Decree No. 118/2017/ND-CP dated October 26, 2017 of the Government on defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Vietnam News Agency

DECREE

Defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Vietnam News Agency[1]

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 10/2016/ND-CP of February 1, 2016, on government-attached agencies;

At the proposal of the Minister of Information and Communications,

The Government promulgates the Decree defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Vietnam News Agency.

Article 1.Position and functions

1. The Vietnam News Agency is a government-attached agency which performs the function of a state news agency in publishing and broadcasting news and official documents of the Party and the State; provides information to meet the requirements of the Party leadership and state management; collects and provides information through various types of press and multimedia communications from/to the mass media, the public and other entities at home and abroad.

2. Vietnam News Agency is its international transaction name in English, with the abbreviation of TTXVN in Vietnamese and VNA in English.

3. The Vietnam News Agency submits to the state management by the Ministry of Information and Communications of press, radio and television.

Article 2.Tasks and powers

1. To formulate and submit to the Government and Prime Minister its long-term, medium-term and annual strategies, master plans, programs and plans, and other important projects and schemes, and organize the implementation of these strategies, master plans, programs, plans, projects and schemes after they are approved.

2. To consistently publish and broadcast official documents and information of the Party and State; to collect and compile information for public readership and for reference through various types of press and multimedia communications to promptly meet the requirements of the Party leadership and state management.

3. To publicize the State’s official viewpoints on current affairs; to rectify information unbeneficial to national interests; to correct untruthful information; and when necessary, to reject intentionally distorted information.

4. To collect, compile, publish, disseminate and distribute information products of various types of press and multimedia communications to the mass media, the public and other entities at home and abroad.

5. To perform the tasks of the national foreign-service press agency; to collect, compile and provide information about Vietnam in various languages to domestic agencies and organizations, foreign news and press agencies, foreigners and overseas Vietnamese.

6. To perform the tasks of provision of information and communication to ethnic minority and mountainous people in their spoken and written languages.

7. To archive information; to build an information data bank and manage the national photo archives.

8. To provide information to related agencies and coordinate with them in performing the task of information provision to serve national defense and security.

9. To research and apply scientific and technological advances in the field of press, communications and news.

10. To undertake international cooperation in the fields within the ambit of its functions, tasks and powers in accordance with law.

11. To perform the function of the representative of the state owner of the enterprises established under its decisions and of capital contributions to enterprises in accordance with law.

12. To manage and decide on investment and construction projects falling within its competence in accordance with law; to participate in the appraisal of important schemes, projects and programs according to its expertise and  professional operations as assigned by the Prime Minister.

13. To coordinate with related agencies in formulating its particular financial mechanism for submission by the Ministry of Information and Communications to the Government for approval.

14. To decide on and direct the implementation of its administrative reform program according to the objectives and contents of the state administrative reform program approved by the Government and Prime Minister.

15. To manage the organizational apparatus, payroll and number of its employees; to decide on the appointment, re-appointment, rotation, transfer,  resignation, relief from office, training, retraining, commendation and disciplining; to implement the salary regime and other regimes and policies applicable to its employees in accordance with law.

16. To organize service provision activities in accordance with law.

17. To manage and use state budget allocations and assigned state assets at home and abroad; to coordinate financial sources among its units in accordance with the Law on the State Budget and relevant regulations.

18. To report to the Government, Prime Minister, Ministry of Information and Communications and other competent state agencies in accordance with law.

19. To perform other tasks and exercise other powers as assigned or vested by the Government or Prime Minister or provided by law.

Article 3.Organizational structure

1. The Editorial Secretariat and Exteral Affairs Department.

2. The Office.

3. The Organization and Personnel Department.

4. The Planning and Finance Department.

5. The Examination Department.

6. The Domestic News Department.

7. The World News Department.

8. The News for Foreign Service Department.

9. The Photo Department.

10. The Economic News Department.

11. The Information-Documentation and Graphics Center.

12. The Vietnam News Agency Television Center.

13. Tin Tuc (News) newspaper.

14. The Thao - Van Hoa (Sports and Culture) newspaper.

15. VietnamPlus online newspaper.

16. Vietnam News newspaper.

17. Le Courrier du Vietnam newspaper.

18. Vietnam Law and Legal Forum magazine.

19. Vietnam Pictorial.

20. Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Region Pictorial.

21. The Vietnam News Agency Publishing House.

22. The Vietnam News Agency’s Southern Bureau.

23. The Vietnam News Agency’s Central and Central Highlands Bureau.

24. The Vietnam News Agency’s resident bureaus in the provinces and centrally run cities established in accordance with law.

25. The Vietnam News Agency’s overseas resident bureaus established in accordance with law.

26. The Vietnam News Agency Technical Center.

27. The Vietnam News Agency Training Center.

28. The Vietnam News Agency Communications Development Center.

29. The Informatics Center.

30. The Vietnam News Agency International Cooperation Center.

The units specified in Clauses 1 thru 5 of this Article shall assist the General Director of the Vietnam News Agency; the units specified in Clauses 6 thru 25 of this Article are information units; and the units specified in Clauses 26 thru 30 of this Article are information service units.

The Editorial Secretariat and External Affairs Department may have 3 divisions, the Office, 8 divisions, the Organization and Personnel Department, 2 divisions, and the Planning and Finance Department, 5 divisions.

Article 4.Leadership

1. The Vietnam News Agency is headed by the General Director and no more than 4 Deputy General Directors.

2. The General Director and Deputy General Directors of the Vietnam News Agency are appointed and relieved from office by the Prime Minister in accordance with law.

3. The General Director shall take responsibility before the Government and Prime Minister for all activities of the Vietnam News Agency. Deputy General Directors shall assist the General Director in, and take responsibility before the General Director and law for, their assigned tasks.

4. The General Director shall appoint and relieve from office heads and deputy heads, and define the functions, tasks, powers, organizational structures and working relations, of units of the Vietnam New Agency.

Article 5.Effect

This Decree takes effect on the date of its signing and replaces the Government’s Decree No. 88/2013/ND-CP of August 1, 2013, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Vietnam News Agency.

Article 6.Implementation responsibility

The General Director of the Vietnam News Agency, ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall implement this Decree.-

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
NGUYEN XUAN PHUC