On July 30 and 31, 2001, the Government held its July regular meeting, discussing and resolving the following issues:

The Government discussed its program of action for the implementation of the Resolution of the IX Party�s National Congress. The Government affirmed that the program of action must demonstrate matters in an overall, comprehensive and long-term manner, focusing on key points such as economic restructure, policies and measures to raise the competitiveness of each enterprise and the whole economy, ensuring the sustainability of development; apply solutions to renew mechanisms and policies with a view to completely liberating production forces, creating a big improvement in education, science, technology, and administrative reform, especially the reform of organizational structure to raise the quality of socio-economic development; and ensure its compatibility with other programs of action of the Party and State.

The Government heard the Minister of Education and Training reporting on the Education and Training Development Strategy, from 2001 to 2010. In order to meet the requirements of national industrialization and modernization in the coming years, the Education and Training Development Strategy should express the Government�s determination, through effective measures, to raise the quality of education and training activities, overcome shortcomings, drive back existing negative phenomena in the educational sector, quickly renovate the examination regimes, continue boosting the education socialization, strive to escape from the situation of being backward as compared with regional countries. The Government assigned the Ministry of Education and Training to assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the concerned agencies in finalizing the draft strategy, then submit it to the Government for adoption. Regarding burning issues in the education and training sector, which need to be settled, such as the situation of commercialization of extra teaching; the enrolment into universities and colleges�, the Ministry of Education and Training must, according to its assigned competence, promptly issue or submit to the Prime Minister for issuance legal documents for the implementation organization.

The Government considered the draft regulation on the management and development of Ho Chi Minh City. It agreed to assign Ho Chi Minh City the responsibility to manage a number of domains falling within the competence of the Government and the Prime Minister; to extend the administrative reform, which has been fruitfully experimented under the Government�s permission. It assigned the People�s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City to assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the concerned agencies in finalizing the decree on assigning the responsibility to manage a number of domains to Ho Chi Minh City�s administration, then submit it to the Government for consideration and decision in August 2001.

The Government considered the draft decree on the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises. It assigned the Ministry of Planning and Investment to coordinate with the concerned agencies in further gathering the cabinet members� opinions on contents related to the criteria for determination of small- and medium-sized enterprises and organizational forms of agencies providing support for small- and medium-sized enterprises; finalizing the draft decree, then submitting it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision.

The Government considered the report on the work of inspection and settlement of complaints and denunciations in the second quarter of 2001 and the report on the socio-economic situation in July and the first seven months of 2001.- (Summary)