By the end of August 2006, Japan had 677 valid investment projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of US$6.8 billion, ranking third among the largest foreign investors in the country after Singapore and Taiwan. However, Japan is taking the lead in terms of disbursed capital reaching nearly US$4.7 billion.

Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen stressed that though Vietnam is developing at a low level with its economy being in the transitional period, many of Vietnam’s commitments are even higher than those from other WTO member countries.

President of the Slovak Republic Ivan Gasparovic begins a three-day official visit to Vietnam on October 16 at the invitation of his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Minh Triet. The visit is considered an important event to help promote the fine political relations between the two countries.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s nuclear test on October 9 has sparked strong reaction from the international public. In their judgement, the US and other nuclear powers should also be held responsible for Pyongyang’s act.

The second visit to Laos by Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh shows the Vietnamese Party and State’s consistent policy of attaching great importance to the consolidation and strengthening of traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries in the new situation.

In the past seven months of this year, the equitisation of State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) fell short of the target set for 2006. There is no doubt that equitisation aims to increase the efficiency and competitive capacity of SOEs. But that is not the only reason behind the process of equitising SOEs en mass because equitisation is no more than a tool for SOE restructuring.

The 10th National Party Congress pointed out in its resolution that “Vietnam should actively broaden outlets to promote exports, while opening up the domestic market including service industries to attract investment, advance technologies and management skills to make the national economy more effective and competitive”.

The first visit to Vietnam by Czech President Vaclav Klaus marks a new step of development in the relationship between Vietnam and the Czech Republic and provides a good opportunity for the two countries to further promote bilateral cooperative relations for the sake of peace, stability and development.

As a member of the Francophone community, Vietnam has always played its active role in boosting cooperation and friendship with other member countries. Since the seventh successful Francophone Summit in Hanoi, relations between Vietnam and other member countries in the community have taken new steps of development.

When facing certain disadvantages in competition in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Vietnamese enterprises will find it difficulty to claim on equality. Only crafts associations will have a strong say to protect equality for enterprises.

The Ho Chi Minh City Security Agency on September 21 decided to suspend investigations and expel Do Cong Thanh – a Vietnamese American – from the Vietnamese territory. Thanh was arrested on September 14 on a charge of harmful acts against Vietnam’s national security.

Although the Thai army staged a coup d’etat with little violence, the event has caused disruption in people’s lives, negatively affecting the Thai economy. No forecast has been made so far but many analysts believe that Thailand’s ailing economy will suffer a great shock from serious political upheaval.

The US Department of State has just released its annual International Religious Freedom Report 2006 with biased remarks on Vietnam’s religious freedom, saying the country continues violating its citizens’ religious freedom. It sounds like a replay of the same old allegations, running counter to the growing ties between Vietnam and the US.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)- a New York-based human rights organisation has made slanderous allegations against Vietnam over what it called “repression of dissidents in Vietnam”. These slanderous allegations have blatantly distorted the human rights situation in Vietnam in an attempt to deter Vietnam’s international integration efforts and undermine cooperative relations between Vietnam and the US.

The 14th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit which takes place in Havana, Cuba, from September 15-16, is the centrepiece of the world these days as it has attracted up to 3,000 heads of State, governments and senior officials from 115 out of the 116 member countries of the organisation. The Vietnamese delegation to the summit is led by State President Nguyen Minh Triet.

The great success of the sixth Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM 6) has opened up a new era in cooperative relations between the two continents- the sustainable partnership of mutual development for the sake of peace and stability in the region and the world.

The host country of Finland and ASEM member countries praised Vietnam’s active participation in ASEM 6, which significantly contributed to further raising Vietnam’s position in the international arena as well as at the ASEM forums, said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem.

Many public opinions hold that President Bush’s so-called anti-terrorist doctrine has caused widespread antipathy towards the US and pro-US western countries. A recent poll showed two thirds of New Yorkers were very worried that there would be another terrorist attack on the city like the ones on September 11, 2001.

Heads of State and Government from the 39 member countries of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) began their 6th summit in Helsinki, Finland on September 10. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung delivered a speech reviewing the ASEM process after the fifth summit in Hanoi and proposing future orientations for the grouping.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s working visits to the EC and Belgium are aimed at raising Vietnam’s position and prestige in Europe to help strengthen Vietnam’s relations with the EC and Belgium, as well as building a comprehensive and sustainable partnership for the sake of peace, cooperation and prosperous development in the spirit of long-term stability and mutual trust.

As the US Congress prepares its working agenda after summer recess, including the consideration of an approval of permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status for Vietnam, several forces lacking goodwill towards Vietnam made slanderous allegations against the country.

In a letter to the education sector on the new school year, State President Nguyen Minh Triet has asked all teachers and students to “teach, study and hold exams in an honest manner” so as to equip students with basic knowledge before they enter a new phase of life.

Our Party always considers ethnic issues and ethnic unity a strategic, fundamental and long-term concern of our revolution. All ethnic groups in Vietnam are united and treated equally. They respect and help each other to advance, successfully implement the national industrialisation and modernisation process and build and defend the socialist country.

The past sixty years has seen important milestones and greatly impacted on the life, way of thinking and sentiments of Vietnamese people, particularly the peasant class.

Recently, Vietnam-Laos friendly relations have seen strong development steps and have been strengthened and promoted at various levels and in various forms. The two sides have made regular contacts between leaders of the two Parties to reach unanimity and worked out orientations for further development of the special traditional friendship, solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) radio launched a new feature called “Voice of Vietnamese people” in August. In its recent broadcasts, it presented what it called “opinions from Vietnamese” who demand reconsideration of Vietnam’s national flag (known as the red flag with a five-pointed gold star in the center).

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders released a statement on August 22 alleging that the Vietnamese Government has oppressed dissident journalists and stopped them launching an independent newspaper. The organisation even demanded that Vietnam allow private publications to promote people’s rights to freedom of speech and press.

The visit to China by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Nong Duc Manh is a vivid manifestation continuing China-Vietnam cooperative relations, in keeping with the common interests and aspirations of the two peoples.

These days, the entire Party, people and army are jubilantly celebrating the 61st anniversary of the August 1945 Revolution which put an end to almost 100 years of French colonial domination and five years of Japanese fascist occupation and established the first democratic republic state in the history of Vietnam, as well as Southeast Asia.

In recent times, hostile forces have alleged that there is no religious freedom in Vietnam. But the reality is that Party and State policies on religion and personal beliefs show that people’s rights to religious freedom are always respected in Vietnam.