The leadership and staff of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) need to make greater efforts to fulfill all the tasks entrusted by the Party and government, and turn it into a powerful national communication group.

VNA General Director Tran Mai Huong delivered the request at a conference held in Hanoi on Jan. 19 and 20 to review the news agency’s operations in 2009 and launch plans for 2010.

Huong said VNA reporters must follow closely and cover timely and exactly political and socio-economic events both in and outside the country in line with the Party and State’s directions, especially major activities in 2010 such as Party Congresses at grassroots levels, millennium celebrations of Thang Long-Hanoi, the 80th founding anniversary of the Party and the 65th National Day.

The general director asked VNA’s units to step up concerted coordination and make the best of strengths brought in by domestic bureaus in 63 cities and province nationwide and 27 overseas bureaux to effectively deploy new news services.

To make breakthroughs in 2010, VNA is planning to implement a wide range of comprehensive measures to reform its apparatus as well as management and financial mechanisms, expand cooperation with partners and improve operations of domestic and overseas bureaux, he said.

Huong also emphasised the need to accelerate the establishment of VNA’s television channel that is scheduled to begin trial broadcasting in the second quarter of 2010.

According to the general director, improving the quality of VNA’s products, including the Tin Tuc newspaper, e-newspaper VietnamPlus and its newly-launched multi-language telecom service, is also an important task of the news agency this year./.