Decision No. 37/2002/QD-TTg On the Action Program of the Government to Implement Resolution No. 07-NQ/TW dated November 27, 2001 of the Politburo on international economic integration

 

Pursuant to …;

Regarding the Program of Action of the Government to Implement Resolution No. 07-NQ/TW dated November 27, 2001 of the Politburo on International Economic Integration

 

PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Pursuant to Resolution No. 02/2002/NQ-CP dated February 4, 2002 of the Government,

DECISION:

Article 1. The Program of Action of the Government to Implement Resolution No. 07-NQ/TW dated November 27, 2001 of the Politburo on International Economic Integration is hereby promulgated together with this Decision.

Article 2. This Decision takes effect from the date of signature.

Article 3. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of agencies under the Government, Chairman of the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation, Chairmen of provincial and municipal People's Committees directly under the Central Government shall be responsible for implementing this Decision.

 

PROGRAM

PROGRAM OF ACTION OF THE GOVERNMENT TO IMPLEMENT RESOLUTION NO. 07-NQ/TW DATED NOVEMBER 27, 2001 OF THE POLITBURO ON INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION
(Issued together with Decision No. 37/2002/QĐ-TTg dated March 14, 2002 of the Prime Minister)

I. OBJECTIVES AND REQUIREMENTS OF THE PROGRAM:

On November 27, 2001, the Politburo issued Resolution No. 07-NQ/TW on international economic integration. This resolution is of great importance to the entire Party, people, and military; it concerns all sectors, levels, and enterprises of all economic components; it serves as a guideline for Vietnam’s process of international economic integration in the new period.

The Government adopts this Program of Action to organize the successful implementation of the Politburo’s Resolution on international economic integration in accordance with the spirit of fully mobilizing internal resources, maximizing external resources, creating new momentum for economic and social development, and advancing rapidly, strongly, and steadily into the 21st century.

II. MAIN CONTENTS OF THE PROGRAM:

1. Ideological work, information dissemination, and propaganda:

a) The National Committee for International Economic Cooperation shall coordinate with the Central Propaganda and Education Department, the Central Economic Commission, the Central Science and Education Commission, relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to widely disseminate the Politburo’s Resolution and this Program of Action.

b) The National Committee for International Economic Cooperation and relevant ministries and sectors shall proactively organize propaganda and introduce information and knowledge about international economic integration, and publicize the Party and State’s policies on integration through mass media, Party organizations, state authorities, mass organizations, and various strata of the population, especially enterprises.

c) The Ministry of Education and Training shall take the lead and coordinate with the Central Science and Education Commission, the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation, relevant ministries and sectors, the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, the National Academy of Administration, and universities to incorporate content on international economic integration into teaching programs at Party schools, administrative schools, universities, and colleges starting from the 2002-2003 academic year.

d) The Central Television Station, Voice of Vietnam Radio, and local radio and television stations shall develop special programs to disseminate knowledge about international economic integration on radio and television waves; improve formats and enhance the quality of ongoing programs.

đ) The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism shall cooperate with the Central Economic Commission, the Central Propaganda and Education Department, the Central Science and Education Commission, relevant ministries and sectors, research institutions, and mass media to immediately strengthen the publication of materials to widely disseminate knowledge about international economic integration, the Party and State’s policies on integration, and Vietnam’s international commitments on economic and trade cooperation.

e) The National Committee for International Economic Cooperation shall direct the improvement and enhancement of the quality of seminars, forums, and news bulletins on integration, providing necessary information to mass media about activities related to international economic integration.

g) Relevant ministries and sectors shall carefully study the contents of international economic integration related to their respective fields, based on which they shall organize detailed introductions and guidance for enterprises in their sectors to understand these contents, helping enterprises to proactively build and implement production and business plans and address issues related to the implementation of international commitments in a timely manner.

2. Building, amending, and supplementing laws, mechanisms, and economic and trade policies:

a) The Ministry of Justice shall take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries, sectors, provincial and municipal People's Committees directly under the Central Government, and related agencies of the National Assembly and the Government to review the current system of legal documents and mechanisms and policies to build, amend, and issue new documents in line with the Party’s guidelines on international economic integration in the new period. The main contents of the review are as follows:

- Conduct initial steps to review and compare existing legal provisions in Vietnam to propose improvements to the legal system to align with World Trade Organization (WTO) institutions and international commitments.

- Based on the results of the review, submit proposals to the Government to request the National Assembly to include the content of building new regulatory legal documents in line with WTO institutions and international economic organizations that Vietnam participates in; amend, supplement, adjust, or abolish legal documents and mechanisms and policies that are inconsistent with international commitments that Vietnam has, is currently undertaking, and will undertake into the legislative program for 2002-2003 and throughout the 2002-2006 term of the National Assembly.

b) The Ministry of Justice shall coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to conduct studies and propose the signing, approval, ratification, or accession to international treaties related to integration activities, and develop new regulatory documents and technical measures in line with international practices and WTO regulations to reasonably protect domestic production.

c) The Ministry of Justice shall coordinate with relevant agencies and localities to develop plans for 2002 and subsequent years to improve the organizational structure of legal bodies within sectors, localities, and enterprises; enhance knowledge of international economic and trade laws for these entities; and propose policies to strengthen the system of economic, labor, administrative courts, as well as arbitration organizations which play significant roles in the process of international economic integration of the country.

These tasks need to be completed by the third quarter of 2002.

3. Reorienting the economic structure and enhancing competitiveness:

a) The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to develop and submit to the Government a proposal on reorienting the economic structure by December 2002; a plan for establishing a management mechanism for a socialist-oriented market economy by June 2003; and a mechanism for creating a fair business environment by December 2003.

b) By the fourth quarter of 2002 at the latest, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, together with relevant ministries and agencies involved in production and business activities, shall conduct surveys, classify, and evaluate the competitive capabilities of each product, industry, service, enterprise, and locality to develop practical plans and measures to improve efficiency and enhance competitiveness.

c) Ministries and government agencies managing production sectors shall develop strategies to ensure the circulation of their products domestically and maintain domestic markets, and submit these strategies to the Government by September 2002.

d) The National Committee for International Economic Cooperation shall coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to complete a national study on the competitiveness of certain goods and services to fulfill Vietnam's international commitments. This study must be completed and submitted to the Prime Minister by December 2002.

4. Synthesizing and perfecting the overall strategy for international economic integration:

a) The National Committee for International Economic Cooperation shall lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to synthesize Vietnam's international commitments within the framework of ASEAN, APEC, the WTO negotiation agenda, the Miyazawa Program, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), the Vietnam-U.S. Trade Agreement, and other international agreements; based on the Socio-Economic Development Strategy 2001-2010, the proposal for reorienting the economic structure, research results on the competitiveness of the Vietnamese economy, etc., to supplement and perfect the overall strategy for international economic integration.

b) Ministries, sectors, and localities shall base their integration plans on the overall strategy for international economic integration and the Government's action program.

These tasks need to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2002.

5. Regarding human resource training:

a) The Government's Organizational and Cadre Affairs Commission shall lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and relevant ministries and agencies to develop plans for training cadres, civil servants, managers, lawyers knowledgeable about international law and international integration, technical staff politically solid, proficient in their fields and foreign languages, and skilled workers to meet the requirements of industrialization, modernization, and international economic integration.

These plans need to be completed and submitted to the Prime Minister by the first half of 2002.

b) Ministries, sectors, and localities shall select politically solid, professionally competent, and linguistically proficient cadres and arrange them to work steadily and long-term in the field of international economic integration.

6. Regarding the combination of political foreign affairs with economic foreign affairs:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to develop plans for coordinating political foreign affairs with economic foreign affairs, intensifying diplomatic activities serving the economy, focusing on strengthening coordination between diplomatic agencies and economic organizations and enterprises both domestically and abroad, as well as with economic and trade missions of various ministries and departments and the Government's international economic and trade negotiation teams. This plan needs to be completed and submitted to the Prime Minister by the second quarter of 2002.

7. Regarding the task of consolidating national security and defense:

The Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Public Security shall coordinate with relevant Party and Government agencies to develop policies to create a favorable environment for international economic integration, actively support and facilitate the flow of people, goods, and services across borders, while ensuring that integration does not negatively impact national security, including economic security and social safety.

This plan needs to be completed by the second quarter of 2002 to be submitted to the Prime Minister.

8. Regarding negotiations for accession to the WTO:

a) Based on the directives of the Politburo and the Government, the Ministry of Trade shall coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and relevant ministries and agencies to urgently complete the development of bilateral negotiation plans for WTO accession, ensuring they are appropriate to Vietnam's status as a developing country at a low level of development undergoing economic transition, and linking the negotiation process with reforms in all economic activities domestically.

b) Ministries and sectors responsible for creating favorable conditions for members of the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation, members of the Government's negotiation team, and members of the technical support group for the Government's negotiation team to operate steadily and long-term.

9. Expanding export markets and seeking investment and technical assistance from countries and international organizations: international:

a) The Ministry of Trade shall coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies to develop a program to promote the expansion of Vietnam's export markets for goods and services.

b) The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies and localities to strengthen measures to attract foreign investment and advanced scientific, technological, and managerial resources.

c) The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation, and relevant ministries and sectors to urgently review technical assistance projects from countries and international organizations in the field of integration from 1995 to the present, assess their effectiveness, and develop plans to continue to effectively seek and utilize these sources of assistance in the best possible manner in the coming years, and submit the proposal to the Government for approval. This task must be completed by the second quarter of 2002.

10. Strengthening organizational structure:

a) The Office of the Government shall take the lead, coordinate with the Civil Service Committee of the Government, the Ministry of Trade, and the Office of the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation to finalize the draft Decision of the Prime Minister on strengthening the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation, and submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision in April 2002.

b) The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment shall take the lead, coordinate with the Civil Service Committee of the Government, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the Ministry of Trade to develop proposals for reforming the organizational structure, management mechanisms, and operational methods of agencies responsible for copyright protection, intellectual property, and quality control of imported and exported goods, and submit them to the Prime Minister in the second quarter of 2002.

Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Government, People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities shall base themselves on the Government's Action Program and the actual situation of each ministry, sector, and locality to immediately organize the implementation of the Resolution of the Political Bureau on international economic integration.