Vietnam Communists Join Poverty Reduction Seminar in China

A delegation of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) attended a seminar on poverty reduction of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP) in Kunming city, China from July 13-20. The seminar, themed “Poverty Reduction and Alleviation: Common Responsibility of Asian Political Parties”, attracts representatives of 55 political parties from 28 Asia-Pacific nations, a number of African nations and international organizations, the Vietnam News Agency said Jul 19. The participants approved an initiative to set up the Asian Poverty Prevention Fund and the Asian Micro-finance Fund. The Vietnamese delegation, led by Vuong Thua Phong, Deputy Director of CPV Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations, also attended the 13th session of the ICAPP Standing Committee and worked with Deputy Director of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee’s International Liaison Department Liu Jieyi.  Up to 10 million people in Vietnam are now living under the poverty line, particularly those in mountainous and remote areas. The Southeast Asian country targets to reduce the number of poor households to less than 9.5% this year from 11% in 2009.