Press digest – August 26

PM urges accelerating grant of autonomy to universities
 
PM Nguyen Tan Dung urged the education sector to accelerate the granting of autonomy to State-run universities, which he said is a breakthrough to improve tertiary education quality.

At a working session on the issue, PM Dung noted some initial encouraging results, with some schools now able to pay their staff salaries and regular spending by themselves.
 
PM Dung told the Government Office and the Ministry of Education and Training to receive feedback from representatives of relevant agencies and universities to finalise a draft government resolution on the issue, to be tabled for debate at the cabinet’s August meeting.
 
Party chief’s Special Envoy visits China
 
Politburo member Le Hong Anh, who is currently visiting China in his role as Special Envoy of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, met with Wang Jiarui, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
 
Politburo member Le Hong Anh said he expressed hope that in his position as Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and head of the International Liaison Department, Wang will continue his contributions to maintaining and nurturing the bilateral ties.

For his part, Wang affirmed the Chinese side attaches great importance to the visit to China by Anh as Special Envoy of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.
 
He said he believes that the visit will help solve existing disputes and differences between the two countries in a satisfactory way as well as further boost their relations.
 
VN, WB enhance cooperation in response to climate change

During a meeting with the World Bank (WB)’s Vice President and Special Envoy for climate change, Rachel Kyte in Ha Noi, PM Nguyen Tan Dung expressed his hope that the WB would further support the country in technical advice, policy development and financial assistance to cope with climate change and sea level rise effectively.

PM Dung appreciated WB’s support to the country in many fields, including poverty reduction, sustainable development, environmental protection and response to climate change and sea level rise.

The WB pledged to provide Viet Nam with financial and technical support, knowledge and experience while coordinating global efforts to help the country cope with climate change and sea level rise, Kyte said.

DPM Minh holds talks with Indian Minister
 
Deputy PM Pham Binh Minh affirmed Viet Nam’s consistent policy of respecting the traditional relationship and Strategic Partnership with India and supporting India’s Look East Policy.
 
Deputy PM Pham Binh Minh  held talks with Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on the occasion of her official visit to Viet Nam.

At the talks, Ms. Sushma Swaraj highly valued achievements of Viet Nam in its socio-economic development and international integration, asserting that India regards Viet Nam as one of pillars in its Look East Policy.

Tax exempted for goods in border economic zones

The Ministry of Finance has issued a circular to realize PM Nguyen Tan Dung’s decision on financial regulations to border economic zones (BEZ), in which many types of goods and services are exempted from value added tax (VAT) and excise tax.

Vietnamese individuals and foreigners, who directly work, conduct and make profit from production and business in BEZ, can have their income tax reduced by half.

VAT-exempted items include goods and services which are produced and consumed within BEZ’s non-tariff zones; those which are traded between BEZ’s non-tariff zones or those which are imported and consumed within the zones, except for  those regulated to pay VAT when being imported.

VN, Myanmar Friendship Association convenes first congress

The first congress of the Viet Nam-Myanmar Friendship Association (VMFA) in Ha Noi elected a 36-member executive board for the 2014-2015 tenure led by Chu Cong Phung, former Vietnamese Ambassador to Myanmar.

Myanmar Ambassador to Viet Nam Zin Hlaing confirmed that his agency is willing to support the association in deploying its activities to bolster the friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
 
VN ranks second in footwear export to Colombia

Viet Nam ranked second in footwear export to Colombia, earning more than $78 million in 2013, which accounted for 17% of the South American country’s total footwear imports.

Despite a sharp decline of 22% in last year, China remained Colombia’s largest footwear exporter, making up 52% of Colombia’s market share followed by Brazil 8%, Indonesia 7%, and Ecuador 6%.

Japan proposes renaming Nhat Tan Bridge
 
Japanese Ambassador to Viet Nam Hiroshi Fukada has proposed renaming Nhat Tan Bridge in Ha Noi Japan-Viet Nam Friendship Bridge – a landmark project between the two countries.

The two sides decided to open the bridge to traffic as from January 2015 instead of October 2014 as previously announced.

As scheduled, three Japanese-funded projects worth US$1.5 billion in total should be completed early next year, including Nhat Tan Bridge, a road connecting Nhat Tan Bridge to Noi Bai International Airport, and air passenger terminal No2 at Noi Bai airport.

                                                                                                    By Ngoc Van