomacy have played a pioneering role in mobilising external resources to serve the country’s socio-economic development, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son told a question and answer session at the National Assembly Standing Committee’s 31st sitting on March 18.

The minister said the sector has coordinated with ministries to organise external activities on all continents, at various multilateral forums, through which the country can firmly consolidate favourable diplomatic relations for the cause of national construction and development.

The Party and Government have also utilised foreign affairs and diplomacy in the process of policy transition to serve recovery and development, boosting economic cooperation with different partners, and signing agreements and commitments of long-term strategic significance. This has contributed to promoting economic growth, boosting exports, and attracting investment and many other important resources.

Son noted that over the past thre
e years, the sector has coordinated with ministries and sectors to successfully advocate for 16 more titles recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), raising the total number of Vietnamese heritage sites, places and famous people recognised by the organisation to 67.

Efforts have been made to care for overseas Vietnamese communities, provide timely citizen protection, and repatriate thousands of citizens from places affected by conflicts and disasters, he stressed.

Attention has been also paid to the Party building work and the prevention of corruption, he added./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: To promote cultural diplomacy, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has proactively coordinated with international organisations, especially the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), said Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son.

He made the remark while responding to a legislator’s question about cultural diplomacy at a question-and-answer session on March 18 that was part of the 31st meeting of the NA Standing Committee.

Son noted that cultural diplomacy has helped Vietnam not only introduce its land and people to the international community but also acquire cultural quintessence of the world via cultural exchanges.

In that spirit, the MoFA has proactively coordinated with international organisations, especially UNESCO. Among the seven most mechanisms of UNESCO, Vietnam has been elected to five, including the World Heritage Committee, helping the country enhance cultural cooperation with international friends, he emphasised.

At the national level, the mini
ster said, cultural diplomacy has helped make an impression of Vietnam’s friendliness. Recent external activities of senior leaders have also been highlighted with cultural diplomatic events.

Localities nationwide have also paid attention to building and popularising their images through festivals, receiving high evaluation from international friends, he said.

With regard to heritage preservation and promotion, Son said cultural heritage and the UNESCO-recognised projects are not only precious assets that clearly reflect the country’s cultural identity but also hold global values. Therefore, promoting images of these heritages aims to bring into play the soft power, raise the country’s stature in the international arena, and more importantly, contribute to socio-economic development.

The MoFA will propose policies to practically and effectively strengthen Vietnam’s cooperation with UNESCO and also ask UNESCO to give guidance, he noted.

Talking about the MoFA’s efforts, the minister elaborated that it has
provided localities with information about things that need to be done to preserve and bring into play those heritages to serve sustainable socioeconomic development. It has also invited many leaders of UNESCO to visit Vietnam and worked with relevant parties to hold this organisation’s first meeting on cultural heritage preservation and promotion.

Besides, the MoFA has assisted localities to compile dossiers seeking UNESCO’s recognition of more heritages, and continued to introduce the country’s heritages to international friends as has been thus custom thus far, according to the minister./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

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

– The National Assembly Standing Committee started a Q and A session on finance and foreign affairs on March 18 under the chair of NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, as part of its ongoing 31st sitting.

The session is broadcast live nationwide on the Vietnam Television and the Vietnam NA Television channels.

– Chairman of the People’s Committee of the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho Tran Viet Truong highlighted the potential benefits awaiting Japanese enterprises investing in the city during a working session on March 18 with a delegation of executives of Japanese banks led by Managing Executive Officer of Gunma Bank Uchibori Takeo.

– Vietnam, one of the world’s leading agricultural exporters, wants to bolster cooperation in the field with the Republic of Korea (RoK) who boasts strengths in applying advanced technology into cultivation and processing, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan said on
March 18.

At a workshop jointly held by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in Hanoi, Hoan highlighted that both countries hold great potential to cooperate in developing agriculture, elaborating Vietnam has been famous for its rice, vegetables and fruits and aquatic products while the RoK has a modern agriculture with various kinds of seedlings.

– Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Phan Thi Thang had a meeting with Deputy Assistant US Trade Representative (USTR) for Southeast Asia and the Pacific Sarah Elleman, within the framework of Vice State President Vo Thi Anh Xuan’s recent working visit to the US.

The two sides assessed the official upgrade of the Vietnam – US relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership on September 10, 2023, as a historic milestone in bilateral ties, in which economic and trade cooperation will continue to be an important driving force, playing a pioneer role in promoting common prosperity between the t
wo countries.

– The association of female businesswomen in France – Association Entraide Femmes Entrepreneurs Vietnamiennes en France (AEEV) – on March 17 organised an event to honour Vietnamese women in France for their contributions to society in general and to the AEEV’s activities in particular and to celebrate International Women’s Day (March 8).

The event attracted influential businesswomen in the Vietnamese community in France, especially Stéphanie Do – the first female parliamentarian of Vietnamese origin in France and Dr Phan Bich Thien, member of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, Chairwoman of the Vietnamese Women’s Forum in Europe, and Chairwoman of the Vietnamese Women’s Association in Hungary.

– Vietnamese small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should better their management capacity and business strategies so as to draw capital from both domestic and foreign investment funds who are holding hundreds of billions of USD, economists have said.

The funds are able to prov
ide SMEs with effective financial solutions, they said, elaborating instead of investing in financial tools, they are targeting unlisted companies and listed ones who are planning to withdraw their stocks from the market to engage in the firms’ management and business growth.

– The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) will hold a conference in May to announce the export of chicken meat products to Islamic markets with an estimated volume of around 1,000 tonnes per month, according to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Phung Duc Tien.

The Deputy Minister said the market of Muslim countries with a total population of around 2.2 billion people offers opportunities for a number of Vietnam’s agricultural products.

– John Pellower, representing Meyer Sound Laboratories (USA) – the supplier of sound equipment for Broadway stages and theatres worldwide – shared insights about the Ho Guom Opera House during a recent visit to Hanoi.

Pellower said the selection of the Ho Guom Opera
House as the only representative from Vietnam to be included in the top 10 best opera houses in the world on the 10 best website of the World Travel Awards organisation – WTA is truly great news not only for the Opera House but also for Hanoi as a whole.

– In response to the Earth Hour campaign that will take place on the evening of March 23rd, the Ministries of Natural Resources and Environment, and Industry and Trade, and the World Wide Fund for Nature in Vietnam (WWF-Vietnam) have called on people to join hands in reducing carbon footprint, towards net zero emissions. ./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency