VNA
Prime minister welcomes new UN representative Prime Minister Phan Van Khai welcomed Jordan Ryan upon his appointment as resident representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and UN resident co-ordinator in Vietnam. He was receiving the UN co-ordinator in Hanoi on Thursday, January 17, after Mr Jordan Ryan presented his credentials to the prime minister. Mr Khai extended his congratulations to remark upon UN General Secretary Kofi Annan's Nobel Peace Prize. The prime minister said over the past years UN agencies have made important contributions to Vietnam's socio-economic development through programmes of poverty reduction, HIV/AIDS control, health care for children, family planning, science and technology-environment, administrative reform and others. He said he hoped that Vietnam will receive more assistance from the UN and Mr Jordan Ryan himself, and drew his guest's attention to Vietnam's socio-economic development, particularly its administrative reform programme. Mr Jordan Ryan said he will strive to diligently carry out his duties in co-ordinating Vietnamese assistance projects, co-ordinating donors' ideas and preferential targets for Vietnam. He said he is prepared to support, with his experiences and funding, Vietnam's development. (VNA) **** Ben Tre�s 42nd year of Uprising marked Ben Tre province on January 16 held a meeting to mark the 42nd anniversary of the Concerted Uprising (January 17, 1960-January 17, 2002) at the memorial site of the uprising in Dinh Thuy commune, Mo Cay district, the cradle of the people�s concerted uprising against the US-backed Saigon administration. Present at the meeting were leaders of the provincial Party Committee, the People�s Council, the People�s Committee, the Fatherland Front and other agencies; revolutionary veterans, leaders of Mo Cay district and all communes in the district and a majority of local people. Developing the tradition of the province, the people of Ben Tre are poking efforts to turn into reality the resolutions of the Ninth National Party Congress and the provincial seventh Party Committee Congress, thus building Ben Tre into a province of prosperity. Ben Tre province, some 85 kilometres south of Ho Chi Minh City, lies in the lowest part of the Mekong River basin. **** ASEAN members praise Vietnam's agricultural policy Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members have highlighted Vietnam's policies on socio-economic development, especially the policy on agricultural development, as valuable experiences for them in social development. ASEAN senior officials gathered in Jakarta, Indonesia, for a conference on social development in the national development programme held by the association and the World Bank from January 16-18. They spoke highly of Vietnam's policy to put high the human factor in its development strategy and its political commitment to and determination for social development. They were presented with a Vietnam report on achievements and lessons in implementing the social development programme. The Vietnamese delegates joined other participants in the three-day conference in discussing challenges to the region with regard to national policies, national plans and regional action programme on social development. (VNA) **** Vietnam - China diplomatic ties marked Prime Minister Phan Van Khai and his Chinese counterpart Zhu Rongji have exchanged messages of congratulations on the 52nd anniversary of the two countries' diplomatic ties (January 18). Also on this occasion, Vietnamese Ambassador to China Bui Hong Phuc held a reception in Beijing on January 17, where he said that the Vietnamese people always bear in mind China's suport and assistance during Vietnam's past revolutionary struggles and its current national construction and defence. Deputy Foreign Minister Qiao Zonghuai spoke highly of both countries' time-honoured ties. He expressed his belief in the further development of friendly neighbourly relations and comprehensive co-operation. (VNA) **** Capital prepares goods for Tet Hanoi�s trade sector has prepared a great quantity of goods worth VND 250 billion for the traditional Tet festival (the Year of the Horse). These include essential goods, such as 327 tonnes of pork, 26.5 tonnes of pie, 105 tonnes of processed food, 224 tonnes of cooking oil, 523,000 litres of fish sauce, 65 tonnes of seasoning, 255 tonnes of sugar, 330 tonnes of confectionery, 5,000 square cakes, 1.7 million bottles of wine etc. Besides, the market management force, in co-ordination with concerned agencies, will promote their activities to check and prevent the production and trading of fake or smuggled goods. _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________
