New Zealand Major General visits Vietnam; Five more border markers planted between Vietnam, Laos; ASEAN Senior Officials meet in HCM City; NA Chairman visits Bali province
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A high-ranking delegation from the Ministry of Public Security, led by Minister General Le Hong Anh, met on March 2 with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
Minister Anh briefed his host on cooperation programmes between his Ministry and Thai public security agencies, highlighting the growing cooperation between Vietnam and Thailand in recent years, especially in the fight against crime.
PM Abhisit praised this development but called for closer cooperation between the two countries in combating trans-national crime, and drug-related and human trafficking crime.
The same day, General Anh and his entourage also held talks with the General Secretary of Thailand’s National Security Council (NSC), Thawil Pliensri, the acting police chief of the Royal Thai Police, Pateep Tanprasert, and the Thai Minister of the Interior, Chaovarat Chanvirakul.
These senior Thai officials spoke highly of their relations with the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security in recent years since the signing of the anti-crime agreement in 2004.
Minister Anh asked the Thai agencies to help Vietnam prevent terrorism and ensure security and safety in 2010.
He also asked the Thai Minister of the Interior to help improve living conditions for the Overseas Vietnamese community in Thailand.
On March 8, the Vietnamese delegation will meet with Thai Deputy Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who is in charge of Thailand’s public security sector, and with several other senior officials of the Thai government.
Five more border markers planted between Vietnam, Laos
The northern province of Son La has joined hands with the Lao province of Houaphan to erect an additional five border markers numbered 145 to 149 on the Vietnam-Laos border.
Working crews from the two provinces are cooperating to survey the next 15 positions on the borderline between Sop Cop district, Son La, and Xiengkhor district, Houaphan, in order to prepare for border marker planting in this year’s dry season.
Son La province shares 250km of border with the Lao provinces of Houaphan and Luang Prabang, which already has 24 border markers.
Another 101 border markers will be planted on the Son La-Houaphan-Luang Prabang borderline.
Once the project is finished, there will be 2km per border marker on this borderline.
New Zealand Major General visits Vietnam
Lieutenant General Nguyen Khac Nghien, Deputy Minister of National Defence and Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army, on March 3 received Major General Richard Rhys Jones, Land Component Commander of New Zealand.
Mr Nghien warmly welcomed his New Zealand guest and wished him an enjoyable visit to Vietnam.
Major General Jones expressed his pleasure at being in Vietnam and informed his host of productive talks with Lieutenant General Pham Hong Loi, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army.
Both sides agreed to work together to combat terrorism, promote visit exchanges, and organise training courses for army medical workers.
During their stay in Vietnam, Major General Jones’ delegation will visit the High Command of Military Zone 7, the Logistics Institute, the Vanguard Division, the Military History Museum and several popular tourist sites in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnamese, Cambodian veterans step up cooperation
War veterans of Vietnam and Cambodia will tighten their cooperation in a myriad of fields under a friendship and cooperation agreement signed between the two countries’ war veterans associations in Phnom Penh on March 2.
Accordingly, both sides will increase domestic and international coordination in disseminating information on the traditional friendship and mutual support between both states, armies and war veterans’ associations. They will also boost the exchange of information and experience in improving living standards of veterans’ families and facilitate cooperation among veteran-run businesses, especially in border provinces.
The deal was reached during a meeting between the Cambodian Minister of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation, Ith Samheng, and Lieutenant General Tran Hanh, chairman of the Vietnam War Veterans’ Association (VWVA), who is leading a delegation to visit Cambodia from March 1-4.
During the meeting, Chairman Tran Hanh informed the Cambodian minister of the VWVA’s current activities at both central and provincial levels. He also shared experiences relating to development of veterans’ associations. In addition, Hanh forwarded an invitation of the Veterans’ Confederation of ASEAN Countries (VECONAC) for Cambodia to join its activities.
Minister Ith Samheng said Cambodia always keeps in mind the great sacrifice and contributions of the Vietnamese people and army during the time of war and peace alike.
ASEAN Senior Officials meet in HCM City
The ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) opened in HCM City on March 2 with Pham Quang Vinh, Assistant to the Vietnamese Foreign Minister, in the chair.
This is one of a series of meetings, including the ASEAN Senior Economics Officials Meeting (SEOM), the meeting of the Senior Officials Committee for the ASEAN Socio- Cultural Community (SOCA), and the Joint Preparatory Meeting (JPM) that are being held in the city from March 1-3.
These meetings focused on preparations for the 16th ASEAN Summit to be held in Hanoi on April 8-9, and ways to realize the decisions made at ministerial meetings held in the central coastal city of Da Nang in January 2010.
Officials proposed measures to accelerate the building of an ASEAN community, promote intra-bloc cooperation and improve regional capacity in response to rising challenges. They also touched upon ways to expand cooperation between ASEAN and its partners.
NA Chairman visits Bali province
Vietnam wants to promote friendship and comprehensive cooperation with Indonesian localities, including Bali, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong told Bali Governor Made Mangku on March 2.
Mr Trong, who is paying an official visit to Indonesia, congratulated Bali province on being elected by the World Tourism Organisation as a tourist destination of its Green Tourism project in 2010.
He praised Bali’s potential for tourism development and proposed the Indonesian province increase cooperation with Vietnam which has a number of UNESCO-recognised tourist sites such as Ha Long Bay, Hue Imperial City, My Son Relic, Hoi An Ancient City and Phong Nha-Ke Bang Cave.
Governor Mangku said his administration will create favourable conditions for Vietnamese localities to share experiences in tourism management. He said the administration is interested in preserving its traditional cultural identity, considering this a prerequisite for the province to attract tourists.
In the evening, governor Mangku gave a banquet in honour of Mr Trong and his entourage.
Mr Trong began an official visit to Indonesia on February 28 at the invitation of Marzuki Alie, Speaker of the Indonesia House of Representatives.
PV
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