VNA Senior Party official meets DPRK delegation Mr Phan Dien, Politburo member and permanent member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, received in Hanoi on August 16 the visiting delegation of the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland (DFRF) of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) led by president of the front, Kang Ryeng-Hak. Mr Phan Dien informed his guests of the country's socio-economic situation and the implementation of the Resolution of the Ninth Party Congress. He expressed thanks to the Party, government and people of the DPRK for their valuable support to the Vietnamese people's cause for national liberation, reunification and national construction. He wished the people of the DPRK, under the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea, new achievements in building socialism and implementing peace, democracy and national reunification. DFRF President Kang Ryeng-Hak expressed his pleasure at visiting Vietnam and witnessing the great attainments of the Vietnamese people in recent years under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Mr Kang wished the Vietnamese people success in carrying out the Resolution of the Ninth Party Congress. He said he believed that the traditional solidarity and friendship between the two peoples would be further consolidated and developed. (VNA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cuban leader praises Vietnam's achievements Jose Ramon Balaguer, Politburo member of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee, welcomed the important achievements gained by the Vietnamese people in their national construction and economic development and the success of the recent Ninth Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). Jose Ramon Balaguer, who is also director of the Party Central Committee's Commission for External Relations, was speaking at a reception in Havana on August 15 for Permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Dinh Bin now on an official visit to Cuba. He also praised Vietnam's foreign policy and activities in the spirit of independence and self-reliance. He affirmed the Cuban people's determination to protect their choice of the socialist path and said that while striving to achieve the targets set for economic development, the Cuban people consider ideological and political work as the main task of the revolution in the current stage. For his part, Nguyen Dinh Bin briefed Jose Ramon Balaguer of Vietnam's socio-economic situation and activities of external relations on the basis of implementing the Resolution of the Ninth Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Mr Bin also expressed the solidarity and support of the Vietnamese Party, State and people for� the Cuban people's struggle and said "Vietnam wishes to further strengthen its fraternal solidarity, friendship and co-operation with Cuba." Deputy Foreign Minister Bin held talks with his Cuban counterpart Jose Armando Guera M on August 13. They exchanged views on international and regional issues of mutual concern as well as measures to boost the multi-faceted co-operation between the two countries, particularly the two foreign ministries. An agreement on co-operation between the Vietnamese and Cuban International Relations Institutes was signed on August 15 by the two deputy foreign ministers. Mr Bin was received by Cuban Deputy National Assembly Chairman Jaime Crombet, Acting Foreign Minister A D Fernandez, Acting Foreign Trade Minister, Jose Vat, and Acting Minister of Foreign Investment and Economic Co-operation N Benitez. He also had working sessions with Deputy Tourism Minister Marta Maiz and president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Antonio Caricarte, met with the Cuban press, and visited the Biotechnology Centre and a number of economic and cultural establishments. (VNA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vietnam respects Cambodians' decision:� FM spokeswoman Vietnam respects Cambodian people's decision, said the Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman on August 16 in Hanoi while answering Lao Dong newspaper. She said: "We welcome Cambodia's recent passing of a law enabling the establishment of a tribunal against the Khmer Rouge and hope that this step will contribute to the national reconciliation and construction in Cambodia, as well as to peace in the region and the world." "The Khmer Rouge regime had not only committed numerous brutal crimes against the Cambodian people but also launched an atrocious border war against Vietnam. Their crimes must be brought before court and strongly condemned." "Vietnam holds that a court trial against the Khmer Rouge is the Cambodian people's right. Vietnam respects their decision." "We believe that the Cambodian people are wise enough to make a sound decision on this issue," the spokeswoman said. In response to another Lao Dong question about Vietnam's reaction to the signing of a peace agreement in Macedonia, Ms Thanh said "We are closely following the complicated developments in Macedonia. "We hold that the recent signing of the peace agreement by political parties, the administration and opposition forces in Macedonia is an initial step in the process to peacefully solving the conflict." "However, the agreement should be seriously implemented by all the concerned parties to bring about sustainable peace in Macedonia, the Balkans region and Europe as well." "Vietnam hopes that the situation in Macedonia will return to normal soon," Ms Thanh said. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia pledge wildlife protection Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia have reached an agreement to crack down on poachers and wildlife traffickers in an effort to preserve their forests' biodiversity. It was part of the agenda of a meeting held in Vietnam's central border Ha Tinh province on August 15-16, which drew in senior officials from the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment, border provinces, the environmental protection services of the three neighbouring countries, and international wildlife organisations. Scientific reports delivered at the meeting highlighted the rich diversity of fauna and flora in forests along the Vietnam-Laos borderline, running across central Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Quang Nam provinces and Central Highlands Kon Tum province of Vietnam, and Bolykhamsay, Khammuon, Attapeu and Sekong of Laos. These forests are home to a number of endangered species in the world such as elephants, wild oxen, tigers, and wild buffaloes. (VNA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Inspection of power plant resettlement sites continues Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Cong Tan has urged northwestern Lai Chau province to establish a resettlement steering board to help local people relocate in safe places when construction of the projected Son La hydro power plant starts. The deputy prime minister, during his working visit to Lai Chau province from August 12-15, inspected feasible sites for resettlement in Dien Bien Dong, Si Pa Phin, Pa So, and Binh Lu. He asked the province to build a 200 household relocation models in Si Pa Phin as soon as possible and then apply it widely in the locality, thus basically completing the local resettlement work by 2005. As planned, between 23,000 and 43,800 people from five districts and a town of Lai Chau will be relocated. Speaking to the provincial leading officials, Mr Tan said that the Son La hydro-electric power project has created favourable conditions for the northwestern region in general and Lai Chau province in particular to zone off residential areas and boost sustainable socio-economic development. Mr Tan stressed that the province must combine development of agriculture with forestry, and industry with agro-forestry product processing in order to fully tap the local potential and ensure stable lives for local people in new residential areas. Lai Chau is required to develop forestry economy by planting an average of 1,000 hectares of pine forests a year to supply materials for a paper mill with a capacity of 50,000-100,000 tonnes of paper per year to be built in the locality. It must also invest more in growing tea, pines, sugarcane, and developing cattle breeding in Si Pa Phin, Cha Cang, Muong Toon and Muong Nhe economic zones. Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Tan led a government delegation to inspect Son La province, another beneficiary of the Son La hydro power project. Son La will have about 10,000 households resettled when the construction of the project starts. (VNA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thai, Vietnamese businesses meet Two hundred representatives from Thai and Vietnamese businesses met at the New World hotel in Ho Chi Minh City on August 16 to look for business opportunities. The meeting was organised by the Thai Commercial Office to mark the 25th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-Thailand diplomatic relations. Many Vietnamese and Thai businesses operating in pharmacy, agriculture, electronics, cosmetics and interior decoration joined the meeting. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IT Forum and ComputerWorld Expo opens The Vietnam Information Technology Forum 2001 and ComputerWorld Expo 2001 (VITF & VCW 2001) opened in Ho Chi Minh City on August 16. The four-day event was jointly organised by the Ho Chi Minh City Information Technology Association, the International Digital Group World Expo (Asia) and Viet ChamExpo under the Chamber of Commerce and Industry with the theme 'Vietnam's IT - Development and Integration.' The VITF & VCW 2001, the sixth such forum held annually in Ho Chi Minh City, involved 95 leading computer companies of Vietnam and the world including Acer, Epson, Hewlett Packard, IBM, LG, Samsung, Sanyo, Intel, Mekong Xanh (Green Mekong), FPT, and Lac Viet to show their products in 192 pavilions. The VITF & VCW 2001 focuses on introducing Vietnam's IT products and newly-established software parks nationwide. Along with the exhibition of up-to-date IT equipment and services, computers, printers, equipment for archives and transmission, and software, the focal programme of the event is a four-day workshop during which experts from world and Vietnamese IT businesses will present 55 reports on the overall view of Vietnam's IT, electronics businesses: business models, and orientation for development in the future, the world situation - opportunities and challenges to Vietnam, computers with Vietnamese trade labels and others. The VIFT & VCW 2001 will present awards to IT products and businesses earning highest turnovers in the year. Other activities such as the hand-over of scholarships to students of IT will be held on this occasion. Since 1998, Ho Chi Minh City's IT Association has presented 52 scholarships worth VND 52 million to IT students. Minister of Science, Technology and Environment Chu Tuan Nha, vice director of the Party Central Committee's Economic Commission Pham Chanh Truc, and vice director of the National Assembly's Committee for External Relations Nguyen Ngoc Tran were present at the opening ceremony. The organisers expected to welcome about 100,000 visitors. (VNA) _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________
