Resolution No. 83/NQ-CP of July 8, 2013, on the Government’s regular meeting of June 2013

THE GOVERNMENT

Resolution No. 83/NQ-CP of July 8, 2013, on the Government’s regular meeting of June 2013

On June 27 and 28, 2013, the Government convened its regular meeting of June 2013 with the online participation of provincial-level Party Committee Secretaries and Chairpersons of the People s Councils and the People s Committees of provinces and centrally run cities to discuss and resolve the following issues:

1. Reports: On the socio-economic situation in June and the first 6 months of 2013; the implementation of the Government’s Resolution No. 01/NQ-CP and Resolution No. 02/NQ-CP; the state administrative reform in the second quarter of 2013; the inspection and settlement of complaints and denunciations, and anti-corruption work in the first 6 months of 2013, which were presented by the Minister of Planning and Investment, the Minister of Home Affairs and the Inspector General.

The Government agreed that in the first 6 months, all levels and sectors actively implemented the solutions set out in the Resolutions of the Party and the National Assembly, Resolutions No. 01/NQ-CP and No. 02/NQ-CP and resolutions of the Government’s regular meetings. Socio-economic performance experienced positive and right-oriented developments, and recorded important results in every field. The macro-economy became more stable, creating a condition for promoting the fulfillment of the objectives of production and business development, economic restructuring, and growth model transformation. Inflation was curbed; prices and markets were kept stable. Interest rates continued to decrease; outstanding credit debts were improved; foreign exchange reserves increased highly. Tax exemption, reduction and payment rescheduling measures contributed to removing difficulties for production and business activities. Exports recorded a higher growth rate than set plan; the trade deficit was controlled at low level; the import of machinery, equipment and raw materials for production showed a positive trend. The growth of every economic field and sector was improved. GDP of the second quarter was estimated to reach 5%, which is higher than the first quarter’s figure, bringing the growth rate of the first 6 months to 4.9%. Industrial production, especially processing and manufacturing industries, step by step recovered and showed positive changes, and inventories decreased. Agricultural production was relatively stable. The new countryside building program achieved positive results and received much attention from the entire political system and the public. Compared with the same period of the previous year, the service sector saw a higher growth rate; registered and implemented foreign direct investment (FDI) capital amounts all increased, and disbursed official development assistance (ODA) capital was considerable and highly increased. Social security and welfare were assured; the areas of culture, education, healthcare and job generation continued receiving due attention and delivered positive results. Importance was attached to the administrative reform, settlement of complaints and denunciations and anti-corruption work. The political and social situation was stable; national defense was strengthened; security and order were firmly maintained. External relation work was promoted and recorded many results, enhancing the national status.

Nevertheless, the socio-economic situation still faced many difficulties and challenges: In spite of the declining interest rate, enterprises’ access to and absorption of capital remained low; credit growth was low compared with the year’s target, and the proportion of non-performing loans was still high. Budget collections and development investment capital were lower than planned levels. Production and business recovered slowly, and aggregate demand of the economy remained low. Agricultural production grew slowly, livestock raising and aquaculture encountered difficulties, and rice export was under the pressure of price and market competition. The employment, income and life of a portion of the population faced difficulties. Traffic accidents and crime still developed complicatedly. Natural disasters and epidemics were latent and unpredictable. The implementation of the master plan on economic restructuring just delivered initial results. The implementation of the Government’s resolutions, especially the concretization of the solutions set out in Resolution No. 02/NQ-CP, remained sluggish, failing to meet requirements.

Meanwhile, the global and regional economies were forecast to further experience complicated developments, exerting negative impacts on the country’s economy and society.

The Government requests the ministries, agencies and localities to bring into play the achieved positive results, be determined to overcome difficulties, consistently and persistently strive to materialize the objectives, tasks and solutions in accordance with the resolutions of the Party Central Committee, the National Assembly and the Government, focusing on the following key issues:

Further implementing with high determination the mechanisms, policies and solutions specified in the Government’s Resolutions No. 01/NQ-CP and No. 02/ NQ-CP, in the resolutions adopted at the Government’s regular meetings and in its directing and administering documents. Closely following the practical situation, apply flexible administering solutions, focus on removing difficulties in production and business, ensuring the objectives of economic restructuring and growth model transformation. Expeditiously promulgate and drastically and effectively implement action programs and plans to restructure their sectors in line with the master plan on economic restructuring.

The State Bank of Vietnam shall continue to administer the interest rate in conformity with the macroeconomic and monetary developments, especially inflation developments, so as to control and regulate the market interest rate at a reasonable level, contributing to stabilizing the monetary market and promoting credit growth; direct credit institutions to further concentrate credit capital on prioritized areas, assisting promising enterprises with outlet markets in borrowing capital for their production and business; restructure debts and continue to grant loans to aquaculture and livestock raising households that can guarantee consumption of their products and are capable of repaying loans; assist coffee businesses in removing their difficulties; further effectively implement the policy on housing loans; speed up the completion of procedures to put the Vietnam Asset Management Company (VAMC) in operation in July 2013; closely monitor the developments of exchange rate, monetary market and foreign exchange to properly administer the exchange rate; take measures to stabilize the gold market and urge the settlement of the gold trading status according to regulations.

The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with other ministries, agencies and localities in, organizing and supervising the expeditious and strict implementation of the Prime Minister’s Directive No. 09/CT-TT of May 24,2013, on strengthening the direction and management of the performance of financial and state budget tasks; implement the tax Exemption, reduction and payment rescheduling policies under strict control in order to 'fully and properly collect revenues and prevent losses and debts; administer tight and economical budget spending; strive for the highest results in state budget collection and spending; review, summarize and assess the state budget situation in the first 6 months, the possibility of implementing the state budget in the whole year of 2013, and the budget estimate balancing framework of 2014, and report it to the Prime Minister before July 10, 2013.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with other ministries, agencies and localities in, adopting solutions to encourage the entire society’s investment, actively promote investment to stimulate aggregate demand; create favorable conditions for all economic sectors to make investment, especially FDI and ODA; speed up the construction of projects and disbursement of state budget capital and government bond capital already allocated; coordinate with the Ministry of Finance in proposing and submitting a plan on advance allocation of 2014 planned capital for the implementation of important and urgent projects, especially site clearance for key projects, and of domestic capital for ODA- funded projects. Localities shall focus on drastically directing site clearance activities to guarantee the progress of local projects.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall direct the active implementation of the programs on trade promotion, domestic market expansion and market purchasing power improvement; focus on overcoming difficulties for and boost industrial production, especially processing and manufacturing industries; improve the efficiency of trade promotion, consolidate and expand export markets, and encourage exports; coordinate with the Ministry of Finance in simplifying export procedures in localities and border gates; and assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in, expeditiously making a plan to reorganize and manage major rice exporters.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall assume the prime responsibility for implementing the plan on agricultural restructuring; direct and guide the regions and localities to concretize the plan into programs and plans on restructuring each sector and product; supervise and urge the effective purchase for stockpiling of rice of the Summer- Autumn crop, contributing to guaranteeing rice farmers’ profits; expeditiously complete and submit the rice stockpiling regulations to the Prime Minister; assess the extent of damage caused by the use of new rice varieties so as to take supporting measures; specifically review and direct localities to grow plants of higher economic efficiency in areas currently under low-yield rice without depriving the soil of the rice-growing ability; boost public information work for wide application of effective models of agricultural production and livestock raising; guide the integration of programs and mobilize social resources to implement the new countryside program. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with functional agencies and localities in, proactively taking measures to follow the practical situation and direct the prevention and control of flooding and typhoons, and timely respond to complicated developments of natural disasters and epidemics.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall step up supervision and promptly handle difficulties and obstacles in the process of the grant of land use right certificates under the Resolution of the National Assembly.

The Ministry of Construction and other ministries, agencies and localities, especially major cities, shall actively remove difficulties for the real estate market along with implementing the housing strategy; assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with relevant ministries and agencies in, issuing specific guidance on social housing and low-income criteria; coordinate with the State Bank in clearly defining criteria for enterprises building social houses and transforming into social houses to borrow housing support loans.

-       The Ministry of Transport shall actively supervise the progress of national highway No.1 and No. 4 expansion and upgrading projects, as well as key transport projects; closely coordinate with the project-covered localities in drastically directing the work of site clearance and assurance of traffic order and safety during the construction of the projects. Chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall direct the removal of difficulties and creation of favorable conditions for the supply of materials for the construction of local transport projects, and simultaneously increase inspection, supervision and handling of overloaded trucks which damage the transport infrastructure.

- The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall further direct the synchronous and effective implementation of social security and welfare policies, and the national target programs on poverty reduction and employment; effectively implement the solutions on vocational training, evaluate the results of 3 years’ implementation of the vocational training for rural laborers program for more effective implementation; coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training in speeding up the merger of vocational training centers and permanent education centers of districts; assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of National Defense in, guiding the handling of unsettled cases of war invalids who lack prescribed papers, for submission to the Prime Minister in July 2013.

- The Ministry of Health shall continue implementing synchronous measures to meet the people’s demand for healthcare services; promote the training of qualified health workers for hospitals at all levels; actively implement the project on reducing hospital overload and pay attention to speeding up the construction of hospitals.

- The Ministry of Home Affairs shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with other ministries, agencies and localities in, speeding up the implementation of the master plan on state administration reform; expeditiously elaborate and implement projects as assigned by the Government’s Resolution No. 30c/NQ-CP; the contents of the plan on promoting the reform of the public duty and civil servant mechanism set out ^Decision No. 1557/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister; and identify and publicize the administration reform indicators of 2012 in the third quarter of 2013.

- The Government Inspectorate shall promote the supervision, evaluation and handling after inspection; focus on the settlement of prolonged and outstanding complaints and denunciations, as well as new cases; complete the project on promoting the implementation and monitoring of asset and income declaration; advise on implementing anti-corruption solutions; submit to the Government for promulgation a decree on transparency of assets and income, a decree on the accountability of cadres, civil servants and heads in performing their tasks and duties.

- The Ministry of Information and Communications shall direct the promotion of information work and popularization of mechanisms, policies, typical and advanced models and achieved results to create social confidence and motivation. Ministries and agencies shall proactively provide accurate and timely information about their sectors and fields to ensure transparency and guide public opinion; listen to public feedback on policies so as to make appropriate and effective adjustments; strictly address the abuse of freedom and democracy to produce false information on the national situation and damage the prestige of agencies, organizations and individuals and people’s interests.

- Ministries and agencies shall, based on their functions, tasks and competence, proactively settle or propose settlement of, the recommendations of provincial-level People’s Committees made at the meeting. The Office of the Government shall urge and summarize the settlement of such recommendations, and report it to the Prime Minister.

2.       Regarding the report reviewing the Government’s direction and administration work in the first 6 months of 2013, presented by the Minister-Chairperson of the Government Office.

The Government agreed that in direction and administration work, the Government and the Prime Minister always assure the leadership of the Party and the oversight of the National Assembly; abide by the Constitution and law; properly discharge their tasks and powers according to regulations; ensure the principle of democratic centralism; promote the collective role along with enhancing personal responsibility; closely coordinate with the agencies of the Party, the National Assembly and the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and mass organizations and judicial bodies in performing their tasks. The Government has directed, guided and administered the administrative system to persistently follow the set objectives and make many positive and right-oriented results in every field, both addressing immediate issues and proactively implementing medium

and long-term objectives.

Nevertheless, direction and administration work still had shortcomings to be overcome in the coming time, such as: the task of institution building, especially the promulgation of documents detailing laws and ordinances and the implementation of the work agenda of the Government did not yet meet the set requirements; the apparatus organization, administrative reform and administrative discipline did not yet achieve high efficiency; the organization of implementation, especially guidance on the implementation of policies in a number of ministries and agencies, was very slow.

The Government Office shall assimilate opinions of the cabinet members and local leaders to complete the report on review of the Government’s direction and administration work in the first 6 months, and send it to ministries, agencies and localities.

The ministries, agencies and provincial- level People’s Committees shall review their direction and administration work along with assessing the results of performance of their functions and tasks in the first 6 months; expeditiously remedy shortcomings and weakness; and implement the tasks to meet the set requirements.

3.       Regarding the formulation and promulgation of decrees detailing the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations presented by the Minister of Justice.

The Prime Minister has issued the implementation plan and a list of decrees detailing the implementation of Law on Handling of Administrative Violations. Ministries and agencies have actively prepared and carried out the procedures according to regulations. However, these decrees have not yet been promulgated, affecting the implementation of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations.

The Government requested the ministries and agencies to increase direction, concentrate resources and work closely with the Ministry of Justice, the Government Office and the inter-agency task force in speeding up the drafting progress and seriously assimilating opinions of the Advisory Council to revise and finalize the draft decrees, ensuring their conformity with the Constitution and laws and their feasibility.

Pending the promulgation of the decrees detailing the implementation of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations while the Law takes effect on July 1, 2013, the Government agreed to the proposal of the Minister of Justice on the continued application of the current decrees and attached decision and minute forms which are not against the spirit of the Law.

4.       Regarding the report on restructuring the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group presented by the Minister of Transport

To assign the Steering Committee for Restructuring of the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group, the Ministry of Transport, to assimilate opinions of the cabinet members and coordinate with relevant agencies and localities in finalizing the plan on further restructuring in accordance with the conclusion of the Political Bureau and in conformity with the practical situation, combining restructuring, dissolution and bankruptcy, reducing production scale and focus on main business lines, maintaining the main capacity of shipbuilding and repair suitable to the market situation, financial capability and management capacity, remedying difficulties and losses and gradually developing in a sustainable manner.

The Ministry of Transport shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Government Office and the Steering Committee for State Enterprise Renewal in, finalizing the draft resolution on further restructuring the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group, and submit it to the Prime Minister.

The Ministry of Transport shall prepare full and official information on the Group’s situation and its restructuring policy, targets, tasks and measures; select suitable time for official publicization, ensuring that it does not affect the handling of debts with foreign creditors; and prepare a report to competent authorities.

5.       Regarding the non-application of regulations on mortgaged assets for investment project to purchase new aircraft of Vietnam Airlines Corporation presented by the Minister of Finance.

The Government agreed with the non- application of regulations on mortgaged assets to export credit loans and combined commercial and export credit loans guaranteed, by the Government to implement the investment project to purchase A321 aircraft of Vietnam Airlines Corporation in the 2011-15 period. The Ministry of Finance shall carry out the procedures for granting guarantee for foreign loans according to regulations.

6.       Regarding the plan on rescheduling export credit debts for coffee commodity presented by the Ministry of Finance.

The Government agreed to extend the lending term of export credit loans for coffee and a number of agricultural commodities from 12 to 36 months. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with relevant agencies in assessing the current difficulties and obstacles of each farm commodity for export; then identifying specific subjects eligible for support and proposing appropriate supporting measures. On this basis, the Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility for submitting to the Government amendments to Decree No. 54/2013/ND-CP according to the simplified procedures to supplement the identified coffee and agricultural commodities to the list of commodities eligible for support and extension of the lending term of export credit loans.

The State Bank of Vietnam shall direct credit institutions to solve difficulties for traders of coffee and agricultural exports.

7.       Regarding the draft Law on Entry, Exit and Residence of foreigners in Vietnam presented by the Ministry of Public Security.

The Ministry of Public Security shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Government Office and related agencies in, assimilating opinions of the cabinet members to finalize the draft Law on Entry, Exit and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam and report it to the Prime Minister before submission to the National Assembly.

8.       Regarding the draft Law on Customs (amended) presented by the Ministry of Finance.

The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Government Office and related agencies in, assimilating opinions of the cabinet members and finalizing the draft Law on Customs (amended), and report it to the Prime Minister before submission to the National Assembly.

On behalf of the Government

Prime Minister

 NGUYEN TAN DUNG