An old teacher provides a lesson or two

Tue, 06/17/2003 - 11:57

Viet Nam News, June 17, 2003

By Hoai Nam

At 73 Luong Van Trung lives in the poorest of circumstances.

But his life has a richness that the most prosperous might envy.

The owner of several thousand books, collected over 50 years, he prepares students for university from his residence at Hong Viet commune in Thai Binh, the province neighbouring Ha Noi.

Trung began his voluntary work six years ago and since then 56 of his charges have won places at colleges and universities. "It’s very simple," he explains.

VN never on ‘least developed’ list: UN

Fri, 06/13/2003 - 12:29


HA NOI — Viet Nam has never been on the United Nations list of least developed countries, says the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development

Nor does Viet Nam meet the criteria for the category, it says in a statement issued late last week.

Further, the organisation says it has never published a report – as suggested by a newswire story – that Viet Nam had been removed from the United Nations list of least development countries.

Viet Nam to tightly control aquatic product production and tradin

Wed, 06/11/2003 - 17:04


(06/11/2003 -- 22:29GMT+7)

HCM City, June 11 (VNA)-The Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporter and Processor (VASEP) will make efforts to tightly control antibiotic residue in aquatic products, settle trade disputes and boost trade promotion activities in the near future.

The announcement was made by VASEP's member units at its national conference held in HCM City today.

EU visitors witness Dac Lac’s growth

Mon, 06/09/2003 - 12:12



DAC LAC — A European Union delegation, led by Giovanni Favilli, Italian vice ambassador to Viet Nam, has been in the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) province of Dac Lac, talking to local people, and gathering first-hand impressions of socio-economic conditions there.

Meeting with them, Nguyen Van Lang, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, explained how the lives of the province’s 2 million inhabitants, including 30 per cent ethnic minorities, were steadily improving.

Foreign broker breaks open local market

Fri, 06/06/2003 - 14:00


June 2 - 8, 2003 - VIR

FRANCE’S Gras Savoye has become the first foreign insurance broker to be granted an operating licence in Vietnam.

The licence was officially granted by the Ministry of Finance last week.

There are at least two other foreign brokers waiting to join the market: US firm Marsh and Britain’s Jardines. Foreign brokers had said the authorities seemed to be cautious about allowing them into the market.

The ministry is also considering granting licences to three joint-stock brokerages run by Vietnamese nationals.

PM reinforces Viet Nam’s plans to join WTO by 2005

Fri, 06/06/2003 - 11:32



HA NOi — Prime Minister Phan Van Khai has reiterated Viet Nam’s determination to join the World Trade Organisation as soon as possible.

Membership of the WTO would act as a new driving force for Viet Nam, he told delegates attending the forum Viet Nam: Readiness for WTO Accession in Ha Noi on Wednesday.

He also thanked the World Bank for its help to Viet Nam and said that he hoped it would continue supporting the country’s bid for WTO membership.

National Assembly wants SOEs to have more autonomy

Fri, 06/06/2003 - 11:31



HA NOI ( June 5, 2003)— National Assembly deputies want to give State-owned enterprises more autonomy to make them more efficient.

Many deputies, who were debating proposed changes to the law governing SOEs in Ha Noi on Wednesday, agreed it was time to free SOE from what they argued were the too many tiers of management both at the centre and in localities.

Deputy Hua Duc Nhi, Thai Nguyen Province, said: "SOEs are overwhelmed by managerial interferences from many different Government agencies."

Journalists visit VN for tourism check

Fri, 05/30/2003 - 09:25



HCM CITY (May 29, 2003)— Delegations of foreign journalists are touring Viet Nam under the invitation of Vietnam Airlines and some of the country’s tourism companies to check on the post-SARS situation.

The visits are aimed at scrutinising Viet Nam one month after it was cleared from the list of countries affected by the severe acute respiratory syndrome, and to ensure Viet Nam can be advertised as a safe tourism destination again.

Amnesty report on rights abuses full of lies: Govt

Fri, 05/30/2003 - 09:23



HA NOI (May 29, 2003) — Amnesty International’s allegations about human rights abuses in Viet Nam were based on inaccurate information, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh said on Thursday.

Therefore they were totally rejected, she said in reply to a question from an Agence France Press reporter.

Thanh accused Amnesty International of inventing the allegations published in its annual report and said the organisation dared not print information about the real situation in Viet Nam.

Vietnam - Africa: Opportunities for Cooperation and Development

Wed, 05/28/2003 - 14:39

KEY-NOTE ADDRESS BY PRIME MINISTER H.E MR. PHAN VAN KHAi
At the International Forum “Vietnam - Africa : Opportunities for Cooperation and Development in the 21st century”

(Hanoi, 28-30 May 2003)


Excellencies Ministers,
Ambassadors,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

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