Decision No. 07/2004/NQ-CP of the Government's regular meeting in May 2004

RESOLUTION

Regarding the regular meeting of the Government in May 2004
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On June 2, 2004, the Government convened its regular monthly meeting in May to discuss and adopt the following issues:

1. The Government heard the Minister of Transport present the draft Law on Railways of Vietnam; and heard the Minister, Head of the Government Office report on the consolidated opinions of the Government members regarding the draft Law.

Railway transport has an important position and role in the national transportation system and has made positive contributions to economic growth. However, before the requirements for reforming state management, improving quality and efficiency, railway operations still have many limitations: The system of normative legal documents, standards, and technical regulations is incomplete and not synchronized, slow to update and reform, causing many difficulties for production and business as well as state management work in this sector; planning and development plans, especially infrastructure development, have not been given due attention. The above situation raises urgent demands for the early promulgation of the Law on Railways of Vietnam.

This draft Law must institutionalize the Party and State's policy and guidelines on developing a multi-sector economy in railway investment and business activities; inherit current legal norms and supplement and adjust new relationships arising in accordance with the actual conditions and future development direction of the industry, consistent with regional and international integration requirements.

The Ministry of Transport is assigned to take the lead, coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, the Government Office, and related agencies to incorporate the opinions of Government members, clarify the relationship between state management of infrastructure and railway transport business, perfect the draft Law on Railways of Vietnam; the Minister of Transport is authorized by the Prime Minister to submit this draft Law to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

2. The Government heard the Minister of Transport present the draft Code on Maritime Law (amended); and heard the Minister, Head of the Government Office report on the consolidated opinions of the Government members regarding this draft Code.

The Code on Maritime Law was issued in 1990 along with guiding documents, gradually establishing and completing the legal framework, regulating social relations arising in maritime activities, contributing to promoting the development of the maritime industry and the national economy, creating necessary conditions for the Vietnamese maritime industry to actively participate in international maritime activities and economic integration, making significant contributions to protecting national sovereignty and ensuring maritime safety and security. However, during the implementation of the Code, new issues have emerged in maritime practice, thus many provisions in the Code are no longer suitable with reality in Vietnam and international maritime practices, requiring timely supplementation and amendment.

The amendment of the Code needs to ensure the inheritance of reasonable contents of the 1990 Maritime Law; amend and supplement contents that have not been regulated or inadequately regulated, lacking consistency; aiming to meet the requirements of development, integration, and enhancing the competitiveness of the Vietnamese maritime industry; ensuring consistency and coordination with the national legal system and international laws.

The Ministry of Transport is assigned to take the lead, coordinate with the Government Office, the Ministry of Justice, and related agencies, incorporate the opinions of Government members, perfect the draft Code on Maritime Law (amended); the Minister of Transport is authorized by the Prime Minister to submit this draft Code to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

3. The Government heard the Ministry of Planning and Investment report on the results of production handover, import and export, investment in May and the socio-economic situation in the first five months of 2004; and the Ministry of Commerce report on the domestic market situation in May and forecast of the market and prices in June 2004.

The socio-economic situation in May and the first five months generally showed positive changes. The economy maintained a relatively high growth rate. Industrial production value continued to increase; agricultural production progressed relatively smoothly, many localities are striving to quickly recover poultry flocks; exports continued to achieve good results, the trade deficit decreased compared to the same period last year; tourism increased significantly. Social activities such as education and training, culture and information, science and technology, employment resolution, and labor export... showed many changes.

However, the industrial growth rate in the month showed a tendency to slow down; world commodity prices were complex, especially the sharp rise in crude oil prices globally caused additional difficulties for production and business and affected people's lives; budget revenue was lower than the same period last year; implementation of investment capital from the state budget, especially disbursement of capital from bond issuance, was low; attracting foreign direct investment achieved poor results; consumer price index continued to rise; smuggling activities increased; traffic accidents and other social evils remained serious...

To achieve the 2004 growth target, the Government requests ministries, sectors, and localities to focus on directing and effectively implementing the proposed solutions, accelerating production, business, and exports, swiftly resolving difficulties to attract foreign investment; continuing to review and accelerate the pace of industrial growth, especially products with advantages and markets; timely analyzing and evaluating price fluctuations, forecasting chain effects to proactively develop effective responses, maintaining major balances to ensure sustainable and stable economic development and people's living standards; prudently and flexibly managing monetary policy and controlling prices; accelerating the progress of basic construction investment, particularly projects using government bond funds and educational bonds; accelerating the process of state-owned enterprise shareholding; promptly restoring poultry herds while strengthening disease prevention measures for livestock and poultry to prevent the recurrence of avian influenza; continuing to implement effective disaster prevention measures; better addressing urgent social issues, focusing on directing solutions to control traffic accidents, and organizing graduation and admission exams for the education and training sector well.