VNA PM highlights role of militiamen General strength of the whole political system has been mobilised to implement synchronously the two Ordinances on Mobilised Reserve and on Militiamen and Self-defence Force in a serious and concerted manner nationwide, helping create a new development of these forces. So said Prime Minister Phan Van Khai at a conference in Hanoi on December 28 to review the five-year implementation of the two ordinances. Built with an appropriate proportion in each area, the militiamen and self-defence force, together with other forces, has made an important contribution to maintaining the localities' order and security and helping their locals overcome flood and storm consequences as well as joining mass mobilisation work, said Prime Minister Phan Van Khai The prime minister also praised ministries, branches, military units and political and social organisations for their efforts to actively and creatively overcome difficulties in implementing the two ordinances and promote their efficiency in life. On the occasion, the Ministry of Defence presented the State's Feat of Arms Order, Third Class, to 19 units and five individuals, the pennons from the prime minister to seven units and other awards of the ministry to 20 units in recognition of their achievements in the implementation of the two ordinances. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2002 will see financial management improvement: deputy PM Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has urged the finance ministry to strive for a major improvement in public financial management in 2002. Addressing a two-day conference that ended in Hanoi on December 28, Deputy PM Dung also asked the ministry to carry out six major tasks next year to ensure national budget revenue, avoid wasteful budget spending and make Vietnam's national financial system more transparent. "Financial mechanisms and policies must be built to effectively serve economic development and national defence and security tasks as stated in the resolution of the Ninth National Party Congress, thus helping turn Vietnam into an industrialised country by 2020," Mr Dung told the conference. The conference, which was convened to discuss the financial tasks and state budget estimates next year, noted that 2001 was a successful year in which all the 61 cities and provinces fulfilled state budget revenues in their localities. Speaking at the conference, Finance Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said "2002 will see great improvement in public financial management with concerted efforts to shift the power of state budget management from the ministry to budget beneficiaries." "With its inspection task, the finance ministry will work hard against any wasteful budget spending and corruption in order to ensure transparency of Vietnam's national finance system," Minister Hung emphasised. (VNA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ GDP growth reaches 6.8% Vietnam's gross domestic product recorded year-on-year increase of 6.8% in 2001, reported the General Department of Statistics (GDS). The industry and construction sector grew by 10.4% while the service sector rose by 6.1% and the agro-forestry and fisheries sector, 2.7%. According to the GDS, Vietnam's GDP growth rate, though being lower than the planned rate of 7.5%, is fairly high in Asia. (VNA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Get-together marks Cuban National Day Cuba's 43rd National Day (January1) was celebrated with a get-together held in Ho Chi Minh City on December 28, by the Union of Friendship Associations (UFA) and the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association (VCFA) of Ho Chi Minh City. It was attended by local leaders, Cuban Consul-General Maria Hortensia and people in the city. Speaking to the participants, the city's VCFA President Hoang Thi Khanh and Cuban Consul-General M Hortensia expressed joy at the new achievements made by the Cuban people in national construction and defence in the recent past. They also highlighted new steps of development in the Vietnamese-Cuban special ties and comprehensive co-operation, particularly the co-operative agreements signed during the recent visit to Cuba by Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. Also on the occasion, the VCFA and the Fine Arts University of Ho Chi Minh City presented about 1,000 copies of a poster book 'Vietnam-Cuba Solidarity-Victory' to the Cuban General Consulate. (VNA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Measures to develop Mekong river basin discussed The Mekong Commission has met in Vientiane, Lao capital, to discuss measures to develop the Mekong River basin. The meeting was organised with the participation of representatives from the member countries, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos and a number of international organisations. The participants discussed a plan for development of the Mekong River basin, including the management and exploitation of water resources at the lower basin, and programmes on socio-economic development, environmental protection, and development of human resources for the benefits of each country and the whole region. They encouraged co-operation among the concerned sectors in each country and among the member countries for the benefits of development in the future. (VNA) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ When is a catfish not a catfish? The Washington Post Newspaper, ran an article on Page A 2 on December 27 by AP journalist Philip Brasher, criticised the US Congress Bill discriminating Vietnamese imported catfish. The US Congress has barred labelling catfish from Vietnam as catfish because imports are cutting into sales of more expensive US catfish grown in man-made ponds in the South. Instead, importers, restaurants and grocery stores will have to use a name such as 'basa,' the article said. But a provision in a farm bill pending in the Senate would require fish, meat and produce to be labelled with the country of origin. US producers are counting on such labels to discourage sales of imported food. Critics of the forced name change say it smacks of protectionism and could hurt US efforts to remove barriers to exports. "Not only does it look like a catfish, but it acts like a catfish," Senator Phil Gramm (R-Tex.), said of the Vietnamese version. "And the people who make a living in fisheries science call it a catfish. Why do we want to call it anything other than a catfish?" Gramm and Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) wanted to reverse the name restriction with an amendment to a pending bill. US farmers say the only true catfish belong to the family with the Latin name Ictaluridae. The Vietnamese variety are in the family Pangasiidae, which are "freshwater catfishes of Africa and southern Asia," the Food and Drug Administration said last year after reviewing American Fisheries Society terminology. The agency decided it was permissible to use names such as 'basa catfish' for the Vietnamese product. The US Embassy in Vietnam says there is no evidence that the fish are raised in unsafe conditions. _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________
