Decision No. 06/2006/NQ-CP of the Government's regular meeting in April 2006

 RESOLUTION
Regular Meeting of the Government in April 2006

From April 26 to 28, 2006, the Government convened its regular meeting for April, discussed, and adopted the following issues:

1. The Government heard the Minister of Planning and Investment present the Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2006-2010.

The general objectives of the 2006-2010 plan are set forth as follows: accelerate economic growth rates, achieve significant improvements in the quality, efficiency, and sustainability of development; increase savings, laying the groundwork for rapid industrialization and modernization of the country; significantly improve the material, cultural, and spiritual lives of the people; quickly bring the country out of underdevelopment and basically become an industrialized nation with modern characteristics by 2020; maintain political stability, social order, and security, firmly safeguarding national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national security; enhance the country's position in the region and on the international stage.

The 2006-2010 plan was developed based on continuing to leverage fundamental advantages and lessons learned from the achievements of 20 years of national renewal, particularly lessons about liberating and vigorously developing productive forces, mobilizing all potential and resources of the country, combining with attracting foreign investment, improving the market economy system, maintaining political stability, and taking advantage of opportunities and trends towards peace and cooperation for development in the world and region; paying more attention to solving social issues, promoting education, science, and technology, especially focusing on training human resources to improve labor productivity and quality, maintaining high and sustainable growth rates.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment is tasked with incorporating comments from the meeting, finalizing the draft Socio-Economic Development Plan for 2006-2010; the Minister of Planning and Investment, acting on behalf of the Prime Minister, will submit this plan to the National Assembly on behalf of the Government.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to draft the Resolution of the Government on the Action Program of the Government to implement the Resolution of the 10th National Party Congress and the 2006-2010 Plan, to be submitted to the Government at the June 2006 meeting, after the Plan has been approved by the National Assembly.

Based on the 2006-2010 Plan approved by the National Assembly, ministries, sectors, and localities shall concretize it into their respective five-year plans in accordance with the goals and orientations of the national socio-economic development plan.

2. The Government heard the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment present the Land Use Plan for 2006-2010.

During the 2001-2005 period, Vietnam basically completed the land use plan targets approved by the National Assembly. Moving into the 2006-2010 period, in light of the requirements for accelerating industrialization and modernization, the effective exploitation and utilization of land resources have become increasingly important. Meanwhile, the land use planning system in the country remains incomplete, with low-quality planning; planning schemes do not closely align with economic and social effectiveness and environmental impact; land use planning and planning work in some localities remain arbitrary.

To effectively mobilize land resources for sustainable national development, land use planning and planning for the 2006-2010 period must be strictly directed nationwide and at each level of locality. The 2006-2010 Land Use Plan must adhere to the principles of thrift and efficiency; policies should limit the use of irrigated rice field areas for industrial zones and urban areas; allocate appropriate land for social infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, cultural, and sports facilities; encourage and support the use of vacant, barren mountainous, flooded, and degraded lands for economic and social development purposes at each level of locality and nationally; strengthen propaganda and dissemination of land use planning, linked with land law education; continue to reform compensation, land clearance, and resettlement policies to ensure the progress of land recovery for defense, security, and economic development; establish policies to protect legitimate interests, stabilize living conditions, and employment for those whose land is reclaimed.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is tasked with incorporating comments from the meeting, finalizing the draft Land Use Plan for 2006-2010; the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, acting on behalf of the Prime Minister, will submit this plan to the National Assembly.

3. The Government heard the Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam present the Proposal on Credit Policy for Region 2, Region 3 mountainous areas, islands, concentrated Khmer communities, mountainous traders, and villages under the 135 Program (collectively referred to as difficult areas).

Supporting policies for difficult areas are consistent policies of the Party and State. For the 2006-2010 period, support policies need to continue in social, production development, and infrastructure construction fields to promote development in these regions.

To continue separating policy credit from commercial credit, creating conditions for state commercial banks to operate according to market mechanisms, the Government agrees to transfer the task of providing preferential loans to economic organizations and producers, traders in difficult areas from state commercial banks to the Development Support Fund and the Social Policy Bank (without transferring old debts).

The Ministry of Finance shall take the lead in reviewing and supplementing programs, projects, and industries of economic organizations that need preferential treatment in difficult areas to be included in the list of projects stipulated in the Government's Decree on investment credit development; at the same time, submit to the Prime Minister the lending mechanism for production and business households (excluding poor households) in difficult areas so that the Social Policy Bank has a basis for implementation.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance shall allocate funds for the Development Support Fund and the Social Policy Bank to implement preferential credit policies for difficult areas.

4. The Government will hear the Minister of Finance present the Draft Investment Credit Development Plan, Export Credit, and the establishment of the Vietnam Development Bank.

The Ministry of Finance shall incorporate opinions from the meeting; consult with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Trade, the State Bank of Vietnam, and the Government's negotiation team regarding Vietnam's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and other relevant agencies concerning the list of projects and goods eligible for investment development credit and export credit; ensure transparency, clarity, ease of implementation, and compliance with WTO regulations and Vietnam's commitments under international treaties; draft the Decree on Investment Development Credit and Export Credit, and submit it to the Prime Minister.

Agree to establish the Vietnam Development Bank based on restructuring the Development Support Fund to carry out both tasks of investment development credit and export credit. The bank's responsibilities in capital mobilization, payment, management, and handling of bad debts, credit risks, as well as organizational structure must be defined in accordance with the requirements and scope of its operations.

5. The Government will hear the Minister of Planning and Investment present the Report on the Management and Utilization of State Budget Investment Funds.

During the period from 2001 to 2005, thanks to the reform of mechanisms and policies and the improvement of the business investment environment, our country's economy successfully mobilized many domestic and foreign sources of capital for development investment, making significant contributions to achieving set economic and social goals. Among these, state budget investment capital played a crucial role in developing socio-economic infrastructure, creating an environment to attract investment capital from various economic sectors, gradually transforming the economic structure towards industrialization and modernization, contributing to the realization of socialization goals, poverty reduction, and improving people's living standards.

However, there are still many shortcomings in the management and utilization of state budget investment funds. The planning, approval, investment appraisal, inspection, state budget fund management, ODA fund management, bidding mechanisms, etc., lack coordination, clear responsibility, and close cooperation among functional agencies, leading to inefficient investment, waste, and loss.

To promptly address existing issues in the management and utilization of state budget investment funds, it is necessary to strengthen the work of planning and managing socio-economic development planning and industry development planning; issue strong regulatory measures to enhance the responsibility of subjects involved in investment and construction activities; continue administrative reforms in investment construction and bidding, preventing closed practices in investment construction; and strengthen supervision, inspection, and strict handling of violations in fund management and utilization.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall incorporate opinions from the meeting, complete the Report on the Management and Utilization of State Budget Investment Funds; take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to submit to the Government the Decree on Socio-Economic Development Planning Work; guide ministries, sectors, and localities according to their functions and responsibilities to implement necessary measures to correct deficiencies and manage state budget investment funds effectively, linked to the Action Program for Thrift and Anti-Corruption.

6. The Government will hear the Minister of Industry present the Report on Resettlement for the Tuyen Quang Hydropower Project.

Upon completion, the Tuyen Quang Hydropower Project will bring significant benefits, along with the Hoa Binh, Son La, and Thac Ba hydropower plants, regulating water resources in the Tuyen Quang area and the Red River Delta during flood and drought seasons, and supplementing a large amount of electricity to the national economy. The Tuyen Quang Hydropower Project is a key national project with a large number of relocated residents, requiring a report to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for approval before the Government approves the overall resettlement plan.

The Ministry of Industry shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant agencies to incorporate opinions from the meeting, complete the Report on Resettlement for the Tuyen Quang Hydropower Project, and submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision on submitting to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

7. The Government will hear the Minister, Head of the Government Office, present the Draft on the organization, tasks, powers, and operational regulations of the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption.

The Government Office shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant agencies to incorporate opinions from the meeting, continue to perfect this Draft; send out questionnaires to collect opinions from members of the Government, submit to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision on submitting to the Politburo for comments and submission to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly for issuance of a resolution on this matter.

8. The Government will hear the Minister of Defense present the Draft Ordinance Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Ordinance on the Reserve Mobilization Force.

Together with the Law on Military Service Obligation, the Ordinance on Reserve Mobilization Forces and guiding documents have created a legal framework for organizing mobilization tasks. Over ten years of implementation, the work of building and mobilizing reserve forces has contributed to strengthening the robust national defense force. However, in light of new requirements for protecting the country, the Ordinance on Reserve Mobilization Forces has revealed limitations that need to be amended to be more appropriate.

The supplementation and amendment of the Ordinance must be consistent with the Resolution of the 10th National Party Congress on building the people's armed forces to implement the strategy for protecting the country; ensuring consistency with the Law on Military Service Obligation and other relevant laws and ordinances; creating a legal basis for overcoming difficulties and improving the quality of building reserve forces, along with regular military forces, to meet the requirements of consolidating national defense and firmly safeguarding the construction of the country in the new period.

Entrust the Ministry of National Defense to take the lead, coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, the Government Office, and related agencies to incorporate opinions from the session, finalize the Ordinance Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Ordinance on Reserve Mobilization Forces, and submit it to the Prime Minister for decision on presenting it to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

9. The Government has considered the proposal of the Ministry of National Defense and agrees to allow the 16th Engineering Corps (Ministry of National Defense) to borrow 100% of preferential credit funds from the Development Support Fund to implement the Economic Zone Defense Project EaSúp (Dak Lak Province). Entrust the Development Support Fund to implement and assist the 16th Engineering Corps in promptly addressing difficulties; the Ministry of National Defense to inspect and guide the 16th Engineering Corps in using and managing borrowed funds in accordance with the provisions of the law.

10. The Government has considered the issue of handling difficulties in issuing certificates of ownership of houses and land use rights when selling state-owned houses according to Decree No. 61/ND-CP of the Government dated July 5, 1994, presented by the Minister, Head of the Government Office.

Implementing Decree No. 61/ND-CP of the Government dated July 5, 1994, many localities have basically completed the sale of state-owned housing to tenants. Issuing certificates of ownership of houses and land use rights to buyers has been widely supported by the public. However, in some localities with large state-owned housing funds and complex management situations, the implementation of house sales is still slow, and procedures for issuing certificates are still problematic... The Government agrees to direct localities to accelerate progress and aim to complete the sale of state-owned housing to tenants by the end of 2006.

The issuance of certificates of ownership of houses and land use rights to buyers of state-owned houses will continue to be applied according to the model of Certificate of Ownership of Houses and Land Use Rights under Decree No. 60/CP dated July 5, 1994, until new regulations are issued by the Government.

11. Regarding the draft Decree on policies encouraging the development of non-state service supply institutions: The Government agrees not to specify distinctions between service supply institutions for profit and those not for profit in this Decree. Entrust the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Finance to continue researching criteria for classification and specific incentives for service supply institutions not for profit.

Entrust the Government Office to incorporate opinions from the session, finalize the draft Decree on policies encouraging the development of non-state service supply institutions, and submit it to the Prime Minister for promulgation.

12. Regarding the implementation of policies for surplus labor due to the restructuring of state-owned enterprises in 2006: Currently, in response to the requirement to accelerate the restructuring and reform of state-owned enterprises, the Government agrees to continue applying support policies for surplus labor due to the restructuring of state-owned enterprises as stipulated in Decree No. 41/2002/ND-CP dated April 11, 2002, which was amended and supplemented by Decree No. 155/2004/ND-CP dated August 10, 2004, of the Government, starting from January 1, 2006.

13. Regarding the draft Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Education Law, presented by the Minister of Education and Training; the draft Decree guiding foreign investment by Vietnamese enterprises, presented by the Minister of Planning and Investment: Entrust the respective Ministries to continue perfecting these draft Decrees, send them for comments from members of the Government, and submit them to the Prime Minister for consideration and promulgation.

14. The Government has considered the Report on the economic and social situation, the report on production, business, services, and investment in April and the first four months of 2006, presented by the Minister of Planning and Investment; the Report on trade in April 2006, presented by the Ministry of Trade; the Report on inspection and complaint resolution in the first quarter of 2006, presented by the General Inspectorate of the Government.

In April and the first four months of 2006, the economy continued to develop positively: industrial production value increased significantly, agricultural production remained stable, avian influenza was effectively controlled; the total retail sales of goods and service revenue increased compared to the same period last year; the number of international tourists visiting Vietnam, export turnover, especially foreign direct investment, continued to increase; attracting foreign investment, government budget revenue increased, ensuring regular expenditure needs, investment development expenditure, debt repayment obligations; market prices remained stable. Cultural and social activities, maintaining security and public order, continued to be maintained well.

In addition to the positive results achieved in April and the first four months of 2006, the national economy is still facing many challenges, with some industrial products having low competitive capabilities, prices of many goods being affected by world market prices, abnormal weather conditions impacting production and people's lives, traffic order and safety although showing progress, still have numerous serious traffic accidents, smuggling, commercial fraud, corruption and waste, social evils... have not yet been effectively curbed and eliminated.

To successfully complete the economic and social development plan for 2006 and to sincerely celebrate the success of the 10th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Government requests ministries, sectors, and localities to closely follow actual developments, strictly and thoroughly implement Resolution No. 01/2006/NQ-CP dated January 16, 2006 of the Government on key measures to guide and manage the implementation of the socio-economic plan and state budget for 2006; accelerate production, implement cost-saving measures, reduce expenses, enhance the competitiveness of products and services; promote exports, control market prices, and curb price increases; improve investment management and budget utilization. Strengthen inspection, supervision, and monitoring of investment projects to ensure project timelines and quality requirements. Organize public reception and complaint resolution work well, preventing complex and prolonged complaints and appeals from escalating beyond levels.

Ministries, sectors, and localities proactively develop specific action programs to implement the Resolution of the 10th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam for their respective ministries, sectors, and localities./.