VNA More improvements to State apparatus needed: PM Prime Minister Phan Van Khai has called for significant improvements to the organisation and operation of the State administrative apparatus towards improving the efficiency of management of administrations at all levels. Mr Khai was addressing a two-day conference held by the Government Committee for Organisation and Personnel to review its activities in 2001 and start implementation of its task this year that ended on January 25 in Ho Chi Minh City. He set out concrete tasks for the State organisation apparatus. He said it must support the government in working out regulations on State management responsibilities and the organisational structure of ministries and ministerial level agencies. It should also map out draft laws on organisation of administration at all levels, clarifying the functions of people's councils and people's committees. It has to study measures to perfect the State administration apparatus, better implement the plans to train and improve competence of State employees, complete the project to reform the policy on wages and streamlining payrolls in State administration bodies and speed up the administrative reform process. He stressed the need to build a contingent of qualified State employees who are competent, responsible and dedicated. Mr Khai also praised the Government Committee for Organisation and Personnel for supporting the government to work out legal documents relating to organisation and working mechanism of the State administration apparatus. However, he also stressed the need to improve research capacity and draw the right lessons from reality in order to be able to propose to the government more strategic issues. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Deputy PM inspects key works in Central Highlands Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung inspected several national key works in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum and Gia Lai on January 24 and 25. After inspecting Ya Ly Hydro-electric plant, the resettlement area, Paper Powder Production Factory in Kon Tum, Industrial Plank Factory, An Khe Sugar Factory in Gia Lai, the deputy prime minister praised engineers, workers and foreign experts for their efforts to overcome difficulties over the eight years to complete the works to schedule. To date, all four turbines of the Ya Ly Hydro-electric Power Plant have generated more than four billion kilowatts per hour, making a great contribution to supplying electricity in dry season. On the paper pulp manufacturing mill and paper material planting area, Deputy Prime Minister Dung stressed that this is a work of the largest scale of not only Kon Tum but also of the country as well. Therefore, this is a great chance for the province to develop its economy in the years to come. He also asked the Ministry of Industry to closely co-operate with Kon Tum province to successfully implement this project. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Catfish ban against spirit of US-Vietnam trade pact, deputy PM The Vietnamese government and businesses are resolved to strictly implement the commitments of the Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) with the US, and requires the same attitude from the US. The pledge came during talks in Hanoi on January 25 between the Deputy Prime Minister, Nguyen Manh Cam, and assistant to the US Secretary of Commerce, William Henry Lash III. "It's regrettable that the US Congress recently endorsed the SA 2000 amendment, which prevents US imports of Vietnam's Tra and Basa (catfish)," Mr Cam told his guest. He went to say that the move was against the spirit of the trade pact, and even a violation of the pact right after its enactment. The Vietnamese deputy prime minister further said that US prevention of importing Vietnamese Tra and Basa ran counter to the free and equal trade principles and fundamental principles of the World Trade Organisation and international practices. Deputy Prime Minister Cam asked the US official to convey the Vietnamese government's message, requesting US authorities and Congress reconsider their unequal competitiveness regulations and refrain from similar acts in the future so as not to negatively impact the growing ties between the two countries. Henry Lash III informed Deputy Prime Minister Cam of issues relating to bilateral co-ordination in implementing the BTA, which became effective as of December 11, 2001, and measures to boost economic and trade ties between the two countries. The US official pledged to do his best to ensure the strict implementation of commitments reached by the two States. Mr Cam told his guest that his visit to Vietnam and the visit to the US by the Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, upon the enactment of the BTA would contribute to promoting bilateral co-operation in trade and investment and the implementation of the BTA. (VNA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vietnam interested in Koizumi's proposal Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Phan Thuy Thanh, on Thursday, January 24, said Vietnam is interested in Japanese Prime Minister J Koizumi's recent visits to ASEAN countries, as well as his proposal for closer co-operation between Japan and ASEAN. "This is a new initiative which Vietnam and other ASEAN member countries will consider and respond to after seeking further information," the spokeswoman said. Asked about Vietnam's reaction to Koizumi's proposal to broaden economic and commercial co-operation between ASEAN and its northeastern dialogue partners of Japan, China and the Republic of Korea (RoK), as well as co-operation between East Asia countries and Australia and New Zealand, Ms Thanh said: "We will continue to observe ASEAN's principle of consensus." In reply to a question by a Lao Dong newspaper correspondent on Vietnam's reaction to China's construction of a hydro-electric power plant in the upper reaches of the Mekong River, the spokeswoman said Vietnam believes that the construction project will do no harm to the river's ecological system and environment. "The Mekong River has great economic and environmental significance for the six countries located on its basin: China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam," Ms Thanh said. She stressed "Any activity in the river basin should not be harmful to the river's environment or ecology, and should ensure the normal flow and quality of its water, as well as the legitimate and equal rights of all these countries." "Vietnam hopes that all Mekong countries will promote dialogue and co-operation for sustainable development of the river, as stated in recent meetings between Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, of the Mekong River Commission, and China," Ms Thanh added. (VNA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WHO, UNICEF assist Mekong delta provinces fight HIV/AIDS A World Health Organisation-assisted project promoting the use of condoms in high-risk groups has been underway in the Mekong delta province of Can Tho. This is the first project of its kind to be implemented in Vietnam. Aiming to prevent HIV infection through sexual intercourse, the one-year project, started in November of 2001, received US $35,000 from WHO, including US $15,000 for the purchase of condoms for free distribution. Can Tho province was chosen by WHO to be the first beneficiary of the project. As many as 1,450 people in the province were tested positive for HIV, with 426 having developed full blown AIDS and 219 died. HIV infection through sexual intercourse has increased in the province, causing 63% of total HIV infections. Meanwhile, efforts to fight the transmission of HIV from mothers to their infants are being made in An Giang, another province in the Mekong delta. The efforts complement a project on prevention and control of HIV infection from mothers to infants conducted by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). A beneficiary of the project, the Long Xuyen medical centre, will be provided with equipment and instruments like HIV quick test machinery, disposable syringes and medicines that minimise the infection of HIV from mothers to infants and medical workers. The project, to run through 2003, will help uncover and protect pregnant women infected with HIV. An Giang province has so far recorded 13 infants infected with HIV from their birth, accounting for 0.7% of HIV carriers in the province. (VNA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Development of Mekong river basin discussed Experts from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, and consultants from the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) have discussed measures for sustainable development of the Mekong River basin at a seminar in Phnom Penh. At the January 23-25 seminar, jointly organised by the Mekong River Commission (MRC) and the CGIAR, participants also discussed how to combine economic development with environmental protection. They pointed to the need to collect data for research and analysis of socio-economic mechanisms, and ecosystem and political regimes of the Mekong sub-region, thus facilitating sustainable development in the region. The participants shared information on water resources and ecosystems for the development of projects on water utility, development and environmental protection in the basin. They also dealt with how to help MRC member countries to mitigate floods and control salt and alum water. Vietnamese experts presented the seminar with experiences on irrigation work and the building of hydro-electric power plants. They spoke of problems Vietnam faces in flood control, environmental protection and poverty eradication. According to Trinh Hoang Ngan, head of the Vietnam National Mekong Committee Office in Ho Chi Minh City, the seminar made progress in defining the demands of each country lying in the Mekong Basin, based on the agreement signed by MRC members in 1995 on multilateral co-operation for sustainable development in the basin. The Mekong sub-region consists of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. (VNA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Valuable experiences gained from World Customs Organisation Vietnam has gained valuable experiences from other members of the World Customs Organisation (WCO), said Nguyen Duc Kien, general director of the Vietnam General Department of Customs. He was speaking in a meeting in Hanoi on January 25 to mark the 50th WCO founding anniversary (January 26). The 159-member WCO has built almost 20 international conventions on customs, actively contributing to the improvement of a favourable environment for international trade activities and ensuring community interests in the context of trade liberation, the Vietnamese official said. Addressing the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Manh Cam hailed the efforts by the General Department of Customs in accelerating administrative reform, increasing State budget collection and boosting international co-operation. He called on the service to speed up emulation campaigns and raise customs officers' moral qualification so as to boost the country's sustainable development. Vietnam joined the WCO on July 1, 1993. (VNA) _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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