PM urges Laos to monitor impacts of hydropower plants
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has proposed the Lao National Mekong Committee continue working with Vietnam to monitor and examine practical impacts of hydropower plants on Mekong River.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) meets with Lao Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sommad Pholsena (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Prime Minister NguyenXuan Phuc has proposed the Lao National Mekong Committee continue working withVietnam to monitor and examine practical impacts of hydropower plants on thetrans-boundary river and protect its environment.
PM Phuc made the proposal while receiving LaoMinister of Natural Resources and Environment Sommad Pholsena in Hanoi onDecember 24.
He expressed his hope that the Ministries of NaturalResources and Environment of Vietnam and Laos will step up bilateralcooperation in the fields of natural resources and environment defined in acooperative agreement between the two governments for the 2016-2020 period, andbuild coordination blueprints for the coming time.
The PM also suggested Laos and Vietnam considerthe engagement in the Convention on the Protection and Use of Trans-boundaryWatercourses and International Lakes.
For his part, Minister Sommad Pholsena said Laoswill apply modern technologies in waste treatment and learn experience fromVietnam to avoid environmental pollution during its development process.
He affirmed that the construction of hydropowerplants on the Mekong River will strictly follow the Mekong River Commission’sregulations and international law. Laos pledged to use effectively and sustainably itswater sources, he added.
The Mekong River runs through China, Myanmar,Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam./.
Vietnamese Minister Chu Ngoc Anh has thanked the Lao Government for its assistance and provision of favourable conditions for cooperation between the two countries’ science and technology ministries.
President of Laos Bounnhang Volachith has lauded the sound cooperation between Lao Party’s information and education commission and that of the Communist Party of Vietnam over the past years.
The State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs (SCOVA) has served as a bridge connecting and uniting the community with the homeland, becoming a trusted source of support for Vietnamese expats in times of hardship.
The programme to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses has achieved notable results, with nearly 263,000 housing units addressed to date, including 225,000 houses inaugurated and 38,000 under construction. Thirty-eight provinces and cities across the nation have already fulfilled their targets.
Stronger efforts and determination are required to achieve and surpass the set targets, especially in the eradication of makeshift and dilapidated houses nationwide, the acceleration of public investment disbursement, and the implementation of nationally important transport projects, PM Pham Minh Chinh noted.
The trip will be made at the invitations of Chinese Premier Li Qiang and WEF President and CEO Børge Brende, according to an announcement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Long spoke highly of the dynamic, positive, and comprehensive development of Vietnam – Russia relations in recent years. He affirmed that the Vietnamese Party and State place great importance on further strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia in a substantive and effective manner, in line with the development needs of both nations.
At the conference, participants reported that the Government has so far issued 28 decrees on the delegation of responsibilities and powers between the central Government and two-tier local administrations. Several localities have already piloted the new governance model.
Reality is the ultimate benchmark for success, he said, urging drafting agencies to work out policies that foster development, reduce bureaucratic hurdles, and respect practical conditions.
Under the official dispatch signed on June 20, ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, and chairpersons of provincial and municipal People’s Committees are requested to concentrate efforts on implementing core measures to ensure the smooth operations of the new administrative framework.
The Party chief underscored the need for the press to innovate relentlessly, evolve to keep pace with the country's development, transform into a truly professional, humanistic, and modern sector that serves the cause of the Party, the State, and the people on the path to national construction and development.
The UN Secretary-General praised Vietnam’s remarkable achievements in socio-economic development and international integration in recent years, noting that the country has emerged as a model in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), promoting international peace and security, and engaging in key UN processes.
Nghia affirmed that this is a milestone of special significance, affirming and honouring the the Vietnamese revolutionary press’s glorious tradition of 100 years of serving the revolutionary cause of the Party, serving the Fatherland, and serving the people.
The Party and State of Vietnam always attach great importance to and give top priority to the development of Vietnam–China relations. Vietnam is ready to work with the Chinese Party and State to further deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership and promote the building of the Vietnam-China community with a shared future that carries strategic significance.
Under the leadership of President Ho Chi Minh and the CPV, President Cuong said, the press has been a steadfast force on the ideological and cultural front, rallying the masses to pursue national aspirations.
NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man stressed the need to accelerate the application of artificial intelligence and smart teaching equipment, innovate teaching and assessment methods, and further improve the quality of formal education.
He also pledged that the NA will promote its ongoing supervision, making sure that every promise must lead to results, and every commitment must bring about real changes.
Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien welcomed the proposals put forward by the US side and reiterated Vietnam’s request for consideration of key areas of interest, including reciprocal tariff policies and access for Vietnamese key export products to the US market.
Deputy PM Le Thanh Long proposed countries promote shared values, including building trust, sincerity, and solidarity among nations and peoples; fostering cooperation spirit and responsible behaviour as well as upholding international law and the UN Charter; and placing people at the centre and as the goal, the key player, and the driving force of all policies.
The show, together with a grand parade to be held silmutaneously at Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi, will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution, the National Day, and the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA).
In particular, in April 2023, the two sides successfully carried out a joint operation that dismantled a major organised, transnational drug trafficking ring involving both Vietnamese and Cambodian suspects.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) meets with Lao Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Sommad Pholsena (Photo: VNA)
