Decision 1160/QD-TTg 2021 approving the Government’s Action Program on Propaganda about ASEAN

DECISION

Approving the Government’s Action Program on Propaganda about ASEAN^[1]

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government; and the November 22, 2019 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration;

Pursuant to the April 5, 2016 Press Law;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 72/2015/ND-CP of September 7, 2015, on management of external information activities;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 1536/QD-TTg of August 30, 2013, approving the Government’s Action Program on Propaganda about ASEAN;

At the proposal the Minister of Information and Communications,

DECIDES:

Article 1: To approve the Government’s Action Program on Propaganda about ASEAN (below referred to as the Action Program) with the following contents:

1. Objectives

- To carry out propaganda so that all walks of life know about the ASEAN Community, thus narrowing the gap between regional cooperation and public perception of the ASEAN Community, and creating consensus, trust and support of the people and the society for ASEAN cooperation;

- To raise the people’s sense of “Community Thinking, Community Action”, and promote the role of the people as subjects to contribute to and benefit from the process of integrating into and building the ASEAN Community.

2. Orientations

- To carry out propaganda from central to local levels in a comprehensive, regular and continuous manner, expressing the main flow of ASEAN integration work; to diversify products and forms of communication in the mass media, and intensify communication on digital platforms and social networks; to intensify sharing and exploitation of shared databases;

- To create conditions for enterprises, the youth and the people to exchange information and learn about purposes and values of ​​and benefits that the ASEAN Community has brought and will bring to Vietnam, etc.

- To enhance information coordination among ministries, sectors, central and local agencies, socio-political organizations and press and communication agencies.

3. Priority contents of propaganda

- Important political-diplomatic activities; investment and business activities, ASEAN free trade agreements; human resource development, labor-employment; digital economy, digital transformation; education; environmental protection, sustainable development, sub-regional cooperation, ASEAN’s cooperation in response to and for recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic;

- Thorough and substantial analysis of ASEAN’s practical benefits for the people; specialized communication about ASEAN’s policies and agreements on all the 3 Pillars of the ASEAN Community;

- Real-life stories, models and typical characters about the practical benefits that the ASEAN Community brings to the people of the member countries, and opportunities for the people to contribute to the Community;

- Vietnam’s participation in all the 3 Pillars of the ASEAN Community: for the ASEAN Political-Security Community, proactive, active and responsible participation; for the ASEAN Economic Community, upholding ASEAN’s commitments and an open, rules-based, inclusive and mutual-benefit multilateral trading system; for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, upholding the building of a cohesive, resilient, inclusive, people-oriented and people-centered ASEAN Community where no one is left behind;

- Importance of ASEAN to Vietnam, Vietnam’s fundamental and long-term interests in building an ASEAN Community of closer linkage, solidarity, unity and centrality in the region;

- Process of formation, benefits and results of building the ASEAN Community (2015-2025); role and position of ASEAN, ASEAN’s achievements in the process of formation and development of the Community; changes of ASEAN since the formation of the Community; significance of the formation of the ASEAN Community to the cooperation and common development in the region as well as in each country; ASEAN’s identity and people-to-people connectivity within the ASEAN Community toward a pro-people and people-centered ASEAN Community;

- Vietnam’s position, role, contributions and impressive results in the process of integration into and participation in ASEAN, especially in the process of building of a cohesive and responsive ASEAN Community with Vietnam’s leading role in regional affairs; potentials, strengths, opportunities and challenges of Vietnam when participating in the ASEAN Community, and significance of such results to the life of the Vietnamese people;

- Introduction about the country, people, business opportunities, information about investment projects, investment promotion, tourism, culture, and specialties of Vietnam to the ASEAN member countries and ASEAN partner countries; introduction about the history, culture and life of the people of ASEAN member countries, and potentials and strengths of cooperation that Vietnam can exploit.

4. Target subjects of propaganda

- In the country: Vietnamese people, especially local people, enterprise community, export industry associations; young people (students, pupils, young workers); the people at the grassroots level; foreigners living and working in Vietnam, especially citizens of the ASEAN member countries;

- In foreign countries: Vietnamese people living, working and studying in foreign countries, especially the ASEAN member countries and ASEAN partner countries; foreigners, especially citizens of the ASEAN member countries and ASEAN partner countries.

5. Implementation duration

From now to the end of 2025, with a vision to 2030. (After 2025, based on the implementation results after 10 years of formation of the ASEAN Community in 2025, new orientations and requirements shall be updated and added to plans to implement the Action Program).

Article 2. Organization of implementation

The Party Central Committee’s Commission for Communication and Education, ministries (especially the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs which are in charge of the Pillars of the ASEAN Community), ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, provincial-level People’s Committees, press and publication agencies, and socio-political organizations shall organize the implementation of the Action Program, specifically as follows:

1. The Ministry of Information and Communications

a/ To act as the standing body of the Steering Committee for Propaganda about ASEAN (below referred to as the Steering Committee). The head of the Steering Committee may decide on the working mechanism of the Steering Committee and shall assign specific tasks to the Steering Committee’s members, and report on implementation results to the Prime Minister. The Steering Committee shall also act as Vietnam’s National Committee for Information on ASEAN;

b/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with agencies being members of the Steering Committee in, formulating a Plan on Propaganda about ASEAN (below referred to as the Plan) on an annual or periodical basis to organize the implementation of the Action Program, and guide, coordinate and urge the implementation of activities of the Plan;

c/ To coordinate with the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Communication and Education in directing and orienting information and propaganda activities for domestic press agencies, refuting false views and distorted allegations of hostile forces that aim to undermine the Party’s foreign policy, and promoting external information on Vietnam’s achievements in the process of ASEAN integration;

d/ To coordinate with the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Communication and Education and the 3 Ministries in charge of the 3 Pillars of the ASEAN Community in setting orientations and identifying priorities of propaganda about ASEAN at the national level for domestic press agencies on an annual or periodical basis; to review, and evaluate limitations and shortcomings for improving the effectiveness of propaganda about ASEAN;

dd/ To coordinate with the National Assembly’s Committee on External Relations in carrying out the National Assembly’s external information and propaganda activities so as to propagandize the ASEAN Community and inter-parliamentary cooperation within ASEAN;

e/ To carry out communication activities such as conferences, seminars, exhibitions, forums, talks, contests, and training courses on ASEAN, connection with the press, exchange of media delegations, issuance of stamps and publications, etc., to increase information, news, articles and products of propaganda about ASEAN;

g/ To operate a focal-point network of information and coordinate the cooperation on propaganda about ASEAN among ministries, sectors, localities and press agencies, ensuring the provision of information in a truthful, sufficient, uninterrupted and timely manner;

h/ To operate and exploit the database on propaganda about ASEAN in order to meet the demand for information exploitation and sharing among ministries, sectors and domestic press and communication agencies; to promote the operation of the ASEAN Vietnam Information Portal in localities; to intensify the provision of information and propaganda about ASEAN in the new media.

2. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies and socio-political organizations

a/ Based on their functions and tasks, to formulate plans on, and ensure funds for organizing, activities of communication about ASEAN under their responsibility on an annual or periodical basis, and send them to the Ministry of Information and Communications for formulating a general plan and coordinating the implementation thereof;

b/ To provide central news and press agencies with information about ASEAN under their responsibility, covering priority contents of propaganda, plans to organize or participate in activities and events within ASEAN, and relevant contents, for further communication to different subjects in the society, especially enterprises and young workers;

c/ To direct the development of specialized information sections on ASEAN on newspapers and websites under their management;

d/ To assume the prime responsibility for organizing, or send experts to present at, conferences, training seminars, talks, thematic interviews, etc., on ASEAN under their responsibility;

dd/ To prepare and publish documents, publications, books, supplementary bulletins and brochures on ASEAN under their responsibility in order to raise public awareness about ASEAN and the ASEAN Community; to consider organizing exchanges and inquiries about ASEAN;

e/ To coordinate with the Ministry of Information and Communications in maintaining and effectively operating the ASEAN Vietnam Information Portal through regularly updating news, articles and photos about ASEAN’s outstanding events and activities under their responsibility;

g/ To send reports on implementation results, evaluate limitations and shortcomings in the course of implementation, and propose solutions to the Ministry of Information and Communications for summarization and reporting to the Prime Minister.

3. Provincial-level People’s Committees

a/ Based on the Action Program, to formulate plans on propaganda about ASEAN in their localities on an annual or periodical basis; to send reports on implementation results, evaluate limitations and shortcomings in the course of implementation, and propose solutions to the Ministry of Information and Communications for summarization and reporting to the Prime Minister;

b/ To direct the coordination among departments, sectors and local press agencies in organizing activities of propaganda about ASEAN to the local people, especially enterprises and young workers;

c/ To direct the relay and re-broadcasting of communication programs from central press agencies and radio/television stations; to intensify the dissemination of information about ASEAN on local websites;

d/ To speed up integration and actively participate in introduction and propagandization of information on investment environment, enterprise attraction, and labor and employment development, etc., of localities in activities and events of ASEAN.

4. Central and local press agencies, radio and television stations and publication agencies, especially the Vietnam Television, Voice of Vietnam, Vietnam News Agency and Nhan Dan (People) newspaper

a/ To organize the implementation of the Action Program; to formulate plans on, make estimates for, and carry out, propaganda about ASEAN on an annual basis under regulations, ensuring the proper implementation of all contents of the Action Program, and send them to the Ministry of Information and Communications for formulating a general plan and coordinating in the implementation thereof;

b/ To follow the orientations and priority contents of propaganda about ASEAN; to intensify propaganda on all types of press and diversify forms of propaganda in order to help the people, enterprises and young people easily access and understand them;

c/ To follow the schedule of, and fully, accurately and timely report on, important events of ASEAN; to intensify regular propaganda, giving priority to propaganda about specific and substantial issues with practical benefits to the people; to proactively coordinate with ministries and sectors in intensifying communication about real-life stories and typical examples to highlight the benefits brought about by the ASEAN Community;

d/ To establish, develop, and add contents to, specialized pages, specialized sections and programs of propaganda about ASEAN; to integrate contents of propaganda about ASEAN into broadcasted television and radio programs and game shows;

dd/ To intensify the sharing of infrastructure and databases on ASEAN; to actively, regularly and continuously share news, articles, photos, documents, video and audio recordings on shared databases, and exploit such databases for propaganda about ASEAN;

e/ To promote the exchange of news and articles with radio and television stations and news agencies of ASEAN countries; to coordinate with press agencies of ASEAN countries and ASEAN Dialogue Partners in producing  radio and television programs;

g/ To send reports on implementation results, evaluation of limitations and shortcomings in the course of implementation, and suggestion of solutions to the Ministry of Information and Communications for summarization and reporting to the Prime Minister.

5. Funds for implementation

Funds for the implementation of the Action Program shall be covered by the state budget on the basis of annual plans to implement the Action Program according to the estimates made by ministries, sectors and localities. Ministries, sectors and localities shall actively take advantage of capital from ASEAN-partner cooperation funds, socialization sources, contributions by enterprises and social organizations, and other lawful sources. Funds for operation of the Steering Committee shall be included in annual budget estimates of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

The Ministry of Finance shall provide guidance on and allocate funds from the state budget to ensure the implementation of activities of the Action Program in accordance with law.

Article 3. Effect

This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing.

Article 4. Implementation responsibility

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees, heads of press and publication agencies, and socio-political organizations shall implement this Decision.-

For the Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
PHAM BINH MINH