Pham Van Linh, deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Communication and Education, gave VOV the praise at a meeting with the VOV leadership in Hanoi on June 18.

He said VOV has kept listeners overseas abreast of Party guidelines and policies, the country’s Renewal achievements, cultural diversity, as well as the image of its friendly people and beautiful landscape.

He particularly acknowledged VOV’s efforts in running exclusive news stories and in-depth analysis refuting slanderous allegations made by hostile forces.

The work should be promoted to meet the country’s development requirements in the new era, said Mr Linh.

VOV Deputy General Director Hoang Minh Nguyet briefed the inspection delegation on the radio operations, saying there are five VOV agencies involved in overseas-targeted information, namely the Overseas Service Channel (VOV5), the Radio Broadcasting Centre, VOV Online newspaper (VOVNews), the International Cooperation Department and VOV Bureaux overseas. VOV5 has broadcast programmes in 12 foreign languages while four major VOV channels have been webcast on VOVNews.  

She said VOV has made encouraging results in putting in place a directive of the Party Secretariat by coming up with fast and reliable sources of national and foreign news. With its increasing status within the French-speaking community, VOV has been elected president of the French-Speaking Radio and Television International Council (CIRTEF) for the 2009-2011 period.

The radio has developed a contingent of professional staff on overseas-targeted information and established relations with relevant ministries including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Information and Communication.

Delegates shared the view that VOV should make full use of the strengths of its online newspaper, considering this a strong development trend of major media agencies in the world. They also suggested that the national radio focus on economic news bulletins as Vietnam is integrating deeply into the world economy.