General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has expressed hope that the Vietnamese peasantry will continue to grow and become a true stakeholder and the centre of the process of developing agriculture, the rural economy, and building new rural areas.

The year 2003 has witnessed many outstanding milestones in Vietnamese diplomacy, with foreign relations on bilateral and multilateral levels continuing to be expanded and deepened, including those with many important partners which has been raised to new heights resulting in new qualitative developments.

Vietnamese shrimp exports are anticipated to experience a downward trajectory in December amid the product facing competitive pressure from regional rivals' cheap source, according to the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP).

The Vietnamese Government always attaches importance to the Mekong - Lancang Cooperation (MLC) and will continue joining hands with China and other Mekong countries to promote the strong, effective, and sustainable development of this cooperation mechanism, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.