Viet Nam seeks greater ties with Philippines

HA NOI — Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung yesterday said that Viet Nam wishes to continue to boost co-operation with the Philippines to meet the potential of the two countries.

He made this statement while receiving Jerril Galban Santos, the new Filipino Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Viet Nam.

Dung said that he hoped the new ambassador would make every effort to strengthen relations between the two countries and said that the Vietnamese Government would create favourable conditions for the ambassador to work in.

Ambassador Jerril Galban Santos said that he would contribute to the two nations' co-operation projects and boost the traditional friendship of the two countries' governments and people.

Parliaments put focus on sustainable growth

DA NANG— The Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly's Committee for External Affairs, Nguyen Van Son, yesterday said that the recommendations put forward by the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) on coping with the economic crisis and the issues in the post-crisis period would serve as a base for AIPA-31 in September.

He made this statement at the end of a two-day conference of AIPA nations yesterday.

Delegates at the conference suggested that AIPA members should raise their activities for economic recovery and continue to boost investment and trade.

Member countries should increase the transfer of technology and support each other in production as well as address climate change, ensure food security and shrink the development gap.

They should increase bilateral and multilateral exchanges and improve their policies in the post-crisis period.

At national level, the delegates recommended that member countries should focus on stabilising their macro-economies, improving competitiveness and harmonising the development targets of economy, society and the environment.

They should also improve parliamentary roles of educating and promoting policies to build confidence in society.—VNS