Resolution No. 12/2006/NQ-CP of the Government's regular monthly session in May 2006

RESOLUTION

Regular Government Meeting in May 2006

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On May 31, 2006, the Government convened its regular monthly meeting to discuss and adopt the following issues:

1. The Government heard the report from the Head of the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control; the Vice Chairman of the National Search and Rescue Committee; the Minister of Fisheries and the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment on the work of directing responses, mitigating consequences, searching for and rescuing victims, and forecasting Typhoon No. 1.

Typhoon No. 1 was a very strong typhoon with complex developments. Although it did not make direct landfall in the country, it caused severe losses in terms of lives and property for the people in the provinces of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, and Da Nang City. At all levels and sectors, as well as the entire population, have made efforts with the highest sense of responsibility in search and rescue operations and support for those affected, promoting the tradition of mutual assistance, promptly stabilizing the lives of the people, and alleviating the pain of relatives of those who were affected.

The Government has thoroughly analyzed and evaluated the causes and lessons learned from the losses caused by the typhoon, especially in the areas of typhoon forecasting, organization of search and rescue operations, offshore fishing exploitation, and management of fishermen at sea. Simultaneously, the Government decided on urgent measures to mitigate the aftermath of Typhoon No. 1, stabilize the lives, and restore production for the coastal provinces of Central Vietnam, as well as long-term solutions to ensure safety for fishermen at sea. The Government requests relevant Ministries, agencies, and People's Committees of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, and Da Nang City to concentrate their efforts and strictly implement the measures to mitigate the aftermath of the typhoon according to Decision No. 794/QD-TTg dated May 31, 2006, of the Prime Minister.

2. The Government heard the Minister of Planning and Investment present the draft Decree guiding the implementation of the Investment Law and the draft Decree guiding investment under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), Build-Transfer-Operate (BTO), and Build-Transfer (BT) models.

a) The Investment Law was passed by the National Assembly at its 8th session, 11th term, on November 29, 2005, and took effect on July 1, 2006. Therefore, the Government needs to urgently promulgate guiding documents to timely and specifically elaborate on the principles outlined in the Law to ensure that investors are aware of the procedures for implementing investment activities; rights and obligations, legitimate interests of investors; encourage and provide incentives for investment; transparency and clarity in investment procedures. The Decree guiding the implementation of the Investment Law must ensure consistency and unity with other Decrees guiding the implementation of the Investment Law and the Enterprise Law; closely follow international economic integration requirements, institutionalize international commitments related to investment activities; reflect the spirit of administrative reform, decentralization in state management of investment and enterprises. For special investment activities, specific regulations are required (including investment activities in industrial zones, export processing zones, high-tech parks), while maintaining unified management according to general investment policies, they must also meet the requirements of their special nature and commitments in international treaties.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment is tasked to lead, coordinate with the Government Office, the Ministry of Justice, and related agencies, to incorporate opinions from the meeting, finalize this draft Decree; seek opinions from members of the Government, and urgently submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

b) In recent years, investment activities under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT), Build-Transfer-Operate (BTO), and Build-Transfer (BT) contracts have gradually created favorable conditions for the exploitation and mobilization of non-budgetary funds to invest in some infrastructure projects. However, the actual implementation of these projects shows that existing Decrees on this type of investment have many limitations and cannot keep up with the development of investment and business laws in Vietnam, particularly the newly enacted Investment Law and Enterprise Law. Therefore, it is necessary to urgently issue a new Decree on investment under the BOT, BTO, and BT models applicable uniformly to domestic and foreign investments, creating a legal framework and more favorable conditions to attract and effectively utilize private investment capital for the development of infrastructure projects, in line with international practices and specific conditions in our country; improve mechanisms to encourage and ensure investment for project investors; continue to improve investment procedures and address distortions in the implementation of projects under these models.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment is tasked to lead, coordinate with the Government Office, the Ministry of Justice, and related agencies, to incorporate opinions from the meeting, finalize this draft Decree; seek opinions from members of the Government, and urgently submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

3. The Government heard the Minister of Public Security present the draft Decree on the entry and exit of Vietnamese citizens; heard the Minister, Chief of the Government Office report on the summary of opinions from members of the Government regarding this draft Decree.

In recent times, the management of citizens' departure and entry has been regulated by Decree No. 05/2000/NĐ-CP dated March 3, 2000 issued by the Government. During the implementation of this Decree, some limitations have emerged such as slow departure procedures; prolonged processing time for passport application files; the issuance of passports to Vietnamese citizens abroad needs further improvement... Therefore, it is necessary to urgently promulgate a new Decree to replace Decree No. 05/2000/NĐ-CP based on the principle of facilitating passport issuance even more, including the issuance of ordinary passports for state officials traveling abroad for personal matters; standardizing documents for Vietnamese citizens residing abroad; concentrating on unifying state management over citizens' departure and entry, addressing unreasonable aspects in current departure and entry management, and aligning with the requirements of international economic integration.

The Ministry of Public Security is assigned to take the lead, coordinate with the Government Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and relevant agencies, incorporate opinions from the meeting session, finalize the draft Decree, and submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

4. The Government has reviewed the Report on the National Program of Action for Avian Influenza and Human Influenza Prevention and Control for the period 2006-2010 (OPI) submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The National Program of Action for Avian Influenza and Human Influenza Prevention and Control for the period 2006-2010 was carefully prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Health in collaboration with relevant agencies, with the assistance of international donors. The Government has approved this Program as a basis for continuing to call on international donors to commit support and assist our country in preventing and controlling the disease, and to plan annual budget allocations to implement the Program.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Health are assigned to coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to seek support from international organizations, complete the Program, and develop specific projects and organize their implementation from central to grassroots levels. The Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance will base their decisions on specific projects to balance and allocate funds from the State budget and international donor sources, ensuring adequate funding for the Program's implementation.

5. The Government has reviewed the Report on the Economic and Social Situation and Production, Business, Service, and Investment Results in May and the First Five Months of 2006 submitted by the Minister of Planning and Investment; and the Report on Domestic Market Conditions and Export in May and the First Five Months of 2006 submitted by the Ministry of Trade.

The economic and social situation in May and the first five months of 2006 continued to maintain stable growth rates: industrial production continued to achieve relatively high growth rates; agriculture, despite facing natural disasters and diseases, remained stable, avian influenza was effectively controlled; services continued to develop; export activities developed quite well; investment capital reached a good level, attracting foreign direct investment continued to increase; State budget revenue and expenditure were progressing according to schedule. Social activities showed progress.

The difficulties that emerged included: although industrial production increased, only a few key industrial products achieved high growth rates; the situation of animal diseases and weather conditions in the past five months was complex, such as foot-and-mouth disease, prolonged drought, floods, and tornadoes affecting agricultural production results, Typhoon No. 1 causing severe damage to people and property in Central Vietnam; domestic market conditions contained factors potentially leading to price increases: rising oil prices, volatile gold prices leading to chain reactions in other commodity prices, creating difficulties for production and people's livelihoods; health care for the population raised several issues requiring focused resolution, such as dengue fever and encephalitis; traffic safety and order continued to be complicated.

Along with the vigorous implementation of Resolution No. 01/2006/NQ-CP on major measures to guide the execution of the socio-economic development plan and the State budget for 2006, the Government requests all ministries, sectors, localities, and enterprises to focus on intensifying production and business operations, reducing production costs, enhancing product competitiveness; closely monitoring market conditions and forecasting price fluctuations to develop effective response strategies; promoting exports; strictly implementing measures to prevent and control foot-and-mouth disease; mobilizing and improving the efficiency of investment capital usage, organizing inspections and audits of transportation and water conservancy projects, rectifying investment and construction management work; focusing on stabilizing people's livelihoods, providing relief to those affected by Typhoon No. 1 while developing effective disaster prevention and mitigation plans; paying attention to housing solutions for workers in industrial zones; resolutely combating corruption, practicing thrift, and curbing waste; ensuring social order and safety, and containing traffic accidents.