Vientiane (VNA) – Vietnam fully backs ASEAN’s cooperation priorities in 2016 initiated by Laos as this year’s ASEAN Chair, said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh. The official made the remarks at the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat which took place in Vientiane, Laos, on February 27. Vietnam will closely coordinate with Laos and other ASEAN member countries to help Laos successfully perform the ASEAN Chairmanship, he pledged. Minh shared with other ASEAN FMs’ viewpoints on the need for the ten-member group to prioritise maintaining peace and stability in the region amidst the complicated regional security. The FMs urged ASEAN to uphold its key role in settling regional…
VN satellite to enter space by 2018
HA NOI (VNS) — A 50kg satellite, measuring 50x50x50cm, will be launched into space by Viet Nam in 2018. The MicroDragon satellite will be designed and created by Vietnamese engineers, with the support of Japanese experts. Japan’s Epsilon rocket, created by IHI Aerospace company, will carry the MicroDragon satellite into space. The satellite will observe the coastal areas of the country to evaluate water quality, navigate marine food resources and follow up on changes in coastal areas to inform Viet Nam’s aquaculture breeding sector. Director of Viet Nam National Satellite Centre (VNSC) Pham Anh Tuan said the MicroDragon project is expected to help create an environment in which young people…
Viet Nam, Japan parliamentary groups boost links
HA NOI (VNS) — Viet Nam has continued to facilitate the development of ties with Japan for the benefit of the two peoples, as well as for stability, peace and prosperity in the region, Chairman of the Viet Nam-Japan Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group (VJFPG) To Huy Rua said. Receiving special advisor to the Japan-Viet Nam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance Tsutomo Takebe in Ha Noi on February 22, Rua spoke highly of his guest’s dedication to furthering the friendship between Vietnam and Japan, and between the two groups in particular over the past 20 years. He made it clear that the VJFPG backs activities of the Japan-Viet Nam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance. The host…
Vice chairwoman meets with Japanese official
HA NOI (VNS) — National Assembly vice chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan yesterday received Japan’s Gunma Governor Osawa Masaaki in Ha Noi. Talking to Masaaki, who was in Viet Nam for a seminar introducing the investment potential of his province and on co-operation with Viet Nam, Ngan said the NA highly applauded such activities and hoped the two countries’ provinces and cities would further strengthen mutual co-operation. Ngan also said the NA would continue to create favourable conditions for Gunma firms to come and invest in Viet Nam. She said she hoped co-operation on tourism, medical training and people-to-people exchange will be further developed. For his part, Masaaki told Ngan…