Decision No. 34/2006/NQ-CP of the Government at the regular meeting of the Government in November 2006

RESOLUTION

The regular meeting of the Government in November 2006

On December 8, 2006, the Government convened its regular monthly meeting in November to discuss and adopt the following issues:

1- The Government reviewed the draft Decree detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Ordinance on Veterans presented by the Ministry of Home Affairs; listened to the report of the Minister, Head of the Government Office summarizing the opinions of the members of the Government regarding this draft Decree.

The Government agreed to approve the content of the draft Decree. It instructed the Ministry of Home Affairs to take the lead, coordinate with the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, and the Government Office to incorporate the opinions expressed at the meeting, finalize the draft Decree, and submit it to the Prime Minister for signature and issuance.

2- The Government reviewed the draft Decree on searching for, collecting remains of martyrs, managing graves, memorials, and monuments inscribed with the names of martyrs presented by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs; listened to the report of the Minister, Head of the Government Office summarizing the opinions of the members of the Government regarding this draft Decree.

The work of searching for, collecting remains of martyrs, managing graves, memorials, and monuments inscribed with the names of martyrs has significant political, ideological, and humanitarian value. The Party, State, and the whole society always pay attention to implementing this work well, satisfying the feelings and wishes of the relatives and families of martyrs and the people across the country. The Government agreed to approve the contents of the draft Decree. However, Clause 5, Article 7 of the draft needs to be revised according to the suggestion of the relatives of martyrs to clarify the management procedures for moving remains of martyrs out of established cemeteries.

The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs was instructed to take the lead, coordinate with the Government Office to incorporate the opinions expressed at the meeting, finalize the draft Decree, and submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration and signature and issuance.

3- The Government heard the presentation of the Minister of Industry on the Pricing Plan for Electricity from 2006 to 2010.

Adjusting electricity prices is necessary to offset the strong increase in input costs of the power industry in recent times, ensuring that retail electricity prices reflect production and business costs accurately; promoting transparency in the accounting process of the entire power industry's operating costs; gradually adjusting the electricity price level to align with the competitive electricity market formation and development roadmap and the marketization of electricity prices; improving the investment environment in the power sector to enhance the ability to attract investors.

The Government agreed to approve the roadmap for adjusting electricity prices from 2006 to 2010. The first step of this roadmap will be implemented from January 1, 2007, aiming to increase the average electricity selling price by 7.6% compared to the current price, but ensuring the principle that households in rural areas and poor households in urban areas continue to benefit from electricity subsidy policies, while eliminating subsidies for special production sectors.

The Ministry of Industry was instructed to take the lead, coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, the Government Office, and related agencies to incorporate the opinions expressed at the meeting, finalize the pricing plan for electricity from 2006 to 2010, and submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration and signature and issuance.

The Ministry of Finance was tasked with monitoring the impact of increased electricity prices on production and business activities to propose solutions and report back to the Government.

4- The Government reviewed the Report on auditing and finalizing projects completed pursuant to Resolution No. 01/2006/NQ-CP dated January 16, 2006 of the Government on major measures to guide and implement the socio-economic plan and state budget for 2006 presented by the Ministry of Finance.

To address difficulties and obstacles encountered in practice when implementing pre-audit before finalizing construction projects for completed investment projects as stipulated in Item 4, Clause B, Section II of Resolution No. 01/2006/NQ-CP, the Government agreed to amend:

a) For investment projects using state capital, classified as Group B or higher, which have been handed over for use since January 1, 2006, they must conduct an audit of the final investment cost report before review and approval of the finalization. For other projects, the competent authority approving the finalization shall decide on the form of review of the finalization report according to Circular No. 45/2003/TT-BTC dated May 15, 2003 of the Ministry of Finance on guiding the finalization of investment capital.

b) All projects where the project owner has submitted the finalization report to the reviewing and approving authority before January 1, 2006 shall be reviewed according to Circular No. 45/2003/TT-BTC.

The Ministry of Finance was instructed to guide the implementation of these amendments and study, submit to the Government for gradual expansion of the scope of completed investment projects required to undergo pre-audit before finalization when conditions permit.

5- The Government heard the presentation of the Minister of Education and Training on the Master Plan for the Network of Universities and Colleges from 2006 to 2020.

In recent years, universities and colleges in the country have made many contributions to training human resources for national socio-economic development. However, the current system of universities and colleges still has many imbalances: the number of institutions in some places is insufficient, failing to meet the training requirements of localities within regions; the scale of national training and that of many universities and colleges is still small; the quality of training has not significantly improved due to low-quality teaching staff and poor facilities; the training structure is not appropriate. During the period from 2006 to 2020, the planning of the network of universities and colleges in the country needs to continue expanding the scale of training reasonably, improving the quality of training to meet the requirements of integration and rapid, continuous, and sustainable development of the country.

The Ministry of Education and Training was instructed to take the lead, coordinate with the Government Office and related agencies to incorporate the opinions expressed at the meeting, further refine the draft plan towards clearly defining the objectives, viewpoints, management mechanisms, and implementation measures, and submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

Entrust the Ministry of Education and Training to take the lead, coordinate with the Government Office and relevant agencies, incorporate the opinions from the meeting session, continue to refine the draft Project in a direction that clearly defines the objectives, viewpoints, management mechanisms, and implementation solutions, and submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

6- The Government has reviewed the Report on the Results of the Monthly Production, Business, and Investment Meeting for November and the economic and social situation for the first eleven months of 2006 submitted by the Ministry of Planning and Investment; the Report on the Trade Situation in November 2006 submitted by the Ministry of Commerce.

The economic and social situation in November and the first eleven months of 2006 continued to develop well. Industrial production maintained a high growth rate. Foreign direct investment reached its highest level ever. Service sectors experienced significant growth, with a substantial increase in the total retail value of goods and services. Export activities were intensified. State budget revenue was high, meeting the requirements for state spending. Many aspects of social activity developed positively. Notably, Vietnam's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the successful hosting of the 14th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit were prominent events in November, having significant importance and a major impact on the country's economic and social development.

In the final month of 2006, the economic and social situation in the country still faced many difficulties and challenges. To complete the 2006 economic and social development plan, the Government requests ministries, sectors, and localities to continue effectively implementing the tasks outlined in the Directive No. 1559/CT-TTg dated October 2, 2006, issued by the Prime Minister, and the measures proposed in the Government's resolutions at regular meetings. Particularly, ministries, sectors, and localities need to focus on addressing difficulties to accelerate production of products with market demand; speed up the progress of national key construction projects; proactively prevent, control, and mitigate the consequences of natural disasters and epidemics; prepare adequate conditions regarding goods and organizational distribution to ensure market stability and price levels during the end-of-year period; conduct a thorough review of the implementation of Resolution No. 01/2006/NQ-CP of the Government, while also preparing well for the organization and implementation of tasks and solutions for economic and social development in 2007, according to the National Assembly's resolution.