Day: March 19, 2024

Dak Lak: Officials, Party members and residents in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak have expressed their support for Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's view on personnel preparations for the 14th National Party Congress. The leader presented his view while chairing the first meeting of the sub-committee on personnel affairs of the Party Congress, which took place in Hanoi on March 13. Dr. Luong Huu Nam, head of the Party Building Department under the Dak Lak School of Politics, emphasised the importance of the event, slated for the first quarter of 2026, to national development and Party building. He cited the top leader as saying that the personnel work is decisive to national development as well as public confidence in the Party and the regime, noting Trong's speech pointed to major, core issues regarding high-ranking personnel preparations. Nam held that to follow the Party's instructions, individuals should be fully aware of their responsibility for the nation, the Party and people. Y Khut Nie, former deputy head of Dak Lak's delegation of National Assembly deputies, said the Party leader reaffirmed the significance of the personnel affairs in any congress and gave specific orientations in the personnel preparations for the 14th National Party Congress. He suggested localities thoroughly grasp the contents of Trong's speech and put them in place, saying they should review personnel planning and learn about the situation through public feedback./. Source: Vietnam News Agency

Geneva: Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on March 18 appreciated Vietnam's active contributions to the organisation, especially the outcomes of the WTO's 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) held in Abu Dhabi from February 26 to March 2. Receiving Ambassador Mai Phan Dung, head of the Permanent Delegation of Vietnam to the United Nations, the WTO and other international organisations in Geneva, who came to submit the Vietnamese State President's credentials, she suggested Vietnam continue to contribute to unfinished contents, including trying to bring Package 1 of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies into effect before June and participating in promoting negotiations on Package 2, thus contributing to the UN Millennium Goals on sustainable development. Dung affirmed that Vietnam persists in its open-door policy and international integration, remains an active and responsible member of the WTO, and always values and supports the multilateral trade system with the W TO at its core. He appreciated the results achieved at the MC13 and the Director-General's personal contributions to the success of the conference, and affirmed the commitment of the Vietnamese delegation to maintaining its close and active coordination with the WTO Secretariat and other WTO members to fully and effectively implement the results of the MC13 in the coming time./. Source: Vietnam News Agency

Yen Bai: Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's speech at the recently-held first meeting of the sub-committee on personnel affairs of the 14th National Party Congress has received attention and strong support from officials, Party members and people in the northern province of Yen Bai. Nong Viet Yen, Secretary of the Party Committee of Mu Cang Chai district, underlined that in order to ensure that the 14th Party Central Committee is a collective of solidarity, integrity and high unity in both will and action, each member of the committee must be prominent in all aspects. They must prove their steady political mettle, absolute loyalty to the Party and the Constitution and dedication to the interests of the nation, along with a desire to boost the country's growth, deep national patriotism and sympathy with the people, Yen said, stressing that members of the Party Central Committee must also show good morality and lifestyle and close relations with the people without any signs of abusing their power for personal interests. He supported Party General Secretary Trong's idea that the contingent of strategic-level officials has strong influence on the national construction, development and defence as well as the vitality of the regime. Meanwhile, Hoang Manh Ha, Standing Vice Chairman of the Yen Bai Party Committee's Organisation Commission, said that personnel affairs are one of the two most important content of a National Party Congress. The Party has defined personnel affairs as a key stage in Party building and the whole activities of the Party, and a factor deciding the victory or failure of the revolution in each development period, Ha stressed. Highlighting the significance of selecting competent officials for a new period at the upcoming National Party Congress, he stressed that the selection of strategic officials needs to be conducted in a careful, fair, objective, rigorous and comprehensive way, with the regular assessments of officials from the grassroots level. Trieu Tri Loc, Standing Deputy Sec retary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Committee of Yen Bai province, showed his support for the Party chief's opinion that strategic officials must have creative ability, enthusiasm, high working efficiency, and the capacity of taking responsibility and gathering people in their assigned areas and spheres. Loc hoped strategic officials can inspire the youth in engaging in the construction and development of the homeland, encouraging them to make breakthroughs and apply new development models./. Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: The Vietnam - Mongolia defence cooperative ties will advance in the coming time on the back of the sound bilateral relations, meeting the aspiration and interests of the two people, a military official said on March 19. Attending a Hanoi ceremony to mark the 103rd founding anniversary of the Mongolian armed forces (March 18, 1921-2024), Major General Vu Thanh Van, Director of the Ministry of Defence's Department of Foreign Relations, highlighted that Vietnam and Mongolia have enjoyed a time-honoured friendship now in its best shape ever thanks to mutual trust, understanding and support. He went on to say that since two defence ministries signed an agreement in 2019, cooperation in delegation exchange, defence industry, training, and the UN peacekeeping activities has become deeper and more practical and effective. Meanwhile, Mongolian Ambassador to Vietnam Jigjee Sereejav said that the Vietnam - Mongolia relations have been unceasingly developing and successful over the past seven decades. He descr ibed 2023 as a special year for the bilateral ties as Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh paid a state visit to Vietnam, adding both nations are making efforts to upgrade their relations. Collaboration in economy and trade between Mongolia and Vietnam have scaled up in the past two years; however, they hold huge potential to promote their cooperative ties in the time to come, he added./. Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vientiane: Security forces of Vietnam and Laos sought ways to strengthen their cooperation at their annual conference held in Vientiane on March 19. The 14th Vietnam - Laos Security Cooperation Conference was co-chaired by Deputy Minister of Public Security Senior Lieutenant General Luong Tam Quang and his Lao counterpart Kongthong Phongvichit. Both officers highlighted the importance of the conference, which sets out cooperation orientations in the time ahead, thus contributing to the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive collaboration between Vietnam and Laos. Quang expressed his hope that the two sides will maintain their effective and practical coordination, and stay resolved to prevent hostile and reactionary forces from taking advantage of one country against the other, sabotaging political stability, security and order in each nation, and undermining their relationship. The two sides reviewed the close, fruitful coordination between public security forces in border localities in i mplementing the minutes of the previous conference, covering political, economic, cultural, and cyber security, among others. They agreed to further materialise the existing cooperation mechanisms, especially those between specialised units and border public security forces, with more attention to be paid to information sharing. They will also work together to avert impact from traditional security threats on the development of each country and the comprehensive cooperation between the two countries and their ministries of public security in particular. The sides consented to continue their close coordination and mutual support at international and regional forums, and to promote ASEAN cooperation in preventing and combating international terrorism. The public security forces of the two countries will firstly coordinate to ensure security for events and conferences within the 2024 ASEAN Year when Laos holds the Chairmanship, along with major events in both nations in the time to come. The ministers then signed the minutes of the 14th Vietnam - Laos Security Cooperation Conference./. Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: The following is a brief review of the day's events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency. - Security forces of Vietnam and Laos sought ways to strengthen their cooperation at their annual conference held in Vientiane on March 19. The 14th Vietnam - Laos Security Cooperation Conference was co-chaired by Deputy Minister of Public Security Senior Lieutenant General Luong Tam Quang and his Lao counterpart Kongthong Phongvichit. Read full story - Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on March 18 appreciated Vietnam's active contributions to the organisation, especially the outcomes of the WTO's 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) held in Abu Dhabi from February 26 to March 2. Receiving Ambassador Mai Phan Dung, head of the Permanent Delegation of Vietnam to the United Nations, the WTO and other international organisations in Geneva, who came to submit the Vietnamese State President's credentials, she suggested Vietnam continue to contribute to unfinished contents, i ncluding trying to bring Package 1 of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies into effect before June and participating in promoting negotiations on Package 2, thus contributing to the UN Millennium Goals on sustainable development. Read full story - Canada is committed to supporting and promoting sustainable development and resilience in the region and Vietnam, said its Climate Change Ambassador Catherine Stewart. Talking to Vietnam News Agency during her recent visit to the Southeast Asian nation, Stewart said the two countries have over 50 years of diplomatic relations. Over the more than 30 years of its development assistance, Canada has provided over 1.8 billion USD in development assistance for Vietnam to help ease poverty and inequality, empower women and girls, and address climate change. Read full story - Vietnam's GDP in the first quarter of 2024 will grow by around 5.5% as predicted, according to experts and think-tanks. Singapore's United Overseas Bank (UOB) has based its assessment of the ma croeconomic indicators in the first two months of 2024, concluding that Vietnam's economic recovery is heading in the right direction. Read full story - The Vietnamese trade office in the US had a working session with Secretary of the Department of Commerce of Maryland state Kevin Anderson on March 18, seeking cooperation opportunities between Vietnam and the US state. At the event, Anderson said Maryland is interested in cooperation in the areas of trade, agriculture, education, logistics, tourism, and investment in smart phone production. Read full story - The Petrovietnam Technical Services Corporation (PTSC), a subsidiary company of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (Petrovietnam), is deeply engaging in domestic and international offshore wind power projects thanks to its rich experience, strong resources and highly qualified personnel. According to PTSC General Director Le Manh Cuong, the firm is capable of providing transformer station and base manufacturing services for offshore wind power projects, an d its capacity can meet international partners' demand. Read full story - Foreign arrivals have been on track for a full recovery since Vietnam opened its border two years ago on the back of a favourable visa policy, Director of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism Nguyen Trung Khanh said at the National Assembly's Q and A session on March 18. The tourism sector has seen robust growth from the European market, he said, elaborating markets with sound recovery in 2023 included Spain (91%), Germany (88%), the UK (80%), and France (75%)./. Read full story Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi: 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 has received wide support among officials and Party members. They said the Party chief's view, with a dialectical approach, has an important role in choosing the contingent of qualified Party officials for the 2026-2031 tenure, meeting the expectations of the Party and the entire people. Engineer Bui Cong Khe, Director of the Hanoi Union of Science and Technology Associations' Centre of New Materials, agreed with Party General Secretary Trong's orientations that members of the 14th Party Central Committee must show their firm political mettle, pure morality and outstanding capacity. Meanwhile, members of the sub-committee and its supporting group must prove their reliability, absolute loyalty, honesty and fair-mindedness, he said, adding the Party leader's speech showed that during the selection process, it is necessary to have regulations that are in line with the Party's principles on democratic centralism and fairness. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ha Quy Quynh, from the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, held the speech highlighted that the selection of cadres is made on the basis of social science and humanity besides traditional methods. He described the speech, which also turned a spotlight on theoretical issues and perspectives on personnel affairs, as a valuable document for officials in charge of the Party organisation work. Through the speech, Quynh found that those who engage in the Party organiastion work and personnel affairs must build and select officials and Party members in a harmonious and fundamental way for long-term benefits./. Source: Vietnam News Agency