Decision 1976/QD-TTg 2021 develop printed and electronic newspapers serving the nation’s external relations for 2022-2030

DECISION

Approving objectives and tasks of, and measures to develop, a number of printed and electronic newspapers serving the nation’s external relations for the 2022-2030 period

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 Law on Press;

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

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 118/2017/ND-CP of October 26, 2017, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Vietnam News Agency;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 2434/QD-TTg of December 13, 2016, approving the master plan on the external press system up to 2020, with orientations toward 2030;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 1669/QD-TTg of October 31, 2017, approving the scheme on development of a number of printed and electronic newspapers serving the nation’s external relations of the Vietnam News Agency;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister’s Directive No. 09/CT-TTg of March 31, 2021, on improving effectiveness of information and communication work serving political tasks and essential information work of press agencies for the 2021-2025 period

At the proposal of the General Director of the Vietnam News Agency,

DECIDES:

Article 1. To approve objectives and tasks of, and measures to develop, a number of printed and electronic newspapers serving the nation’s external relations for the 2022-2030 period with the following principal contents:

I. OBJECTIVES

1. To develop the printed Viet Nam News newspaper, printed Vietnam Pictorial magazine, and electronic VietnamPlus newspaper of the Vietnam News Agency into national printed and electronic newspapers serving the nation’s external relations to properly fulfill external information tasks under the Party’s guidelines and policies and the State’s policies and laws.

2. National external information products of the Vietnam News Agency must meet the following specific criteria:

a/ The Viet Nam News (VNS):

- To increase the number and quality of news, in-depth articles, and special pages and columns, ensuring quality of information and high effectiveness of external propaganda.

- To increase the readership of its e-paper; to turn the printed version together with its e-paper and the electronic version into key products of the VNS; to improve e-paper versions and intensify multi-media information on Internet and mobile platforms, and social networks to support its printed version.

- To expand its popularity to important regions around the world and big powers, and increase the number of accesses and views compared to the previous period.

b/ The Vietnam Pictorial:

- To distribute free of charge the Vietnam Pictorial magazine (the printed version) to 160 countries from the current 140, prioritizing readers residing along the borders between Vietnam and Laos and China, and in Latin American countries to promote its appearance and broaden Vietnam’s images to international readers. The number of publication of its foreign-language versions shall be as follows:

+ The English version: 8,000 issues/month;

+ The Chinese version: 5,000 issues/month;

+ The Spanish version: 5,000 issues/month;

+ The Lao version: 3,000 issues/month;

+ The Khmer version: 3,000 issues/month, from 2023;

- The Vietnam Pictorial magazine shall be released for the public relations work and external propaganda at border gates; and via Vietnamese embassies abroad to foreign and overseas Vietnamese readers.

- From 2025, the Vietnam Pictorial magazine shall reduce the number of its printed and distributed publications (by around 10 percent year after year), and develop its electronic version to 10 languages with modern layout up to regional and global standards, thus meeting requirements of external activities.

c/ The electronic VietnamPlus:

- To improve quality of its editing and translation; to strive to become an electronic newspaper with the most diverse forms of information and take the lead in application of new technologies in the production of e-news, thus meeting readers’ needs.

- To develop its Korean version in 2023, Japanese version in 2026 and German version in 2029 which will be on the Internet via the Vietnam News Agency’s portal for provision to the communications system and readers speaking those languages.

- To rank among top five Vietnamese online newspapers with most views from abroad, focusing on readers from North America, Europe, ASEAN, and Australia.

II. TASKS AND MEASURES

1. Increasing the quantity and quality of information:

a/ To increase the quantity and quality of external information in a timely and reliable manner about Vietnam’s current development and people.

b/ To constantly renew information contents, increase the number and quality of special pages, columns and topics suitable to characteristics of differential localities, demands of different countries, and categories in order to attract readers; to use more foreign experts who have appropriate professional qualifications and journalistic language skills to improve editing and translation quality, and increase the amount of external information directly compiled in foreign languages to suit literary styles and languages of these newspapers, thereby attracting readers speaking those languages.

c/ To produce multi-media information products to catch up with the new and modern press trends on digital technology platforms and provide information on social networks to attract more readers.

2. Promoting and distributing products:

a/ To diversify distribution channels of printed newspapers via diplomacy, tourism and investment, and through information cooperation and exchange with international news and press agencies; to strongly develop printed newspapers in forms of e-paper and electronic newspapers to extend their scope of distribution to remote areas in a quick, convenient and economical manner.

b/ To formulate plans on promotion and dissemination of national journalist products serving the nation’s external relations of the Vietnam News Agency according to subjects and targets set forth for each period; to make the best use of all social media channels for spreading information in an economical manner suitable to technological development trends and changes in readers’ methods of information access.

3. Techniques and technologies:

To intensify the application of modern press technology; to invest in equipment and technology to meet requirements of modern and multi-media press at all stages including production, editing, management, storage, desktop publishing, management and administration, etc.

4. Human resources:

a/ To build the contingent of reporters and editors engaged in external information work who possess the virtues of professionalism, firm political ideologies and journalists' ethics, foreign language proficiency, in-depth professional knowledge, and dedication to their profession.

b/ To regularly organize re-training and further training courses for improving modern journalism skills for reporters and editors.

5. International cooperation:

To intensify international cooperation in information exchange and training of human resources with big news agencies around the world to intensify the exchange and sharing of external information products of the Vietnam News Agency to readers in foreign countries, and improve professional qualifications and capacity of reporters engaged in external information work.

III. FUNDS FOR IMPLEMENTATION: The state budget shall allocate funds for the Vietnam News Agency to achieve objectives and perform tasks regarding development of a number of printed and electronic newspapers serving the nation’s external relations for the 2022-2030 period.

IV. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. Responsibilities of the Vietnam News Agency:

a/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in organizing the implementation of this Decision; and annually send reports thereon to the Ministry of Information and Communications for summarization and reporting to the Prime Minister.

b/ To make annual funding estimates for sending to the Ministry of Finance for summarization and submission to competent authorities for consideration and decision.

c/ To coordinate with the Central Propaganda and Education Commission in orienting external information for national external information products of the Vietnam News Agency in each period.

2. Responsibilities of ministries and functional sectors:

a/ The Ministry of Information and Communications shall examine and urge and annually sum up and report to the Prime Minister implementation results of the Vietnam News Agency.

b/ The Ministry of Finance shall, based on the state budget balancing capacity, allocate funds for development of a number of printed and electronic newspapers serving the nation’s external relations for the 2022-2030 period of the Vietnam News Agency in accordance with the law on the state budget; and coordinate with other ministries and agencies in inspecting and supervising the use of state budget funds for task performance under regulations.

c/ The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall assist the Vietnam News Agency’s reporters in operating in foreign countries, and coordinate with other ministries and agencies in providing information about foreign affairs events, and provide support for distribution of national external information products abroad.

d/ The Ministry of National Defense shall coordinate with other ministries and agencies in promotion activities and assist the Vietnam News Agency in distributing national external information products at border gates.

Other ministries, functional sectors, and press and publishing agencies shall, within the ambit of their assigned functions and tasks, implement this Decision.

Article 2. This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing.

Article 3. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, heads of socio-political organizations at the central level, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees, and press and publishing agencies shall implement this Decision.-

For the Prime Minister

Deputy Prime Minister

VU DUC DAM