Decision No. 03/1998/NQ-CP of the Government's regular meeting in February 1998

RESOLUTION

C||| Resolution No. 03/1998/NQ-CP dated March 3, 1998 of the Government
||| on the regular monthly meeting of the Government in February 1998

||| On February 25 and 26, 1998, the Government held its regular monthly meeting in February 1998 to discuss and adopt the following issues:

||| I. LEGISLATIVE WORK

||| 1- Adopted the basic content of the Draft Decree on trade policy in mountainous areas, islands, and ethnic minority regions presented by Minister of Trade Truong Dinh Tuyen. Directed the Ministry of Trade to coordinate with the Government Office, the Ministry of Justice, and relevant agencies to incorporate opinions from the meeting, particularly those concerning mechanisms and measures to ensure that people truly benefit from policies encouraging trade development, product consumption, and subsidies for transportation costs. The draft decree should be finalized and submitted to the Prime Minister for signature and issuance in March 1998.

||| 2- The Government provided many comments on the Draft Decree temporarily regulating retirement age for certain positions of state officials in the Education and Training and Science and Technology sectors presented by Deputy Head of the Government's Organization and Cadre Department Do Quang Trung. It was noted that this is a sensitive issue related to provisions of the Labor Code and other laws, requiring careful consideration. Directed the Government's Organization and Cadre Department to coordinate with the Government Office and relevant agencies to incorporate opinions from the meeting and prepare additional materials for submission to the Government's Party Committee in March 1998 for review by the Politburo.

||| 3- Adopted the Draft Decree on State asset management presented by Minister of Finance Nguyen Sinh Hung with supplementary opinions from the meeting. Directed the Ministry of Finance to coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, the Government Office, and relevant agencies to finalize the Draft Decree and submit it to the Prime Minister for signature and issuance in March 1998.

||| 4. Adopted the Draft Resolution of Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of the dossier as mentioned in Sub-clause b, Clause 1, Article 3 above, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will review and submit to the competent authority for decision (Issues exceeding the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' jurisdiction will be referred to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision).||| the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on civil transactions regarding housing established before July 1, 1991 presented by Minister of Justice Nguyen Dinh Loc. Directed the Ministry of Justice to coordinate with the Government Office, the Ministry of Construction, and relevant agencies to incorporate opinions from the meeting, finalize the Draft Resolution, and report to the Prime Minister in March 1998 to timely submit to Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of the dossier as mentioned in Sub-clause b, Clause 1, Article 3 above, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will review and submit to the competent authority for decision (Issues exceeding the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' jurisdiction will be referred to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision).||| the Standing Committee of the National Assembly. Directed the Ministry of Construction to finalize the report on the results of investigations into civil transactions regarding housing established before July 1, 1991 and state-managed housing funds according to Directive No. 820/TTg dated October 3, 1997; to coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, the Government Office, and relevant agencies to develop a financial plan to create a housing fund to resolve remaining housing issues related to the two sectors by 2002, and to submit it to the Prime Minister for approval in March 1998.

||| 5- Heard the report by Deputy Head of the Government Office Lai Van Cu on the preparation process and content of the Draft Penal Code (amended) and the Draft Marriage and Family Law (amended) adopted by the Ninth Government. Directed the Ministry of Justice to finalize the two Draft Laws and allow the Minister of Justice to sign the reports to the National Assembly on behalf of the Prime Minister.

||| II- OTHER ISSUES

||| Heard the report by Deputy Governor of the State Bank Le Duc Thuy on foreign exchange management policies and exchange rate adjustments; Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Xuan Gia on the implementation of the February 1998 plan and the implementation of Government Decisions; Deputy Head of the Government Office Lai Van Cu on the issuance and initial implementation of the Government's Working Regulations and on the results of meetings and work sessions between the Prime Minister and business representatives.

||| The Government requests all Ministries, agencies at the level of Ministries, government agencies, provincial and centrally-administered city People's Committees to urgently take specific and practical measures to implement the National Assembly's Resolution on tasks for 1998, the Government's Work Program, and the Government's Working Regulations. In the short term, focus on the following matters:

||| 1. Remove difficulties and create every possible convenience for enterprises of various economic components to develop production and expand market circulation of goods. Relevant government agencies must institutionalize business recommendations accepted by the Prime Minister into government documents or prepare them for submission to the National Assembly (for issues beyond the government's authority). The Ministry of Planning and Investment assists the Prime Minister in finalizing issues related to foreign-invested enterprises; the Government Office assists the Prime Minister in finalizing issues related to domestic enterprises of all economic components.

||| 2. Focus on directing production and promoting exports of agricultural, forestry, fishery, and marine products; implementing agricultural services, mobilizing all sources of capital to meet farmers' borrowing needs for production. Relevant industries must urgently prepare proposals with specific mechanisms and policies for difficult areas and poor people to promote agricultural development.

||| 3. Strictly implement the government's regulations on export policies and measures; regularly inspect and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of export activities to promptly correct and remove obstacles, striving to achieve the set targets.

||| 4. Urgently implement basic construction projects from various sources of funding, allocate credit investment capital early; concentrate capital on projects to be completed in 1998. To facilitate construction work, the Ministry of Finance will advance capital for projects; firmly postpone and delay progress on unnecessary projects.

Develop plans to leverage the potential of each sector and locality, find all solutions to motivate the people to enthusiastically invest their labor and capital in production and business, and feel secure depositing money in banks. Study mechanisms and policies to mobilize domestic capital, ensuring that domestic investment reaches 50% of total planned investment for the 1996-2000 period.

5. Continue to rectify, consolidate, and improve the quality of the banking system, strictly manage foreign exchange and foreign currency exchange rates; intensify revenue collection and expenditure savings according to the state budget plan. Focus on intensifying anti-smuggling and commercial fraud efforts, reasonably and effectively protect domestic production.

6. Implement programs and plans for administrative reform, develop specific procedures for ministries, sectors, and localities to implement the Government's Work Regulations./.