Day: November 29, 2021

The High-Level People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City opened an trial for defendants who filed appeals in a case related to wrongdoings in the transfer of “golden land plot” at No.8-12 Le Duan street in District 1.

The defendants include former Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Tai, Chairwoman of the Hoa Thang Nam (Mayflower) One-Member Limited Company and the Lavenue Investment Joint Stock Company Le Thi Thu Thuy, former Director of the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment Dao Anh Kiet, former deputy head of the department’s land management section Truong Van Ut, and former Secretary of the District 2’s Party Committee Nguyen Hoai Nam.

According to the indictment of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the land plot has a total area of over 4,800 sq m, which is owned by the State and assigned to the HCM City Housing Management and Trading Company for management and leasing. On November 20, 2007, the municipal People’s Committee approved the construction of a hotel and part of a commercial centre in accordance with the Decision No 09/2007/QD-TTg.

As he was in a relationship with defendant Le Thi Thu Thuy, Tai directed Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy, who served as Director of the HCM City Housing Management and Trading Company and is currently wanted, as well as Kiet, Nam, and Ut, to commit several violations of regulations.

They intentionally changed the investment policy to allow private companies to contribute capital to implement the project, and decided to lease out the land at 8-12 Le Duan without competitive bidding.

The indictment said that Tai must bear the primary responsibility, as he instructed and signed many illegal documents to shift the ownership of the land plot from the State to a private company, thus causing major losses to the State. Thuy was Tai’s accomplice and incited him to sign the illegal documents, while Kiet, Nam, and Ut followed Tai’s directions to propose the municipal People’s Committee approve incorrect recommendations.

At the trial by the municipal People’s Court in September 2020, Tai was sentenced to eight years in prison, Le Thi Thanh Thuy five years, Kiet five year, Nam four years and Ut three years behind bar, on charges of “violating regulations on the management and use of State assets, causing losses and wastefulness”.

The appeal trial will last till December 1.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s official visit to Russia from November 29 to December 2, which will be made at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin, is expected to deepen the Vietnam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership.

The bilateral political relationship has been continuously consolidated, reflected through the regular exchange of high-level delegations.

Despite serious impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, bilateral meetings have been maintained, notably phone talks between Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Putin in April 2021, between President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and President Putin in September 2021, and between National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and Speaker of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of Russia Valentina Matvienko in June 2021, and an official visit to Russia by Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son in September 2021. The two sides have also maintained many coordination and dialogue mechanisms such as the annual Diplomatic-Defence-Security Strategic Dialogue at the permanent deputy foreign ministerial level, and the Defence Strategic Dialogue at the deputy defence ministerial level, and regular political consultations at the deputy foreign ministerial level.

The two sides have closely coordinated and supported each other at international forums such as the United Nations, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM).

Russia supports Vietnam’s stance on settling disputes in the East Sea via peaceful means, without using force or threatening to use force, on the basis of international law, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and working towards the early completion of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).

Economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has also been developed dynamically in recent years. Two-way trade reached 4.85 billion USD in 2020, up 9 percent year-on-year. It hit 3.6 billion USD in the first nine months of this year, up 5 percent against the same period of 2020. As of April 2021, Russian had ranked 25th among countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 144 projects worth 944 million USD. Meanwhile, Vietnam had invested in over 20 projects worth nearly 3 billion USD in Russia.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Dang Minh Khoi said that President Phuc’s visit is of great significance, helping to deepen the Vietnam-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership in all fields. The visit also shows that Vietnam has actively implemented its foreign policy after the 13th National Party Congress in the spirit of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation, for the sake of the nation, and contributing to peace and stability in the world.

Russian Ambassador to Vietnam Gennady Bezdetko affirmed that President Phuc’s visit is one of the important highlights in the bilateral agenda for 2021, which is expected to bring a new impetus to promote the Russia-Vietnam comprehensive strategic partnership in many fields.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietnam – Russia comprehensive strategic partnership, and the significance of Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to Russia from November 29 to December 2, was highlighted in an article published on Russia’s Independent newspaper on November 28.

The article written by Grigory Trofimchuk, an expert on international affairs, affirmed that Vietnam is a reliable partner of Russia not only in the period of the former Soviet Union but also at present.

The trust in the bilateral relationship was once again affirmed in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, when Vietnam was one of the first countries in the world that approved Russia’s vaccine, he wrote, noting that in August 2021, the first batch of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine was successfully produced in Vietnam.

The article stressed that that the belief in Russia and Russian people has been infiltrated in the blood of Vietnamese people.

Russia and Vietnam has shared the same opinion on many international issues. Notably, both countries support the multipolar world order, including the principle of resolving major conflicts in the world via peaceful diplomatic measures on the basis of respect for international law, it said.

The author highly valued Vietnam’s increasing role and position in the international arena, saying that the Southeast Asian nation is now a leading member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and an outstanding member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and a host of other influential organisations.

The article affirmed that Vietnam is one of the important driving forces of the Asia-Pacific region, which is considered the centre of global economic and finance growth.

Regarding President Phuc’s visit to Russia, Trofimchuk stated that in the eyes of foreign observers, especially Russian experts and scholars, the Vietnamese leader has shown himself to be an energetic and sincere person with gentle smiles.

The Russian Presidential Press Office’s statement said that during phone talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Nguyen Xuan Phuc before the visit, the two leaders agreed to further develop the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

Through its flourishing cooperation relations with Vietnam, Russia will show more clearly its role in Asia – Pacific, an important region of the world, and engage more actively in strengthening security in Asia, including energy security, the article concluded.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc on November 29 morning (Vietnam time) had a working session with Daren Tang, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva as part of the former’s official visit to Switzerland.

At the meeting, President Phuc thanked WIPO for its cooperation and valuable support to Vietnam in consolidating legal institutions, building the intellectual property system, and improving the country’s global innovation index (GII).

He called for further support from the organisation during the implementation of the national intellectual property strategy and the Law on Intellectual Property, cultural development, expert training and the improvement of the national innovation and creation capacity.

Vietnam stands ready to work to boost cooperation between WIPO and the region, the President pledged.

For his part, Tang lauded Vietnam’s efforts and impressive achievements in socio-economic development, and attributed these outcomes to the country’s investment in the intellectual property system.

Lauding Vietnam’s outstanding performance in the GII, he said the country has maintained its first position among the 34 lower-middle income economies in the index.

He also praised Vietnam’s membership and responsible contributions to activities of the WIPO, and pledged to provide more assistance for the Southeast Asian nation in resources and technologies.

The WIPO Director General suggested cooperation between the two sides in building an intellectual property training centre for youths and entrepreneurs, and establishing a global network of entrepreneurs.

Vietnam and the WIPO would step up collaboration in intellectual property training for diplomats and negotiators, he said.

On this occasion, Phuc attended a ceremony bestowing the WIPO’s IP Youth Ambassador title upon three Vietnamese students who invented a helmet called Vihelm.

The helmet is specifically for those working on the frontline to prevent COVID-19 and is designed with both safety and comfort features.

In his remarks, Phuc thanked WIPO for granting the title to the young Vietnamese inventors, and expressed his hope that Vietnamese youths will make more innovations and creations, further contributing to national construction and development.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Commissions for Mass Mobilisation of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and the Cambodian People’s Party Central Committee sought cooperation orientations during their online talks on November 29.

Head of the CPV Central Committee’s Commission for Mass Mobilisation Bui Thi Minh Hoai briefed the Cambodian side on Vietnam’s situation and mass mobilsation work.

She stressed the significance of enhancing the solidarity and cooperation between the two countries, Parties and commissions to stability and development in each country, as well as peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region.

Men Xom On, head of the Cambodian commission, congratulated the Vietnamese Party, State and people on achievements they have recorded over the past time, and spoke highly of the thriving relations between the two countries.

She informed Hoai about the political, socio-economic situation, external affairs, the COVID-19 combat and the mass mobilisation work in Cambodia.

The two sides agreed to step up the communications work to encourage people, especially young generations, to further consolidate the bilateral ties.

They will also increase delegation exchange and information sharing in mass mobilisation, while providing mutual support in regional and international issues of shared concern.

They will pay more heed to mass mobilisation collaboration in localities that share the border line.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, his spouse and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation on November 29 afternoon (Vietnam time) left Geneva for an official visit to Russia at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

The visit takes place in the context of the two countries just marking the 70th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties in 2020 and two decades of strategic partnership in 2021 with a range of pragmatic activities. They are also actively preparing for the 10th anniversary of comprehensive strategic partnership.

The bilateral political relationship has been continuously consolidated, reflected through the regular exchange of high-level delegations.

Economic and trade cooperation between the two countries has also been developed dynamically in recent years. Two-way trade reached 4.85 billion USD in 2020, up 9 percent year-on-year. It hit 3.6 billion USD in the first nine months of this year, up 5 percent against the same period of 2020.

As of April 2021, Russian had ranked 25th among countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 144 projects worth 944 million USD. Meanwhile, Vietnam had invested in over 20 projects worth nearly 3 billion USD in Russia.

Earlier, President Phuc paid an official visit to Switzerland from November 25-29 at the invitation of Swiss President Guy Parmelin.

Source: Vietnam News Agency