Resolution No. 01/NQ-CP dated January 01, 2018 of the Government on major tasks and solutions to implement the 2018 socio-economic development plan and state budget estimate

RESOLUTION

On major tasks and solutions to implement the 2018 socio-economic development plan and state budget estimate^(*)

THE GOVERNMENT

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

Pursuant to the National Assembly’s Resolution No. 48/2017/QH14 of November 10, 2017, on the 2018 socio-economic development plan, and Resolution No. 49/2017/QH14 of November 13, 2017, on the 2018 state budget estimate,

RESOLVES:

I. SITUATION

In 2017, thanks to the efforts of the entire political system, all levels and sectors, enterprise community and people nationwide under the Party leadership, the socio-economic situation of the country witnessed positive and comprehensive developments with all 13 plan targets fulfilled or overfulfilled. The macro-economy was stable, fundamental, major balances were ensured; the export value, foreign direct investment and the number of newly established enterprises rose vigorously; major economic branches and fields were restored and well developed, especially processing and manufacturing industries, services and tourism; agriculture grew fairly well despite heavy impacts of natural disasters, typhoons and floods. Administrative procedure reform saw marked results; the investment and business environment and competitiveness rankings were heightened. The tasks of ensuring social welfare, improving the people’s material and spiritual lives, environmental protection, response to climate change, and prevention and combat of waste and corruption were well performed. The defense and security potentials  were further enhanced; social order and safety were guaranteed; the APEC Year 2017 was successfully organized. Vietnam’s reputation and position in the international arena were heightened.

The year 2018 is a crucial year for implementing the Resolutions of the XII^thNational Party Congress and the Resolution of the National Assembly on the five-year (2016-2020) socio-economic development plan. Besides advantages, we also meet with not a few difficulties and challenges. The global and regional situations develop in a complicated and unforeseeable manner; conflicts break out in many areas; the world economy is forecast to enjoy faster recovery but many risks remain; the vigorous development of science and technology, particularly the fourth industrial revolution, exerts multiple impacts on the country. Domestically, we have inherited the important achievements of 30 years’ renewal and the good trend of development in various areas in 2017, but the inherent problems of the economy continue to be clearly exposed. The economic restructuring and growth model change take place at a snail’s pace; labor productivity and competitiveness are not high yet. The room for fiscal and monetary policies is limited while the demand for resources for development investment, social welfare and defense as well as security maintenance is great. Climate change, natural disasters, droughts, typhoons, floods, seawater encroachment and weather extremes continue to develop in a complicated manner. Administrative discipline and rules in many places remain loose, the apparatus remains cumbersome and ineffective, the quality of cadres, civil servants and public employees is still limited; environmental pollution and food hygiene and safety develop in a complicated manner....

II. MAJOR TASKS AND SOLUTIONS IN 2018

In order to successfully achieve the targets and fulfill the tasks of the 2018 socio-economic development plan under the National Assembly’s Resolution, the Government sets the guiding principles of “discipline, righteousness, action, creativity and effectiveness” for its action and identified the focus of its direction and administration as follows:

To enhance the macro-economic stability, create marked and substantive improvements in carrying out the strategic breakthroughs, restructure the economy in association with renewing the growth model and increasing productivity, quality, efficiency and competitiveness; to encourage innovation, startups, and development of enterprises and boost the economic growth. To drastically carry out the administrative reform, enhance the discipline and rule, and raise the effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement as well as direction and administration work in all sectors and at all levels. To step up corruption and waste prevention and combat. To attach importance to cultural and social development tasks; to practice democracy and social justice and raise the people’s living standards; to protect the environment, prevent and combat natural disasters and respond to climate change; to maintain national defense and security; to heighten the effectiveness of diplomatic activities and international integration; to firmly maintain the environment of peace and stability for national development.

Based on the socio-economic development objectives and targets under the National Assembly’s Resolution, the Government requests ministries, sectors and localities to formulate systems of specific targets serving the direction and administration activities according to their respective assigned functions, tasks, working scope and areas; and to concentrate on resolute, synchronous and effective implementation of the following major tasks and solutions:

1. To enhance macro-economic stability, control inflation, ensure major economic balances, improve the investment and business environment, and promote the fast and sustainable economic growth

1.1. To synchronously administer macro-policies, harmoniously combine proactive, flexible and prudent monetary policies with strict, disciplinary fiscal and other policies; to strive to achieve the gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.7%, and control the average consumer price index (CPI) at around 4%.

1.2. To continue administering the interest and exchange rates in conformity with the macro-balances and inflation and monetary market development; to strive to lower the lending interest rates suitable to macro-economic conditions; to stabilize and develop the foreign currency market, and continue to increase the state foreign exchange reserves. To expand credits of higher quality; to concentrate credits on priority areas and production and business sectors; to strictly control credits for risk-prone areas.

1.3. To enhance financial discipline and administer the budget strictly and economically within the assigned estimates. To expand tax bases, creating marked improvements in the collection management, particularly in the informal economic sector; to increase inspections and examinations to combat loss of revenue, smuggling and trade frauds, strictly manage tax calculation prices, combat transfer pricing and tax evasion; to increase inspections and examinations and report to competent authorities on plans to handle tax debts which cannot be recovered, thus reducing the tax debt rate to below 5% of the total state budget revenue; to strive to increase the state budget revenue by 3% over the estimate assigned by the National Assembly. To thoroughly save budget expenditures, review and re-arrange expenditures which are not really urgent yet; to restrict the procurement of public cars and expensive equipment; to limit to the utmost the organization of conferences, festivals, workshops, protocol formalities, overseas working trips...; to promulgate mechanisms and policies involving state budget expenditures only when there are financial sources for implementation. To resolutely cut or reduce central budget regular expenditures already assigned in the year-beginning estimates but not yet distributed by June 30, 2018, except special cases to be decided by the Prime Minister. To control the state budget deficit at the rate of 3.7% of GDP.

1.4. To closely manage and efficiently use public property and debts, intensify the management of off-budget funds, and closely examine and oversee the borrowing and use of loans and repayment of debts. To strive to achieve by the end of 2018 the target that outstanding public debts will account for 63.9% of GDP; government debts, about 52.5% of GDP, and national foreign debts, about 47.6% of GDP. To complete the legal framework for enforcement of the Law on Public Debt Management, apply synchronous and effective measures to restructure the state budget and manage the public debts toward safety and sustainability under in the spirit of the Political Bureau’s Resolution. To enhance the management and thrifty and efficient use of state budget resources in association with the maximum mobilization of non-state resources for promoting socio-economic development. To study, amend and improve institutions and laws on the principle that the central budget plays the leading role according to an appropriate mechanism of division of revenues and spending tasks, effectively addressing the current decrease in central budget revenues and difficulties in balancing the central budget.

1.5. To enhance the strict management and supervision of public investment, resolutely prevent and combat group interests, corruption and waste; to severely handle violations in public investment activities; to redress problems in public-private partnership projects, particularly BOT ones. To quickly and drastically distribute and assign plans on public investment funds; to speed up the implementation and disbursement of funds right in the first months of the year, particularly for infrastructure works damaged by natural disasters and important infrastructure projects. To strive to disburse 100% of funds under the development investment expenditure estimates assigned by the National Assembly and the Prime Minister. To increase measures so as to prevent the emergence of capital construction debts.

1.6. To boost export, further expand markets along with simplifying administrative procedures in export and import activities, particularly the specialized-inspection procedures. To ensure the import and export balance, strive to increase the total export value by 8%-10% over 2017 and keep the trade deficit at below 3%. To implement trade safeguards and technical barriers in conformity with international commitments; to intensify the management and control of import; to address trade deficits with markets with which Vietnam experiences high trade deficits. To strongly develop the domestic market and build the synchronous and efficient distribution system. To intensify the management of foreign-invested retail enterprises in conformity with market opening commitments, and intensify the connection between distributors and farmers in agricultural production zones. To strive to increase the total value of goods retail and consumption service by 10%.

1.7. To effectively implement measures to stabilize prices and markets; to adjust step by step the prices of state-managed commodities and services. To facilitate trade in association with intensifying market surveillance and measures to prevent, combat and severely and promptly handle trade frauds and smuggling as well as fake and poor-quality commodities.

1.8. To closely monitor the development of the real estate market and regularly update the information thereon. To study and effectively apply tools and solutions to boost the stable and sustainable development of the real estate market, preventing speculation and irrational price hikes and  ensuring the publicity and transparency of the market.

1.9. To raise the quality of statistics, analyses and forecasts about the macro-economic situation; to actively prepare solutions and measures for timely and effective response to developments of the domestic and international situations.

1.10. To concentrate on reforming administrative procedures related to land, tax, customs, agriculture, rural development, application of information technology, startups, tourism development, credit access, social insurance, policies toward people with meritorious services, judicial records, civil status, etc., cutting the time for carrying out these procedures as well as related expenses for people and enterprises. To substantively and vigorously improve the business environment and competitiveness of the economy; to amend and supplement legal documents on investment and business conditions, focusing on the comprehensive reform of specialized inspections, slashing or simplifying half of commodity and product lists subject to specialized inspection and specialized-inspection procedures; to slash or simplify half of the business and investment conditions. To regularly organize dialogues with enterprises to promptly handle their complaints and proposals. To strive to considerably raise in 2018 Vietnam’s position in the global rankings, lifting Vietnam to the top four ASEAN member countries in terms of competitiveness and business environment.

1.11. To drastically and synchronously apply measures to strongly develop enterprises, promoting innovation and startups; to attach importance to attracting foreign investment involving high technology and multi-nationals in association with developing domestic enterprises and supporting industries. To continue improving mechanisms and policies on business investment, supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises, cooperatives and individual business households, creating an environment for fair competition according to the market mechanism.

2. To concentrate on drastically and synchronously implementing the three strategic breakthroughs

2.1. To step up the completion of laws and regulations in association with enforcing them in the spirit of supremacy of law. To concentrate on formulating, improving and promptly promulgating documents detailing and guiding the implementation of laws, ordinances and resolutions which have taken effect, putting an end to the late promulgation of legal documents. To properly prepare draft laws to be submitted to the National Assembly for debate and passage at the sessions in 2018, focusing on the  Law on Special Administrative-Economic Units; the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Public Investment; and revision of various laws related to land, construction, housing, investment, business, specialized inspection, etc,. To continue amending and supplementing the laws concerning investment, particularly public investment and public-private partnership (PPP) investment. To work out mechanisms and policies for mobilization and efficient use of all resources for development investment and business investment.

2.2. To complete institutions on development, science and technology application, information and communication technologies, education and training in order to approach the fourth industrial revolution, raising the productivity, quality and competitiveness of the economy.

2.3. To raise the quality of human resources, attaching importance to developing high-quality human resources. To vigorously involve enterprises in training, particularly in the fields that lack human resources such as information technology and tourism, linking training with demands of domestic and foreign enterprises. To synchronously implement the three contents of re-planning the network of universities, granting autonomy to universities and increasing human resource quality.

2.4. To enhance the study and forecast of labor market demands, especially in association with the fourth industrial revolution, incrementally increase the sizes of high-quality training programs and science majors related to technology, technique and majors with high market recruitment demands; to facilitate the formation and full development of the labor market, and the expansion of labor export markets. To scrutinize the network of vocational education institutions, renew their management, grant autonomy to them and raise the effectiveness of vocational education, increase vocational and employment counseling and support the equipping of people, especially youth, with startup knowledge.

2.5. To build synchronous and efficient infrastructure facilities; to concentrate on reviewing, formulating, adjusting and supplementing infrastructure master plans for the period up to 2020 and with a vision toward 2030 in accordance with the planning law. To create more appropriate and attractive mechanisms and policies to encourage all economic sectors to invest in the development of infrastructure, particularly transport infrastructure, electricity grids, hydraulic works, infrastructure facilities adaptable to climate change. To strictly control the process of urbanization in association with national industrialization and modernization. To incrementally build urban centers with synchronous technical and social infrastructure facilities; smart, green, energy-efficient, climate-resilient cities. To complete institutions, policies and laws on public-private partnership. To redress inadequacies in public-private partnership investment, expeditiously review the form of BOT investment and BOT toll plazas in order to ensure the publicity, transparency as well as the harmony of interests of the State, enterprises and people; to select financially, professionally and technically capable investors. To concentrate resources for and speed up the implementation of important projects and large-scale works with spillover effect and regional connectivity, particularly infrastructure facilities in key regions and major urban centers such as the North-South expressway, Long Thanh international airport project, seaport, electricity and energy projects, and traffic congestion ease projects; to speed up the completion of the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban rail line, Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro route, northern and southern coastal corridors; to connect a number of important transport routes within the East-West corridor and trans-Asia corridor....

3. To create a marked and substantive improvement in economic restructuring in association with growth model renewal, raising the growth quality, labor productivity and competitiveness of the economy

3.1. To concentrate efforts on directing the resolute and effective implementation of the action programs in furtherance of the resolutions of the Party Central Committee and the National Assembly on stepping up the economic restructuring, growth model renewal, raising labor productivity, quality, efficiency and competitiveness of the economy. To early approve and synchronously implement all schemes and plans on restructuring of key sectors and fields. To heighten the responsibility of heads in constantly inspecting, urging, assessing, supervising and directing the implementation of these resolutions, considering this the central task of the entire political system, all sectors and levels in 2018.

3.2. To resolutely and expeditiously implement the National Assembly’s resolution on pilot handling of bad debts of credit institutions and the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Credit Institutions. To step up the implementation of the scheme on restructuring of the credit institution system in association with the handling of bad debts until 2020. To substantively improve the governance and operation of banks to be efficient and safe. To concentrate on the effective handling of weak credit institutions and bad debts according to market principles, without direct support from the state budget. To intensify examination, inspection and supervision activities; to severely handle violations in activities of credit institutions and the monetary market. To step up the development of the securities and insurance markets; to attach importance to the development of the corporate bond market; to work out solutions to ensuring the sound, secure and sustainable development of the securities market.

3.3. To step up the restructuring of the state budget toward gradually increasing the domestic revenue ratio; to ensure the development investment rate of 26% and the regular expenditure rate of 64.1% in the total state budget expenditure; to ensure the social security, social welfare, defense and security expenditures under the estimates assigned by the National Assembly.

3.4. To restructure the public investment in association with restructuring the state budget revenue and expenditure and ensuring the sustainability and safety of public debts. To enhance public investment efficiency, ensuring the development investment balance, striving to bring the rate of the entire society’s total development investment capital to about 33%-34% of GDP; to increase the private investment capital rate in the entire society’s total development investment to about 41%; and the ICOR to around 6.0 in 2018. To set the orientation for selective attraction of FDI projects applying environment-friendly high technologies; to put into operation the national system of information on foreign investment; to step up the alignment between domestic enterprises and FDI enterprises.

3.5. To form the committee for management of state capital at enterprises. To assign and decentralize the exercise of rights and discharge of responsibilities and obligations of the state owner over state enterprises and state capital invested in enterprises. To step up the equitization in association with the listing on the securities market and withdrawal of state capital from enterprises which the State needs not to hold under the market, publicity, transparency and lawfulness principles, guaranteeing to the utmost the interests of the State. To create a substantive improvement in handling loss-making enterprises and projects. To basically complete the reorganization and renewal of farm and forestry companies in accordance with Resolution No. 30-NQ/TW of the Political Bureau and Decree No. 118/2014/ND-CP of the Government. To step up the startup movement and develop enterprises and new-style cooperatives, and strongly attract enterprises to invest in agriculture and rural areas. To early promulgate documents guiding and implementing the Law on Support for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises. To intensify the management, accounting and statistics of the informal economic sector. To strive for the establishment of 135,000 new enterprises in 2018.

3.6. To accelerate the renewal and raise the efficiency of operation of public non-business units; to increase autonomy for and promote the socialization of public non-business units in the spirit of Resolution No. 19-NQ/TW of the 6^thplenum of the Party Central Committee of the XII^thCongress.

3.7. To concentrate on the application of synchronous solutions to raise the quality and efficiency of economic growth. To study and formulate a national program on higher labor productivity; to step up the application of technological science and managerial science and raise the quality of vocational training, improve the state governance and business administration, striving to raise the social labor productivity by over 6%; to increase the contribution of TFP to the 2018 GDP growth to about 46%; to improve various social areas, gradually raising Vietnam’s human development index (HDI) value and rank in the global rankings.

3.8. To develop agriculture in couple with deep and fine processing industry, enhancing the application of science, technology and advanced production processes, promoting safe, organic and clean agricultural production. To substantively reorganize agricultural production, encouraging linked development according to the value chain from production to processing and consumption; to cut intermediary costs in order to increase income for farmers; to raise the added value and competitiveness of Vietnamese farm produce; to develop forest economy and marine economy; to apply synchronous measures to redress the illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing of marine resources. To step up agricultural restructuring in association with building a new-style countryside according to the plan approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 1819/QD-TTg of November 16, 2017, and the national target program on building a new-style countryside. To strive for the targets that by 2018 there will be at least 52 districts and 37% of the total communes achieving the standards of new-style countryside; the agricultural, forestry and fishery growth rate will be around 3% and export turnover will reach USD 36-37 billion.

3.9. To vigorously develop industries, particularly the processing and manufacturing industries; agriculture-serving industries; and supporting industries in association with the value chains of multi-national groups. To concentrate on renewing technologies to be environment-friendly in processing, manufacturing, energy and mining industries. To strive to increase the GDP growth rate of the industry-construction sector to about 7.7%, with 7.3% for industries and 9.2% for construction.

3.10. To concentrate on development of services with high added value, agriculture- and industry-serving, information technology, communications, financial, banking, insurance, logistics and tourist services; to promote the export of potential services; to transparentize and modernize the prize-winning game and lottery market. To promote and renew tourist promotion and advertising activities; to develop diverse and unique tourist products; to build up tourist brands of Vietnam, each region and each locality with a view to incrementally developing tourism into a spearhead industry with about 15 million foreign arrivals in Vietnam. To strive for the GDP growth rate of tourism of about 7.4%.

3.11. To review and complete the policies and laws on regional economic development, promoting and raising the efficiency of mechanisms, concentrating on directing and coordinating regional alignment, bringing into the fullest play the potentials and comparative advantages of each region and each locality. To strongly promote the roles of key economic regions, major economic centers and big cities; to actively promote alignment between regions and regional countries under integration conditions.

4. To ensure social security, improve the material and spiritual lives of people and comprehensively develop the cultural and social fields

4.1 To fully and comprehensively implement policies to ensure social security and raise social welfare. To concentrate on well implementing policies toward people with meritorious services to the revolution, basically process the files which remain unsettled, definitely completing in 2018 the program on housing support for people with meritorious services under the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 22/2013/QD-TTg of April 26, 2013. To step up the development of social houses and low-price houses, effectively further the national housing development programs, especially programs on housing support for poor households. To intensify the direction and prioritize the allocation of resources for social infrastructure, first of all creches, kindergartens and schools in industrial parks. To concentrate on implementing sustainable poverty reduction solutions, striving to reduce the rate of poor households (under multi-dimensional standards) by 1%-1.5%, particularly 4% in poor districts. To promptly, synchronously and effectively implement policies toward ethnic minority and mountainous people under the approved policies and schemes, particularly special policies. To develop the labor market, creating jobs and reducing the urban unemployment rate to below 4%; to complete policies on social insurance, unemployment insurance, labor accident and occupational disease insurance; to strictly enforce the regulations on occupational safety and health.

4.2. To synchronously and resolutely direct the implementation of Resolution No. 20-NQ/TW and Resolution No. 21-NQ/TW of the 6^thplenum of the Party Central Committee of the XII^thCongress, especially renewing grassroots healthcare activities in association with management of primary health care for people in localities and redressing pharmaceutical management, distribution and retail. To strengthen preventive medicine and primary health care activities and raise their service quality and efficiency to prevent and stop in time epidemics. To reduce overload for higher-level hospitals, put 5 central’ and final-level hospitals into operation, develop non-public health care, strive to achieve the rate of 26 hospital beds per 10,000 people (excluding beds at commune health stations) and the health insurance rate of over 88.5% of the population. To effectively apply the centralized bidding for medicines. To adjust health service prices in tune with the all-people health insurance roadmap; to combat the abuse and self-seeking use of the health insurance fund. To intensify the examination and inspection of medical examination and treatment activities and ensure safety in medical examination and treatment establishments. To further heighten the effectiveness and efficiency of the management of food hygiene and safety; to minimize biological pollution and chemical and antibiotic residues in agricultural food production and trading; to severely handle the production of fake goods and low-quality goods that affect consumer health and interests.

4.3. To review the master plan on development of the network of education and training institutions nationwide, with focus on teachers training institutions in association with raising the quality of teachers and administrators at all levels, to meet the requirements of renovating the preschool education and general education programs. To concentrate on developing programs and textbooks and training teachers. To step up career orientation and streaming in general education. To intensify the socialization of education and encourage the establishment of high-quality private schools. To step up the grant of autonomy and self-responsibility to universities in association with their accountability; to renew the mechanism of administration and management of general education schools. To raise the quality of foreign language teaching and learning at all training levels; to apply information technology to lecturing and education administration. To further expand cooperation between universities and enterprises at home and abroad in teaching, scientific research and technology transfer. To finalize the Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Education and the Law on Higher Education.

4.4. To step up the development of the science and technology market and innovation, placing enterprises into the central position of the national system of innovation. To renew the mechanism of support for scientific research and technological development and innovation in enterprises. To further introduce and implement mechanisms and policies to encourage the implementation of science and technology tasks linked with enterprises and development according to value chains of national key products. To complete the legal corridor guiding the enforcement of the Law on Technology Transfer in order to support the enterprises in applying and renewing technology. To formulate, finalize and implement the scheme on “Intensifying and renewing measurement activities to support Vietnamese enterprises in raising their competitiveness and international integration in the period toward 2025, with orientations toward 2030”; the national intellectual property strategy; to focus on support for intellectual property development and exploitation; the scheme on “Developing digital Vietnamese knowledge system” in order to create an ecological and big data system for disseminating scientific knowledge and promoting innovative startups.

4.5. To proactively implement specific tasks and solutions to enhance the capability to approach advanced and modern technologies; to proactively seize and effectively tap the great opportunities brought about by the fourth industrial revolution. To concentrate on completing the mechanisms, institutions, policies and laws to catch up with the digital economy and smart industries. To build synchronous infrastructure facilities, of which the information technology and infrastructure play the role as infrastructure of infrastructure. To quickly develop human resources meeting the requirements of the digital era; to develop digital enterprises. To further formulate, promulgate and implement policies on credit incentives for enterprises participating in the application, research and development and transfer of key technologies. To formulate a key state program on the fourth industrial revolution to serve scientists and enterprises involved in technology research, application, mastery and transfer in different fields of the fourth industrial revolution, which will serve as a basis for wide application of the achievements among the business community.

4.6. To comprehensively develop the ecological system of national innovative startups, promoting startups in all sectors and fields; to support and attract investment in innovative startup activities, support the establishment, development and connection of activities of common working space, nurseries, innovative startup centers and organizations promoting innovative startups. To focus on in-depth cooperation with international partners, linking the scientific and technological communities of overseas Vietnamese with the domestic communities for exchange and study of experiences in carrying out activities in support of innovative startups. To attach importance to solutions to support enterprises, particularly innovative startup enterprises, in solving difficulties, particularly those in access to funding sources.

4.7. To raise the effectiveness and efficiency of state management of festivals. To renew, and address formalism in, the movements for building a cultured life and cultured families. To continue with the implementation of the Government’s action program for implementation of Resolution No. 33-NQ/TW of the 9^thplenum of the Party Central Committee of the XI^thCongress on building and development of Vietnamese culture and people meeting the requirements of sustainable national development. To prioritize resources for, and properly implement policies on, development of literature and arts, the contingents of writers, artists and intellectuals. To step up the preservation and promotion of national cultural heritages, intensifying public information about and organizing cultural and artistic activities; to promote and introduce Vietnamese culture overseas, particularly to overseas Vietnamese communities; to harmoniously combine traditional with modern values to preserve and develop the national cultural identities.

4.8. To vigorously materialize Resolution No. 08-NQ/TW of the Political Bureau on enhancing the Party leadership, creating strong developments in physical training and sports toward 2020. To create marked and positive improvements in mass physical training and sports activities and physical education at schools. To step up the development of high-achievement sports; to actively prepare athletes and trainers for participation in the international sport festivals in 2018, the Asian Para Games in Indonesia, the 10^thASEAN Para Games, the Paralympics in Japan and other international sports tournaments.

4.9. To finalize and properly implement policies on state management of beliefs and religions. To further the 2016-2020 national action program on gender equality and the 2016-2020 scheme on prevention of and response to gender-based violence. To fully implement regimes and policies on care for and protection of the elderly and children; to apply measures to prevent and reduce child violence, abuse, drowning and injuries, and severely handle acts of violence and abuse against children in combination with intensifying public information and education about morality and life style in Vietnamese families. To review and assess the community-based drug detoxification model so as to come up with effective solutions; to increase the quality of communication among and management of drug addicts, drug detoxification and prostitution prevention and combat.

5. To enhance the management of natural resources and environmental protection; to proactively prevent and combat natural disasters and adapt to climate change

5.1. To enhance the management of national resources, drastically implement measures for strict land administration, addressing the waste of land resources such as leaving land uncultivated or using land for improper purposes; to combat the loss of state budget revenue from price differences in the transfer of land use rights brought about by planning or infrastructure projects. To efficiently exploit and use water resources, promoting international cooperation in the efficient and sustainable exploitation and use of trans-boundary water sources, particularly the Mekong river system. To strictly implement the policy on closure of natural forests and regulations on forest protection and development, biodiversity conservation, striving for achieving the forest coverage rate of about 41.6%; to severely and thoroughly handle the illegal exploitation and destruction of forests and illegal exploitation of natural resources, minerals, sand, rock and gravel.

5.2. To establish and complete the database of the resource and environment sector, particularly on land, resource and environment monitoring, the inter-sectoral database on the Mekong river delta; to build and encourage the socialization of natural resources and environment monitoring and warning systems connected between the central level and localities. To increase the special control of production establishments with high risks of causing environmental pollution. To launch the environmental standard system for selecting and screening forms of production and production technologies in the attraction of investment, refraining from licensing projects that fail to satisfy the environment standards. To complete the system of national standards and regulations on environment. To promulgate and apply breakthrough mechanisms in resources mobilization, investment attraction and socialization of environmental protection activities. To prepare and finalize a scheme on investigation, assessment, classification of and establishment of a national database on waste sources. To strive for the objective of 88% of operating industrial parks and export processing zones having a centralized wastewater treatment system up to environmental standards.

5.3. To include the objectives of adaptability to climate change and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions under Vietnam’s international commitments in sectoral and local socio-economic development plans. To enhance the disaster forecasting and warning capability, proactively prevent, combat and mitigate natural disasters and adapt to climate change; to review master plans and rearrange population in areas prone to flash floods and landslides. To properly implement social security policies, providing timely support for affected people, implementing appropriate and effective restructuring of production, crops, trades and occupations linked with the market in resettlement zones and areas affected by natural disasters, climate change and seawater encroachment. To study and apply architectural models and building materials which are green, mineral- and energy-saving and environment-friendly; building materials used for coastal and island facilities, and climate-resilient houses. To apply synchronous measures to prevent and combat riverside and coastal landslides, address the land subsidence and flooding in Ho Chi Minh city and Mekong river delta provinces; to formulate master plans on integration and development of water-regulating reservoirs adaptable to climate change, floods and droughts, and apply synchronous measures for sustainable development of the Mekong river delta.

6. To strongly step up administrative reform; to tighten administrative discipline and rules; to build e-government serving people in association with reorganizing its apparatus to be streamlined for effective and efficient operation; to step up corruption and waste prevention and combat, and properly handle complaints and denunciations

6.1. To continue with vigorous and comprehensive administrative reforms. To focus on formulating and implementing the Government’s action program for implementation of Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW of the 6^thplenum of the Party Central Committee of the XII^thCongress on a number of issues regarding the continued renewal and reorganization of the apparatus of the political system to be streamlined for effective and efficient operation; to further renew the organization and management of public non-business units for higher quality and effective operation. The central task is to quickly strengthen and reorganize the state administration machinery in association with restructuring the contingent of cadres, civil servants and public employees and carrying out the wage reform; to reduce focal offices within ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, general departments, etc. To improve the criteria for classification and conditions on establishment of public non-business units. In 2018, to strive to reduce by 2.5% public non-business units.

6.2. To strictly manage the payrolls of civil servants and non-business staffs. To cease the additional allocation of payrolls. To stop the self-approval and assignment of payrolls in excess of the assigned ones; to work out plans and solutions to thoroughly handle the number of staff members in excess of the assigned quotas. Agencies and units that have not yet used up their assigned staff quotas shall consider and make appropriate reductions. In 2018, to reduce by 1.7% the civil servant payroll as compared to the 2015’s figure; to reduce by at least 2.5% state budget-salaried non-business staff members as compared to the 2015’s figure.

6.3. To tighten administrative discipline and rules in lawmaking, official-duty performance and activities of agencies within the state administrative system from the central to grassroots level; to properly implement the regulations on grassroots democracy; to create a motive force as well as pressure for changing the attitude of cadres and civil servants, particularly the heads in performing their official duties in association with their political responsibility. To promptly replace cadres and civil servants who are inactive or obstructive or fail to fulfill their tasks. To strictly and promptly handle according to law organizations and individuals committing violations in performing their official duties. To step up the renovation of working methods and styles of state administrative agencies; to reduce meetings, paperwork and reports while increasing online meetings and computerizing activities of state administrative agencies; to redress overlapping examinations, inspections and audits; to build up a professional, modern and effective administration; to widely develop public administrative centers that operate effectively and provide online public services; to regularly inspect and press for the performance of assigned tasks; to severely handle harassing, negative and illegal acts causing troubles to people and enterprises.

6.4. To build e-government serving people. To step up the application of information technology, processing of files of affairs on computer networks in administrative agencies, first of all ministries and provincial-level People’s Committees. To connect information systems and databases to serve direction and administration activities of the Government and local administrations. To create positive changes in the relationship between the State and people through effective implementation of the one-stop-shop and inter-agency one-stop-shop mechanisms and provision of online public services; to provide online public services of levels 3 and 4. To thoroughly settle reports and petitions of people and enterprises regarding mechanism, policies and administrative procedures and publicly announce settlement results. To increase activities to ensure safety and work out options for timely response to information and cyber security incidents.

6.5. To enhance the responsibilities of the heads of all sectors and administrations at all levels in directing the building of e-government; to strive for higher rankings in the United Nations evaluation of e-government development in all three indexes of online service index (OSI), telecommunication infrastructure index (TII) and human resource index (HCI); to coordinate with the United Nations’ evaluation agencies for timely provision of accurate and updated information about the building and implementing e-government in Vietnamese state agencies.

6.6. To further step up anti-corruption work. To concentrate on directing the investigation of major corruption cases for prosecution and strict handling before law in the spirit that there is no forbidden zone and all acts of violation will be handled according to law. To expand international cooperation on anti-corruption work; to absorb good experiences in the world in order to raise the effectiveness of anti-corruption work in Vietnam.

6.7. To step up the settlement of complaints and denunciations; to carry out planned inspections in association with extraordinary inspections upon detecting signs of violation, strictly handle violations of the law on complaints and denunciations, focusing on areas prone to negative practices and corruption with great public concern and many petitions and denunciations, such as land, mineral resources, BOT or BT investment projects, equitization of state enterprises, finance, banking, tax, customs, and foreign investment.

6.8. To concentrate on reviewing and improving policies and laws and raising the quality and effectiveness of the reception of citizens, handling of petitions and implementation of decisions on handling of complaints or denunciations, trying to achieve over 85%. To strictly handle cases of inciting mass complaints or abusing complaints to cause disorder.

7. To enhance the defense and security potential; to maintain social order and safety, salvage and rescue activities; to raise the effectiveness of diplomatic and international integration activities

7.1. To firmly maintain independence and sovereignty and ensure political security, focusing on further building the firm all-people defense disposition in close association with the people-based security disposition; to actively grasp the situation, frustrating all schemes and acts of hostile and reactionary forces to oppose and sabotage the Party and the State. To closely combine social, cultural and economic development with defense and security maintenance, attaching importance to deep-lying, remote, border, marine and island regions. To step up defense and security diplomacy, persistently struggle to defend the national sovereignty over seas and islands, national interests and marine economic activities; to participate in the peacekeeping forces of the United Nations. To build the regular, elite and incrementally modernized people’s army and public security forces with comprehensive quality and high combativeness, well fulfilling all assigned tasks.

7.2. To resolutely and strictly handle economic and corruption cases while refraining from criminalizing economic and civil relations. To apply resolute and synchronous anti-crime measures, resolutely handle according to law dangerous crimes, organized crime and opposition to competent officers on duty; to well ready forces and physical foundations for timely and effective response to all incidents and natural disasters and for salvage and rescue activities. To heighten the responsibility of the heads of all sectors and administrations at all levels in deploying, inspecting and supervising the application of effective measures to ensure traffic order and safety as well as prevent and fight fires and explosions; to curb traffic congestion in major cities and key traffic hubs; to supervise and properly manage transport, stepping up the application of smart transport technology in the management and exploitation of infrastructure systems, striving to considerably reduce the number of traffic accidents and number of involved casualties as compared to 2017. Localities shall use targeted transfers from the central budget for payment to forces involved in ensuring traffic order and safety in localities, of which 70% will be provided for provincial-level public security forces and 30% for other local forces.

7.3. To raise the effectiveness of the enforcement of civil judgments, particularly those related to recovery of debts for credit institutions; to concentrate efforts on thoroughly enforcing civil judgments in cases where conditions permit and court judgments and rulings on administrative cases.

7.4. To further expand, deepen and stabilize effectively the relations with partners, primarily neighboring countries, major countries and important partners. To properly organize visits of high-ranking party and state leaders. To focus on taking advantage of assistance and promote cooperation in the areas of Vietnam’s concern where partners possess strengths in trade, investment, high technology, sustainable development, maritime security, etc.

7.5. To raise the effectiveness of participation in, and proactively and actively contribute to the building and formation of, multilateral organizations and forums, with focus on good preparation for assuming the role of the ASEAN Chair in 2020, the lobbying of other countries to support Vietnam to run for a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council in the 2020-2021 term, properly performing the membership of the United Nations Social and Economic Council of the 2016-2018 term and of the UNESCO Executive Council of the 2015-2019 term, seriously implement commitments in APEC, especially the initiatives put forth by Vietnam and adopted in the APEC 2017 Summit Week, and properly organize the 6^thGreater Mekong Subregion Summit (GMS) and the 2018 World Economic Forum on ASEAN.

7.6. To synchronously implement and effectively exploit the already effective free trade agreements (FTAs); to actively prepare for the effective implementation of new-generation FTAs. To further study issues related to international economic integration in the course of formulating policies on integration; to focus on studying new issues such as impacts of the participation in new-generation FTAs, trends of cooperation within the regional and global cooperation frameworks such as ASEAN, APEC, ASEM and WTO, impacts of the global political and economic situation on the process of Vietnam’s integration. To step up, and raise the effectiveness of, economic diplomacy, focusing on serving the achievement of the national sustainable development goals and raising the national competitiveness. To prioritize the search for and expansion of markets for Vietnam’s commodities and services, attracting more capital sources, particularly FDI and ODA into the priority fields of the country. To step up the lobbying of other countries to recognize Vietnam’s market economy status. To effectively implement international agreements and free trade agreements already signed or due to take effect, and commitments within the ASEAN community and WTO. To increase, and raise the quality of, public information about integration, particularly contents of new commitments, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), opportunities and challenges as well as rights and obligations in the commitments. To apply measures to prevent and minimize international investment disputes, especially those concerning the state management of investment and settlement of foreign investors’ complaints. To raise the capability to resolve international trade and investment disputes to protect the national interests and legitimate interests of enterprises and people.

7.7. To maintain the environment of peace and stability while resolutely, persistently and firmly defending the sovereignty and legitimate interests of Vietnam. To promote the achievement of substantive results in addressing the existing sea and land border problems with other countries. To step up the serious implementation of the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and accelerate the negotiations on and building of the Code of Conducts in the East Sea (COC).

7.8. To raise the effectiveness of overseas Vietnamese-related affairs on the basis of Directive No. 45-CT/TW  of the Political Bureau and the action program on continuing to vigorously implement Resolution No. 36-NQ/TW of the Political Bureau on overseas Vietnamese-related affairs in the 2016- 2020 period; to intensify the mobilization and attraction of resources and contribution of the community. To promptly and effectively protect Vietnamese citizens overseas.

8. To step up information and communication activities

8.1. To approve and implement the scheme on development and management of the press nationwide toward 2025 under the conclusions of the Political Bureau, primarily in the Ministry of Information and Communications, other ministries and government-attached agencies; to raise the effectiveness and efficiency of state management of the press; to heighten the publicity and transparency as well as the responsibility of the heads of all sectors and administrations at all levels; to strictly implement the regulations on spokespersons and provision of information to the press; to proactively and promptly provide adequate and accurate information on the leadership, direction and administration of the Party and the State and on matters of public concern and the national socio-economic situation in order to create social consensus on the performance of socio-economic development tasks and solutions and promote enthusiasm in production and business. To struggle against and counter false information and information contrary to the standpoints and policies of the Party and the State as well as the directing and administering measures of the Government and the Prime Minister; to severely handle cases of abusing democracy to spread bad, toxic and false information.

8.2. To intensify public information activities, properly perform mass agitation work, promote the role of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and mass organizations in mobilizing people of all strata to implement the guidelines, policies and laws of the Party and the State, contributing to building social consensus.

9. To enhance the coordination between the Government and party and state agencies as well as mass organizations in successfully fulfilling the set tasks, objectives and solutions

9.1. To step up the coordination among ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, provincial-level People’s Committees, party and National Assembly agencies and the People’s Councils at all levels in inspection, monitoring and supervision activities with a view to raising the effectiveness of the implementation of this Resolution.

9.2. To intensify the coordination between the Government and Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee and central offices of mass organizations in directing the mobilization of their members to promote the mastery of social organizations, associations and unions and people in all areas, building social consensus and strengthening the all-people solidarity to achieve the 2018 socio-economic development objectives set out in the Resolution of the National Assembly and implementing the measures identified by the Government in this Resolution.

III. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies and government-attached agencies, and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall, according to their respective functions and tasks, thoroughly grasp the guiding principles of bringing into the fullest play the achievements gained in 2017, seriously implementing in a faster, more efficient, more practical and more comprehensive manner the tasks and solutions stated in the Conclusions of the Political Bureau, resolutions of the Party Central Committee, resolutions of the National Assembly and this Resolution in 2018; and take personal responsibility for the performance of the following tasks:

1.1. On the basis of the central tasks set out in this Resolution and the attached Appendix on assignment of specific tasks, within 10 days after the promulgation of this Resolution, to proceed with the formulation and promulgation of action programs or plans and specific directives specifying the objectives, tasks, implementation schedules and responsible units for inclusion in the work programs of the Government, ministries, central sectors and local administrations for implementation, and send them to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for reporting to the Government at its regular meeting in January 2018.

1.2. To concentrate on actively directing and administering the effective performance of the tasks and solutions stated in this Resolution as well as the guidelines and policies of the Party, the National Assembly and the Government, and take responsibility before the Government and the Prime Minister for the implementation of this Resolution in their respective sectors or localities according to their respective functions and tasks.

1.3. To regularly inspect and supervise the progress and results of implementation of the set action programs or plans; to organize monthly briefings on the implementation of this Resolution, actively handle according to their competence or propose to competent authorities solutions to promptly handling arising matters.

1.4. To evaluate the implementation of this Resolution on a quarterly basis and send reports to the Ministry of Planning and Investment before the 20^thof the last month of each quarter for summarization and reporting to the Government in its regular meeting of each quarter.

1.5. To review and evaluate the implementation of this Resolution within their respective functions and tasks and propose directing and administering measures to be taken by the Government in 2019, report them to the Prime Minister and concurrently to the Ministry of Planning and Investment before November 20, 2018, for summarization and reporting to the Government at its December 2018 meeting.

2. Ministries and sectors in charge of synthesizing and monitoring macro-economic areas shall closely and effectively coordinate with one another in giving advice and proposing specific solutions and measures for macro-economic administration; promptly report them to the Government and the Prime Minister according to regulations. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Government Office and related agencies in, urging, monitoring, examining, summarizing and reporting on the implementation of this Resolution at regular meetings of the Government, and promptly report to the Government and the Prime Minister on matters arising in the course of implementing this Resolution.

3. The Ministry of Information and Communications shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Propaganda and Education Commission of the Party Central Committee, news and press agencies as well as ministries, central sectors and local administrations in, organizing the wide dissemination of this Resolution among all sectors, levels and people.-

On behalf of the Government
Prime Minister
NGUYEN XUAN PHUC