Press digest – October 15

PM Dung holds talks with German Chancellor

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her country attaches importance to the relationship with Viet Nam – a dynamic country with rising position in the region and the world.

She made the statement at the talks with PM Nguyen Tan Dung on October 15.

The two PMs expressed their pleasure at the fine developments of the strategic partnership established during Chancellor Angela Merkel’s official visit to Viet Nam in 2011.

They also noted with pleasure that the bilateral economic ties have been advanced in various aspects. Germany has been the biggest European trade partner of Viet Nam with the two-way trade volume standing at US$7 billion last year.

Germany attaches importance to ties with VN

German President Joachim Gauck affirmed that his country always expects stronger friendship and cooperation with Viet Nam while meeting with PM Nguyen Tan Dung who is on an official visit to the European country.

The two leaders expressed their pleasure at the positive advancement of the strategic partnership between the two countries and agreed to continue fostering the bilateral ties, especially in politics, economy, development cooperation, education and training among others.

PM Dung extended sincere thanks to Germany for creating favorable conditions for the Vietnamese community to live and work in the country.

Germany to raise East Sea issue at ASEM Summit

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany and many other European countries will surely discuss the East Sea issue at the upcoming ASEM Summit in Italy, during a joint press conference with PM Nguyen Tan Dung on Wednesday.

This issue has been regularly discussed at bilateral and multilateral levels in the European Union, according to the German Chancellor.

She asserted that Germany advocates Viet Nam’s stance of settling disputes through peaceful measures, on the basis of international law, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), regarding it as an effective method to resolve divergences.

In response to the question whether Viet Nam sues China in international court, PM Dung stressed that independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity is sacred thing for all nations across the world. Viet Nam, like all the other countries, will safeguard its independence and sovereignty by taking every measure in accordance with international law.

VN to pilot individual e-tax payment next year

The General Department of Taxation will pilot e-tax payment at the beginning of 2015 with a view to making it easier for individual tax payers.

Tax payers will carry out their tax duties at the Portal of the taxation, from tax registration, enumeration, payment to seeking tax-related  answers and searching relevant information.

In the short term, the General Department would pilot in two localities before expanding it to others in coming years.

So far, 63 cities and provinces and over 300 taxation branches have applied e-tax registration services.

Deputy PM’s visit to Iran boosts bilateral ties

Viet Nam and Iran agreed to beef up their comprehensive cooperation during Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to the Islamic country.

During his visit from October 13-15 the Deputy PM held talks with Iran’s Vice President Mohammad Shariatmadari.

He also attended meetings with Iranian First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri; Foreign Affairs Advisor to the Supreme Leader Ali Velayati; Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif; and the Minister for Industry, Mining and Trade Reza Nematzadeh.

The two sides agreed to increase delegation exchanges at all levels and maintain regular contact between ministries on both sides, while fostering legislative coordination and people-to-people links.

VN proposes topic for 132nd ASGP meeting

Chairman of the National Assembly Office Nguyen Hanh Phuc held talks with representatives from the standing committee of the Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments (ASGP) in Geneva on October 14 to propose a topic for the 132nd meeting of ASGP (ASGP-132) scheduled for March 2015 in Ha Noi.

The talks took place on the sidelines of the ongoing 131st Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, during which Phuc proposed the main theme for the ASGP-132 should be “the efficiency of the parliamentary consultative model”. 

He said the discussion would provide a chance for IPU members to evaluate the efficiency of current consultative apparatus of legislative bodies, and draw out criteria to set up suitable consultative units to improve the quality and efficiency of parliaments.

New HN-HCM air route through Laos, Cambodia to launch mid-2015

A new direct air route linking Ha Noi with Ho Chi Minh City flying through Laos and Cambodian airspace will be established in June 2015, according to head of the Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam (CAAV), Lai Xuan Thanh.

In the first stage, the route will be exclusively one-way, departing from Ho Chi Minh City for Ha Noi with an optimal flight level of FL350 (equivalent to 35,000 feet), he noted.

The CAAV leader made the statement at a congress in Da Nang on the establishment of a direct North-South air route between aviation authorities and air control service providers of Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia.

Viettel sets foot on Peru

The military-run Viettel group on October 15 officially launched its telecom services under branch name Bitel in Peru.

Viettel set targets to bring high-speed Internet and telecom services to every citizen in the South American country, said Bitel General Director Hoang Quoc Quyen.

The launch of Bitel in Peru is a new step Viettel has taken for its global development scheme. With 3G coverage and distribution channels over Peru, Bitel quickly obtained over 200,000 subscribers during the pilot period.  

VN sees 3G-service boom

Mobile network operators all say internet access from mobile devices are booming in Viet Nam, and becoming popular, according to an article published on the English language news portal VietNamNet Bridge.

Nguyen Dang Nguyen, Deputy General Director of MobiFone, one of the three largest mobile networks in VietNam, was quoted as saying that the network had seen a 50%increase in 3G traffic since the end of 2013, and the number of 3G subscribers had increased rapidly.

Ngo Manh Hung, Deputy General Director of Viettel Telecom, said the number of subscribers using data services had reached 9 million by the end of July.

Q3 growth rises faster than expected, says ANZ

The economic growth rate of Viet Nam saw a strong increase in Q3 to 5.62%, higher than the figure recorded same period last year (5.1%), according to the latest report released by the Australia-New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ).

ANZ forecast Viet Nam’s 2014 growth may hit 5.6% and see steady yet slow improvement to 5.8% in 2015.

Growth in the medium term is expected to stay below long-term average with both the IMF and ADB forecasting 5.5% growth in 2014, and the World Bank expecting growth a tad lower at 5.4%.

HN to host 3rd int’l film festival

As many as 320 films from 32 countries and territories across the world will be screened at the 3rd Ha Noi International Film Festival (HANIFF 2014) to take place from November 23-27.

A wide range of cinematographic events including competitions, panoramic screenings, a Vietnamese film programme, a HANIFF campus, a film project market, exhibition and seminars will be held under the framework of the festival. 

(Source: VGP/VNA/VOV/Nhandan)