_________________________________________________ Party leader meets Italian Communists' Party delegation The Communist Party and people of Vietnam would always attach importance to strengthening and developing solidarity and co-operation with the Party of Italian Communists and the Italian people, Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu said on January 4. Mr Phieu was speaking in Hanoi with a high-level delegation of the Party of Italian Communists, led by its General Secretary Oliviero Diliberto. The general secretary thanked the Italian communists and people for their valuable support for Vietnam and said that Vietnam wished to boost its relationship with Italy in the interest of each country, for peace, national independence, democracy and social progress. General Secretary Diliberto emphasised the desire of his Party to further co-operate with Vietnam, thus contributing to the development of the relationship between the two countries. He said that he highly appreciated the achievements and experiences gained by the Vietnamese people during their struggle for national liberation in the past as well as the present renovation process. The same day, the Italian delegation had talks with a Vietnamese Party delegation led by permanent member of the Standing Board of the Party Central Committee's Political Bureau, Pham The Duyet. The two delegations briefed each other about their respective parties' activities, exchanged views about international and regional issues of common concern and discussed measures to further the co-operation between the two parties. The Italian delegation also visited President Ho Chi Minh's residence and office. They will met with the Party Committees of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. (VNA) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Provincial Party congresses held A number of 270 delegates representing more than 17,000 local Party members attended the tenth Party Committee Congress of Lai Chau province held from January 1 to 4. During the last term, the provincial Party Committee, together with the local people, have overcome all difficulties and gained many important achievements with the GDP growth rate of 6.55% and the total output of 194,000 tonnes of rice. The province paid much attention to the Party building work in politics, ideology and organisation fields. For the orientation for the next term, Lai Chau strives to get an year-on-year increase of GDP of between 8 to 9%. The economic development is focused on agriculture, forestry, industry and services. The province will also concentrate on developing key and new economic zones. At the same time, the Party Committee Congress of Hung Yen province was organised with the participation of 270 Party members. Addressing the congress, Politburo member and head of the Party Commission for Inspection Nguyen Thi Xuan My asked the province to make full use of advantages of a province which is located in the key economic zone of the north. Attention should also be focused on the agro-forestry processing industry and on personnel training, health care, education and Party building work. The 13th four-day Congress of the Quang Binh Party Committee was opened on the first of this month. A report delivered at the congress outlined the strategic plans in the coming time, including the concentration given to the economic structure shifting toward industrialisation and modernisation and the building of capable officials. The annual economic growth rate is set to be 8.5 to 9% within the next five years. The Party Congress of the Central Economic Agencies was held on January 2 and 3. Speaking at the congress, Mr Truong Tan Sang, Politburo member, and head of the Party Commission for Economy emphasised that the Party Committee should be deeply aware of its weaknesses and mistakes in order to work out measures to overcome existing problems in the time to come. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 55th anniversary of first NA general election marked The National Assembly of Vietnam during the ten tenures over the past 55 years has made remarkable contributions to the national revolutionary cause. NA Chairman Nong Duc Manh made his remarks at a get-together to mark the 55th anniversary of the NA first general election, which was held on January 6, 1946 after the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, on September 2, 1945. The gathering was held in Hanoi on January 4, in the presence of NA deputies from the first to the tenth tenures and representatives of their families. NA Chairman Manh recalled memories of the historical day 55 years ago, an event of great significance in Vietnam's socio-political life. The first ever general election stamped a red landmark on Vietnam's history, electing 333 deputies to the NA from different classes and ethnic groups of Vietnam. It demonstrated the strength of the entire people's great unity block and marked the first breakthrough in Vietnam's democratic structure, Mr Manh said. The general election affirmed the Vietnamese people's territorial sovereignty. This great success, together with the adoption of the Constitution in 1946, opened up a new era in Vietnam in which the country had a unified national assembly and government and a legal administrative system to represent the Vietnamese people in internal and external affairs. Chairman Manh stressed that entering the New Year, 2001, the first year of implementing the 10-year socio-economic development strategy (2001-2010) and the five-year plan (2001-2005), the NA should renovate and improve its activities, complete the legal system as soon as possible and satisfactorily play its supervisory role. (VNA) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- PM hails mass media role The government had always attached importance to the press, considering it an important information channel that helped the government and the prime minister's guidelines and operations become effective, said Prime Minister Phan Van Khai during his meeting with pressmen in the northern region for the new year in Hanoi on January 4. Mr Khai further said that the government and he himself had always supported and created favourable conditions for pressmen to effectively practise their jobs, thus contributing to the cause of national renovation. The prime minister expressed his hope for further responsibility towards the Party, the government and people by mass media workers. He briefed the pressmen about the country's socio-economic development in 2000, emphasising that Vietnam had overfulfilled 11 of 12 major socio-economic targets set for 2000 by the National Assembly and stopped the economic decline. On plan for 2001 and the government's working programme, Mr Khai said that major targets set for the 2001-2005 period focused on high and sustainable economic growth rate, changing the economic and labour structures towards industrialisation and modernisation, improving competitiveness and construction of socialism-oriented market economic institution. Developing the human factor, education and training, science and technology; solving urgent issues relating to job creation and social evils and raising people's living conditions were also mentioned by the prime minister. (VNA) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bac Bo Gulf demarcation agreement satisfies both Vietnam and China: FM spokeswoman The Bac Bo (Tonkin) Gulf agreement has fairly satisfied both Vietnam and China, says Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh. The agreement delineates water boundaries, exclusive economic zones and continental shelves in the Bac Bo gulf between Vietnam and China. Ms Thanh says that in meeting the interests and aspirations of both Vietnam and China it contributes to the friendship and co-operation between the two countries. She was answering a Radio "Voice of Vietnam" correspondent's question about Vietnam's assessment of the signing of the Bac Bo Demarcation Agreement and the Agreement for Fishing Co-operation in the Bac Bo Gulf during last month's China visit by President Tran Duc Luong. She said that demarcation of the Bac Bo Gulf was an objective demand which was clearly identified in the 1993 agreement on fundamental principles for solving border issues between the two countries. Since 1993, Vietnam and China have negotiated issues relating to the Bac Bo Gulf in order to complete the demarcation in 2000 as agreed by the two countries. Both countries had based their friendly negotiations on the 1982 Treaty on Sea Law, international legal principles, widely recognised international practices and the circumstances in the Bac Bo Gulf. Of the Fishing Co-operation Agreement for the Bac Bo Gulf, the spokeswoman said that after six rounds of negotiations from April to December, 2000, the two countries had signed the Vietnam-China Agreement for Fishing Co-operation in the Bac Bo Gulf. The agreement's major contents include regulations for the establishment of joint fishing areas in the Bac Bo Gulf in which both countries will co-operate in preserving and sustainably exploiting aquatic produce resources, as well as regulations for fishing co-operation and scientific research based on the principles of equality, mutual benefit and in conformity with the 1982 United Nations Treaty on the Sea Law and international reality. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Denmark helps promote ethnic women and children's rights The Danish government has sponsored US $350,000 for a project to promote the rights of the ethnic women and children. The remaining capital for this US $722,000 project comes from the Vietnamese government and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF). The project will be implemented from 2001-2003 in five districts of five mountainous provinces of Lai Chau, Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Kon Tum and Soc Trang. It aims at creating favourable environment and conditions for full implementation of rights of ethnic minority groups. _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
