GOVERNMENT IN BRIEF 22/7 NA Chairman meets OVs in RoK National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung met staff of the Vietnamese Embassy and overseas Vietnamese (OV) community in the Republic of Korea (RoK) right after he arrived in the country on July 21.   NA Chairman meets staff of the Vietnamese Embassy and overseas Vietnamese community in the RoK. (Source: VNA) Chairman Hung is on a four-day visit to the RoK at the invitation of his RoK counterpart Kang Chang-hee. At the meeting, the Chairman affirmed that the Party and State always care about the overseas Vietnamese community, including those in the RoK. He expressed his hope that the OVs in the RoK will continue to act as a bridge for strengthening the friendship, strategic cooperation and partnership between the two countries while making active contributions to the national construction and development. The NA Chairman asked the Vietnamese community in the RoK to continue giving comments on the revised 1992 Constitution and the country’s other important issues. As scheduled, NA Chairman Hung will hold talks with RoK NA Speaker Kang Chang-hee and meet with Prime Minister Chung Hong-won on July 22. Ceremony marks Cuba’s 60th anniversary of armed uprising A ceremony was held in the southern province of Ben Tre on July 21 to mark the 60th anniversary of the armed attack on the Moncada Military Barracks which kick-started the Cuban Revolution. Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Predesman Turro Gonzalez attended the event, which was co-organised by the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association (VCFA) and Ben Tre provincial People’s Committee. Addressing the ceremony, Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Vo Thanh Hao emphasised that the attack on July 26, 1953 , by a group of 135 young patriots led by lawyer Fidel Castro ushered in an armed struggle for independence and freedom of the island nation. Hao said a village in Ben Tre province was named after Moncada as a symbol of the solidarity between Vietnam and Cuba . Speaking at the event, Ambassador Gonzalez said the assault was a milestone in the Cuban armed revolution, which enabled his country to reach various socio-economic achievements. He stressed that the Vietnam-Cuba friendship, established during the two countries’ struggles for national independence, will be further developed in the coming time. Communist Review delegation visits UK A delegation from the Communist Review, a theoretical and political agency of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), made a visit to the United Kingdom from July 16-20. The delegation, led by Editor-in-Chief Vu Van Phuc, on July 17 visited Newhaven, a British seaside town where late President Ho Chi Minh arrived in 1913 while working on the cross-channel ferry service from Dieppe of France. Phuc also worked with Prof. John Callow, Director of Archives at the Marx Memorial Library, and Len Aldis, Secretary General of the UK-Vietnam Friendship Association. During their visit, the Vietnamese delegates had a working session with the daily Morning Star, visited several universities and other press agencies. Seminar highlights Vietnam-Australia diplomatic ties The Vietnamese Consulate in Perth, Australia, in conjunction with Curtin University, held a seminar to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Vietnam-Australia diplomatic ties on July 18. The event attracted many well-known Australian politicians and researchers, representatives of Vietnamese and Australian agencies and Vietnamese students in Australia. Addressing the seminar, Vietnamese Ambassador to Australia Hoang Vinh Thanh reviewed important milestones in the two countries’ relations, affirming that the bilateral relationship is on a development trail, from politics, security and economics to people-to-people diplomacy. He expressed his belief that the Vietnam-Australia strategic partnership will be further boosted and gain more successes. During the seminar, participants heard speeches on the Vietnam-Australia relationship over the past 40 years as well as future development prospects. Talking to Vietnam News Agency’s correspondents in Australia, Vietnamese Consul General to Perth Le Viet Duyen said that a wide range of activities have been organised to celebrate the occasion, including exhibitions featuring Vietnamese contemporary art. Viet Nam, Romania ink training deal Viet Nam and Romania have agreed to co-operate on education and training till 2016. The agreement was signed on July 19 during a working visit to Viet Nam by Secretary of State for Higher Education in the Romanian National Education Ministry Gigel Paraschiv. Under the programme, the two sides will encourage the signing of specific agreements on the recognition of each country's learning processes, diplomas and certificates. They will support direct co-operation between education and training establishments of the two nations at all levels. Each will provide up to 10 full scholarships at tertiary, master and doctorate levels to the other side. Sri Lanka’s Parliament Speaker ends Vietnam visit The high-ranking delegation from Sri Lanka’s Parliament led by Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa left Ho Chi Minh City on July 19, concluding its Vietnam visit. During the July 14-19 visit, Speaker Rajapaksa held talks with Vietnam’s National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung. The two sides agreed to further boost their friendship and cooperation ties and work closely to supervise the implementation of the cooperation agreements reached by Vietnam and Sri Lanka’s Governments to create a favourable legal environment for the two countries’ businesses to promote trade and investment. An increase in delegation exchanges between the two parliaments’ committees and friendship parliamentarian groups was agreed to swap experience in parliamentary and legislative activities as well as consult each other at multilateral forums. In the framework of the visit, the Sri Lankan guests also paid a courtesy visit to President Truong Tan Sang. In Hanoi, the visiting delegation paid a floral tribute to late President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum. Speaker Rajapaksa and his entourage visited Ha Long Bay, a world natural heritage, in the northern province of Quang Ninh and Bai Dinh pagoda, the biggest one in Southeast Asia, in Ninh Binh province. The Sri Lankan leader met with Chairwoman of the HCM City People’s Council Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam before ending his tour of Vietnam. VNN/VNS/VNA