Socialist Republic of Vietnam

The US-based Rockingham Corporation has reached agreement in principle with Vietnam’s southern Kien Giang province to lease land for a US$1.2 billion tourism complex on Phu Quoc Island.
The province has agreed to make available 923 ha on the island but further details of the agreement are awaited. It will allot the land by next year.

A Vietnamese parliamentary committee has called for strengthening laws governing the functioning of local legislative bodies to make them more effective.

The National Assembly Standing Committee made the suggestion at a two-day conference on people’s councils (local legislatures) and people’s committees (local administrations) held Tuesday in Ho Chi Minh City.

It also called for enacting a new law to enable the people's councils to perform their tasks efficiently.

Vietnam would continue to reinforce ties with other countries and integrate into the global and regional economies next year, a government spokesman said Thursday.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dzung said the country would “consolidate multi-faceted cooperation frameworks with other countries, especially its neighbors, global powers, and important partners … in a deep, stable, and sustainable manner".

The 14th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting successfully concluded in Hanoi this afternoon, November 19, with the issuance of the Hanoi Declaration, containing the leaders’ commitment to "spare no efforts" to revive moribund world trade talks.”