VNA Doctors' Day celebrated nationwide The 45th anniversary of the Vietnamese Doctors' Day has been observed recently throughout the country. The health sector of Kon Tum Central Highlands province held a meeting to mark the Day. In recent years, the provincial health sector has effectively implemented a campaign to enhance medical workers at the grassroots level in a bid to protect and give better care to people's health. The rate of communes and wards having clinics has increased from 77% in 1999 to 91% in 2000. All hamlets and villages have medical workers. The Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City also held a similar meeting yesterday to mark the event. Also on the occasion, Da Nang Hospital has started construction of a therapeutics site with a total investment capital of US $1.5 million (about VND 21 billion). The Hanoi Medical College has presented Independence Orders, second class, to three professors, People's Teachers including Pham Khue, Nguyen Buu Trieu and Vu Trieu An. This is in recognition of their contributions to training doctors of different generations as well as to constructing and developing the sector. The General Hospital of Hung Yen northern province has recently been upgraded with a total capital of VND 45 billion with assistance of many domestic and international organisations. In response to a campaign to strengthen doctors at the grassroots level, more than 1,000 medical workers were sent to work in localities last year. **** Vietnam, China eager to boost tiesDeputy Prime Minister Nguyen Manh Cam and his Chinese counterpart Qian Qichen have pledged to take co-operation between their countries to a high that matches their economic potential. Their governmental-level talks took place in Hainan on February 26. They emphasised bilateral co-operation in agriculture, including fisheries, "in the interests of the Parties, the States and people of the two countries." Both Mr Cam and Mr Qian expressed satisfaction about the fine development of bilateral co-operative ties in the recent past, especially the signing of the agreements on a land border and the Tonkin Gulf demarcation in 1999 and 2000, thus fulfilling top-level bilateral commitments. Last year's two-way trade turnover was higher than expected, they noted. However, the two governmental officials conceded much of the two nations' potential had been left untapped, which, they pledged, would be turned to good account by all means in the new stage of development, in the interests of their respective countries. "Peace and co-operation remain a global trend that reflect the aspiration of people not only in Asia but also in other regions of the world," host and guest emphasised. They said, however, that co-operation should accompany struggle. The talks took place on the sidelines of an establishment conference of the Boao Forum for Asia. Mr Cam took this opportunity to praise China's role in founding the Asian Forum, a place for Asian nations to raise their voice on issues of their own interests and measures to help each other overcome challenges posed by the new century. The Chinese Deputy Prime Minister, in turn, praised Vietnam's role in strengthening co-operation among south-east Asian nations. He said he believed that as Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, Vietnam would contribute to promoting co-operative ties between the grouping and China as well as with nations in other regions "for peace, stability and prosperity". (VNA) **** ASEAN Standing Committee meets The second meeting of the ASEAN Standing Committee was held at the ASEAN Secretariat's Headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia from February 19-24, according to a Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Jakarta. The meeting reviewed the association's activities in the past time and prepared content for the coming ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in July in Hanoi. Earlier, the four representatives of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar met the ASEAN Secretary General to discuss measures to implement the decision at the ASEAN Informal Summit in Singapore in late 2000 to narrow the development gap between old and new ASEAN member countries. The representatives agreed to set up a special group to supervise the decision's implementation. **** Vietnam, Russia boost agricultural and industrial co-operation Vietnam and Russia agreed to give priority to the co-operation on the production, processing and selling of tropical farm produce; scientific co-operation, import, selection and multiplication of crops and expansion of irrigation works. These were raised at the third meeting of the working group on agricultural and industrial co-operation of the Vietnam-Russia Joint Committee on Economic, Commercial, Scientific and Technological Co-operation held in Hanoi on February 26. Attending the meeting were leaders of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance of Vietnam and leaders of the Agricultural Ministry, scientific workers and experts of Russia. **** Party attends Mexico 'New Society' seminarA delegation from the Communist Party of Vietnam attended the fifth seminar on "Parties and A New Society" held by the Workers' Party of Mexico in Mexico city from February 23-25. The delegation presented a report assessing the renovation process in Vietnam at the seminar, which drew 42 left-wing parties from Latin American, Caribbean, Asian and European regions. Many foreign delegates appreciated Vietnam's results and experiences in renovation showed the country as an example not only in the struggle for national liberation but also of socialist construction. The delegation was received by General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Mexico Alberto Anaya. The delegates also met with other participating delegations. (VNA) **** UNICEF to provide medical facilities The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Hanoi has praised efforts made by the Vietnamese government and people in localities and international donors for their easing cholera disease spreading and polluted water-related diseases after the historic floods late last year in the Mekong river delta region. UNICEF has announced that it will provide essential medical equipment to 315 damaged communal medical stations and 15 hospitals in the region in March to further assist Vietnam's efforts in restoring its infrastructure after floods. So far, UNICEF has raised US $1.43 million from donations to provide clean water supply for 125,000 people, 500 medicine bags to communal clinics and essential medical facilities to 5,000 households in the flood-hit areas. The organisation has also provided text-books, educational facilities for 200,000 pupils and repaired 4,000 pupils' table sets and 2,000 classroom floors damaged by the floods. _________________________________________________ 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] __________________________________________________
