VNA Party leader meets village chiefs Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh on October 18 had a cordial meeting with 57 elders, chiefs of villages and exemplary representatives from ethnic minorities groups in Bac Can northern mountainous province who are on a visit to Hanoi. They reported to the Party leader about the socio-economic development and the lives of the people in the province. They expressed the locals� belief in the Party and State policies. The Party chief spoke highly of Bac Can people�s great efforts and achievements in all fields: socio-economy, security and defence. He asked provincial authorities to closely co-ordinate with village patriarchs and chiefs to promote unity, fight against poverty and hunger and build a new life of happiness and prosperity. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PM leaves for APEC economic leaders' meeting Prime Minister Phan Van Khai left Hanoi on the morning of October 19, for the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation) Economic Leaders' Meeting (AELM) opened in Shanghai, China, the same day. Prime Minister Khai was accompanied by Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien, Trade Minister Vu Khoan, Minister and director of the Government Office Doan Manh Giao, Vietnamese Ambassador to China Bui Hong Phuc, and other officials from the Government Office as well as from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Planning and Investment, and Finance. The four-day AELM themed 'Facing New Challenges in the New Century: Gaining Common Prosperity through Participation and Co-operation' draws leaders from 21 regional countries. (VNA) BACK TO TOP ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vietnam welcomes US president's ratification of BTA Vietnam welcomes the ratification of the Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) by President George Bush of the United States on October 17, the spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry Phan Thuy Thanh said in a statement issued in Hanoi on October 18. She described the US President's ratification of the BTA as an important landmark in the full normalisation process between Vietnam and the US, meeting the aspirations and the interests of both peoples. "The National Assembly of Vietnam is considering approving the Vietnam-US trade pact at its coming session in conformity with Vietnamese law," the spokesperson said. (VNA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Spokesperson on Russia's withdrawal � from Cam Ranh port Russia's decision to begin withdrawing from Cam Ranh port in January 2002 is in keeping with the agreement reached between the two countries, the spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, Phan Thuy Thanh, said in Hanoi on October 18. Answering foreign correspondents' questions regarding Vietnam's reaction to Russia's withdrawal, the spokesperson said: "We are confident that the traditional relations and multi-form co-operation between Vietnam and the Russian Federation as two strategic partners will be further boosted". Vietnam advocates using the port in conformity with its socio-economic development plan, Ms Thanh added. (VNA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vietnam to boost agricultural co-operation with Australian State Vietnam wants to boost co-operation in crop cultivation, dairy farming, processing industry, and forest growing and protection with the Australian State of Queensland. So said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Manh Cam while receiving Queensland Premier Peter Arnison in Hanoi on October 18. Mr Cam also expressed his wish for further co-operation in other fields such as tourism, health care, and education. He also said the business circles of the two countries should accelerate contacts to better understand each other's market and boost investment. For his part, Premier Arnison expressed satisfaction at the current fine development of relations between the two countries, which, he said, has contributed to Vietnam's development. He also expressed his wish for further bilateral co-operation, especially between his State and Vietnam, in trade, investment, and other fields. The Queensland premier said the two countries should boost exchange in many areas so that Vietnamese and Australian people, especially the young generation, can develop better understanding, thus promoting friendship and co-operation in the future. (VNA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vietnamese Women's Day marked A meeting was held in Hanoi on Wednesday evening to celebrate the founding anniversary of the Vietnam Women's Union (VWU) and Vietnamese Women's Day (October 20). Addressing the meeting, which was jointly sponsored by the VWU Central Committee and the Hanoi Women's Union, VWU Vice President Nguyen Thi Oanh recalled the Vietnamese women's glorious tradition and said "Vietnamese women, who are farmers, workers, managers or scientists, have become industrious, active and inventive labourers." "Vietnamese women will unite in their joint effort to carry out the national plan of action for women's advancement, thus helping to achieve Vietnam's goal of a prosperous people, a strong country, and an equitable, democratic and civilised society," Ms Oanh told the meeting. The Hanoi Women's Union on Wednesday ended its two-day congress, which is held every five years. The congress, the 12th of its kind, reviewed what had been done in the previous tenure and laid down the union's tasks for the next tenure, from 2001-2006. "Over the past five years, the Hanoi Women's Union has launched various movements to involve a large number of Hanoi's women," said a keynote report delivered at the congress. The report added "These include movements 'Mutual help for the household economy development,' 'A clean and green environment in Hanoi,' 'Family-based drug control' and 'All-people unity in building a new cultural life'." "The union has also raised a fund of about VND 300 billion to help poor women to develop the household economy through the national hunger elimination and poverty alleviation programme," the report stressed. On this occasion, the Hanoi Women's Union was awarded Vietnam's Independence Order, second class, in acknowledgement of its achievements recorded over the past years. (VNA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vietnam stresses administrative reform to narrow development gap Vietnam has shared with other ASEAN member countries its desire to continue comprehensive civil services reform for sustainable development and strengthen the linkage to narrow the development gap between member countries. The statement was made by Do Quang Trung, minister and chairman of the Government Committee on Organisation and Personnel, at the closing session of the 11th ASEAN Conference on Civil Service Matters (ACCSM), in Hanoi on October 18. Minister Trung said "More than ever, reform efforts should be accelerated so that governments canuse civil services effectively to ensure dynamic and sustainable development in each country. Continuous reform in all aspects of civil service management such as information technology application, training, assessment of civil servants, restructuring, etc are our only choice." He also said "We all agreed on the need to strengthen linkages to narrow down the development gap." He concluded by saying that "Given the many important issues we have agreed on at this conference, I am confident that ASEAN civil service co-operation will reach a new height in the future." The three-day conference has approved proposals on the establishment of ASEAN Resource Centres in Cambodia and Laos, and exchanged views on initiatives for accelerating operation of the ASEAN resource centres. The ASEAN Secretariat has presented a list of potential donors to ACCSM activities and discussed technical reports. The conference has agreed to hold the next conference (the 12th) in Brunei Darussalam, Brunei. The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar.� (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] __________________________________________________
