Day: October 5, 2022

The 13th Party Central Committee continued its sixth plenum on October 5 to discuss two major projects.

In the morning, the committee continued their discussions on a project reviewing the 15-year implementation of the resolution of the 10th Party Central Committee’s fifth plenum on the continued renewal of Party leadership over the operation of the political system. The session was moderated by Politburo member and Standing member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Vo Van Thuong.

The committee worked in groups in the afternoon, exchanging opinions on the project on further accelerating the country’s industrialisation and modernisation by 2030, with a vision towards 2045./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Marine scientific research plays an important role in biodiversity conservation and restoration, and sustainable development, heard an ocean dialogue held in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa on October 5.

The 9th Ocean Dialogue, themed “Marine scientific research: Confidence building and environment sustainability”, was jointly held by the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV), the British Embassy in Vietnam and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) – a German political foundation.

Apart from nearly 100 delegates who attended the dialogue in-person, many joined the event via teleconference. There were 17 speakers who are prestigious experts and scholars from such countries as the US, the UK, Germany, China, India, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia, and representatives of foreign diplomatic agencies in Vietnam.

DAV Deputy Director Dr. Nguyen Hung Son said the dialogue was intended to highlight the significance of marine scientific research in the East Sea, thus seeking opportunities to enhance cooperation between coastal nations and international partners in the work.

With four sessions, the dialogue focused on the legal framework of marine scientific research in line with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the reality of marine scientific research, and marine scientific research in disputed areas./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietnamese Party, State and National Assembly (NA) will provide the best conditions for people’s organisations of Vietnam to boost friendship and cooperation with their Lao counterparts, said NA Standing Vice Chairman Tran Thanh Man on October 5.

Man made the statement while meeting his visiting Lao counterpart Sommad Pholsena, who also serves as Chairman of the Lao Committee for Peace and Solidarity, in Hanoi.

The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations and its members – the Vietnam Peace Committee and the Vietnam – Laos Friendship Association have closely coordinated with those of Laos to host various meaningful activities, he noted, adding that both sides have also offered active support to each other at multilateral people-to-people forums, contributing to reinforcing the long-standing ties between the two countries.

He urged the Vietnam Peace Committee and the Lao Committee for Peace and Solidarity to come up with more practical and specific cooperation programmes and to educate younger generations of Vietnam and Laos on the two countries’ special traditional friendship and their major joint events.

Pholsena, for his part, updated his host on the outcomes of the meeting between the two committees, saying the two sides share deep awareness of their important roles in diplomacy and people-to-people exchange.

Agreeing with Man’s proposal, he pledged Laos will continue promoting education on and nurturing the bilateral ties. Laos will also step up cultural exchange, trade and tourism promotion with Vietnam and work with its neighbour to address war aftermaths and take mine action.

During the meeting, NA Vice Chairman Man also highlighted the growing partnership between the two countries’ legislatures after the visit of Lao NA Chairman Saysomphone Phomvihane to Vietnam in December 2021 and that of top Vietnamese legislator Vuong Dinh Hue to Laos in May 2022, noting that progress of investment projects has been accelerated.

Obstacles to the two countries’ economic cooperation has been actively removed thanks to concerted efforts of the two NAs and Governments, he said./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO), on October 5 met with visiting Lao National Assembly Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Lao Committee for Peace and Solidarity Sommad Pholsena.

She said the VUFO will provide all possible conditions for the Vietnam – Laos Friendship Association, the Vietnam Peace Committee and other VUFO members to step up bilateral friendship exchanges and closely coordinate with their Lao peers in people-to-people diplomacy mechanisms in order to better exercise their role as a bridge to promote the two countries’ relations in all areas.

Nga also called for strengthened education for people, particularly younger generations, from both sides on the “one and only” Vietnam – Laos friendship.

Pholsena, for his part, said he visited Vietnam at the time when the two countries are celebrating the Vietnam – Laos, Laos – Vietnam Friendship and Solidarity Year 2022, the 60th anniversary of their diplomatic relations and the 45th year of the signing of their Treaty for Amity and Cooperation.

He affirmed that the Lao Committee for Peace and Solidarity will carry out activities to further boost friendship and solidarity between the two countries’ people.

The two officials also took the occasion to update each other on the two countries’ socio-economic development./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Singaporean authorities on October 4 seized 20 pieces of rhino horns that were being smuggled through Singapore Changi Airport.

The National Parks Board (NParks) said airport security staff and NParks’ K9 Unit detected and inspected two bags and found 34kg of rhino horns, estimated to be worth around 830,000 USD. This is Singapore’s largest seizure of rhino horns to date.

Genetic testing is being carried out at NParks’ Centre for Wildlife Forensics to identify the rhino species.

The horns will subsequently be destroyed to prevent them from re-entering the market, disrupting the global supply chain of illegally traded rhino horns, said NParks.

Rhinos are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), to which Singapore is a signatory. Under CITES, international trade in rhino horns is prohibited./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency