Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh’s visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) from October 16-18 is an important event, adding new impetus to bringing the ties of time-honoured friendship and cooperation between both countries’ Parties and people to a higher plane of stability and effectiveness.

The Party and State have recently paid special attention to helping entrepreneurs develop strongly for the benefit of national industrialisation and modernisation and international economic integration.

To achieve the 8.5 percent GDP growth rate set for this year, Vietnam will have to work harder to achieve a GDP growth rate of 9.4 percent in the last quarter. This will be a difficult task and poses a great challenge for ministries, sectors and localities, say experts.

The banking system plays a very important role in national development and any risks it takes affect the national economy. In the face of fierce competition with foreign banks in the post-WTO period, experts say that the domestic banking system should renew its structure, sharpen its competitiveness and minimise all possible risks.

President of the Republic of Korea (RoK) Roh Moo-hyun walked across the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone on the Korean Peninsula for talks in Pyongyang with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader Kim Jong Il. The move shows that the two sides are on track to move towards unification, reconciliation and cooperation.

The official visit to France by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has not only left a fine impression of the Vietnamese land and people, but has also cemented the traditional friendship and opened up new prospects for comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

The visit to France by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung aims to affirm Vietnam’s policy of attaching importance to French Vietnamese external relations, establish relations with France’s new leaders, increase bilateral relations and boost economic relations.

The 62nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, which opened in New York on September 18 and will last for nearly a month, will spend much time on the high-level general debate from September 25 to October 3. With speeches to be delivered by 193 speakers, including 100 heads of State and Government, 2007 is considered the busiest year for this international organisation.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has joined global leaders at high-level debates of the 62nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, which opened at the UN Headquarters in New York on September 25. The event will mark Vietnam’s full integration into the international community’s political and economic activities.

Tax plays a crucial role in forming the State budget. Once Vietnam fully implements its WTO commitments on tax cuts, economic specialists suggest that the country increase budget revenue from new sources of tax to ensure equality among taxpayers.