Vietnam News Dec 22-23
VNA Nation celebrates People's Army Day President Tran Duc Luong praised war veterans and invalids of the Hanoi Invalids' Music Club for their efforts to overcome their difficulties in daily life to live a good and productive life during a visit to the club to mark the People's Army Day (December 22). President Luong also expressed the deep gratitude of the Party, State and people to families of war martyrs, invalids and those having rendered great services to the struggle for national independence. All the club members joined in a choral welcome for the president, and promised to make further contributions to the country. On the occasion, President Luong urged the authorities at all levels of Hanoi and other localities to pay more care to families of war martyrs and wounded and sick soldiers, Vietnamese Heroic Mothers and families with great contributions to the country's revolutionary cause. Also to celebrate the 57th founding anniversary of the Vietnam People's Army and 12th anniversary of All People's National Defence Festival, many central agencies and ministries have come to congratulate the Ministry of Defence. The Defence Ministry, on December 21, hosted a reception for foreign ambassadors and their military attaches in Hanoi. A meeting was also held in Binh Duong province to mark the day. The State president posthumously bestowed Vietnamese Heroic Mother titles to 22 mothers of HaNam province. To date, 546 mothers in the province have been presented or posthumously bestowed with the title. Sixty-nine mothers are still alive and are given care by the local authorities. Lawmakers discuss revised Law on Government Organisation Vietnamese lawmakers resumed their plenary meeting at the Ba Dinh Conference Hall in Hanoi on Friday, December 21, to discuss for approval of the Law on Organisation of the Government (revised). The law is amended and supplemented to make clear tasks and duties of the government and ministries as well as responsibilities of the government and its members. The amendments will lay the legal ground for streamlining the government, ministries and ministerial-level agencies as well as clarifying tasks and authority of local administrations in all aspects, especially budget, organisation, and staff. It will facilitate cancellation of the authority to issue legal documents by government agencies. Twenty-one of the 42 articles contained in the law are subject to revision. Article 31 concerning functions and duties of the heads of government agencies will be annulled and Article 40 which stipulates an independent budget for the government's operations will be supplemented. The whole revised law is expected to be passed by the National Assembly on December 24. (VNA) PM praises outstanding athletes Prime Minister Phan Van Khai received and presented gifts to outstanding athletes and trainers in Hanoi on December 21. Talking to the athletes and trainers, Prime Minister Khai praised the achievements of outstanding athletes, who won the top awards, which voted for by journalists nationwide. The prime minister said he believed the athletes would make further efforts in training to record more great achievements at the 22nd SEA Games in 2003, bringing honour to their homeland. He analysed advantages of Vietnamese athletes at the previous SEA Games while asking the sports and physical education sector to find and train more talents for the country. Mr Khai also as the sector to create favourable conditions for young athletes to study other subjects, like music and painting, while carrying on their training. Mr Khai praised disabled swimmer Tran Nguyen Thai, who broke the world record at the first South-east Asia Paragames in Malaysia. Also on this occasion, the national women¹s football team, the 21st SEA Games gold medallist, and Nghe An province were hailed by the prime minister. Finally, Mr Khai said he hoped that training in sports would develop at provinces and cities, following the example of late President Ho Chi Minh. NA chairman hails the role of army paper National Assembly Chairman, Nguyen Van An spoke highly of the role of the army newspaper, Quan Doi Nhan Dan, in national defence and construction during his meeting with the newspaper's editorial staff in Hanoi on December 21. The meeting was held on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the national resistance war (December 19), the 57th founding anniversary of the Vietnam People's Army (VPA), and the All-people National Defence Day (December 22). NA Chairman An said that the paper has always been considered one of the country's leading newspapers in the struggle for protecting Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh Thought, the Party, the State and national independence and socia
Vietnam News Dec 22
> >Vietnam, Laos to promote relations > >Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) General Secretary Le Kha Phieu says the >Vietnamese Party and State wants to see the close relations between Laos and >Vietnam further strengthened in the interests of the two peoples. >At a reception on December 20, Mr Phieu told Lao Deputy Prime Minister and >Foreign Affairs Minister Somsavat Lengsavad, that a stronger development of >Vietnam-Laos bilateral relations would also benefit peace, national >independence, democracy and social progress in the world. > >Deputy Prime Minister Somsavat Lengsavad, who is also a member of the Lao >People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee (LPRP CC) is leading a >delegation from the LPRP CC's External Relations Commission on an official >visit to Vietnam. > >Mr Phieu praised efforts made by the CPV's Commission for External Relations >and its Lao counterpart in implementing the tasks assigned by the two Parties. > > >He said the efforts had made positive contributions to the development of the >special friendship and solidarity and comprehensive co-operation between the >two countries. > >After briefing the General Secretary about talks held earlier with officials >from the CPV's Commission for External Relations, Somsavat Lengsavad pledged >that Laos would do its best to promote the special ties. > >At the talks, the guests and hosts exchanged views about regional and >international issues of common concern and the two Parties' co-operation >programme. > >Mr Somsavat Lengsavad and the director of CPV's Commission for External >Relations, Nguyen Van Son, signed a co-operation programme for 2001 by which >Vietnam and Laos will broaden the exchange of information, experience, >Party-related documents and studies. (VNA) > > >--- >- > >President praises Lao achievements > >President Tran Duc Luong spoke highly of Laos's socio-economic achievements, >particularly in agriculture, and its enhanced international status when >receiving Lao National Assembly Chairman Samane Vignaketh in Hanoi on December >21. >The president also expressed his appreciation of the unceasing development of >the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive co-operation >between the Parties, States and peoples of Vietnam and Laos. > >In response, the Lao NA chairman thanked the Vietnam government, State and >people for their help to Laos's national construction. > >He said that he hoped the time-honoured traditional friendship and >comprehensive co-operation between the two peoples would be further >strengthened in the 21st century. > >Earlier, a high-ranking delegation from the Lao National Assembly, led by >Chairman S Vignaketh, paid floral tributes to President Ho Chi Minh at his >Mausoleum. The delegation also held working sessions with Minister of Planning >and Investment Tran Xuan Gia and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development >Le Huy Ngo. > >The delegation will leave Hanoi on December 23 for the northern mountain >provinces of Tuyen Quang, Ha Giang and Yen Bai. (VNA) > > >--- >- > >NA chairman receives foreign MPs > > > >National Assembly Chairman Nong Duc Manh received in Hanoi on December 20 the >heads of five foreign parliamentary delegations, who took part in a December >18 and 19 seminar on reforming parliamentary organisations and operations. >Chairman Manh said he wanted to learn from their experiences and hold further >in-depth meetings, in a bid to lift the performance of the NA's functional >bodies. > >He added the seminar had been an excellent opportunity to promote mutual >understanding between the highest legislative bodies in the five countries, >namely Sweden, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, the Republic of Korea, and Vietnam. > >The heads of the visiting delegations told Chairman Manh that they were >impressed with the growing bilateral ties between legislative offices in >Vietnam and those of their respective countries. > >Chairman Manh suggested that future seminars should be organised to allow a >greater variety of workshops to be held, covering a wider range of >parliamentary activities. > >He asked the Swedish and Cambodian head delegates to convey his thanks to the >Swedish Speaker Brigitta Dahl for inviting him to visit Sweden, and the >Cambodian Parliamentary Speaker Prince Norodom Ranariddh for inviting him to >attend an international peace conference to be sponsored by the Cambodian >Parliament at the end of next month. He said he gladly accepted the >invitations. (VNA) > > >--- >- > >Defence Ministry meets foreign military attaches > >The Defence Ministry gave a reception to foreign military attaches in Hanoi on >December 21 for the 56th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam People's >Army (December 22). >Deputy Defence Minister Lieutenant
