I. THE PROGRAM�S OBJECTIVES AND REQUIREMENTS

On November 27, 2001 the Political Bureau already issued Resolution No. 07-NQ/TW on international economic integration. This Resolution is of very important significance to our entire Party, entire people and entire army; concerns all branches, levels, and enterprises of all economic sectors; and sets the orientation for our country�s international economic integration process in the new period.

The Government has adopted this program of action, aiming to organize the successful implementation of the Politburo Resolution on international economic integration in the spirit of promoting to a high level internal resources, exploiting external resources to the utmost, creating new posture and strengths for the socio-economic development cause, taking our country forward quickly, vigorously and steadily in the 21^st century.

II. PRINCIPAL CONTENTS OF THE PROGRAM

1. The ideological, information and propagation work:

a/ The National Committee for International Economic Cooperation shall coordinate with the Commission for Ideology and Culture, the Economic Commission and the Commission for Science and Education of the Party Central Committee, the concerned ministries, branches and localities in organizing the widespread dissemination of the Politburo Resolution and this program of action.

b/ The National Committee for International Economic Cooperation, the ministries, and branches shall take initiative in organizing the propagation and introduction of the information and knowledge on international economic integration, the popularization of the Party�s and State�s undertakings and policies on integration through the mass media, in the Party and mass organizations, among the people of all strata, particularly in enterprises.

c/ The Ministry of Education and Training shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Party Central Committee�s Commission for Science and Education, the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation, the ministries and branches, the Ho Chi Minh National Political Institute, the National Public Administration Institute and universities in developing the programs and incorporating the contents on international economic integration into the teaching curricula of the Party�s schools, public administration schools, universities and colleges right in the 2002-2003 school year.

d/ The Central Television Station, the Radio Voice of Vietnam, and local radio and television stations shall develop topical programs so as to disseminate the knowledge on international economic integration through radio and television frequencies; renovate the forms and improve the quality of the existing programs.

e/ The Ministry of Culture and Information shall coordinate with the Economic Commission, the Commission for Ideology and Culture and the Commission for Science and Education of the Party Central Committee, the concerned ministries and branches, the scientific research institutions, and the mass media in immediately deploying the extended publishing of publications to publicize extensively and intensively the knowledge on international economic integration, our Party�s and State�s undertakings and line on international economic integration, Vietnam�s international commitments to economic and trade cooperation.

f/ The National Committee for International Economic Cooperation shall direct the renovation and improvement of the quality of programs, seminars, workshops, bulletins on integration, supply the mass media with necessary information on international economic integration activities.

g/ The concerned ministries and branches shall have the responsibility to thoroughly study the international economic integration contents related to them, thereby to concentrate efforts on introducing and explaining concretely these contents to enterprises within their respective branches so that the latter can understand these contents, take initiative in making and executing production and business plans as well as promptly dealing with matters related to the fulfillment of international commitments.

2. Formulation, revision and supplementation of economic and trade laws, mechanisms and policies:

a/ The Ministry of Justice shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches, the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities, and the concerned agencies of the National Assembly and the Government in reviewing the current system of legal documents, mechanisms and policies so as to formulate, revise and promulgate documents in line with the Party�s undertaking on international economic integration in the new period. Such review shall focus on the following principal contents:

- Taking the first step in reviewing and comparing the current law provisions of Vietnam so as to make proposals on perfecting the legal system to accord with the regulations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and international commitments.

- On the basis of the review�s results, submitting to the Government for proposing the National Assembly to incorporate the contents regarding the promulgation of new legal documents compliant with the regulations of WTO and international economic and trade organizations which Vietnam will join; the revision, supplementation, adjustment or annulment of those legal documents, mechanisms and policies not conformable with the international commitments which Vietnam have agreed, are negotiating and will agree upon, into the 2002-2003 legislative program and the legislative program of the whole 2002-2006 National Assembly tenure.

b/ The Ministry of Justice shall coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches in conducting research, proposing the conclusion, approval, ratification of or accession to international agreements related to integration activities, and formulating new legal documents and technical measures consistent with international practices as well as WTO regulations so as to reasonably protect the domestic production.

c/ The Ministry of Justice shall coordinate with the concerned ministries and localities in drawing up the plans for 2002 and subsequent years to strengthen the legal organizations of the branches, localities and enterprises; fostering the branches, localities and enterprises in the knowledge on international economic and trade laws as well as the law enforcement capability; propose measures to consolidate the systems of economic, labor, administrative� courts as well as arbitration organizations, which hold an important role in our country�s international integration process.

The above tasks should be fulfilled in the third quarter of 2002.

3. Economic restructuring and raising of competitiveness:

a/ The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall coordinate with the concerned ministries, branches and agencies in formulating the scheme on economic restructuring for submission to the Government by December 2002; the plan on formulating the mechanism for managing the socialist-oriented market economy by June 2003 and the mechanism for creating an equitable business environment by December 2003.

b/ In the fourth quarter of 2002 at the latest, the Ministry of Planning and Investment together with the ministries and branches involved in the production and business fields shall survey, categorize and assess the competitiveness of each product, each commodity line, each service, each enterprise and each locality so as to develop plans and practical measures to raise their efficiency and competitiveness.

c/ The ministries and the agencies attached to the Government in charge of production branches shall develop strategies on the development of product outlet networks, ensuring smooth domestic circulation and firmly maintaining the domestic markets for their products, then submit them to the Government in September 2002.

d/ The National Committee for International Economic Cooperation shall coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches in completing a national scheme to study the competitiveness of a number of commodity items and services in order to fulfill Vietnam�s international commitments. This scheme shall be finalized and submitted to the Government in December 2002.

4. Synthesization and finalization of the overall strategy on international economic integration:

a/ The National Committee for International Economic Cooperation shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches in synthesizing Vietnam�s international commitments within the ASEAN and APEC frameworks, the programs of action within the WTO admission negotiation framework, the Miyzawa program, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), the Vietnam-US Trade Agreement and other international agreements; basing themselves on the 2001-2010 socio-economic development strategy, the economic restructuring scheme, the results of the research into the competitiveness of the Vietnamese economy� to supplement and finalize the overall strategy on international economic integration.

b/ The ministries, branches and localities shall base themselves on the overall strategy on international economic integration and the Government�s program of action to develop their own integration plans.

These tasks should be fulfilled in the fourth quarter of 2002.

5. On human resource training:

a/ The Government Commission for Organization and Personnel shall assume the prime responsibility together with the Ministry of Education and Training, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and concerned ministries and branches in elaborating the plans to train the contingent of officials and public employees, managers, lawyers, who are knowledgeable about international laws and international integration, the contingent of technicians who are politically steadfast, professionally competent and proficient in foreign languages, and skilled workers who can meet the requirements of industrialization, modernization as well as international economic integration.

These plans should be finalized and submitted to the Prime Minister within the first half of 2002.

b/ The ministries, branches and localities shall select those officials who are politically steadfast, professionally capable and proficient in foreign languages and arrange them to work on a stable and long-term basis in the international economic integration domain.

6. On the combination of external political activities with external economic activities:

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches in elaborating a plan on coordinating external political activities with external economic activities, stepping up diplomatic activities in service of economic development, focusing on intensifying the coordination between the diplomatic representations and the ministries, branches, economic organizations and businesses at home as well as the representative economic, trade and professional agencies of the ministries and branches and the Government�s international economic and trade negotiation delegations. This plan should be finalized and submitted to the Prime Minister in the second quarter of 2002.

7. On the task of strengthening security and defense:

The Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Public Security shall coordinate with the concerned ministries, commissions and branches of the Party and the Government in formulating the policies to create a favorable environment for the international economic integration process, take initiative in supporting and facilitating the exchange of goods and services as well as the exit and entry of people; at the same time ensuring that integration would not exert negative impacts on the task of protecting the national security, including economic security and social safety.

This plan should be completed in the second quarter of 2002 for submission to the Prime Minister.

8. On negotiations on the WTO admission:

a/ On the basis of the direction by the Politburo and the Government, the Ministry of Trade shall coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and concerned ministries and branches in expeditiously finalizing the bilateral negotiation plans for WTO admission, ensuring suitability with the situation of our country, a country developing at a low level, in the process of transformation of its economic mechanism, and combining the negotiation process with the process of all-sided economic renewal.

b/ The ministries and branches shall have to create favorable conditions for the members of the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation, members of the Government�s negotiation delegations, members of the Technical Assistance Groups of the Government�s negotiation delegations in their respective agencies to work on a stable and long-term basis.

9. Expansion of export markets, making full use of investment and technical assistance of various countries and international organizations:

a/ The Ministry of Trade shall coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches in formulating a program on promoting the expansion of the export markets for Vietnamese goods and services.

b/ The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall coordinate with the concerned ministries and branches and the localities in enhancing the measures to attract investment, scientific and technological resources as well as the advanced managerial capability of foreign countries.

c/ The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation and the concerned ministries and branches in expeditiously reviewing the technical assistance projects sponsored by various countries and international organizations in the integration field since 1995, evaluate their use efficiency and draw up plans to continue making the fullest use of these assistance sources, then submit them to the Government for decision. This task should be fulfilled in the second quarter of 2002.

10. Organizational consolidation:

a/ The Government�s Office shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Government Commission for Organization and Personnel, the Ministry of Trade and the Office of the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation in finalizing a draft decision of the Prime Minister on the strengthening of the National Committee for International Economic Cooperation then submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision in April 2002.

b/ The Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Government Commission for Organization and Personnel, the Ministry of Culture and Information and the Ministry of Trade in formulating the schemes on renewing the organization, managerial mechanism and mode of operation of the system of agencies in charge of protecting the copyright, industrial property rights and inspecting the quality of export and import goods, then submitting them to the Prime Minister in the second quarter of 2002.

The ministries, the ministerial-level agencies, the agencies attached to the Government, the People�s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall base themselves on the Government�s program of action and the practical situation of each ministry, branch or locality to promptly organize the implementation of the Political Bureau�s resolution on international economic integration.

Prime Minister
PHAN VAN KHAI