Vietnam to send 800 to SEA Games

Vietnam to send 800 to SEA GamesHANOI, Feb 19 (VNA) – Vietnam will send an 800-member team to the 25 th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Laos this December, announced the Sports Administration.

The announcement was made at a meeting deploying culture, sports and tourism works this year, which was held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in Hanoi on Feb. 17.

The Vietnam sports delegation will aim to earn around 55-60 gold medals at the Laos Games, and rank in the top three.

At the 24 th SEA Games in Thailand , the largest in the regional event’s history with 43 events and 488 sets of medals, Vietnam sent 1,000 athletes and finished in the top three.

Vietnam has also defined some main tasks in 2009, including helping Laos organise the 25 th SEA Games successfully, earning 11 golds to rank sixth at the third Asian Indoor Games, hosted by Vietnam, taking part in the Asian Martial Arts Festival with 80 athletes and gaining gold medals in pencak silat, karatedo, taekwondo and wushu and partaking in the Asian Youth Sports Festival in Singapore with 90 players, all while preparing for the 2010 Asian Games and the 2012 Olympics.

This year, Vietnam will also be the host of over 200 tourneys, of which 30 will be international. (VNA)Vietnam to send 800 to SEA Games

Vientiane and around it

A few more pictures from the surroundings of Vientiane, mainly trips along the Mekong, upstream and downstream. The really nice thing about the city is that it is so easy to get out of it and see nature and rural life.



Leaving or arriving in Vientiane via the Mekong in the dry season. The Mekong has a huge sandbank in the dry season which is used for playing football or walks, everything left of the sandbank on this picture is Vientiane and on the right side of the river it is Thailand.

It is the season for planting rice again and the rice fields are back in an amzing green colour. It looks beautiful with nice sunshine on it.

Just a couple of kilometers out of town a little village, but this time of the year you can buy sugar cane juice, very nice for breaks.

Road along the Mekong a bit outside of town.

Fishers on the Mekong

A very nice part of the Mekong where we even managed to swim

Vientiane

Little Novice and Icecream Man

Vientiane, the capital of Laos, is no more than a provincial town compared to other capitals of the world There are a lot of Wats, but most of them are fairly new, because the city was looted several times. Nothing compared to VangVieng, the Lao entertainment centre. French colonialism is still present in the names of the streets and there are some nice colonial buildings left, but ugly concrete buildings predominate. However, it was nice to sit in one of the many river restaurants and enjoy a meal. My favourite was green curry consisting of green vegetables, lots of basil, chilis and coconut milk. The national dish is a different one: Laab Lao, minced meat of your choice, seasoned wit lots of mint, garlic, sage, basil and spring onions served with a couple of cucumber slices on a bed of lettuce! My breakfast is fairly different from my German one:noodle soup with chicken bits and a big portion of greens: lettuce,chili, beans and mint leaves - I must admit: I prefer toast with jam & butter, but it is not available here! Lao people are the most friendly I have ever met: Wherever you go people greet you with “sabai dee” it happened to me several times that motorists slowed down next to me in order to ask “Where are you from” “What is your name?” “Where do you want to go?”. …. Children like to clap my hand when I pass - always with a broard smile on their face .It makes me sad that more than 40 % percent of the Lao children are malnutrioned due to lack of proteine and about 30% of the hill tribe population is illiterate. And up to today children and gro wn ups die or lose parts of their body though landmines and clusterbombs that did not explode - and there are still thousands somewhere hidden in the grass. Many hospitals do not have a bloodbank or oxygene to treat badly injured people so that they are left to die. Every new US-President and highranking general should pay a visit to the COPE -center in Vientiane and percieve what their decisions meant to real people.

EU Proposes Additional Aid to Laos

The European Union (EU) is proposing 10.8 million euros (13.8 million U.S. dollars) in additional grant aid to Laos from 2009 to 2013, the Lao newspaper Vientiane Times reported Tuesday.

The proposal was made at the 5th Joint Committee Meeting jointly opened by Lao Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Phongsavat Boupha and Director for Asia of the European Commission 's Directorate General for External Relations James Moran to discuss past and future cooperation.

According to the Vientiane-based European Commission delegation, the additional grant aid is a result of the ongoing European Commission (EC) cooperation programme to help Laos implement its five-year socio-economic development plan, with priority given to poverty reduction, the management of public finances, and trade- related assistance.

This means EU assistance to Laos this year will be the highest ever, and will significantly help the country combat challenges posed by the global economic crisis.

The EU had earlier announced that it would assist Laos by providing 33 million euros (42.24 million U.S. dollars) from 2007 to 2013, and would give additional aid if cooperation programmes were found to be effective.

EU assistance to Laos has been increasing in recent years. Its assistance from 2002 to 2006 was 18 million euros (23.04 million U. S. dollars) excluding assistance through non-governmental organisations and regional programmes.

Lao NA Chairman welcomes Vietnamese delegation

Laos will support and cooperate with Vietnam to help it perform its role as the President of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) and host to the AIPA Conference in 2010.

Lao NA Chairman Thongsinh Thammavong made this statement during a reception for a Vietnamese NA delegation, led by its Vice Chairwoman, Tong Thi Phong, in Vientiane on March 9.

Phong said that the visit represents the Vietnam NA’s commitment to fully implementing the cooperative agreements previously signed between the two countries’ NA Chairmen.

She congratulated the Lao people on their socio-economic achievements, particularly in the context of the current global economic downturn, posting a GDP growth rate of 7.9 percent in 2008.

Last year saw Laos’ success in hosting several international conferences, including the 17^th Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum, she added.

from: english.vovnews.vn

Laos promises backing for Viet Nam’s ASEAN role

VIENTIANE — Laos has pledged to co-operation with Viet Nam to help it fulfil its tasks as the president of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly and its hosting of the assembly conference next year.

Laos assembly chairman Thongsinh Thammavong made the commitment during a reception for a Vietnamese National Assembly delegation in Vientiane yesterday, saying that the visit represented the Vietnamese assembly’s determination to fully implementing co-operative agreements previously signed between the two countries’ assembly chairmen.

The head of the Vietnamese delegation, NA Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong congratulated the Laotians on their socio-economic achievements, particularly in the context of the global recession, posting a GDP growth rate of 7.9 per cent last year.

Last year was also notable for Laos’s success in hosting several international conferences, including the 17th Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum, she said.

Also yesterday, the Vietnamese delegation met with Lao National Assembly Vice Chairman Pany Zathotou.

During discussions, the two sides pledged to implement a co-operative agreement, previously signed by the two countries’ national assembly chairmen, as well as increasing the frequency of high-ranking visits and intensifying the exchange of information regarding the legislative bodies’ operations.

They agreed to provide personnel training for the Lao national assembly agencies and complete all necessary preparations for the construction of a Lao national assembly building, to be funded by Viet Nam, later this year.

The two sides pledged to support bilateral co-operative commitments and create favourable conditions for the two countries to achieve US$1 billion in two-way trade next year.

Viet Nam plans to make a thorough examination of its investment projects in Laos, to draw up more suitable policies to govern them and, look to increase its investment in the country.

The two sides confirmed that they would continue to demonstrate their close co-operation at regional and international forums. — VNS

National Assembly delegation visits Laos

VietNamNet Bridge – A visiting delegation of the National Assembly of Vietnam, headed by its Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong was received by Lao Vice President, Bounnhang Volachith and Prime Minister Buasone Bouphavanh in Vientiane on March 10.

Phong informed the hosts that Vietnam appreciates Laos’ socio-economic development, as well as its social stability and security.

She briefed the Lao leader on the content of talks attended by high-level delegations of the two countries’ parliaments and affirmed the Vietnamese NA’s commitment to fully supporting cooperation agreements reached by the two Governments.

The lawmaker pointed to a number of cooperation programmes between the two legislative bodies, focusing on the exchange of experiences between their committees and boosting coordination at regional and international forums.

The Lao leaders said that they valued cooperation agreements between the two parliaments that were reached during the talks.

They both stated that the Lao people wished to further expand their country’s traditional friendship and comprehensive cooperation with Vietnam and expressed their belief that more Vietnamese enterprises should invest in Laos.

On the same day, the Vietnamese delegation met with the Vietnamese community in Vientiane.

On March 9, they visited the families of the late General Secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, Kaysone Phomvihane and late President, Nouhak Phoumsavanh.

VietNamNet/VNA