UN Day of Vesak promotes Buddhist values
“The hosting of the UN Day of Vesak from May 14-16 demonstrates the Party and State’s correct policies on foreign and religious affairs and helps elevate the position of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) and Vietnam in general in the world arena,” says a Government official.
Nguyen The Doanh, head of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs and head of the Coordinating Committee for the UN Day of Vesak, talked about Vietnam’s preparations for the event in an interview granted to VOV. Following are the excerpts from the interview.
VOV: Could you elaborate on the purpose and significance of the event?
Mr Doanh: Spiritually, the UN Day of Vesak creates a good opportunity for more than 600 Buddhist delegations from 80 countries and territories to share experiences and establish a “spiritual bridge” among them so as to promote Buddha’s great values i.e. peace, contentment and friendship.
It helps connect Vietnamese and international Buddhists and unite global Buddhists to build a friendly, happy and peaceful life for all. It also demonstrates religious and national unity in Vietnam.
The UN Day of Vesak will build a good image of the Vietnamese land and people who cherish peace, friendship, reconciliation and solidarity. It will elevate Vietnam’s position in the rest of world, contributing to the establishment of relations between Vietnam and other countries in the region and the world, for the sake of peace and development.
On this occasion, the Government has selected 2008 as the Year of Vietnam, with a wide range of activities to be held to promote Vietnam as an attractive destination for foreign tourists and investors.
VOV: Could you reveal the theme and major celebrations of the event?
Mr Doanh: This year, the theme of event is “Buddhism contributes to building an equitable, and civilised society”. Seven seminars will be held, focusing on solutions for addressing pressing social issues such as environmental pollution, conflicts, wars and family-related issues, as well as highlighting the Buddhist role in the era of digital technology and in poverty reduction efforts. I think that the theme of the event completely conforms to the Vietnamese Government’s policy on socio-economic and cultural development during the Doi Moi (Renewal) process.
VOV: What has the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha done to ensure the success of the UN Day of Vesak?
Mr Doanh: Along with relevant State agencies, the Sangha plays the key role in organising this event. Eight sub-committees have been established, of which five are taken on by the Sangha and the International Organising Committee (IOC). They are in charge of protocol, decorations, cultural rituals, contents and sponsorship mobilisation.
VOV: What about relevant State agencies?
Mr Doanh: Organising the event demonstrates the Vietnamese Party and State’s correct policies on foreign and religious affairs as well as on national great unity. It is also a chance for foreign delegates, including Buddhists, to gain a better understanding of the Vietnamese land, people and the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha in particular. Therefore, the Government has pledged to create favourable conditions financially and materially for the VBS and IOC to host the event. I believe that the UN Day of Vesak 2008 will be successful thanks to the great enthusiasm and high sense of responsibility of the VBS and IOC as well as the generous public support.
VOV: Thank you.
(CPV/VOV News) 11.5

Seafood exports in the first four months were 8.4 per cent up on the same period last year.

Viet Nam reaped more than US$1 billion from seafood exports in the first four months of this year, a year-on-year rise of 8.4 per cent, Deputy Minister of the Agricultural and Rural Development Ministry Luong Le Phuong said.
In April alone, the country earned $300 million in overseas sales.
The total seafood volume from January to April reached 1.19 million tonnes, an increase of 7.4 per cent on the same period last year.
Phuong said that seafood exportation in April was maintaining stable growth thanks to the devaluation of the US dollar, which stimulated seafood imports by many European countries.
Tra (catfish) had done particularly well with a yearly growth of 42 per cent, and product turnover accounted for 33 per cent of the country’s total seafood export value, he said.
In terms of import market structure, there was a remarkable decline in US demand despite the Japanese market’s recovery and the European market’s rapid growth, he said.
According to the Viet Nam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, the EU was the country’s greatest seafood importer at $280 million, making up 26 per cent of Viet Nam’s total seafood export value in the past four months.
The figure represents a yearly increase of 21.5 per cent, and the market is expected to further boost frozen fillet imports.
Japan ranked second with seafood imports worth $179 million, accounting for 17.4 per cent, a year-on-year rise of 13.5 per cent.
The US was the third biggest importer, but both import volume and value declined 13 and 15.2 per cent in the first four months of the year, respectively. The country imported 15,800 tonnes of seafood worth $112.57 million.
Viet Nam would also focus on increasing product quality, intensifying trade promotion, and enhancing the capacity for market study in order to reach the targeted seafood export value of $4.52 billion by the end of the year.
VNS 12.5

Legislators look to raise standard of living
National Assembly deputies have voiced their concern about how to improve the standard of living for remote communities and ethnic minorities at a time of surging inflation and price rises.
At their working session on May 9, law-makers asked the government to formulate prioritised investment policies to support development in rural and disadvantaged areas.
They proposed policies to focus on transportation, education, natural disaster mitigation and the allocation of land and housing.
The legislators also requested the government not to slash investment reserved for socio-economic infrastructure and healthcare in disadvantaged areas.
In relation to the government’s solutions to curb inflation, there are still shortcomings in implementing socio-economic targets, including those for industry and shifting plant and livestock structures, the legislators said.
Most deputies agreed with the Government’s proposal to adjust the GDP growth target from 8.5-9% to 7% following fluctuations in the world and domestic markets in the past months. They asked the Government to make clear the reasons for the adjustment as this will have a big affect on employment and people’s incomes.
Deputy Duong Trung Quoc from the southern province of Dong Nai said that the growth target is usually set by the Government and later approved by the National Assembly. Once the country fails to meet the target, he noted that it is necessary to consider the accountability of the Government as well as the capacity of NA deputies.
Deputy Nguyen Minh Thuyet from the northern border province of Lang Son said that this is the first time the NA has discussed the implementation of socio-economic development tasks in the face of economic slowdown and high inflation. He said that the Government should frankly look at its responsibility as well as that of Cabinet members.
Deputy Thuyet attributed the situation to the Government’s weak forecast and said that at present the Government should not fixate on stabilising market prices, as this is just an immediate solution. Instead, he suggested that the Government devise solutions for ensuring social welfare, mainly for the poor and State workers.
They asked the government to take drastic measures to speed up applying its eight of solutions to beat inflation and maintain sustainable economic growth.
The legislators also called on the government to provide reliable forecasts on the domestic and global economies in addition to macro-development strategies for each ministry, sector and locality to use in the fight against inflation.
Later in the day, legislators reviewed outcomes of the implementation of last year’s socio-economic goals and State budget, and the rate of implementation of those tasks in 2008.
Nhan Dan, VNA 10.5