Weekly digest – March 20-26

President vows to back intellectual property system

The Vietnamese State will create all possible conditions for the system of intellectual property to grow and make maximal contributions to socio-economic development, affirmed President Tran Dai Quang at the reception for Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Francis Gurry in Ha Noi on March 21.

The President stated that Viet Nam wants favourable conditions to participate further in WIPO institutions and increased technical cooperation with the organisation, particularly in devising a national master plan on intellectual property.

Investors pledge to pour nearly US$16 bln in Quang Nam

Quang Nam authorities granted investment decisions and certificates to 33 projects with total registered capital of US$15.8 billion at a conference on investment conference held on Sunday with the participation of PM Nguyen XuanPhuc.

Speaking at the conference, PM Phuc highlighted advantages of the province, especially transport connectivity with Da Nang, great forestry and tourism potentials.

Thanks to local people’s will to turn this sandy soil into a prosperous land, Quang Nam is now one of the 20 biggest local-level economies with rising gross domestic product, ranking 10^th among provinces and cities with highest budget revenues.

The Government chief also hailed the province’s efforts in improving investment environment in favor of businesses, including Truong Hai Corporation-one of the country’s biggest private companies.

VN, Singapore agree to boost economic connectivity

Viet Nam and Singapore have agreed to boost connectivity across the fields of trade, investment, transport, education and training as well as in other important areas, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has said.

The government leader made the statement at a meeting with the media following his talks with Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong in Ha Noi on March 23.

The two sides signed six cooperative documents, contributing to the success of PM Lee’s visit to Viet Nam, he said.

Thanking PM Phuc for the warm welcome, Singaporean PM Lee Hsien Loong expressed his delight to return to Viet Nam after three years and expressed his wish that the visit would create a big step forward in accelerating the Viet Nam-Singapore strategic partnership.

12 legal documents issued in February

The Government issued 12 legal documents in February 2017, according to the press announcement of the Ministry of Justice.

Decree No. 08/2017/NĐ-CP deals with the legal deposit of audio-visual and electronic materials of news by the central body responsible for state management of the press.

Decree No. 13/2017/ND-CP, Decree No. 14/2017/NĐ-CP, Decree No. 15/2017/NĐ-CP, Decree No.  16/2017/NĐ-CP and Decree No. 17/2017/NĐ-CP define the functions, missions, authority and organizational structure of the Committee for Ethnic Affairs, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the State Bank of Viet Nam and the Ministry of Information and Communications.

VN condemns terror attacks in UK

Viet Nam extended its deepest sympathy to the British Government, people and families of victims in the March 22 terror attack and vehemently condemned terror attacks in any form.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Hai Binh made the statement on March 23 in reply to a reporters’ query on Vietnam’s reaction to the terror attack outside the British Parliament on March 22. 

After getting the news, the Foreign Ministry instructed the Viet Nam Embassy in the UK to promptly seek information on any Vietnamese victims from local authorized agencies.

U.S.-sponsored field hospital equipment aid project ratified

The PM has approved in principle a field hospital equipment aid project, which is sponsored by the U.S. Government through a non-refundable Official Development Assistance.

The project aims to train Viet Nam’s force for the United Nations Peacekeeping and improve the capacity for health treatment and equipment for the field hospital to the United Nations’ regulations.

The project, worth US$2.474 million and more than US$250,000 from Viet Nam’s defense budget, will be launched in 2017 in Ho Chi Minh City.

VN, Cuba sign 2017-2019 defense cooperation plan

Vietnamese Defense Minister, Gen. Ngo Xuan Lich and Minister of Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, Sen. Lieut. Gen Leopoldo Cintra Frias signed a 2017-2019 cooperation plan following their talks held in Ha Noi on March 23.

The plan covers the exchange of all-level delegations, personnel training, military medicine, air defense-military aviation, and military business. 

At the talks, the two ministers informed each other of the latest political, socio-economic, national defense-security situation in the respective countries, as well as shared experience in building armed forces. 

Both sides reviewed the outcomes of partnership within the framework of the defense cooperation agreement signed in 2011 and the national defense cooperation plan for 2014-2016.

By Thuy Dung