JOINT CIRCULAR No. 22/2005/TTLT-BNG-BNV GUIDING THE FUNCTIONS, DUTIES, POWERS AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF PROFESSIONAL AGENCIES ASSISTING THE PEOPLE'S COMMITTEE OF PROVINCES AND MUNICIPALITIES UNDER THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT IN MANAGING FOREIGN AFFAIRS AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

JOINT CIRCULAR

Guidelines on functions, tasks, authorities, and organizational structure of specialized agencies assisting provincial People's Committees under the direct central governance to manage state activities related to foreign affairs at the local level.

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Pursuant to Decree No. 21/2003/NĐ-CP dated March 10, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, authorities, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

Pursuant to Decree No. 45/2003/NĐ-CP dated May 9, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Home Affairs;

Pursuant to Decree No. 171/2004/NĐ-CP dated September 29, 2004 of the Government stipulating the organization of specialized agencies under provincial People's Committees under the direct central governance;

Pursuant to Decision No. 28/2005/QĐ-TTg dated February 1, 2005 of the Prime Minister promulgating the Regulation on unified management of foreign-related activities of provinces and centrally governed cities;

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs issue guidelines on the functions, tasks, authorities, and organizational structure of specialized agencies assisting provincial People's Committees under the direct central governance to manage state activities related to foreign affairs at the local level as follows:

I. FOREIGN AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT

1. Position and Functions

1.1. The Foreign Affairs Department is a specialized agency under the provincial People's Committee (hereinafter referred to as the provincial People's Committee) providing advisory services and assisting the provincial People's Committee in performing state management functions over foreign-related activities in the locality and carrying out certain tasks and authorities delegated by the provincial People's Committee and as prescribed by law;

1.2. The Foreign Affairs Department is subject to the direction and management of the provincial People's Committee regarding organization, staffing, and operations, and to the guidance and supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs concerning professional matters;

1.3. In provinces and centrally governed cities where the Foreign Affairs Department has not been established according to the Government's regulations, the provincial People's Committee Office shall assume the function of assisting the provincial People's Committee in managing state activities related to foreign affairs.

2. Tasks and Authorities

2.1. Submitting to the provincial People's Committee for approval the overall long-term and annual plans for foreign-related activities, programs, and projects within the scope of the Department's management that are consistent with the local socio-economic development strategy;

2.2. Assisting the provincial People's Committee in drafting the annual foreign-related activity program of the province to be reported to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for consolidation and submission to the Prime Minister for approval;

2.3. Submitting to the provincial People's Committee for issuance decisions, directives, and documents assigning and decentralizing state management over foreign-related activities in the province and being responsible for the contents of such documents;

2.4. Implementing relevant legal normative documents and the overall plan for foreign-related activities of the locality as approved; disseminating information, propaganda, education on areas within the scope of the Department's management;

2.5. Organizing and managing outbound and inbound delegations

2.5.1. Assisting the provincial People's Committee in uniformly managing outbound and inbound delegations;

2.5.2. Organizing receptions for international delegations visiting and working with the provincial People's Committee; organizing outbound delegations for provincial People's Committee leaders; assisting the provincial People's Committee in monitoring and managing outbound delegations of officials and civil servants under its jurisdiction;

2.6. Consular work

2.6.1. Cooperating with relevant departments to implement entry-exit procedures for Vietnamese citizens and foreigners in the province;

2.6.2. Cooperating with relevant agencies to handle sensitive and complex issues arising in consular work at the local level;

2.6.3. Directing and managing the activities of foreign individuals and organizations related to personal status, property, travel, business, residence, study, work, tourism, trade, investment in the province in accordance with Vietnamese laws;

2.7. Work with non-governmental organizations and foreign individuals

2.7.1. Cooperating with relevant agencies to assist the provincial People's Committee in managing the activities of non-governmental organizations and foreign individuals in the locality in accordance with the law;

2.7.2. Receiving and implementing humanitarian assistance projects from non-governmental organizations and foreign individuals in accordance with the law;

2.8. Border and territorial work

2.8.1. Serving as the standing body of the provincial People's Committee for border and territorial work; assisting the provincial People's Committee in assessing the situation of border and territorial management, proposing opinions and appropriate management measures; participating in formulating solutions to border issues with neighboring countries;

2.8.2. Taking the lead and cooperating with relevant agencies to formulate plans and organize unilateral and bilateral surveys as assigned by the provincial People's Committee; cooperating with relevant agencies to carry out demarcation and marking of borders as required by the provincial Border Demarcation and Marker Commission;

2.8.3. Monitoring, summarizing, and reporting to the provincial People's Committee and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the implementation of international treaties on national borders, border management regulations, and disputes arising on land and sea within the province;

2.8.4. Organizing training sessions, propaganda, and education on laws, policies, and guidelines of the Party and State on border and territorial issues; guiding, inspecting, and managing documents, maps, and files on borders within the scope of local management;

2.9. Economic foreign affairs work

2.9.1. Assisting the provincial People's Committee in formulating foreign-related activity programs to serve economic development in the locality;

2.9.2. Cooperating with relevant agencies to select and review foreign partners for business and investment in the locality as assigned by the provincial People's Committee;

2.9.3. Participating in trade promotion, tourism development, and creating a suitable investment environment for the locality's characteristics;

2.10. Work with overseas Vietnamese

2.10.1. Assisting the provincial People's Committee in researching and evaluating the implementation of policies on overseas Vietnamese in the locality as guided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Overseas Vietnamese Commission);

2.10.2. Cooperate with provincial departments, agencies, and sectors in providing support, guidance, information dissemination, advocacy, and implementation of policies for overseas Vietnamese and their relatives who have relations with the locality;

2.11. Organize conferences, seminars, sign and implement international agreements;

Assist the provincial People's Committee to uniformly manage activities related to organizing conferences, seminars, signing and implementing international agreements in accordance with the law; report and seek directives from higher authorities when issues arise that relate to foreign political affairs;

2.12. Coordinate and create favorable conditions for ministries, agencies, and sectors to conduct foreign activities within the province upon request;

2.13. Coordinate with relevant departments, agencies in collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing information on political-security situations and international and regional economic developments that affect the locality and propose directions and solutions to the provincial People's Committee;

2.14. Implement the administrative reform program according to the objectives and contents approved by the provincial People's Committee;

2.15. Define the functions, tasks, and powers of the departments and affiliated public service units under the Department; manage staffing, implement salary systems and incentive policies, rewards, and disciplinary measures for state civil servants and officials under the management scope of the Department and the delegation of the provincial People's Committee; organize training and professional development for the local foreign affairs workforce;

2.16. Aggregate, statistically analyze, and periodically and urgently report to the provincial People's Committee and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the implementation of assigned foreign affairs tasks in the locality in accordance with the law;

2.17. Conduct inspection work, handle complaints, accusations, anti-corruption, and deal with violations of laws concerning foreign activities within the Department's jurisdiction in accordance with the law;

2.18. Manage financial resources and assets allocated and organize the implementation of the budget allocated in accordance with the law and the delegation of the provincial People's Committee;

2.19. Perform other tasks as prescribed by the law and delegated by the provincial People's Committee;

3. Organization and Staffing

3.1. Department Leadership

3.1.1. The Department of Foreign Affairs has a Director and not more than three Deputy Directors. The Director of the Department is responsible before the provincial People's Committee and the law for all activities of the Department;

Deputy Directors assist the Director in managing one or several areas of work; they are responsible before the Director and the law for the tasks assigned to them;

3.1.2. The Director and Deputy Directors of the Department are appointed by the Chairman of the provincial People's Committee in accordance with the State regulations on cadre work and professional standards issued by competent authorities;

The removal, commendation, and disciplinary actions against the Director and Deputy Directors of the Department are carried out in accordance with the law;

3.2. Organizational Structure of the Department

3.2.1. Structure

- Office;

- Inspection;

- Specialized and professional departments;

- Public service organizations;

3.2.2. The establishment of specialized and professional departments is based on the principle of ensuring comprehensive coverage of all areas of work of the Department; the functions and responsibilities of each department must be clear, non-overlapping, suitable to the nature, characteristics, and actual workload at the locality; ensuring simplicity in administrative procedures and convenience in handling requests from organizations and citizens;

3.2.3. The Department shall have no more than four specialized and professional departments. The number and name of specialized and professional departments are determined by the Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs in coordination with the Director of the Department of Civil Service after reporting to the Chairman of the provincial People's Committee;

3.2.4. The Chairman of the provincial People's Committee decides to establish public service organizations under the Department based on the characteristics, situation, requirements, and specific tasks regarding foreign affairs at the locality and the proposal of the Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Director of the Department of Civil Service;

3.2.5. The Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs specifies the functions, responsibilities, and powers of the Office, Inspection, specialized and professional departments, and public service organizations under the Department;

3.3. Staffing

3.3.1. Staffing for the Office, Inspection, and specialized and professional departments is state management staffing and is decided by the Chairman of the provincial People's Committee upon the proposal of the Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs after coordinating with the Director of the Department of Civil Service;

3.3.2. The Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs arranges and uses cadres, civil servants, and officials in accordance with the professional standards stipulated by the law.

II. STATE MANAGEMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS ACTIVITIES IN PROVINCES WITHOUT A DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

1. For provinces that do not meet the conditions to establish a Department of Foreign Affairs, a Foreign Affairs Office under the Provincial People's Committee Office shall be established; the Foreign Affairs Office is decided to be established by the Chairman of the provincial People's Committee upon the proposal of the Head of the Provincial People's Committee Office and the Director of the Department of Civil Service;

2. The Foreign Affairs Office has the function of advising and assisting the Head of the Provincial People's Committee Office in organizing and implementing foreign affairs tasks in the province; based on the tasks specified in Article 2 - Part I of this Circular, the Head of the Provincial People's Committee Office defines the specific tasks and powers of the Foreign Affairs Office;

3. The Foreign Affairs Office has a Director and not more than two Deputy Directors and is appointed by the Head of the Provincial People's Committee Office in accordance with the regulations on cadre work and professional standards stipulated by the law;

4. The Head of the Provincial People's Committee Office is responsible before the provincial People's Committee and the law for the implementation of foreign affairs activities in the locality; the Director of the Foreign Affairs Office is responsible before the Head of the Provincial People's Committee Office and the law for the tasks assigned to him/her;

5. The staffing of the Foreign Affairs Office is included in the state management staffing of the Provincial People's Committee Office. The number of staff in the Foreign Affairs Office must be appropriate to its nature, characteristics, and actual workload;

6. The arrangement and use of cadres, civil servants, and officials in the Foreign Affairs Office must comply with the professional standards stipulated by the law.

III. IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular shall take effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette, replacing Circular Joint No. 03/TT/LB dated May 5, 1993 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Organization and Cadre Department of the Government guiding the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure for foreign affairs work in provinces and centrally governed cities, and Circular Joint No. 178-TTLB dated October 19, 1994 of the Organization and Cadre Department of the Government - Border Management Department of the Government guiding the functions, tasks, powers, organizational structure, conditions, and procedures for establishing border management organizations in provinces and centrally governed cities with borders and coastal areas;

2. On the basis of this Circular, the Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs (or the Head of the People's Committee Office at the provincial level) shall coordinate with the Director of the Department of Home Affairs to submit to the Chairman of the People's Committee at the provincial level for decision on specific contents, measures for implementation, and guidance on organization and implementation. During the implementation process, any arising issues and difficulties shall be promptly reported to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs for study and resolution.