7 April 2008
Maputo — Mozambique's ruling Frelimo Party and the Vietnamese Communist Party on Sunday signed an agreement formalizing the historic ties of friendship and cooperation between the two parties.
The ceremony came on the last day of a state visit to Mozambique by the General Secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party, Nong Duc Manh. Speaking after the signing, Mozambican President Armando Guebuza said that Nong's visit had allowed "an exchange of experiences of mutual interest".
It had "allowed us to assess the challenges faced in the organisation and functioning of our two parties".
On Sunday, Nong also visited the General Union of Maputo Agricultural and Livestock Cooperatives (UGC). He expressed admiration at the results achieved by the UGC (which is a major supplier of vegetables and poultry to the Maputo market), and said they were true examples of success in the struggle against poverty. In addition to improving food security in Maputo, the UGC has also raised the income of the 5,000 or so cooperative members, most of whom are women.
On Saturday, Nong gave a lecture at the Frelimo Party School, in the city of Matola, attended by about a thousand Frelimo members, on the subject of how Vietnam was overcoming poverty.
Nong admitted that, for the first decade after the victory over American aggression in 1975, the Vietnamese leadership had made serious mistakes arising from ignoring "objective laws". Over that period the economy had grown sluggishly, at an average of just one per cent a year, lower than population growth, inflation rose to 700 per cent by 1985, and the country was forced to import rice.
He said that the Party Congress of 1986 addressed the problems, made a severe self-criticism, and embarked upon a period of "renewal". As a result GDP per capita had risen from 200 US dollars per capita in 1976 to 800 dollars per capita now. He expected per capita GDP to reach 1,000 dollars by 2010.
Nong described Vietnam as "a socialist market economy based on Marxism-Leninism and the ideas of Ho Chi Minh". He insisted strongly on the "leading role" of the communist party in undertaking such reforms, and in building "the socialist rule of law".
At the end of his lecture, Nong announced gift of 50 computers and 50 printers to Frelimo. Accepting the gift, Frelimo general secretary Filipe Paunde aid the computers would be put to good use in the forthcoming municipal and general election campaigns.
Le/pf (417)
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
