Vietnam News Agency (VNA)

Press Highlights Mar. 21

21/03/2008 -- 9:49 AM

Ha Noi (VNA) -
Current Events

· Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung directed the agricultural sector to remove difficulties to boost export with a view to curb inflation ( All dailies, page 1).

· National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong started his official visit to the RoK (All dailies, page 1).

· Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Mirek Topolanek will begin his official visit to Viet Nam today (Nhan dan, page 1).

· Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung received Hungarian Foreign Minister Goncz Kinga and met with representatives from some Viet Nam-based international financial organizations. The Prime Minister consulted the WB, IMF, ADB and UNDP (Nhan dan, page 1; and Saigon Giai phong, page 12).

· Viet Nam lives up to its international commitments on human rights. Such is the remark by UNDP Resident Coordinator John Hendra (Nhan dan, page 8).

· Viet Nam ’s Permanent Representative to the UN Security Council: Viet Nam condemns terrorist attacks in whatsoever form (Nhan dan, page 8).

· Viet Nam ratified ASEAN Charter (Nhan dan, page 8).

· About the walk-out of Vietnamese workers in Jordan : “The Vietnamese Government is concerned with the incident and has directed responsible agencies to quickly settle the case,” stated the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Dung (Nhan dan, page 8).

· “Lai Chau province should combine economic development with national defence to advance forward,” said State President Nguyen Minh Triet in a working visit to the northwestern province (Quan doi Nhan dan, page 1).

· Euronomy postpones the third Viet Nam Investment Forum (Nhan dan, page 8).

· World Water Day and World Meteorological Day were commemorated. As many as 25,000 people die of water shortage everyday (Nhan dan, page 8; and Saigon Giai phong, page 12).

· International Francophone Day marked in Ha Noi. Viet Nam places importance on cooperation with the Francophone International Organisation (Nhan dan and Ha Noi Moi, page 8).

Socio-economic Affairs

· “A comprehensive system of solutions is needed in the anti-corruption fight,” said Industry and Trade Minister Vu Huy Hoang in an interview with Nhan dan (page 1).

· Ha Noi People’s Council holds an irregular meeting (Ha Noi Moi, page 1).

· No vaccination-related evidence was found in deaths after injections of anti-epidemic vaccines (Ha Noi Moi, page 1).

· Gold price continues sliding sharply (Ha Noi Moi, page 1).

· As many as 119 businesses were awarded the “Businesses in Integration and Development” Prize (Ha Noi Moi, page 1).

· The Global Women Summit – 2008 will be held in Ha Noi (Ha Noi Moi, page 8).

· Switzerland assists Viet Nam in finance training (Quan doi Nhan dan, page 8).

· VFW wishes to help Viet Nam find war martyrs’ remains (Quan doi Nhan dan, page 7).

· Well-known photo reporter on the Viet Nam war passed away (Saigon Giai phong, page 12).

· The Netherlands provides Ho Chi Minh City with anti-water logging and anti-flood tide technique (Saigon Giai phong, page 1).

· Rice exporters were asked to temporarily suspend signing rice export contracts. Rice price soars to a record high of 708 USD a tonne (Saigon Giai phong, page 3).

· Opportunities for low-income earners to have houses of their own (Thoi bao Kinh te Viet Nam [Viet Nam Economic Times], No. 69, page 3). An interview with Nguyen Tran Nam , Deputy Minister of Construction.

· When will agro forest and aquatic products make a breakthrough in export? (Thuong mai [Trade], No. 24, page 4). Agricultural products fetched an export value of 12.6 billion USD in 2007 compared to 4.2 billion USD in 2000, representing one-fourth of the country’s total and exceeding the set target of 1.5 billion USD for 2010. However, it is said that it’s the world price hike that led to last year’s export growth, not the product quality.

· Vinalines speeds up important projects (Thuong mai, No. 24, page 4).

· Exports of woodworks face the risk of lagging behind (Thuong mai, No. 24, page 7). Woodworks exports in the first two months fetched merely 400 million USD and the growth for the first quarter is predicted to be only 20 percent over the same period last year. Meanwhile, the industry aims to be among key currency earners with 3 billion USD in export value.

· Increased import tariff has pushed domestically assembled car prices (Kinh te Hop tac [Cooperate Economy], No. 12, page 3). Price of cars, even the domestically assembled cars, increased right after the Ministry of Finance issued a decision to increase import tariff on complete-built unit cars. A dream for low-price cars is out of the common people’s hands.

· Viet Nam still faces power shortage as long as monopoly exists, according to Chairman of the Viet Nam Energy Association Tran Viet Ngai (Tien phong [Vanguard], No. 80, page 5).

· Investment in cooled-down real estate market (Thanh nien [Young People], No. 80, page 3). Ho Chi Minh City ’s real estate market has been eased, resulting in a strong decrease in projects’ land prices. While many sellers are worried about the situation, buyers consider a golden chance to gather low-price property.

· More attractive labour export markets (Thanh nien, No. 80, page 4). According to the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs’ Department for Management of Overseas Labour, this year, Viet Nam plans to focus on the Middle East region as they face difficulties in other traditional and high-level markets.

· Construction material price hike make it hard for investors (Thanh nien, No. 80, page 6). Price of many kinds of construction material in the first quarter rose 30-40 percent compared to late 2007.

· Foreigners will be eligible for buying apartments only (Thanh nien, No. 80, page 10). Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Tran Nam said that the National Assembly Standing Committee will consider a resolution on housing policy for foreigners working in Viet Nam in mid 2008.

International Events

· Thailand : House Speaker Yongyuth Tiyapairat, an executive leader of the People’s Power Party, was investigated for electoral fraud (Nhan dan, page 8).
· FAO warned of the severity of bird flu in Indonesia (Nhan dan, page 8).

· Russia is worried about the US missile shield plan (Nhan dan, page 8).

· As many as 13,000 Chinese had to evacuate as the Huang Hua River dike broke (Ha Noi Moi, page 8).

· World gold price continues sliding sharply to below the mark of 950 USD per ounce (Ha Noi Moi, page 1).

· US businesses suffer due to the embargo imposed on Cuba (Ha Noi Moi, page 8).

· Bin Laden threatened to retaliate the EU concerning the cartoon incident (Quan doi Nhan dan, page 8).

· Anti Iraq war demonstrations took place all over the US (Quan doi Nhan dan, page 8).

· Cambodia 's genocide tribunal rejected an appeal by a former Khmer Rouge leader against his pre-trial detention (Saigon Giai phong, page 12).

· US economic crisis fallout felt across the world (Lao dong, page 1).-Enditem

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