VNA Relief aid reaches quake-hit valley The first assignment of emergency aid has been delivered to quake victims in Dien Bien Phu Valley to help them mitigate the earthquake aftermath. The Vietnam Red Cross Society sent a message to the northwestern mountainous province of Lai Chau on February 22, inquiring after the local people's health and praising volunteers for their timely actions to help minimise damage caused by the earthquake. The society also sent VND 20 million to families heavily hit by the quake. To join the relief effort of the whole country, the Hanoi People's Committee has donated VND 100 million; the Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation, VND 100 million and the People's Committee of the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, VND 50 million to help Dien Bien Phu township overcome the consequences of the earthquake. **** Party, State attach importance to mass mobilisation work: senior partyPolitburo Standing Committee member of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), Pham The Duyet, said yesterday, that the Party and the State had always attached importance to mass mobilisation work, counting on it as a strong base. The senior Party official was speaking at a conference held by the CPV Commission for Mass Mobilisation in Hanoi to review its work last year and discuss measures to fulfil this year's targets. The conference heard reports showing more attention had been paid by authorities at all levels to this task. The participants praised the Fatherland Front and other mass organisations for their continual efforts to diversify their work so as to actively contribute to accelerating the patriotic emulation movement nationwide. The Party Commission for Mass Mobilisation and its branches across the country last year strictly monitored the exercise of democracy at the grassroots level. They also successfully organised a number of forums for people to respond to the draft political report to be delivered at the upcoming CPV Congress. In addition, people were encouraged to give their opinions about Party and government officials in order to strengthen the Party organisation and the administration in their localities, reports said. The conference pledged to mobilise people of all walks of life to actively implement the resolution of the upcoming Ninth Party Congress as this year's major task. (VNA) **** Vietnam hopes to gain banking experience from Russia Mr Cam and Mr Melnhikov.Vietnam would like to co-operate with and gain experience from the Russian banking system, especially in information exchange and personnel training, said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Manh Cam while receiving V.N. Melnhikov, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Russia, in Hanoi yesterday. He said the Vietnamese government had always paid attention to strengthening and modernising Vietnam's banking system. Mr Cam expressed his pleasure with the signing of a banking co-operation agreement between the two central banks at their first working session which, he said, accorded with the traditional friendship and co-operation between the two countries and created a basis to boost future economic and commercial relations. (VNA) **** Deputy PM wants Vietnam-Italy ties boostedDeputy Prime Minister Nguyen Manh Cam believes Vietnam and Italy should further boost economic, trade and investment co-operation so as to match each other's potential and strength. The Deputy Prime Minister made known his view while speaking to Italy's Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Mauro Fabris and his entourage during a reception in Hanoi on February 22. Mr Cam expressed pleasure at the fine development of Vietnam-Italy relations over recent years, particularly after the Italy visit last year by Vietnam Communist Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu. He said he wished for Italy to further accelerate bilateral relations with Vietnam as well as help the country broaden relations with the European Union, EU. He said the two countries should promote exchanges among businesses and arrange forums, fairs and seminars to introduce each country's potential and strength so as to seek opportunities for co-operation for mutual benefit. Italian Deputy Minister Fabris said that his country always attached importance to economic co-operation with Vietnam while contributing to promoting Vietnam-EU relations, especially in its capacity as President of the EU this year. He briefed Deputy Prime Minister Cam about the results of his working sessions with relevant agencies, describing it as an opportunity to better understand Vietnam' policies of socio-economic development. He said he also discussed with them measures to further strengthen economic, trade and investment co-operation between the two countries. (VNA) **** Denmark supports Vietnam's economic reformDenmark will grant 39.4 million Danish Kroner (approximately US $5 million) to a three-year 'Economic Reform Project in Vietnam.' An agreement to this effect was signed in Hanoi on February 21 by Danish Ambassador Ove Ullerup and Vice Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Hong Phuc. Social development and poverty alleviation combined with supporting the reform process are held high in priority on the Danish-Vietnamese development agenda. Therefore, the project's goal is to assist the Vietnam government in obtaining sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction through structural reforms and improved market mechanisms. The project has been designed through a close partnership between Denmark and Vietnam and includes three sub-projects: Support to Capacity Strengthening of the National Steering Committee for Enterprise Reform and Development (13.4 million DKK); Diagnostic Audits of Large State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) through the Ministry of Finance (18 million DKK); and Strengthening the Development Research and Policy Analysis Capacity of the Central Institute for Economic Management (8 million DKK). The direct beneficiaries of the project will be Vietnamese SOEs. In order to consolidate the current Danish assistance in the Vietnamese fisheries and agriculture sectors, priority will be given to the SOEs of these sectors during the selection for diagnostic audits. (VNA) _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________
