Vietnam to host Buddhist summit in 2010

Hanoi (VNA) – Participants attending the 5 th World Buddhist summit in Kobe , Japan , have chosen Hanoi as the venue for the 6 th summit in 2010.

Addressing the function, Nguyen The Doanh, Director of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs pledged that Vietnam will do whatever it can to ensure the success of the event, with support from and the cooperation of other foreign countries.

The four-day summit, which ended on Nov. 5, attracted over 300 delegates from 32 countries.

The summit issued a declaration calling for solidarity among the world’s Buddhist organisations, with the aim of boosting their cooperation in poverty eradication, environmental protection and the establishment of a harmonious global community.-

Korean fund grants over 100 scholarships to disadvantaged students

Hanoi (VNA) - The Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) fund presented 93 scholarships for outstanding but disadvantaged students in Hanoi on November 5.

Earlier, 40 students from three universities in Ho Chi Minh City also benefited from similar scholarships awarded by the bank.

The KEB scholarships are awarded to talented university and school students who are suffering from difficult circumstances, such as those from poor families or those living with disabilities.

The KEB fund was established in 2005 to give financial help to poor and disadvantaged children and youths from various countries around the world, focusing mainly on students from Asian countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines.–

Vietnam congratulates US President-elect

Hanoi (VNA) – Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung on Nov. 5 congratulated Barack Obama on his election as the new President of the United States of America .

The spokesman made the statement in response to reporters’ queries on Vietnam ’s reaction to the news that Barack Obama has won the US presidential election.

Thanks to the joint efforts by both their leaders and people, Vietnam-US relations have experienced a number of positive developments on the road to forging a constructive partnership, strengthening their friendship and mutually beneficial multifaceted cooperation on the basis of agreements made in the two countries’ joint statements, he added.

“We firmly believe that, in the time to come, the sound friendship and cooperation between the two countries will be strengthened for the benefit of their two peoples, contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development both regionally and in the world at large,” the spokesman said.-

PM Dung congratulates Canadian counterpart

Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung sent a message of greetings to Stephen Joseph Harper on November 5 to mark his re-election as Canadian Prime Minister.

On the same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem congratulated the newly-appointed Canadian Foreign Minister, Lawrence Cannon.-

Party leader thanks int’l unions for solidarity

Hanoi (VNA) – Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh has warmly welcomed foreign delegates to the 10 th national trade union congress, saying their participation is a huge endorsement of Vietnam ’s renewal process.

The Party leader told the international labour unionists during his reception on November 5 that their presence was evidence of the warm brotherhood and international solidarity shown towards the Vietnamese working people and trade unions.

“Thank you for your attendance, which has given huge encouragement to the Vietnamese people in their renewal process, as well as in national construction and defence,” Manh said.

He also expressed his gratitude to international labour unions for their valuable and effective assistance in improving the competence of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour, the national umbrella body for all trade unions.

“The VGCL has so far played a considerable role in protecting the working class’s legitimate rights in the market economy, while further engaging in state management,” the Party leader said.

He concluded by requesting more assistance from international labour unions, thus helping to contribute to the international trade union movement.

The senior delegates from Laos and China appreciated the VGCL’s contributions to the international labour union movement as well as their work towards a common cause of peace, development, unions’ rights, democracy and social progress.–

Prime Minister receives Vietnam-Japan special ambassador

Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has praised the role of Vietnam-Japan’s special ambassador Sugi Ryotaro in boosting the bilateral relationship between the two nations, particularly the part played by Ryotaro during recent activities to mark the 35 th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties.

Receiving the special ambassador in Hanoi on Nov. 5, PM Dung said he supported Ryotaro’s initiative regarding the organisation of fine art and craft fairs in both Vietnam and Japan , and the cooperation between Vietnam and Japan in the field of cinematography.

The Vietnamese PM said he hoped that the Vietnam-Japan special ambassador would continue contributing to the strengthening of bilateral ties, particularly with the early signing of a Vietnamese-Japanese economic cooperation agreement, and the acceleration of three large-scale Japanese-funded projects involving the North-South highway and railroad, and the Hoa Lac hi-tech park.

The special ambassador proposed marking Nov. 3 as the day for Vietnamese-Japanese cinema exchange every year.

On the same day, while meeting with Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem, the special ambassador committed to contributing to the development of the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Japan and to continue working towards a strategic partnership between the two countries.

He handed over to the Vietnamese leaders message of condolences from Prime Minister Taro Aso and Foreign Minister Nakasone Hirofumi over losses caused by recent flooding in northern and central Vietnam.-

Foreign leaders extend condolences to Vietnam

Hanoi (VNA) - US Senator Barack Obama On Nov. 2 released a statement regarding the recent floods in Vietnam , expressing his sadness at the loss of life during floods that have affected the country over the past few days.

“Our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones and to all the people who are affected by these floods,” the statement said.

Lao State President Choummaly Sayasone and Prime Minister Buasone Bouphavanh cabled messages of sympathy to their Vietnamese counterparts Nguyen Minh Triet and Nguyen Tan Dung, respectively, on Nov. 4.

In their messages, the Lao leaders said they believed that the Vietnamese people would soon recover from the aftermath of the floods and quickly resume their normal lives.

Japanese Prime Minister Aso Tara and Japanese Foreign Minister Nakasone Hirofumi have sent letters of sympathy to Prime Minister Dung and Deputy Prime Minister-cum-Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem, respectively.

The letters were conveyed by the Vietnam-Japan special ambassador Sugi Ryotaro on Nov. 5, at his meetings with the Vietnamese leaders in Hanoi .

Torrential rains and floods have hit the northern and central provinces since Oct 30, killing and causing the missing of 79 people. The capital city of Hanoi is the hardest-hit with 22 reported dead.-

NA Chairman, Cambodian PM boost neighbourliness

Hanoi (VNA) – Neighbourliness and comprehensive cooperation were two of the topics in the spotlight during discussions between National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in Hanoi on November 5.

Trong praised Hun Sen’s outstanding contributions to strengthening and developing the friendship and cooperation between the two countries, after congratulating him on his re-election as Prime Minister of Cambodia for the fourth consecutive term.

“May the cooperation between the two legislative bodies be further promoted along with stronger ties between Vietnam and Cambodia ,” emphasised Chairman Trong.

The Cambodian PM Hun Sen affirmed that the main aim of his visit was to strengthen his country’s friendship and comprehensive cooperation with Vietnam .

“ Vietnam and Cambodia should make greater efforts to strengthen their traditional friendship and all-round cooperation in the years to come,” said the Cambodian government leader.

He concluded by expressing his thanks to Vietnam for its sincere assistance to the Cambodian people in their past struggles and during their current goal of national construction and development.–

ACMECS Senior Officials’ Meeting opens in Hanoi

Hanoi (VNA) – The Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) of the Ayayewady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) took place in Hanoi on November 5.

At the meeting, which focused on preparations for the 3 rd ACMECS Ministers’ Meeting and Summit, officials from ACMECS heaped praise on the positive results recorded since the 2 nd Summit in Bangkok, Thailand, particularly in the areas of cooperation in trade and investment facilitation, transport, agriculture, industry, energy, healthcare, tourism and human resources development.

In the context of fluctuating regional and international economies, the participants agreed to increase ACMECS cooperation effectively and practically in order to take advantage of new opportunities and to cope with new challenges as well as speeding up economic integration among ACMECS members in particular and countries in the Mekong sub-region in general.

In addition to accelerating the development of the sub-regional transport network, the ACMECS officials emphasised the necessity of the facilitation of a range of procedures and mechanisms, particularly customs procedures.

They also encouraged a host of activities to promote tourism, including the implementation of the “Five Nations, One Destination” initiative and linking the member countries’ cultural and natural heritages.

At the event, the member nations spoke highly of Vietnam and Thailand ’s readiness to sign memorandums of understanding on developing vocational training for other ACMECS members.

The officials discussed and approved the agenda of the 3 rd ACMECS Ministers’ Meeting and Summit . They also discussed the basic contents of a joint statement to be released at the upcoming summit and ACMECS leaders’ statement regarding trade, investment and tourism promotion and agreed to propose them for approval at the 3 rd Summit .

ACMECS includes five member countries, namely Laos , Cambodia , Thailand , Myanmar and Vietnam.-

Cambodian Red Cross works with Vietnamese counterparts

Hanoi (VNA) – A delegation from the Cambodian Red Cross Society (CRC) led by its president Lok Chumteav Bunrany Hun Sen paid a working visit to their Vietnamese counterparts in Hanoi on November 5.

The president of the Vietnamese Red Cross Society (VRC), Tran Ngoc Tang expressed his wish to strengthen exchange of experiences across several fields, such as epidemic disease prevention, community health care, disaster prevention and their experiences in raising funds and organising international events.

Tang suggested that both sides work to establish an information sharing mechanism in order to quickly update information regarding humanitarian activities.

The two sides should also formulate proposals for projects on epidemic disease prevention, community health care and disaster prevention for people in border areas in order to drum up support from both domestic and international organisations, he said.

The Red Cross Societies of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam signed an agreement on trilateral humanitarian cooperation on January 26, 2007.

Both the CRC and the VRC have coordinated in a programme for bird-flu prevention in border areas and shared experiences in disaster prevention.

To date, the VRC has examined and given free treatment to more than 6,800 Cambodian residents around the border area. It has also performed over 1,400 free eye operations, and presented gifts to 3,800 poverty-stricken Cambodians.-