Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui

Travail humanitaire au Viêtnam: en attendant l'adoption

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 14:53:00 +0100

En couple depuis une douzaine d'années, Sophie Girard a toujours voulu adopter un enfant parce qu'elle souhaitait une famille multiculturelle. Aujourd'hui, elle et son conjoint ont trois enfants biologiques âgés de huit, six et cinq ans. Et ils veulent un quatrième enfant, une fille. Elle sera Vietnamienne, mais le couple ne sait pas encore quand elle arrivera dans sa nouvelle demeure familiale.

«Nos démarches ont commencé en 2005, précise-t-elle. Et nous adopterons une petite Vietnamienne probablement d'ici 12 à 18 mois. Même si je ne la connais pas encore, je pourrai connaître son pays d'origine après notre projet de travail humanitaire au Viêtnam, en juin.»

Elle raconte les péripéties de l'adoption internationale et les nombreuses règles qui entourent un tel projet. Il faut absolument passer par une agence d'adoption accréditée par le gouvernement québécois et par le pays d'origine de l'enfant. Chaque pays a des restrictions et des critères d'admissibilité.

«Il nous a fallu près de six mois pour faire le tour des agences pour connaître les pays et leurs critères, poursuit Mme Girard. Dans certains pays, les parents adoptants ne peuvent avoir d'enfants biologiques ou encore ils doivent être mariés depuis au moins cinq ans. Pour d'autres, il ne peut y avoir un grand écart d'âge entre les deux conjoints.»

Une longue attente

Après des mois de démarches, une agence est choisie pour adopter une fillette du Mexique ou du Viêtnam. Le Viêtnam avait fermé ses frontières à l'adoption, mais les a ouvertes de nouveau en 2006. Sauf que l'agence avec qui le couple fait affaire ne choisit que des poupons, alors que le couple est prêt pour une fillette qui aurait entre deux et six ans. Ils sont sur une longue liste d'attente. Sophie Girard et son conjoint se retrouvent dans le vide et décident de changer d'agence : l'attente est trop longue.

«Au début, on reste collé au téléphone dans l'espoir d'avoir un appel. Mais les délais sont si longs. Arrivent alors la réorientation de carrière et le retour aux études pour moi et mon conjoint. Le projet d'adopter une fillette n'est pas abandonné, mais le projet humanitaire au Viêtnam l'a ravivé. Et nous avons rencontré l'agence Enfants du monde pour poursuivre nos démarches.»

Mme Girard sait bien que l'adoption d'un enfant étranger est un privilège et non un droit. «On sait quand le projet d'adoption débute, avoue-t-elle, mais sans savoir à quel moment il se concrétisera. Il faut vivre avec l'attente.» Elle espère accueillir la fillette comme quatrième enfant de la famille bientôt.

Par Yves Therrien - Le Soleil (.ca) - 21 mars 2010

Travail humanitaire dans deux orphelinats: destination Viêtnam !

Prochains arrêts : Bac Giang et Bavi. Mélanie Chatigny, Sophie Girard, Amélie Boivin et Martin Lepage partiront tout le mois de juin vers deux orphelinats dans ces villes du nord du Viêtnam, près de Hanoi.

Ces quatre étudiants en soins infirmiers au Collège François-Xavier-Garneau, des adultes qui ont réorienté leur carrière après avoir occupé d'autres emplois, étaient tous désireux de s'engager dans un projet humanitaire.

Mélanie Chatigny et Sophie Girard racontent qu'elles iront dans les deux orphelinats pour prodiguer des soins infirmiers sans interférer avec le travail des nourrices, car d'autres bénévoles vont chaque année donner les trucs de base. Par exemple, elles montreront comment stimuler les enfants pour qu'ils soient plus autonomes, de sorte que les nounous auront du temps pour d'autres tâches. Elles espèrent aussi avoir quelques jours comme observatrices dans les hôpitaux vietnamiens.

«Même si les directeurs des orphelinats nous attendent à bras ouverts, ajoute Sophie Girard, nous ne savons pas si les nounous accepteront ce que nous voulons faire.»

Dans les orphelinats vietnamiens, on peut retrouver des enfants, de la naissance à 18 ans, des enfants handicapés physiquement ou mentalement, des non-orphelins qu'on laisse là le matin comme à la garderie et des personnes âgées, chacun dans diverses sections du bâtiment.

«En même temps, nous étudierons les effets de la toxine de l'agent orange répandu pendant la guerre, mais qui fait encore des victimes, ajoute Mélanie Chatigny. Les terres ont été empoisonnées par la dioxine, mais l'agent toxique se retrouve dans l'alimentation parce que les gens cultivent toujours ces terres.»

Mais pour réaliser leur projet, les quatre aventuriers doivent concilier études, travail et famille. Ils doivent prendre des vacances à leurs frais pendant leur séjour et renoncer à leur externat pour l'été prochain. Ils ont eu l'appui du Collège après avoir démontré le sérieux du projet par rapport à leur formation.

Choc culturel

Et l'agence Enfants du monde leur a expliqué le contexte du Viêtnam, sans rien cacher pour les préparer au choc culturel. Et il y aura le défi de la langue, même s'ils pourront compter sur un interprète vietnamien qui parle davantage l'anglais que le français.

Les membres du groupe Projet humanitaire en soins infirmiers Viêtnam 2010 tenaient hier une activité de financement avec le pédiatre Jean-François Chicoine, car ils ont besoin de 20 000 $ pour le voyage et pour l'achat de matériel médical, de pansements, de médicaments, comme des Tylenol, des crèmes pour traiter la gale, des trucs pour les bébés, même des marionnettes à doigts. Ils achèteront des biens de base comme du riz, des couvertures et des balais qu'ils laisseront sur place.

Par Yves Therrien - Le Soleil (.ca) - 21 mars 2010

PS : On peut obtenir d'autres renseignements sur la page du blogue http://infirmierehumanitairevietnam.blogspot.com.

Salinization, dams bring worries to Mekong Delta

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 14:38:00 +0100

MEKONG DELTA — He has worked this land for half of 64 years and is known among his fellow farmers in Kien Giang province here in the Mekong Delta as lao nong, or the old master of rice.

But even a highly experienced and hard-working rice farmer like Nguyen Tu is finding it a great challenge to grow crops in the Mekong Delta these days.

“I spent a whole day and whole night pumping water into the rice field, but the little amount of freshwater I got could hardly wash the 5 hectares of rice immersed in saltwater,” Tu tells Inter Press Service.

“Every year I have to wash off saltwater from our field, but things become worse year after year,” he adds, complaining about the build-up of salt on the soil as a result of the intrusion of saline water into the rich river area.

“Last year I got more freshwater for a smaller contaminated area.”

Like other Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam has a wet and a dry season. In the last decade or so the dry season seems to have been coming earlier each year—and then staying far longer.

This has spelled disaster for farmers in the six Vietnamese provinces in the Mekong Delta, where saltwater from the South China Sea can intrude as far as 30 kilometers inland during the dry period. Tu is not sure his winter-spring crops can survive the prolonged dry spell as these are being soaked too long in “so much salt,” which destroys soil fertility.

Experts say rice can grow in water that contains no more than a two-thousandth part of salt, but Kien Giang already has a salinization of twice that level.

The Mekong Delta is Vietnam’s rice bowl, producing half of its annual rice output. Majority of the country’s fruit crops also come from this region. Then again, that was before the changes in weather patterns wreaked havoc on the crops here.

“Weather changes have made a clear impact,” Pham Van Du, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture Cultivation of Can Tho, Hau Giang, told Vietnam News recently. “This means the meteorological conditions of the Lower Mekong have changed slightly; drought becomes severe while water scarcer. This results in more saline water encroaching all parts of the Lower Mekong.”

The dry season this year alone came some four months in advance. According to the Institute of Irrigation, there was even saltwater in areas situated from 50 to 70 km off the sea as early as the third week of January.

By February, which used be a month when people still enjoyed cool weather, several “summer” days had many Vietnamese running for fans as temperatures rose to as much as 37 degrees.

There has also been less precipitation compared with previous years. During February Hanoi had just 60 percent of rain compared with the same period last year, while the central highlands and southwest provinces have received no rainfall at all.

Here in the Mekong Delta, no rain has fallen for months now, reducing the volume of underground water. This has not helped the serious salinization of soil that is now threatening 620,000 hectares of winter-spring crops, based on data released in a workshop presided over by Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat on March 12, at the southern province of Soc Trang.

The Southern Institute for Irrigation also says the dry spell, shortage of water and salinization will worsen by April and May.

Many Mekong Delta farmers, however, say Mother Nature is not solely to blame for their predicament. They say dams—especially those built by China—on the Mekong River upstream have caused lower water levels downstream, along with reduced river running speeds and altered ecosystems.

Officially, pointing a finger at China is not encouraged in Vietnam, and even experts here usually choose to remain silent on such matters. But recently Vietnamese experts quoted on the online VietnamNet considered the matter on record, although they were also careful to note that other countries, such as Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, had built dams on the river or had plans for such on the Mekong mainstream, as well.

Prof. Ngo Dinh Tuan, chairman of the Institute for Southeast Asian Water Resources and Environment’s Scientific Council, said “the first impact” of Chinese dams built for the production of electricity “would be a remarkable reduction of aquatic resources and the volume of alluvium in the delta, resulting in landslides to balance the alluvial volume. It would be very dangerous for people who live in the lower section.”

“If China builds dams to transfer water from the Mekong River to the northern region,” he also said, “it would be very dangerous because the water volume going down to the lower section would be reduced considerably.”

Deputy director of the national weather service Le Thanh Hai, meanwhile, told the Tuoi Tre newspaper that while the primary cause of the drought is the El Niño phenomenon, “the hydropower plants made extra effort to store up water behind the dams when rainfall proved inadequate to supply these.”

“When they produce power,” he added, “water is released from the dams, but not enough to restore the flow in the rivers to normal levels.”

Chinese officials who have heard worse from irate Thai farmers have said the drastic drop in the Mekong has nothing to do with China retaining water upstream. To prove this, China recently invited Lower Mekong countries to visit its Jinghong dam to observe how it is being run and why it could not cause any harm to downstream countries.

Vietnam has received and accepted the invitation, said Le Duc Trung, chief executive officer of Vietnam’s Mekong River Commission Office, who will lead the country’s delegation to China.

In an interview with Tuoi Tre last week, Trung also said he plans to ask China to strengthen cooperation with downstream countries by supplying more information on its dams, especially documents regarding their resource-management data and guidelines. But the date for the visit has yet to be set, Trung said.

On Wednesday, though, Trung used sharper words in an interview with Saigon Tiep Thi newspaper.

“China could no longer hide the information about the dams. No country could play alone on its playground, close off information to the outside world.”

Earlier this year Mekong Rice Institute director Le Van Banh told Radio Free Asia that it was crucial for all Mekong countries to work together to devise methods of sustainable use for the water source.

“If each country takes its own action for its own benefits, then all will suffer and the Mekong Delta will endure more damage,” he said.

Banh is well-placed to comment on selfish behavior, having witnessed such in the Mekong Delta.

To help farmers make use of the annual cycle of flooding and salinization, local experts had been promoting a new method of cultivation: alternating the culture of shrimp with that of rice.

During the winter-spring season from January to June, farmers would use saltwater to raise shrimps in their fields. Once the rainy season in June to December came, rainwater would “wash” the fields to make them suitable for rice planting.

A system of dams was built to store floodwater and push back saltwater during the dry season. Unfortunately, some greedy farmers destroyed several of these dams to drive the saline water to their shrimp farms. With the dam system damaged, saltwater has, thus, now submerged the crops of rice farmers like Nguyen Tu.

by Tran Dinh Thanh Lam - Inter Press Service - March 21, 2010

Hun Sen asks Vietnam to supply more power

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 14:38:00 +0100

Prime Minister Hun Sen has requested Vietnam fulfill its agreement with the Kingdom and double its electricity output to the capital.

“I just wrote a letter to Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung because we have a contract with Vietnam to supply 200 megawatts to Phnom Penh,” Hun Sen said Thursday, speaking at the inauguration ceremony of National Road 78 in Ratanakkiri Province.

“At that moment, they can only supply us with 100 megawatts,” he said. “That leaves 100 megawatts more, which I want to get.”

Hun Sen discussed increasing power to Cambodia with Vietnamese leaders in Hanoi in May 2009. At the time, Cambodia was drawing 90MW of power from Vietnamese suppliers.

The government estimates Cambodia will need to draw 400MW of power by 2010, 50 percent more than is currently available.

In issuing an annual assessment last week, Energy Minister Suy Sem said the surge in demand was coming from new buildings, factories and homes.

Much of the additional supply is expected to come from Vietnam, which was only supplying 23 percent of electricity imported into Cambodia in 2008 but now supplies about a quarter of Cambodia’s total demand.

Last year, the Kingdom purchased 226.76 billion kilowatt-hours from Thailand for US$19 million, and 500.74 billion kWh from Vietnam for $40 million, according to Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy data.

Electricite Du Cambodge (EDC) State Controller Hav Ratanak said this week Cambodia drew 100MW from Vietnamese power supplies in 2009, a figure he would like to see double. EDC’s customer base rose 56 percent from 2005 to 2009, he said.

Cambodia’s electricity goals for the next five years include promoting more power imports from neighbouring countries, building its own power sources, connecting the power grid from source to urban areas and building more transmission lines across the country.

For now, Vietnam is facing its own electricty shortages, said Trinh Ba Cam, a spokesman for the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh.

“I don’t know for sure that Vietnam’s electricity authority has the ability to produce enough for sale to Cambodia,” he said.

The impact of a 100MW shortfall on agreed energy provision is also being considered by the Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EAC), which sets national pricing.

The energy shortfall, for now, is not going to affect prices for home consumers, Ty Thany, director of price setting at the Electricity Authority of Cambodia (EAC), said Thursday.

“We will keep a fixed price for households,” he said. “We will just get electricity shortages.”

EAC may seek to buy electricity from other sources at higher prices in order to meet demand, he said.

Based on EDC’s tariffs, which factor in the cost of energy production in pricing for commercial and industrial customers, energy produced at higher financial rates results in increased bills for the private sector.

Hun Sen said Thursday that Cambodia’s power problems will be a thing of the past once the Kingdom’s hydroelectric dams are in place.

“Please don’t forget when Cambodia develops Sesan and Sre Pok hydroelectricity dams ... Vietnam will buy from Cambodia because it requires a lot of energy,” he said.

By May Kunmakara and Ellie Dyer - The Phnom Penh Post - March 19, 2010

Pioneers of Vietnam-France relations commemorated

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 14:31:00 +0100

A workshop was held in Montpellier City, France, on March 20 to posthumously honour those who made outstanding contributions to Vietnam-France relations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Among them were French linguist Alexandre Rhodes, translator Nguyen Van Vinh, French doctor and explorer Alexandre Yersin and Indochinese general governor Paul Doumer.

French and foreign scholars delivered reports acknowledging Alexandre Rhodes’s efforts to disseminate the Roman alphabet across Vietnam, and Nguyen Van Vinh’s efforts to translate well-known French literature into Vietnamese.

They commemorated doctor Yersin for his devotion to Vietnamese medicine and the founding of the tourist resort city of Da Lat. They also honoured governor Paul Doumer who developed the French-style architecture in Vietnam, especially in Hanoi.

The event organiser - the Association of Da Lat’s Friends in the Footprints of Dr Yersin (AD@IY) - displayed a large woollen quilt made by French volunteers over two years. The quilt will be transported to Vietnam and connected to another made by the residents of Da Lat in October 2010 to mark capital Hanoi’s 1,000th anniversary.

The final-product will then be auctioned to raise funds for Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin.

Established in 1994, AD@IY gathers Vietnamese nationals and French friends who love Vietnam. It aims to promote cooperation in culture, education and science-technology between France and Vietnam, and particularly between Da Lat and Montpellier.

Radio Voice Of Vietnam - March 21, 2010

Tourisme : le Vietnam table sur 4,2 millions d’étrangers

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:41:00 +0100

L'Administration nationale du tourisme a organisé, le 18 mars à Hô Chi Minh-Ville, une conférence sur le tourisme, en présence de plus de 150 représentants des villes et provinces du Sud.

Le chef de l'Administration nationale du tourisme Nguyên Van Tuân a bien apprécié les acquis obtenus en 2009 par ce secteur malgré une conjoncture économique défavorable. Selon des statistiques, le Vietnam a comptabilisé l'an passé 3,8 millions de touristes étrangers, en recul de 10,9% en glissement annuel, mais 25 millions de touristes nationaux (+ 19%), et ce grâce à des politiques incitatives efficaces. Ce secteur a dégagé environ 70.000 milliards de dôngs de recettes, soit en hausse de 6,5-9% par rapport à 2008.

Le même jour à Hô Chi Minh-Ville, l'Administration nationale du tourisme a organisé une conférence de presse pour présenter le Programme de promotion touristique en 2010, dont le slogan est "Le Vietnam - Votre destination".

"Le programme cette année sera renforcé. L'an passé, nous nous étions concentrés sur la sortie de crise économique mondiale. Depuis janvier 2010, le développement touristique est entré dans une phase de nette reprise. Avec ce programme, j'espère que le tourisme vietnamien fera de nouveaux progrès et que Hô Chi Minh-Ville en sera la cheville ouvrière", a souligné Vu Thê Bình, chef du Département des voyagistes de l'Administration nationale du tourisme.

Pour La Quôc Khánh, directeur adjoint du Service de la culture, du sport et du tourisme de Hô Chi Minh-Ville, "c'est la première fois que l'Administration nationale du tourisme lance un programme aussi bien orienté et décentralisé. Parallèlement à l'application de celui-ci, Hô Chi Minh-Ville mettra en œuvre son propre programme d'action".

"L'an 2010 apportera autant d'opportunités que de défis au tourisme vietnamien. Mais ce programme promet des résultats satisfaisants", a affirmé Nguyên Van Tuân. D'après lui, les objectifs cette année sont 4,2 millions de touristes étrangers (+ 11,3%), 27-28 millions de Vietnamiens (+ 8-12%) et 75.000-78.000 milliards de dôngs de recettes.

Selon les statistiques, sur les 2 premiers mois de l'année, le Vietnam a comptabilisé environ 900.000 touristes étrangers, en hausse de 27% en glissement annuel, et près de 10 millions de voyageurs nationaux.

Par Nguyên Ðat - Le courrier du Vietnam - 19 mars 2010

Vietnam: 2e décès de la grippe aviaire

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:44:00 +0100

Le Vietnam a enregistré sa deuxième victime de l'année de la grippe aviaire, une petite fille de trois ans décédée aujourd'hui à Ho Chi Minh-Ville, l'ex-Saïgon dans le sud du pays, a annoncé un responsable sanitaire.

L'enfant, qui vivait dans une province voisine de l'ex-Saïgon (celle de Binh Duong), avait été transférée dans un hôpital pédiatrique de Ho Chi Minh-Ville le 10 mars, alors qu'elle souffrait de graves infections pulmonaires, selon le docteur Phan Van Nghiem, du département local de la Santé. Elle avait été testée positive au H5N1, virus hautement pathogène de la grippe aviaire, le 15 mars, un résultat confirmé par d'autres examens, a-t-il ajouté.

Le Vietnam avait enregistré son premier décès de l'année dû à la grippe aviaire le mois dernier, une femme de 38 ans décédée également dans le sud du pays, dans la province de Tien Giang.

Ce dernier décès porte à 59 le nombre de victimes de la grippe aviaire recensées au Vietnam depuis fin 2003, quand le H5N1 a fait sa réapparition en Asie du Sud-Est. Depuis cette date, le Vietnam est le pays qui affiche le plus lourd bilan humain au monde de la grippe aviaire après l'Indonésie, selon l'Organisation mondiale de la santé. Le pays recense actuellement des foyers animaliers de grippe aviaire dans six provinces, réparties du nord au sud du pays.

Agence France Presse - 17 mars 2010

Vietnam: les cadres du nucléaire seront formés en Russie

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:42:00 +0100

MOSCOU - L'Agence russe de l'énergie atomique (Rosatom) et le ministère vietnamien de l'Education ont signé mercredi à Moscou un mémorandum d'intention sur la formation des cadres de l'industrie atomique du Vietnam, rapporte le correspondant de RIA Novosti.

Conformément au document les parties développeront le partenariat dans le domaine de l'éducation et de la recherche scientifique, ainsi que dans la formation des spécialistes pour l'industrie atomique du Vietnam. Les deux pays se sont engagés à élaborer des cursus d'étude, des programmes et des technologies conjoints pour la formation des cadres.

Le mémorandum prévoit le développement de la coopération entre l'Université nucléaire russe (MIFI) et les établissements d'enseignement vietnamiens.

Le document a été signé par le président de Rosatom Sergueï Kirienko et le ministre vietnamien de l'Education et de la Formation, Nguyen Thien Nhan.

Il s'agit du troisième document russo-vietnamien signé en 2009-2010.

Un mémorandum de coopération entre Rosatom et le ministère vietnamien des Sciences et de la Technologie dans la réalisation du programme national de développement de l'énergie atomique du Vietnam a été signé à Hanoï en juillet 2009.

En décembre 2009 les deux pays ont signé un mémorandum de coopération visant la construction de la première centrale nucléaire au Vietnam.

RIA Novosti - 17 mars 2010

Vietnam court doubles jail term for official

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:41:00 +0100

HANOI — A Vietnamese appeal court Wednesday doubled the prison term of a former transport official jailed in a corruption scandal that led key donor Japan to suspend aid.

The court in southern Ho Chi Minh City ordered the former official, Huynh Ngoc Sy, to serve six years instead of the three to which he had been sentenced in September, a court official said.

Sy's deputy, Le Qua, was also ordered to serve five years, up from an original two.

"The judge accepted proposals of the prosecutor," said the official, who declined to be named and gave no further details.

Sy was convicted of abusing his position in a case involving Tokyo-based Pacific Consultants International (PCI), which worked on Ho Chi Minh City's largest infrastructure project, a highway linking the city's east and west.

Japanese aid money backed the project.

Sy was deputy director of Ho Chi Minh City's transport department and headed the project management unit (PMU), at team in charge of major road projects.

He and Qua were accused of renting state offices to PCI between 2001 and 2002 for a total of 80,000 dollars but not including the money in official accounts.

The two officials deducted 350 million dong (18,227 dollars) for "receptions", divided the rest among dozens of employees and managers, while each pocketed about 53 million dong themselves, the lower court ruled in September.

At the appeal, Sy and Qua sought a suspension of their jail terms but prosecutors asked that they serve more time behind bars, the VNExpress news website reported.

Vietnamese police are separately investigating whether Sy received bribes of up to 262,000 dollars from PCI, local media reported in January.

Last year a Tokyo court sentenced former PCI president Masayoshi Taga to a suspended jail term after convicting him of bribing Sy.

Japanese media reported that former PCI executives admitted paying Sy 820,000 dollars in bribes.

Three former PCI executives in addition to Taga were given suspended prison terms and the company was fined 70 million yen (774,193 dollars) over bribes to secure road contracts in the case.

Japan, Vietnam's biggest bilateral donor, resumed aid loans to Vietnam one year ago after suspending them during the PCI scandal.

Agence France Presse - March 17, 2010

Le Vietnam veut développer le riz haut de gamme

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:48:00 +0100

C’est une forte délégation vietnamienne qui a fait le déplacement jusqu’à Marseille, dans le sud de la France pour la Conférence internationale sur le commerce du riz. Occasion pour le Vietnam, dont la position est un peu plus fragile que l’an dernier sur le marché du riz, d’afficher sa nouvelle stratégie.

L’an dernier, le Vietnam a battu des records d’exportations : 6 millions 300.000 tonnes de riz ont quitté les ports du pays, bien au-delà des attentes du gouvernement de Hanoï. Elles ont généré plus de 2 milliards de dollars de recettes. Mais cette année, malgré des objectifs d’exportation quasi-identiques, le revenu risque de chuter considérablement.

D’abord les prix du riz, sur le marché mondial, ont décliné, et ils ne sont peut-être pas près de remonter, au vu de la bonne récolte attendue partout en Asie. D’autant que les entrepôts regorgent de riz.

Ensuite, le Vietnam, bien que 2ème exportateur mondial, est positionné sur le riz de qualité basse et intermédiaire. Bien moins rémunérateur, c’est aussi celui qui fait l’objet de la guerre des prix la plus féroce depuis 15 mois. En particulier avec le Pakistan et la Birmanie, depuis deux ans que Rangoon a fait irruption sur le marché mondial du riz.

Le riz birman et le riz pakistanais taillent des croupières au riz vietnamien, notamment en Afrique, 5% du marché d’exportation vietnamien, tout de même. Au-delà du marché philippin, qui assure un quart des débouchés de son riz, le Vietnam reconnaît lorgner de plus en plus sur les marchés en croissance que sont Cuba, l’Irak, Timor et la Malaisie.

Surtout, il annonce vouloir se placer davantage sur des qualités de riz supérieures, plus lucratives, pour garantir le revenu de ses exportations. Les expérimentations vont reprendre sur le riz étuvé ; le Vietnam estime aussi pouvoir être compétitif sur le créneau du riz parfumé jusqu’à présent occupé par la Thaïlande. L’agitation politique dans ce pays pourrait aussi être l’occasion pour le Vietnam de rogner des parts de marché, les opérateurs détestant l’instabilité. D’autant que les infrastructures portuaires vietnamiennes se développent à grand pas, comme les représentants du gouvernement vietnamien présents à Marseille n’ont pas manqué de le souligner !

Par Claire Fages - Radio France Internationale - 17 mars 2010

Libération au Vietnam d'un prêtre dissident

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:41:00 +0100

WASHINGTON - Le Vietnam a libéré lundi le prêtre dissident Nguyen Van Ly, qui avait été condamné à 8 ans de prison en 2007 pour "propagande" contre le régime communiste, a annoncé son avocat américain.

La libération de M. Ly, né en 1946 et dont la santé inquiétait ses proches, a été décidée à la plus grande joie de ses défenseurs. Alors que sa soeur était venue lui rendre visite dans la prison de Hanoï où il était détenu, les gardes lui ont dit d'attendre, "et tout d'un coup ils ont amené Père Ly à 4 heures du matin et ont dit: +Il a été libéré+", a déclaré à l'AFP Maran Turner, son avocat basé à Washington.

Le prêtre, dont la libération avait été réclamée par 37 sénateurs américains ainsi que par l'Union européenne, est depuis retourné dans sa ville natale de Hué (centre) où il est maintenant entouré par sa famille, a indiqué l'avocat.

M. Ly, qui avait déjà passé 14 ans derrière les barreaux, avait notamment été accusé en 2007 d'être à l'origine du "bloc 8406", un mouvement pro-démocratie né le 8 avril 2006 et appelant ouvertement au multipartisme. Le Parti communiste exerce un pouvoir absolu au Vietnam.

En février et en décembre dernier, sa soeur Nguyen Thi Hieu s'était inquiétée de problèmes d'hypertension ayant entraîné une attaque.

L'organisation de défense des droits de l'Homme Amnesty International avait alors appelé à sa libération.

"Il va mieux", a précisé son défenseur. "Il peut se déplacer et marcher avec une canne".

Le Vietnam et le Vatican n'ont pas de relations diplomatiques mais ont entamé un rapprochement. Hanoï affirme respecter la liberté de culte, mais maintient un étroit contrôle sur toutes les Eglises.

Selon un récent rapport de la diplomatie américaine, au moins 60 opposants politiques - avocats, militants des droits de l'homme ou blogueur - étaient détenus dans les geôles vietnamiennes à la fin de l'année 2009.

Agence France Presse - 15 mars, 2010

Vietnam: le prêtre libéré dit qu'il devra rentrer en prison après traitement

HANOI - Le prêtre dissident vietnamien Nguyen Van Ly, sorti de prison lundi pour suivre des traitements médicaux pendant un an, devra ensuite retourner derrière les barreaux, a-t-il affirmé mardi à l'AFP.

Le père, âgé de 62 ans, a subi trois attaques cérébrales l'an dernier selon sa famille. Il affirme lui-même qu'on lui a aussi diagnostiqué une tumeur au cerveau il y a quatre mois.

"Ce n'est pas une libération", a affirmé le prêtre, condamné en 2007 à huit ans de prison pour propagande contre le régime communiste vietnamien.

"Les autorités suspendent temporairement ma peine de prison pour que je puisse me faire soigner", a-t-il ajouté, joint par téléphone à Hué (centre). "Après mon traitement médical, je retournerai en prison".

En voyant son état de santé "s'aggraver", les autorités ont préféré que sa "famille s'occupe" de lui, en soit "responsable", a poursuivi le père Ly. "J'ai encore mal dans mon bras et mon pied droits", a-t-il encore indiqué, précisant toutefois que ses membres étaient "moins paralysés" qu'après ses attaques.

Les autorités ont "dit qu'après 12 mois, ma famille pourra faire une autre demande pour une autre suspension de ma peine de prison, au cas où mon état de santé s'aggraverait, et qu'on l'examinerait", a encore dit le prêtre, qui reste en attendant en résidence surveillée.

Lors de son procès à Hué en 2007, Nguyen Van Ly avait notamment été accusé d'être à l'origine du "bloc 8406", un mouvement pro-démocratie né le 8 avril 2006 et appelant ouvertement au multipartisme. Avant cette dernière condamnation, il avait déjà passé 14 années en détention.

Des élus américains ont appelé depuis à sa libération. Le Parlement européen, qui le qualifie de "prisonnier de conscience", a déploré qu'il ne puisse pas bénéficier de soins médicaux adéquats en prison.

Le Parti communiste exerce un pouvoir absolu au Vietnam.

Agence France Presse - 16 mars, 2010

Vietnam's corruption fight to focus on seven areas in 2010

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:34:00 +0100

Provinces and cities in Vietnam should take drastic measures to further the fight against corruption, focusing on seven major fields in 2010, according to Vietnam news agency.

The seven target areas namely land use, taxation, mineral resource management, personnel recruitment and appointment, capital construction, addressing complaints and petitions relating to corruption, and handling important cases relating to the problem as well as the equitisation of State-owned enterprises.

Citing Chief of the Office of the Central Steering Committe for Corruption Prevention Vu Tien Chien said the committee will coordinate with relevant agencies to strictly settle major corruption cases of public concerns, helping create positive changes in each area.

Bernama - March 16, 2010

Outsourcing to Vietnam

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:54:00 +0100

Rising labor costs and tensions with China have sent companies looking for labor in Vietnam, but Hanoi has its own set of serious problems.

Vietnam is viewed as a viable alternative to China for foreign (particularly U.S.) companies seeking to establish or increase their lower-cost manufacturing capacity.

This is due to the increasing costs of labor in China; rising Chinese taxes on foreign enterprises; difficulties with the business environment in China; and the perception among some U.S. firms that the political risk of doing business in China may increase due to rising U.S.-Chinese trade tensions.

However, over the long term, foreign firms seeking to expand their operations in Vietnam may discover that the Vietnamese workforce lacks crucial skills, due to problems with its education system.

Working-Age Population Surge

The workforce in Vietnam (defined as adults aged 23 to 65) is expected to jump by 23 million over the next 20 years, to 65 million. This should help make the country a viable alternative to China as a manufacturing center--if Hanoi can reduce the corruption and incompetence that plague its primary and secondary schools. Tertiary education in Vietnam also has problems, particularly in the quality of its science and engineering instruction.

Skills Shortage

A recent employer survey by Vietnam's Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs found that just 40% of the workforce had training of any sort. The majority of respondents experienced difficulty in finding workers with skills to match their needs. Among workers in their early twenties, nearly 80% had no formal job training before joining the workforce.

Education System Shortcomings

Approximately 40% of Vietnam's population is of school age or younger (under 23). Yet the school system's problems are acute:

--Inadequate class time. An recent analysis by U.K. research group Young Lives, An International Study of Childhood Poverty, highlighted the fact that the Vietnamese school year is just 33 weeks and only 20% of children receive the international norm of at least five to six hours of class time per day. These figures are both significantly worse in rural areas, where children must help their families with agricultural work.

--Out-of-pocket cost. In 1991 Vietnam made primary school education compulsory and free. However, its cost recovery policy initiated in 1992 shifted the cost burden from the government to the consumer for subsequent education: junior secondary school, senior secondary school and technical/vocational training school. The emergence of a middle class in Vietnam with sufficient means to fund rising education costs is hiding structural deficiencies in the system. Children of families with lesser means are sometimes forced to forgo secondary education entirely. Again, the problem is particularly severe in rural areas.

--Low teacher pay. Low teacher pay has led to situations where educators have pressured students to participate in additional study activities in order to augment their meager official salaries. The practice was so pervasive that National Decree 242, approved in 1993, included regulations limiting "extra classes." Only authorized teachers are now allowed to provide such classes, and primary school students may undertake no more than two extra lessons totaling four hours per week.

Outlook

The education system's shortcomings have created significant challenges for foreign investors seeking to recruit and retain prospective Vietnamese employees.

Not only should they expect to incur significant costs for training and development programs, they will also likely need to adopt creative methods to retain these employees once they are skilled and competent.

Also, as witnessed in India during that country's services outsourcing boom, local labor markets will heat up as the economy grows. This will increase demand for the relatively limited pool of skilled workers, and boost employee turnover as employers engage in a bidding war for staff.

By Oxford Analytica - Forbes.com - March 15, 2010

Vietnam releases leading dissident from prison

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:45:00 +0100

HANOI — Vietnam released one of its leading democracy activists from prison Monday after the dissident Catholic priest spent three years and suffered two strokes in solitary confinement, his lawyer and sister said.

Authorities released Father Nguyen Van Ly from a prison near Hanoi at 4 a.m. and drove him in an ambulance back to his hometown of Hue, his sister, Nguyen Thi Hieu, told The Associated Press.

"I'm very glad to see him out of prison and pleased to see that he is in better health than he was when I last saw him," Hieu said.

In 2007, Father Ly was sentenced to 8 years in prison for disseminating anti-government propaganda during a dramatic trial in which police muzzled him for shouting anti-communist slogans and accusing Vietnamese officials of practicing "the law of the jungle."

Father Ly is one of Vietnam's best-known human rights activists and has spent more than 15 years in prison since 1977, according to Freedom Now, a Washington-based law firm that serves as Ly's international counsel.

"We're beyond delighted that Father Ly has been released," said Maran Turner, Freedom Now's executive director. "But Vietnam still has many human rights challenges. The government is still imprisoning many other activists."

In recent months, Vietnam has sent 16 democracy activists to jail in one of its harsher crackdowns on dissent. Some observers have speculated that the crackdown is part of political jockeying ahead of next year's Communist Party congress.

Turner said she was not sure why the government had decided to release Ly now.

"It's hard to understand what moves governments to finally do the right thing," she said. "This has been a long time coming."

Vietnamese government officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

Officials at the U.S. embassy, which has pressed for Ly's release, said they had seen reports that Ly was paroled so that he could seek medical treatment.

"If those reports are true, it would be a welcome humanitarian gesture," said David Moyer, an embassy spokesman. "We don't yet have any specific information about the conditions of his release."

Father Ly is partly paralyzed on the right side of his body but can walk with a cane, according to his sister, who said he is staying at the Archdiocese of Hue, where priests planned to call doctors to assess his health.

He suffered strokes in July and November and for a time was unable to walk, Turner said. Before his release, he received treatment in a Hanoi hospital, where he was watched by five guards, she said.

In July, 37 U.S. senators sent a letter to President Nguyen Minh Triet calling for Ly's release.

The Associated Press - March 15, 2010

Vietnam asks National Geographic to fix mapping error

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:43:00 +0100

Vietnam on Saturday said the US National Geographic Society was wrong in publishing a world map that shows the Hoang Sa (Paracel) Islands as belonging to China.

t’s wrong to put the note “Paracel Is. China” to refer to Vietnam’s Hoang Sa archipelago in the map, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nguyen Phuong Nga said.

“We request the National Geographic correct this mistake,” she said.

“Vietnam has indisputable sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes,” Nga stressed.

Dr. Duong Danh Huy, an East Sea researcher, said: “I think this is a mistake, because the National Geographic Society is usually impartial.”

However, the mistake needs to be criticized as the National Geographic Society is supposed to stay neutral and not take sides in a sovereignty dispute, he added.

Huy said although general maps such as those published by the National Geographic Society do not have any legal value, they can have an impact on public perception.

Thanh Nien / Vietnam News Agency - March 15, 2010

Striking Vietnam workers trickle back as company gives in

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:35:00 +0100

Four hundred striking workers at a South Korean-owned garment factory returned to their jobs Friday in Vietnam after the company accepted most of their demands, but another 400 continued to hold out for back pay.

he strike was taking place as factories in southern Vietnam are facing severe labour shortages.

All 800 workers staged a wildcat strike beginning March 3, said Cao Thi Hoang Tho, an officer at Bando Vina Ltd in the southern Vietnamese province of Tay Ninh.

"Every day, they demonstrated in front of the factory for about an hour, so we negotiated with them," Tho said. "We have fulfilled almost all of their demands, except payment for the days they were on strike."

The company agreed to hike salaries by 10 percent on March 5, as well as increasing other allowances.

On Wednesday, the company issued an ultimatum that workers who had not returned to their jobs on Thursday would be fired.

In fact, no workers returned at that time, but the 400 who turned up Friday morning were allowed to return to work.

"Some of the workers continued to demonstrate at the factory gate this morning," Tho said. "We invited them to come in and talk, but if they don't agree, we will terminate them in accordance with the Labour Code."

Under Vietnamese law, strikes must be approved by local authorities and the government-affiliated national trade union. In practice, virtually all strikes take place without such approval.

The strike was the sixth in Tay Ninh so far this year, according to Vuong Van Lai, vice chair of the trade union's provincial branch.

Striking workers might be taking advantage of widespread labour shortages to negotiate better deals.

Labour officials in industrial provinces in southern Vietnam said they are short tens of thousands of workers as many have failed to return to work from the Lunar New Year's holidays in February. Migrant workers often find better-paying or more convenient jobs near their home villages after the holidays.

According to Vietnam's Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, strikes in Vietnam fell nearly 70 percent in 2009 from 2008. There were 216 strikes last year, compared with 650 in 2008, and 151 of them involved companies in the textile and garment sectors that have foreign investors.

Deutsche Presse Agentur _ March 15

29 on trial in Vietnam for drug trafficking and police corruption

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:33:00 +0100

A trial of 29 people who include former police officers and judges accused of being involved in a massive heroin trafficking and corruption case began in northern Vietnam, a court official said Friday. Nguyen Van Hoa, an official at the People's Court in Thai Nguyen province, said the trial, which started Wednesday, was the largest drug-trafficking case ever seen in the province and was expected to last more than two weeks.

The accused included 21 people charged with trafficking 18 kilograms of heroin from 2004 to 2006, Hoa said. The group centered around former Hanoi policeman Nguyen Van Dua, 43.

The eight other defendants are former policemen, court officials and judges accused of accepting bribes to allow Dua and his accomplices to escape sentencing in 2006 when the case first went to trial. All the accused were acquitted at that time.

According to the newspaper Phap Luat, Dua, then a policeman in Hanoi, was originally arrested in 2006 for corruption in a different drug case. The mother of a convicted drug trafficker accused him of accepting bribes in exchange for a promise to help her son avoid the death penalty.

When her son was executed anyway, the mother turned Dua in. While arresting Dua, police found packages of heroin at his home and uncovered his involvement in the drug-trafficking ring in Thai Nguyen.

If convicted, Dua could face the death penalty.

Deutsche Presse Agentur - March 15, 2010

Vietnam Airlines opposes VietJet Air's share sale

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:26:00 +0100

Vietnam Airlines (VNA) has recently sent a petition to prime minister opposing the investment cooperation (under any ways) between cheap air carrier-Air Asia (Malaysia) and VietJet Air Aviation Joint Stock Co (VJA) to establish VietJet AirAsia-a cheap aviation carrier.

The above petition was sent after VJA sold 30 percent stake to AirAsia.

In the document sent to prime minister, VNA said that allowing cheap air carriers massively joining Vietnam market and seeking way to buy domestic "trade marks" cheaply will be likely to cause serious impacts on the existence and development of Vietnam's newly established aviation firms.

Talking with Tuoi Tre (youth) newspaper, Nguyen Duc Tam, VJA's general director said that till date, AirAsia has finalised all procedures to buy shares into VJA. Tam affirmed that "VJA having foreign shareholder is completely suitable with Vietnam's law. With the holding of 30 percent stake, AirAsia plays only role as a shareholder in the local firm. The company's all strategic decisions will be decided by the director board under the majority principle".

Tuoi Tre - March 13, 2010

Sihamoni, roi khmer par devoir

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 08:04:00 +0100

L'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres reçoit ce vendredi à Paris en grande pompe le souverain khmer. Portrait d'un homme qui ne voulait pas régner.

Il était danseur et chorégraphe, habitait un appartement du XVe arrondissement de Paris et se déplaçait en métro. Il est aujourd'hui l'héritier des dieux-rois d'Angkor. Norodom Sihamoni, qui a succédé à son père Sihanouk sur le trône du Cambodge en octobre 2004, sera de retour en France cette semaine pour son installation officielle, comme associé étranger, à l'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres. Il sera reçu, ce vendredi 12 mars, sous la coupole de l'Institut de France. En grande pompe et en tenue d'apparat.

Etrange destin que celui de ce prince qui aurait sans doute préféré ne jamais être roi. Rêvant d'apprendre la danse et la musique, il obtient, très jeune, de ses parents qu'ils l'inscrivent au Conservatoire de Prague, alors l'un des plus réputés d'Europe. Il n'a pas 10 ans lorsqu'il quitte le Cambodge, guère plus lorsqu'il apparaît pour la première fois sur la scène du Théâtre national de la capitale tchèque dans Casse-Noisette, le ballet de Tchaïkovski. Après avoir obtenu, en 1971, un premier prix de danse classique, il se produit régulièrement à l'Opéra de Prague, commence à s'intéresser à la chorégraphie, entame une thèse sur la culture de la danse dans son pays.

"Célibataire comme Jean-Claude Brialy"

Nouveaux maîtres du "Kampuchéa démocratique", les Khmers rouges vont brutalement interrompre cette prometteuse carrière. Attiré par un faux télégramme, Sihamoni est contraint en 1975 de rejoindre ses parents, prisonniers dans leur palais de la capitale, Phnom Penh, au bord du fleuve Tonlé Sap. Il endure avec eux l'enfermement et la peur, avant de renouer, à Paris cette fois, à partir de 1981, avec son art. Il enseigne la danse au conservatoire Marius-Petipa, fonde sa propre troupe, le Ballet Deba. Il se passionne aussi pour la culture traditionnelle khmère, meurtrie par la folle dictature. En 1993, il devient ambassadeur du Cambodge à l'Unesco. Mais il prend toujours le métro.

C'est en octobre 2004 que sa vie bascule. Son père, le roi Sihanouk, ayant décidé d'abdiquer, il est désigné à l'unanimité par le Conseil du trône pour lui succéder. A son dentiste parisien, avant de faire ses bagages, il dira seulement qu'il doit s'en aller "pour un long moment"...

En abandonnant le trône, Sihanouk avait un objectif précis: régler sa succession de son vivant. Une soixantaine de candidats de trois familles pouvaient prétendre au trône. Mais l'élu devait être à la fois suffisamment effacé pour convenir à Hun Sen, l'homme fort du pays, opposé à toute ingérence de la monarchie dans la sphère politique, et assez intelligent et prudent pour préserver l'institution royale, obsession de Sihanouk. Sihamoni remplissait ces deux conditions. Un autre paramètre semble avoir été déterminant : le désir de Sihanouk, plusieurs fois marié et père d'une nombreuse progéniture, de manifester sa reconnaissance à la reine Monineath pour les épreuves traversées ensemble en choisissant l'un de ses fils.

Devenu roi à 51 ans par devoir filial, ce "célibataire comme Jean-Claude Brialy" - la formule est de son père - remplit depuis près de six ans son rôle avec conscience, distribuant des sacs de riz aux plus pauvres lors de ses tournées en province, défendant la culture khmère ou se posant en protecteur de l'environnement. Mais il s'ennuie. "Dévoué à son peuple, appliqué à bien faire, Sihamoni n'est pas un homme heureux, confie l'un de ses amis français. Enfermé dans une prison dorée, il sait qu'il n'a pas les moyens de briser le carcan d'un protocole qui paralyse les relations." Ni vraiment, sans doute, envie de prendre des risques.

Par Dominique Lagarde - L'Express (.fr) - 12 mars 2010

Vietnã permite terceiro filho a casais

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 08:03:00 +0100

O Vietnã autorizará os casais a ter uma terceira criança em certas circunstâncias especiais, informou uma circular publicada hoje na imprensa oficial do país comunista.

O Departamento de População determinou um total de sete supostos: gêmeos ou trigêmeos nascidos depois do primeiro filho, casais com filhos de casamentos anteriores, com filhos mortos ou deficientes, mulheres que tenham dado à luz a um máximo de duas crianças antes de se casarem, ou mães de minorias étnicas de menos de 10 mil membros.

O Vietnã adotou uma política oficial de no máximo dois filhos, assim como a China de Mao Tsé-tung, pouco depois do final da guerra com os Estados Unidos em 1975, quando o país sofria uma grave carência de recursos e precisava controlar seu crescimento demográfico. No entanto, o regime vietnamita nunca chegou aos extremos do chinês, que castiga os infratores. A maior punição registrada era a negação da promoção interna em empresas estatais.

Além disso, o zelo das autoridades diminuiu ainda mais a partir de 2003, quando o governo vietnamita assinou vários acordos internacionais sobre planejamento familiar e direitos da mulher.

Agencia EFE - 11 de março de 2010

Vietnam: Fitch pourrait baisser sa note

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:32:00 +0100

L'agence de notation Fitch envisage de baisser la note du Vietnam, invoquant un manque de confiance dans la monnaie nationale du pays communiste, des signes de surchauffe et une inquiétude sur le montant de ses réserves étrangères.

La note attribuée par Fitch à la dette à long terme du Vietnam en monnaies étrangère et locale est de BB-. L'agence l'a placée vendredi sous "surveillance", pour un éventuel abaissement à l'avenir.

La "situation financière extérieure" du Vietnam "s'érode sérieusement alors que l'économie montre des signes de surchauffe domestique et que les résidents perdent confiance dans la monnaie locale", explique Ai Ling Ngiam, de l'équipe Asie/dette souveraine de Fitch, dans un communiqué.

Selon Fitch, de forts déficits courants, sorties de devises et dépôts ainsi que de "larges et anormales erreurs et omissions dans la balance des paiements ont pesé sur les réserves" du pays. L'agence craint que ces réserves en devises étrangères ne puissent couvrir que 2,6 mois d'importatations et 1,6 mois de paiements extérieurs courants en 2010, un plus bas depuis 1994 pour le pays.

Malgré deux dévaluations en novembre et février, Fitch note des écarts persistants entre le marché officiel et le marché noir, qui signalent toujours des pressions à la baisse sur le dong. La monnaie nationale s'échangeait vendredi entre 19.300 et 19.350 pour un dollar au marché noir, contre 18,544 au taux officiel.

Fitch souligne que la propension du gouvernement à dévaluer pour promouvoir les exportations et à favoriser les mesures de croissance à l'approche d'une importante échéance politique (le congrès du Parti communiste au pouvoir en janvier 2011) accentue elle-même les pressions inflationnistes.

L'économie vietnamienne a enregistré une croissance insolente au regard de la crise qui a touché le monde en 2009 (+5,32% du PIB). Mais elle affiche tout de même une perte de vitesse compliquée à gérer pour les autorités, qui se donnent dix ans pour faire du Vietnam un pays industrialisé.

Après avoir enregistré une flambée de l'inflation en 2008 (+23%), le Vietnam a réussi à ramener la hausse des prix à 6,88% l'an dernier. Mais l'inflation, de 8,46% sur un an en février, est de nouveau sur une pente ascendente depuis quelque mois.

Agence France Presse - 12 mars 2010

Vietnam, foreign firms to build $1 bln gas pipeline

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:46:00 +0100

HANOI, - Petrovietnam Gas has signed a deal with Chevron Corp , Japan's Mitsui Oil Exploration Co and Thailand's PTT Exploration and Production PTTE.BK to build a $1 billion gas pipeline in southern Vietnam.

Petrovietnam Gas, run by state oil and gas group Petrovietnam, will hold a 51 percent stake under the business cooperation contract signed in Hanoi on Thursday, the corporation said in a statement.

The three foreign firms would hold the remaining combined 49 percent, it said without giving investment breakdowns.

The 400-km (248-mile) pipeline, 246 km of which will be under the sea, will transport 6.4 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually from blocks B, 48/95 and 52/97 in Vietnam's southwestern waters to power plants in Can Tho city's O Mon complex.

The gas would also be distributed to the gas, electricity and urea complex in the southern province of Ca Mau, the statement said.

Petrovietnam Gas said each year it supplies material to generate 40 percent of Vietnam's electricity, 35 percent of urea production needs, 10 percent of petrol consumption and nearly 70 percent of the country's liquefied petroleum gas.

By Ho Binh Minh - Reuters - March 12, 2010

For Vietnam man on death row even donating body may be illegal

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:42:00 +0100

A murderer awaiting execution in Vietnam has applied to donate his body to science, but authorities said Wednesday they may not be able to fulfil his wish due to legal uncertainties. Fisherman Nguyen Van Hai, 30, pleaded guilty to killing a man and stealing his boat in August 2008.

He is on death row in his home province of Quang Ninh, 100 kilometres east of Hanoi.

A police official at the jail where Hai is being held, who declined to be identified, said Hai had written a letter to President Nguyen Minh Triet, which he gave to prison authorities.

"This is the first such case in our detention centre, so our leaders sent his request to the central level for approval," the police official said.

"I have been found guilty, so I want to be executed and to donate my body to science, to help people suffering from illness," Hai wrote, according to the newspaper Phap Luat Ho Chi Minh City.

The newspaper quoted police Colonel Le Duy Tan, director of the detention centre, as saying he had no knowledge of any legal document stipulating that executed prisoners could donate their bodies to science or medicine.

Article 5 of Vietnam's Law on Body and Organ Donation, passed in 2006, states that people 18 years or older "possessing full civil rights" have the right to donate organs and body parts. It is not clear whether prisoners also have such a right.

Deutsche Presse Agentur - March 12, 2010

Vietnam officially allows some couples to have third child

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:39:00 +0100

Vietnam has officially allowed exceptions to its longstanding two-child policy under certain circumstances, a government official confirmed Wednesday.

A new decree details seven scenarios in which couples are to have the right to a third child, Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, director of the Hanoi Population Department, said.

Parents who already have one child and are taken over the two-child limit by twins or triplets in the second pregnancy, will not be considered to have violated the policy.

Couples with children from prior marriages or with disabled or deceased children, and members of ethnic minorities numbering fewer than 10,000 people are also to be allowed to have a third child.

Finally, mothers with two children out of wedlock are authorized to have a third if they get married.

"This is the first time the government has given out detailed guidance on who can have a third baby," Huong said.

As a practical matter, Vietnam's population policies have long been flexible. Since signing on to international agreements in 2003 that protect the reproductive rights of parents, the government has "encouraged" two-child families rather than mandating them legally.

Even when the policy was more stringent, violations were generally punished only with subtle administrative measures. Parents who worked in state-owned enterprises might find themselves denied promotion, for example.

According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Vietnam's birth rate has been declining naturally due to rising use of contraceptives and the tendency to have fewer children as income levels rise. Total fertility stood at 2.09 children per woman in 2008, slightly below the replacement rate.

The 2008 figures showed 16.9 per cent of Vietnamese women had more than two children.

"In the public domain there's very little reference to the two-child policy anymore," said Bruce Campbell, UNFPA's representative in Hanoi. "There's more reference to the 'small-family norm'."

Campbell said that Vietnam's birthrate would likely follow the pattern of other East Asian countries, like Japan and South Korea, which have seen fertility plunge far below the replacement rate as prosperity grew.

He anticipated that Vietnamese policies might even switch from discouraging to promoting higher birthrates in future, to avoid the struggle of supporting the retiree population with a shrinking labour force, as has been seen elsewhere.

The narrow criteria of new regulations apply to too few couples to lead to a significant difference in the birthrate, Campbell said.

The two-child policy was initially introduced to counter a baby boom after the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. At the time, the country faced food shortages, and the effort to hold down the population was considered a government policy success in the 1980s.

In recent years the more pressing population problem has become a disparity in gender ratios. According to Vietnam's Ministry of Health, there are currently 112 boys born for every 100 girls.

Some critics have said that the two-child policy, combined with the strong preference for sons in Vietnam's Confucian culture, leads parents to abort female foetuses.

Other East Asian countries with no official family-size policies, including South Korea, have faced even sharper gender imbalances at similar stages of development.

Vietnam's population of 86 million makes it the 13th-most-populous country in the world.

Deutsche Presse Agentur - March 10, 2010

Work to start on Vietnam section of transnational road

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:32:00 +0100

Construction of the 220km Vietnamese segment of a transnational highway linking the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) will begin in the second quarter of the year, says Duong Tuan Minh, general director of the My Thuan Project Management Unit.

The 1,000-km highway will run from Bangkok City in Thailand, pass the border town of Kok Kong Town and Sihanoukville City in Cambodia and reach the Vietnamese border town of Ha Tien in Kien Giang Province before ending at Ca Mau Province, where it meets the country's National Highway 1A.

Its section in Thailand has been built and just 34 kilometres in the Cambodian section remain to be completed.

Vietnam's 220-m section, which runs on the western coast of the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta and is expected to be completed at the end of 2013, will need an investment of about $500 million, Minh said.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will loan Vietnam $75 million for the first phase of the project, which costs $390 million. The remaining capital will be sourced through a $25 million ODA loan from Australia and a preferential loan of $134 million from South Korea. Vietnam will use its contingency cost for site clearance. The second phase of the project is also expected to receive capital assistance from ADB fund.

Experts have said the highway will enhance the socio-economic development of not only the provinces of Kien Giang and Ca Mau, but also the adjacent provinces of Can Tho, An Giang, Bac Lieu and Soc Trang.

The highway would be a great motivation for the development of localities in the region of Ca Mau Peninsula, said Bui Ngoc Suong, chair of Kien Giang Province People's Committee. "Residents in the region expressed happiness with the project when we conducted studies for the highway," he said. Suong added that the prospects of the highway have brought the province an average growth rate of 12 percent in the last three years. "Many overseas Vietnamese in Thailand told me they would invest in the homeland when they can visit the provinces by car," he said.

Duong Tien Dung, deputy chair of Ca Mau Province People's Committee, said the highway would pass by several industrial parks and economic hubs of the province, significantly improving the delivery of cargoes from these sites.

Chalermkiat Salakkham, director of the Laem Chabang Port in Thailand's Chonburi Province told the Sai Gon Tiep Thi newspaper that he expected the port to boost circulation of cargo from Cambodia and Vietnam.

Cambodian Kok Kong Town's authorities have developed several recreation zones in the area near Thai border that Bangkok residents can reach in just four hours by car.

Authorities in Kien Giang and Ca Mau provinces are carrying out site clearance works for the construction of the highway, which ADB country director in Vietnam, Ayumi Konishi, has called a corridor that will open up opportunities for cooperation and development.

Sai Gon Tiep Thi - March 12, 2010

Expulsion des travailleurs étrangers sans permis de travail

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:56:00 +0100

Selon un projet de réglementation du ministère du Travail, des Invalides de guerre et des Affaires sociales, les étrangers travaillent au Vietnam pour une durée minimum de 3 mois non encore titulaires d'un permis de travail ou qui ne l'ont pas prorogé se verront refuser tout renouvellement de leur visa et seront invités à quitter le territoire.

Cet arrêté, qui entrera en vigueur le 1er juillet prochain, sera immédiatement applicable. Autre disposition de ce nouveau texte, les dirigeants de toute entreprise devront faire un rapport sur l'embauche de tout salarié étranger.

Le courrier du Vietnam - 10 mars 2010

Vietnam dissident vows to carry on struggle after prison

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:43:00 +0100

HANOI — A Vietnamese lawyer and dissident vowed on Wednesday to carry on her struggle for democracy days after leaving jail, where she spent three years for challenging the Communist authorities.

Le Thi Cong Nhan, 30, told AFP she would not let up in her campaign for democracy despite already having been called in by police for breaking the terms of her house arrest since leaving prison on Saturday.

Speaking by telephone, she said prison had strengthened her "faith in the struggle".

"I struggled for democracy and human rights, and I will continue to struggle for democracy and human rights," she said.

Officially stripped of her status as a lawyer, Nhan was arrested in March 2007 with a colleague, Nguyen Van Dai, who is still serving a four-year prison term.

Analysts say Vietnam's authorities have clamped down on dissent in the last three years after the country hosted a summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) and joined the World Trade Organisation in early 2007.

Both lawyers were convicted for writing documents criticising the authorities, denigrating the regime in the foreign media and using the law classes they taught to advocate human rights.

Nhan admitted at her trial being a member of a banned political party, the Vietnam Progression Party, and of a pro-democracy movement, Block 8406, which called for a boycott of sham parliamentary elections.

But she denied having violated the law. She insists that while the Communist Party's leading role in the country is enshrined in the constitution, "no provision in the law forbids the foundation of a party in Vietnam."

Nhan was unable to go ahead with a face-to-face interview with AFP scheduled around the time when she was called in by police on Tuesday.

She said police reprimanded her for going shopping too far from her home, but she thought the reprimand was actually linked to the planned interview.

Some observers see a link between heightened repression in Vietnam and next year's Communist Party Congress, at which high-ranking leadership posts will be apportioned.

At least 16 militants have been jailed since last October, including another lawyer, Le Cong Dinh, and a young French-trained Internet blogger, Nguyen Tien Trung.

Agence France Presse - March 10, 2010

Nuclear energy in Vietnam's power generation in future

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:41:00 +0100

PARIS - Nuclear energy is expected to account for a remarkable proportion in Vietnam's power generation in the future, Vietnam news agency reported, citing to Minister of Science and Technology Hoang Van Phong, as saying.

In an interview granted to a Vietnam News Agency correspondent on the sidelines of the International Conference on Access to Civil Nuclear Energy held here, Phong said that the application and development of atomic energy for peaceful purposes is one of the country's socio-economic development objectives in the next decades.

The conference was held from this March 8 to March 9.

"Nuclear power plants will contribute considerably to the country's annual electricity output, helping meet demands for production and daily activities as well as ensure the sustainable development of the national economy during the process of industrialisation and modernisation," he said.

Developing nuclear energy will create a favourable environment for the development of many other industries, including those requiring high scientific and technical standards, he added.

According to Minister Phong, in January 2006, the Prime Minister approved the Strategy on Atomic Energy Application for Peaceful Purposes by 2020.

The National Assembly also passed the Atomic Energy Law in June 2007 and approved a policy to build nuclear power plants in the country in November 2009.

The Vietnamese government is focusing on building a full and consistent system of legal documents that meets international standards for the nuclear energy sector, including specific plans for each agency and each area as well as human resource training schemes, he said.

The government is also speeding up education work to raise the awareness of people and the whole society of the importance of nuclear power plants as well as possible risks.

Vietnam's first nuclear power plant is expected to be put into operation in 2020.

Bernama - March 11, 2010

Sexism rampant in Viet Nam

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:34:00 +0100

HA NOI - Viet Nam has made great strides in terms of economic performance, but at the same time, there are signs of rising economic inequality and disparity in the country.

The statement was made by United Nations Resident Co-ordinator John Hendra at a conference to launch the Asia-Pacific Human Development Report on Gender.

This was backed up by figures provided by the UN on three aspects of gender inequality in Viet Nam: economic power, political voice and legal rights.

In Viet Nam, women make up 46.6 per cent of the workforce but most women work in the informal sector which is not covered by social protection.

Furthermore, as more than half of working women are unpaid family workers, they receive no direct income. Those who are paid earn only 87 per cent of the hourly wage received by men.

According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)'s first nationwide family survey, Vietnamese women do not have an equal say in decision-making at the household level, and have a lower level of ownership and control over key assets, such as houses, land and large-scale purchases.

Besides, only a few Vietnamese women hold important political positions. Though Viet Nam has the highest rate of female participation in the National Assembly among ASEAN countries, women are not well-represented in senior decision-making in the Party and in the administration: only one minister and five deputy ministers are women.

Vietnamese women are also hindered by their retirement age of 55, while that for men is 60.

This might not only limit women's chances of promotion and access to training, but also discourage employers from hiring women, the review of Vietnamese legal documents by the United Nations Development Fund for Women said.

To make the situation even worse, a recent study by the Supreme People's Court estimated that 21 per cent of couples experience domestic violence. Almost two-thirds of women believe it is acceptable for men to beat their wives, the General Statistics Office 2006 Survey said.

"The silence and stigma that surround violence against women is so strong that many women are afraid to speak out," Hendra said.

He suggested that it was necessary to ensure that all Vietnamese families value girls equally with boys and invest in their capabilities and well-being.

Threat to survival

The 2010 Asia-Pacific Human Development Report (Power, Voice and Rights: a Turning Point for Gender Equality in Asia and the Pacific) found that discrimination and neglect were threatening women's very survival in the Asia-Pacific region, where women suffered from some of the world's lowest rates of political representation, employment and property ownership.

It provided recommendations for action across the three areas covered (power, voice and rights) including removing barriers to women's ownership of assets, expanding paid employment, making migration safe and investing in high-quality education and health.

AsiaOne (.sg) - March 11, 2010

Still more to be done on VN gender equality, says UN official

Vietnam is an acknowledged leader in the region in promoting gender equality but more still needs to be done to bring about gender equality between Vietnamese men and women.

The remark was made by John Hendra, UN Resident Coordinator to Vietnam , at a press briefing in Hanoi on March 9 to announce the 2010 Asia-Pacific Human Development Report.

Hendra confirmed that the Vietnamese government had increasingly made more commitments in gender equality and the advancement of women.

In Vietnam, one in four National Assembly members is a woman – the highest participation rate among ASEAN countries--and the number of women doing business in Vietnam is also high, accounting for 46.6 percent of the country’s labour force, said the report.

However, the report indicated that Vietnamese women are not well-represented in senior decision-making in the Party or the administration. Only one minister and five out of 82 vice-ministers are women, the report went on to say.

And most Vietnamese women are taking unstable jobs in the informal sector with uncertain income and without social protection, the report added.

The report warned that if the sex ratio continues going up in Vietnam , the country will have a surplus male population starting in 2025. The sex ratio at birth in 2008 was 112 to 100, up from 110 to 100 in 2006, said the report.

“In order for women in Vietnam to have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives, equal access to and control over economic resources, and equal access to legal rights and protection, we need to ensure that all Vietnamese families value their girls equally with boys and invest in their capabilities and well-being”, Hendra concluded.

Vietnam News Agency - March 9, 2010

Many overseas Vietnamese want to buy apartments, property

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 08:33:00 +0100

Some 400 Vietnamese living abroad, or Viet Kieu, gathered at the Sunrise City complex project in HCM City's District 7 last week for a meeting, with many of them showing keen interest to buy houses or invest in the property sector in Vietnam.

At the meeting, which was held by the Overseas Vietnamese Communication Association and Novaland, developer the project, 98 Viet Kieu said they wanted to buy hi -end apartments and invest in the property sector.

Do Thi Loan, general secretary of the HCM City Real Estate Association, explained that huge investment into the city's traffic and infrastructure was driving up the development of the property market. this is also a good opportunity for Viet Kieu to buy a house as a good investment because property prices continue to increase.

Lawyer Truong Thi Hoa attended the event, offering legal information about the policy allowing Viet Kieu to purchase houses in Vietnam.

She said the legal corridor allowed most Viet Kieu to own housing with the right to give as a present, lease, resell or mortgage their properties.

However, Viet Kieu who want to buy houses in Vietnam are worried about legal procedures. "Therefore, Viet Kieu should chose good projects, which will supply housing ownership certificates, and should look or project developers who abide by legal procedures;' Hoa noted.

City vice chairman Nguyen Thanh Tai told the meeting the Government had advanced new policies like the citizenship law, the exemption of entry visas and especially the land, housing, estate, property law to help Viet Kieu buy and own housesin Vietnam easily.

However, relevant agencies are waiting for clear instructions from the Construction Ministry to make it easier for Viet Kieu to buy houses in Vietnam.

To help Viet Kieu with legal information on property and house ownership in Vietnam, Novaland has cooperated with law offices to establish a service division to supply free information at + 1 (714) 793 8186 in the U.S., +61 (2) 8005 6725 in Australia and +44 (20) 3239 9091 in the UK and in Europe.

Saigon Times Daily - March 11, 2010

La sécheresse met le réseau électrique sous tension

Vietnam aujourd'hui — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 08:59:00 +0100

Dans le contexte où les vannes des lacs-réservoirs sont ouvertes plus que d'ordinaire, en raison de la sécheresse qui affecte le pays, la fourniture en électricité devrait s'en trouvée affectée, avec des soubresauts prévus pour la saison sèche 2010.

Selon le plan élaboré conjointement par le ministère de l'Agriculture et du Développement rural et le groupe Électricité du Vietnam (EVN), le pays devrait procéder à 3 ouvertures de vannes dans les lacs-réservoirs de Hoà Binh, Tuyên Quang et Thac Bà, afin de libérer 3,5 milliards de mètres cubes nécessaires à l'approvisionnement des rizières. Ce qui risque de poser problème pour garantir une fourniture électrique suffisante durant la prochaine saison sèche, notamment en mai et juin prochains, avec un déficit de 16% à combler par rapport à l'an dernier.

Le volume d'eau qui alimente les lacs-réservoirs au Nord a été, en 2009, de 40% environ inférieur à la moyenne des années précédentes. De plus, selon un récent rapport du groupe de contrôle des projets électriques, une dizaine de centrales affichent un retard de 3 à 9 mois par rapport au plan de construction. Un total d'environ 2.116 MW seulement a été raccordé au réseau électrique national l'an dernier. Pour cette année, l'apport devrait être de 3.335 MW. Autre problème : les centrales thermiques à charbon (1.120 MW) fonctionnent de façon irrégulière.

Du pain sur la planche

Suite à la demande du ministre de l'Industrie et du Commerce, Vu Huy Hoàng, afin de satisfaire les besoins croissants en électricité, en raison du développement économique, EVN doit impérativement planifier sa production et ses achats, limiter les rénovations des centrales thermiques et bien se coordonner avec le groupe PetroVietnam et le groupe industriel du charbon et des minerais du Vietnam (TKV), qui possèdent eux aussi des centrales.

D'après Duong Quang Thanh, directeur adjoint d'EVN, le groupe devrait pouvoir augmenter sa production de 7 milliards de kilowattheures en 2010. Une mission qui s'annonce pour le moins délicate. En effet, les cours des matières premières s'envolent alors que le prix de vente de l'électricité reste relativement stable. EVN va fournir cette année 97 milliards de kilowattheures (+13,88%), dont 33 milliards importés. Le groupe a également pour objectif de faire passer les pertes électriques sous la barre des 10%. Pour parvenir à ses fins, il prépare avec minutie la mise en service de nouveaux générateurs diesel, étudie les réserves d'eau disponibles et négocie avec la Chine pour ses besoins énergétiques.

EVN mettra en service 15 groupes électrogènes qui développeront une puissance totale de 2.078 MW, débutera la construction de 6 projets représentant un apport cumulé de 5.356 MW (centrales thermiques Mông Duong 1, Nghi Son 1, Vinh Tân 2, Duyên Hai 1, centrales hydroélectriques Sông Bung et Lai Châu).

Dans le même temps, EVN renforcera les mesures de gestion technique afin de minimiser les risques et les incidents. La compagnie Électricité de Hanoi devra élaborer un plan de fourniture d'électricité pour la capitale, notamment pour les journées de célébration du Millénaire de Thang Long-Hanoi. EVN a proposé au gouvernement de mobiliser en priorité les aides publiques au développement pour financer les projets de ce secteur.

Par Quê Anh-Nga - Le courrier du Vietnam - 9 mars 2010

Importantes remontées d'eau de mer dans le delta du Mékong

Les remontées d'eau de mer sont de plus en plus importantes depuis début février dans le delta du Mékong. Un phénomène portant atteinte à la production agricole.

Selon la filiale du Service des travaux hydrauliques de la province de Hâu Giang, depuis la mi-février, l'eau salée pénètre dans les communes de Luong Nghia, Luong Tâm, Vinh Yên A et dans une partie de Xà Phiêm (district de Long My)..., avec un taux de salinité atteignant 2,6 à 7‰. Dans les jours à venir, l'eau de mer pénètrera plus profondément les terres, le taux de salinité devant atteindre les 6 à 8‰.

Cependant, l'eau salée a pénétré jusqu'à 30 km à la terre ferme de la province de Tiên Giang. Plus de 6.000 ha de riz de la récolte hiver-printemps sont menacés. Pour avoir d'eau douche pour la vie quotidienne des habitants, la province a construit un plan de transport d'eau du fleuve Tiên par les chalands. Dans la province de Bên Tre, l'eau de mer est remontée jusqu'à 30 km dans les terres. Des communes du littoral comme Thanh Phuoc, Thua Duc et Thoi Thuân du district de Binh Dai manquent gravement d'eau douce. Plus de 10.000 foyers doivent acheter de l'eau douce au prix de 2.000 dôngs/40 litres. Selon les prévisions, d'ici mai prochain, de telles remontées et la pénurie d'eau douce corrélative vont s'aggraver.

Mesures

Selon le rapport du Service de l'agriculture et du développement rural de Bac Liêu, sécheresse et remontée d'eau salée ont endommagé 20.000 ha de riz dans plusieurs districts, dont ceux de Hoà Binh, Hông Dân, Phuoc Long, Gia Rai...

Les provinces de Kiên Giang, Bac Liêu, Soc Trang, Trà Vinh et Cà Mau sont également frappées, leur production agricole étant gravement affectée en raison d'une salinité de 5,7 à 21‰.

Selon le vice-président du Comité populaire de la commune de Vi Thanh (Hâu Giang), la population est appelée à économiser l'eau douche pour la réserver à la production agricole et la vie quotidienne. Des barrages seront construits pour lutter contre ces remontées d'eau de mer au cas où la situation s'aggraverait. Ces 2 dernières années, Hâu Giang a été lourdement influencée par ce phénomène, et la situation durera plus longtemps cette année. Même problème pour nombre d'autres provinces deltaïques.

Le Service de l'agriculture et du développement rural de Tiên Giang a organisé une réunion d'urgence pour rechercher les mesures propres à "sauver" les rizières de la localité. La population devra réserver l'eau douce et en cas d'aggravation de la situation, qui devrait survenir au début de ce mois-ci, la province accordera une aide financière aux agriculteurs.

Selon le chef adjoint du Département de la culture, Pham Van Du, le delta du Mékong a récolté, à la fin février dernier, quelque 450.000 ha de riz. "Il faut trouver des variétés de riz résistantes à la fois à la sécheresse et à la salinité pour exploiter ces régions côtières", exprime M.Du.

Le directeur du Centre d'observation des ressources naturelles et de l'environnement de la ville de Cân Tho, Ky Quang Vinh, souligne qu'il faut profiter du réseau de canaux et d'arroyos du delta du Mékong pour constituer des réserves d'eau douce.

Selon le chef du Département de la culture (ministère de l'Agriculture et du Développement rural), Nguyên Tri Ngoc, le manque d'eau pour la production agricole et le taux de salinité dans les provinces du delta du Mékong menacent quelque 800.000 ha de riz des campagnes printemps-été et été-automne. Une situation qui, selon les prévisions, va encore s'aggraver, d'où la nécessité de prendre des mesures d'urgence.

Par Hà Minh - Le courrier du Vietnam - 9 mars 2010