Press digest – July 16

NA Standing Committee wraps up 29th session

The National Assembly (NA)’s eighth session scheduled for October 20 – November 29 will consider and adopt 30 bills and two draft resolutions, said Chairman of the NA Office Nguyen Hanh Phuc at the closing of the NA Standing Committee’s 29th session in Ha Noi on July 16.

If the contents of the draft laws are well-prepared, it will take the NA little time to pass them, NA Vice Chairman Uong Chu Luu assured.

Reviewing the outcomes of the NA’s seventh session, a majority of the committee’s members hailed it as a success in the context of complicated developments in the region and the world, with China illegally placing its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou – 981 in Viet Nam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.

VN determined to safeguard sea and island sovereignty: PM

Viet Nam is always determined to struggle for nation’s sacred sovereignty via collective strength and appropriate measures in accordance with international law, said PM Nguyen Tan Dung.

PM Dung on July 16 presided over the Government's thematic meeting on law building.

Viet Nam stands ready to work with China and related sides to negotiate in a peaceful manner and resolve the issue in the East Sea in accordance with international law, he stated.

Viet Nam, said PM Dung, treasures and hopes to continue to receive further support from the community for her just standpoint to strongly condemn actions which violate international law, and threaten regional peace as well as stability.

MoFA comments on China’s oil rig move

Viet Nam requested China not to bring oil rig Haiyang Shiyou – 981 back or send any other rigs to Viet Nam’s oil and gas Block 143 or any otherareas belonging to Viet Nam’s waters as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) said Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Hai Binh.

Spokesperson Binh made the point on July 16 in response to China’s oil rig move.

According to Mr. Binh, since May 2, 2014, China’s rig Haiyang Shiyou-981 and a large number of escort ships, including military ships, have violated the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of Viet Nam;injured Vietnamese coast guard staffs; caused material loss for Vietnamese coast guard and fisheries surveillance forces and even even sank a Vietnamese fishing boat.

"Viet Nam has struggled to safeguard her sovereignty, and sovereign right  by peaceful measures,” Binh affirmed.

VN – UK’s priority partner in Southeast Asia: Ambassador

The UK considers Viet Nam an important priority partner in Southeast Asia, outgoing UK Ambassador Antony Stokes has said.

Meeting Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in Ha Noi on July 16 before leaving, the ambassador affirmed that the UK always supports an extensive and in-depth cooperation between Viet Nam and the European Union.

He noted with pleasure that the Viet Nam-UK relationship has thrived in all fields, especially in economy, trade, education and defence-security, since the two countries signed the Strategic Partnership in September 2010 and General Secretary Trong’s first official visit to the UK in January 2013.

PM urges speeding up of new rural area building

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has issued an instruction requiring the heads of Party committees and administrations at all levels to personally direct the implementation of the national target programme on new-style rural area building.

Directive 18/CT-TTg stresses that the program is the decisive factor for the sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas.

The building of new-style rural areas should be implemented in parallel with the restructuring of the agricultural sector and the application of scientific and technological advances to agricultural production, said the directive.

Typhoon forecast to hit northeastern VN on July 19

Storm Rammasun, the second to appear in the East Sea this year, is predicted to hit northeastern coastal Quang Ninh province and Hai Phong city at noon on July 19, said Hoang Duc Cuong, Director of the Central Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Centre.

At an urgent meeting in Ha Noi on July 16, Cuong said the fierce storm is moving towards the Tonkin Gulf and may roll in these waters in the evening of July 18.

The typhoon will bring torrential rains in the northern and northern central regions with rainfalls between 200 – 300 mm, mainly on July 19 and 20, he noted.

Gov’t Inspectorate to conduct six major inspections in Q3

The Government Inspectorate will carry out six major inspections in the third quarter of this year, heard a conference on the sector’s tasks for the second half of the year in Ha Noi on July 16. 

The inspections will focus on the handling of complaints and denunciations and efforts to fight corruption in central Thanh Hoa province, land and forest allocation in southern Binh Phuoc province as well as the management and use of capital and assets at the Viet Nam Railway Corporation. 

The operation of the Deposit Insurance of Viet Nam will be examined to see whether it complies with the law in ensuring the safety for the credit system and people’s interests while the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Culture will be inspected to ensure it fulfill its responsibility in implementing a national target programme on culture. 

President Sang presents decisions to appoint new diplomats

On July 16, President Truong Tan Sang awarded decisions accrediting 22 Vietnamese ambassadors and 7 consul generals to foreign countries.

The newly accredited ambassadors are qualified and capable officials with a wealth of diplomatic experience, including those holding key positions in Party and State external relations departments.

President Sang asked them to bring into full play their capacities and experience to mobilize external resources and enlist the support from the international community for national construction and defence.

“It is imperative to find out breakthrough solutions for trade promotion by expanding export markets for Vietnamese goods, intensifying foreign direct investment (FDI), learning economic restructuring andgrowth model experiences from other countries.

Da Nang greets first flight from Japan

The central city of Da Nang on July 16 welcomed the first flight of a new direct air service from Tokyo, which is expected to bring more Japanese tourists to the central region.

The route between Narita International Airport and Da Nang is operated by Viet Nam Airlines with four flights per week on Airbus A321 aircraft.

Da Nang has long considered Japan as a key tourism market. In 2013, the city welcomed more than 41,000 Japanese visitors, up 53 percent from a year earlier.

Condolences sent to Russia over subway accident

President Truong Tan Sang on July 16 cabled a message of condolences to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over a serious metro accident in the capital city of Moscow.

The same day, Ha Noi People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen The Thao also offered his sympathy to Moscow Mayor Sobianhin Sergey Semionovich.

The derailment on the Moscow metro occurred on July 15, killing at least 21 people and injuring more than 130 others.

HN allocates VND 73.5 billion for biodiversity protection

The Ha Noi People’s Council has approved a VND 73.5 billion (US$3.5 million) plan, effective through 2030, to preserve the city’s biological diversity.

The plan aims to protect important natural ecosystems, endemic and rare species, as well as conserve and utilise forest resources in a sustainable manner.

Under the plan, Ha Noi authorities will take measures to phase out illegal natural resource exploitation activities and other threats to biodiversity./.

(Source: VGP/VNA/VOV/Nhandan Online)