VNA
Fatherland Front president visits flood-hit provinces President of the Presidium of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Pham The Duyet recently paid visits to the four Mekong delta flood-hit provinces of Long An, Dong Thap, An Giang and Kien Giang. He visited anti-flood residential areas and floating kindergartens for flooded areas. He also called for and presented gifts to Heroic Mothers and policy priority beneficiaries. The president had meetings with provincial authorities, where he praised the efforts made by the local authorities and people to cope with floods and overcome the difficulties. He also spoke highly of the model of building anti-flood residential areas and the provinces� determination to complete the construction of anti-flood residential areas by 2004 - 2005 so that people living in flooded areas will have stable lives when the flood season sets in. **** Vietnamese, Lao Parties work together in personnel training The Organisation Commissions of both the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee (CPV CC) and the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee (LPRP CC) have agreed to continue working together in personnel training. Under a memorandum of understanding to this effect, the two commissions will exchange delegations, experiences and documents to further co-operation in Party building work and personnel training. The Vietnamese side will also help train editors for the Laos Party Building Review. The agreement was reached during a visit to Laos from October 22-28 by a delegation of the CPV CC's Commission for Organisation and Personnel led by its Permanent Deputy Chairman Pham Van Tho. The delegation was received by Thongsing Thammavong, Politburo member and Chairman of the Organisation Board of the LPRP CC. They discussed at length issues relating to organisation and personnel work and ways to boost bilateral co-operation. (VNA) **** Vietnam elected to UNESCO Executive Council Vietnam has been elected to the Executive Council of the United Nations Cultural, Scientific, and Educational Organisation (UNESCO) at the 31st UNESCO General Assembly. The 58 members of the UNESCO Executive Council are divided into five groups according to geographical-cultural characteristics. Vietnam is in Group 4 with Australia, China, India and Vanuatu. The Vietnamese delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem, is one of 150 delegations attending the organisation's 31st General Assembly, which opened in Paris, France, on October 15. (VNA) **** Border guards care for flood-hit children Officials and soldiers of the Border Guard Station 969 in Tan Khanh Hoa commune, Kien Luong district, Kien Giang province are now have one more job - as babysitters. The station reserves most of its area to take care of 40 children who are sons and daughters of families in difficulties. The guards, with help from the local Youth Union, teachers and villagers, not only take care of the children but also give them lessons. **** More donations sent to flooded provinces Over the past days, together efforts made by flood-stricken provinces to overcome the flood aftermath, other provinces and organisations across the countries have sent their donations to flood victims to help them promptly stabilise their life and production. The flood-ravaged provinces in the Mekong river delta have so far received VND 55.9 billion and other necessities. Of this, VND 27.5 billion has been given to the local people. As of October 25, about 36,000 poor households in flood-hit areas in An Giang province were provided with relief aid including money, rice, boats and fishing nets, worth VND 8,573 million. The Vietnam Union of Friendship Associations launched a donation campaign in Hanoi on October 26 for flood victims in central Vietnam. Staff contributed their one working day's salary. The Thua Thien - Hue province has donated VND 150 million to six flood-stricken provinces in Mekong river delta. Of which, Long An, Tien Giang and Dong Thap province are given VND 30 million each and Kien Giang, An Giang and Can Tho each with VND 20 million. Hanoi's Youth Union has sent VND 3.3 million contributed by the capital's young people to flood-affected people in Mekong river delta. Flooded provinces are investing more money to build infrastructure and strengthen the dyke and dam system in a bid to minimise the flood consequences. Long An province is building 27 multi-storey clinics in flood-prone communes with a capital of VND 250-270 million per health station. The province will invest VND 140 billion to rebuild all health centres in order to ensure all of them can operate in the flood season. Vinh Long province has also invested VND 28.6 billion to build and upgrade the irrigation system. **** Technical co-operation between regional transport experts called for Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Nguyen Viet Tien has called for further co-operation in science and technology from other East Asian countries to help Vietnam solve new challenges in transport and communications. The deputy minister was speaking at a conference held by the East Asian Society for Transport Studies in Hanoi from October 24-27. He said transport and communications will continue to play an important role in the national economy and will thus continue to be an area of high priority for State investment. Challenges, therefore, still lie ahead, especially in transport management and technology, Mr Tien said. He expressed the hope that through the conference, experts from other East Asian countries would gain a more thorough understanding of transport and communication development in Vietnam, enabling them to help the country consider a practical solution to its problems in the interest of "rational, economic, dynamic, and sustainable development of transportation," as the conference's goal. Vietnam has over the past ten years of renovation invested in dozens of transport projects. Many other projects have been funded by foreign countries and international financial institutions, Mr Tien said. He cited the upgrade of National Highway 1 with loans from the Asian Development Bank and the construction of the My Thuan bridge funded by the Australian government. The regional event drew in 500 experts from all the ten member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), China, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Australia, and Hong Kong. Experts from the United Nations and the United Kingdom were also on hand. (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] __________________________________________________
