The eighth session of the 12th National Assembly (NA) opened in Hanoi on October 20, with Party and State leaders, revolutionary veterans, international guests and more than 400 NA deputies taking part.
In his opening speech, NA Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong said the eighth NA session is taking place after the celebrations of Hanoi’s millennium- a significant event which has raised national pride and encouraged the Party and people to gain new achievements in national construction and defence.
This year, Vietnam has faced a lot of difficulties and challenges caused by the global economic downturn, natural disasters and epidemics. However, under the correct leadership of the Party and the Government, socio-economic targets have been reached, with an estimated economic growth rate of 6.7 percent for this year.
Industrial production and export turnover have posted high growth rates while State revenues are expected to be higher than estimated and inflation is control.
Improved social welfare, social security have helped to improve people’s living standards significantly. Remarkable progress has been seen in administrative reform, and preventing corruption. The successful holding of the ASEAN Summit, the 31st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) has elevated Vietnam’s status in the international arena.
The achievements recorded in 2010 are fresh impetus for carrying out resolutions adopted at the 10th National Party Congress and the five-year plan for socio-economic development (2006-2010) under the NA’s resolution, which will give fresh impetus to socio-economic tasks in the following years.
Mr Trong pointed out the limitations and weaknesses in socio-economic development that have not yet been resolved, namely a slow economic restructuring, poor infrastructure, ineffective investment, a high trade deficit and a State budget overspend and soaring prices, which could result in the return of inflation. In addition, environmental pollution and violation of food hygiene and safety regulations have become more complex, while many burning social issues have not been dealt with. Therefore, it is essential to find more ways of resolving these issues properly to ensure sustainable development, Mr Trong emphasised.
NA focuses on important issues
With its 32-day working schedule, the eighth NA session will concentrate on many key national issues such as considering the government reports on the outcomes of socio-economic plans, and the State budget for 2010 and 2011 and central and local budget allocations for next year.
During the session, the NA is expected to adopt 9 draft laws and 1 resolution draft, including the Environmental Protection Tax Law, the Consumer Rights Protection Law, the Minerals Law (revised), the Laws on Amendments and Supplements to some Articles in the Securities Law, the Insurance Business Law, the Law on the Election of NA and People’s Council deputies and a resolution on tax policy for agricultural land use.
The NA deputies will also give their opinions on 9 other draft laws, including the Independent Auditing Law, the Complaints& Denunciations Law, the Measurement Law, the Anti- Human Trafficking Law, the Archives Law, the Cooperative Law (revised) and the Law on Amendments and Supplements to some Articles of the Civil Procedure Code and the Capital Law.
The NA will supervise the reform of administrative procedures related to citizens and businesses under the State’s master plan for administrative reforms in the 2001-2010 period.
Reports on supervisory activities conducted by the NA Standing Committee, the NA Ethnicity Council and NA committees and some other reports on voters’ petitions, the NA’s Q&A sessions and the NA’s supervisory activities, the Chief Judge of the Supreme People’s Court and Head of the People’s Procruracy’s operations will also be considered.
Many other issues related to waste, anti-corruption, external relations, national security and defence, a pilot project for ending people’s councils in districts and wards, the conclusion of the Dung Quat refinery project, the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) and afforestation joint-ventures in border areas, will also be discussed.
The NA will give opinions on several draft documents to be submitted to the 11th National Party Congress and consider some other important issues.
NA Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong emphasised that Vietnam will grasp every opportunity and seek effective solutions to restore economic growth and ensure macroeconomic stability, social welfare, national defence, and security, laying a solid foundation for fast and sustainable growth in the years to come. Mr Trong urged the NA deputies to be responsible, sensible and democratic and to make practical proposals.
After the opening speech by NA Chairman Trong, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung reported on some of the major socio-economic issues in 2009 and targets for 2010.
Regarding the socio-economic situation in 2009, Mr Dung said that in the process of its opening up and integrating deeper into the region and the world, Vietnam’s economy, especially exports, investments and tourism has been seriously affected by the global financial crisis. Since 2008, the government has done all it can to control inflation, overcome natural disasters and epidemics and counter activities by hostile forces. It has constantly provided updated information and analysed the situation to devise proper solutions to prevent a further economic downturn and control inflation.
To prevent another economic downturn, the Government submitted a plan to the 5th session to adjust some specific targets.
As a results, in 2009, Vietnam achieved many significant results, such as preventing the economic downturn, obtaining a fairly high growth, increasing investment for development, ensuring macroeconomic stability, and containing inflation to encourage socio-economic development. It continued with social welfare programmes to support poor people and families of social beneficiaries in disadvantaged areas, stepped up administrative reform, combated corruption, and waste and ensured socio-political stability, further improving Vietnam’s status in the international arena.
PM Dung also pointed out five weaknesses, including the lowest GDP growth rate in 10 years, an unstable macro-balance, poor infrastructure, resources and economic institutions, problems with social welfare and slow progress with administration reform.
For the country’s socio-economic development targets for 2010, PM Dung said that it is essential to make a greater effort to restore economic growth, which will be higher than 2009, improve the quality of growth, strengthen macroeconomic stability, control inflation, and ensure social welfare to improve the people’s living standards. It will actively integrate and promote international economic co-operation, maintain socio-political stability and defence and fulfill its socio-economic targets for the five-year plan (2006-2010).
President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, Huynh Dam, presented a report on voter’s petitions. The 6th session of the 12th NA received 1,687 voters’ petitions on major issues, such as efficiency of the stimulus package, labour, employment, people’s living conditions, environmental pollution, food safety, traffic problems and corruption.
The NA also heard a report on the outcomes of the socio-economic targets in 2009 and plans for 2010, presented by Ha Van Hien, Chairman of the NA Economic Committee.
Earlier, the NA held a preliminary session and approved the agenda for the 8th session.
Source: VOV