Political News Headlines 26/3 Vietnam, EU hold third political consultation The third deputy minister-level political consultation between Vietnam and the European Union (EU) was held in Hanoi on March 25 within the framework of an agreement between the two sides.   Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and Chief Operating Officer of the European External Action Service David O’Sullivan (Source: VNA) The event was co-chaired by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and Chief Operating Officer of the European External Action Service (EEAS) David O’Sullivan. The two sides discussed measures to strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas ranging from politics-diplomacy, security-defence and justice to economics, trade, investment and agriculture. They also exchanged views on several regional and international issues of common concern such as ASEAN-EU cooperation, Vietnam-EU cooperation in the framework of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), the East Sea issue and climate change. Both sides agreed on the need to continue increasing the exchange of all-level delegations, consultations and viewpoint coordination. They affirmed their political determination to conclude negotiations for the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) before the 10th ASEM Summit in Milan, Italy, this October and to closely collaborate with each other in ensuring the success of the summit. At the event, O’Sullivan reaffirmed the EU’s commitment to increasing official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam in the 2014-2020 period. He also agreed that in the time to come, the EEAS will closely coordinate with the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in organising training courses aimed at enhancing the capacity of Vietnamese officials in implementing the Vietnam-EU Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA). Regarding the East Sea issue, he reiterated the EU’s stance of backing maritime security and safety, and settling disputes by peaceful means and dialogue in respect for international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), so as to reach a Code of Conduct (COC) between China and ASEAN at an early date. Deputy Minister Son suggested the EU speed up the ratification of the PCA and recognise the market economy status of Vietnam before the EVFTA is concluded. He highly valued the EU’s pledge to continue ODA for Vietnam, stressing that the Vietnam-EU cooperation strategy in the 2014-2020 period should be based on the country’s demand and development standard and cooperation priorities in the PCA framework. Vietnam supports the EU to play an active role in Asia-Pacific and its initiatives to address global issues on the basis of multilateralism and international law, Son said. The official affirmed that Vietnam, as the ASEAN-EU Coordinator, will do everything it can to foster the comprehensive development of the cooperation between the two blocs. Son and Sullivan expressed their delight at the outcomes of the consultation, which they said contributed to strengthening mutual understanding and bilateral ties between Vietnam and the EU. They agreed to maintain the mechanism on an annual basis.     Viet Nam sends condolences to Malaysia President Truong Tan Sang yesterday, March 25, extended his condolences to Malaysian King Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah over Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 missing in the south Indian Ocean. This followed an announcement by the Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak, at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, on March 24. Based on analysis of satellite data, flight MH370 with 239 people on board, is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, killing all on board. The jetliner lost radar contact with air traffic controllers early on March 8, while on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. During the day, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung also sent condolences to his counterpart, Najib Tun Razak. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh also offered condolences to Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifa Hj Aman. Foreign Minister receives Japanese Ambassador Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh hosted a reception in Hanoi on March 25 for Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Hiroshi Fukada.   Deputy PM Pham Binh Minh (R) receives the Japanese ambassador. – Photo: VOV The two sides highly valued President Truong Tan Sang’s recently-ended State visit to Japan, saying that they will work closely to implement the outcomes of the visit. Minh stressed that the Vietnamese Government and people always appreciate the support from the Japanese side for the country’s national construction and development through official development assistance projects. Regarding the suspected misuse of Japanese Government aid, which involves Japan Transportation Consultants Inc. and the ongoing Hanoi City Urban Railway Construction Project (Line 1), Minh said that Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is paying attention to the case and has directed Vietnam’s related agencies to promptly investigate and closely coordinate with the Japanese side during the investigation. Vietnam is determined to strictly punish any person involved in the case if it is proved true, Minh added. He also asked the Japanese side to soon provide necessary information to, together with Vietnam, clarify the case. Ambassador Fukada spoke highly of Vietnam’s prompt actions and the constructive collaboration of the Vietnamese Government, ministries and sectors. He pledged to work closely with the Vietnamese side to solve the case. Vietnam hails int’l efforts on 1993 Vienna Declaration implementation Vietnam has lauded the efforts of the international community in implementing the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (VDPA) on the protection of human rights.   Delegates congratulate Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh after his March 3 speech at the UN Human Rights Council (Photo: VNA) In a speech delivered at the March 24 discussions on the VDPA, part of the ongoing 25 th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, a Vietnamese spokesman called on countries to better ensure people’s full enjoyment of their rights and freedoms. Human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated, the representative reiterated, stating that in Vietnam, all citizens are equal and the government spares no effort to observe and promote the rights of citizens regardless their ethnicity, sexuality, religion, belief or gender. Vietnam affirmed that the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) group deserves full support and respect of their legitimate desires for equal engagement and integration with the community. The representative also called on the international community to continue open, proactive and constructive dialogues to prevent discrimination against the group, while strengthening regional and international coordination to protect their rights in association with the unique traditional values, culture, history and religions of each country. Adopted by the consensus at the World Conference on Human Rights on June 25, 1993 in Vienna, Australia, the VDPA reaffirms human rights as universal. Vietnam hopes for more support from EEAS Vietnam wants to receive continued support and assistance from the European External Action Service (EEAS) in the fields of search and rescue, maritime security and safety, and humanitarian aid. So said Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Quoc Khanh, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), at a reception for visiting EXAS Chief Operating Officer David Sullivan in Hanoi on March 25. He also expressed his delight at the development of cooperation between the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence and the EEAS over the past time, especially the latter’s training of Vietnamese officers in security policies and foreign languages as well as providing them with experience in joining UN peacekeeping forces. For his part, Sullivan spoke highly of the VPA’s efforts in dealing with natural disasters, providing humanitarian aid and cooperating with other countries in search and rescue activities. He promised that his service will increase cooperation with Vietnam in English language training, humanitarian aid and rescue at sea, as well as share experience in joining UN peacekeeping forces. Vietnam, Cambodia share social affairs experience The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs had a working session in Hanoi on March 25 with a Cambodian Senate delegation to exchange experience in labour and social issues. Vietnamese Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Hoa and Mean Som An, Chairwoman of the Cambodian Senate’s Committee for health, social affairs, war veterans, youth, labour, vocational training and women , discussed policy issues regarding their remit as well as measures managing illegal labourers in the countries. The two sides expressed their willingness to further the sharing of information and experience through personnel training, cooperation programmes and delegation exchanges. They also hoped that their joint works in the future will help deepen the time-tested relations and comprehensive collaboration between Vietnam and Cambodia. Vietnam, Saudi Arabia seeks food, energy security programmes The second meeting of the Vietnam-Saudi Arabia Joint Committee on Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation opened on March 25 in Hanoi, with agenda focusing on joint programmes to ensure food and energy security. According to Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Le Duong Quang, who headed the Vietnamese team at the committee, the two countries will drive their future coordination in such areas as agriculture and oil and gas. Meanwhile, the two sides will also exert more efforts to realise the agreements reached during this meeting. They will work to speed up the negotiations for a number of agreements, including those on visa exemption for state officials and diplomats, investment encouragement and protection and affiliation between the two foreign ministries and two central banks. Vietnam and Saudi Arabia also pledged to work harder for the prompt signing of an aviation transportation agreement, he added. During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the partnership between the two countries since the first meeting, while discussing practical measures to boost partnership in various areas, including trade, industry, banking, investment, transport and communications. Ahmed H. Salah, Deputy Minister of Economics-Planning, leader of the Saudi Arabian delegation, noted that strong growth has been seen in the bilateral cooperation since the previous sitting, emphasising that there is room for them to further their ties in other promising areas of strength. According to statistics from the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade, two-way trade between Vietnam and Saudi Arabia has grown rapidly, hitting 1.71 billion USD in 2013 from 1.04 billion USD from 2011. Last year alone, Vietnam’s exports to Saudi Arabia reached 471.4 million USD, with major currency earners being agricultural products, seafood, rice and apparel. Meanwhile, it imported 1.2 billion USD worth of goods from the Middle East country. Deputy Minister Quang also presented a number of proposals to beef up cooperation between the two countries, including the increase of delegation exchanges and trade promotions. He also suggested that Saudi Arabia continue realising the agreement on oil and gas and mining partnership, while creating more favourable conditions for the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group to expand its affiliation with Saudi Arabian partners. Saudi Arabia should also encourage its businesses to invest more in Vietnam, he added, especially in agriculture. Sharing Quang’s ideas, Ahmed H. Salah held that more efforts should be made to specify joint cooperation plans in the future. VNN/VOV/VNS/VNA