NA Chairman emphasizes firm commitment to reform for national development
Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Tran Thanh Man gave an interview to media on the occasion of the Lunar New Year 2025 and the 95th anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), highlighting key legislative reforms in 2024 that paved the way for the country to enter a new era – the era of nation's rise.
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| NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man. (Photo: VNA) |
Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Tran Thanh Man has granted an interview to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) on the occasion of the Lunar New Year 2025 and the 95th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), spotlighting significant legislative reforms in 2024 that helped pave the way for the country to enter a new era – the era of the nation's rise.
Following is a translation of the interview:
2024 saw profound changes in the NA's approach to the lawmaking work, aimed at removing bottlenecks and creating a favourable legal framework for economic and social development. Could you elaborate on these changes?
In 2024, with unwavering determination to place the nation and people’s interests above all, agencies under the NA, the NA Standing Committee and the NA Office made significant strides in the lawmaking work. Notably, they served the organisation of six NA sessions, 33 meetings of the NA Standing Committee, the highest number in a single year during this tenure. The 7th and 8th sessions in particular saw a considerable volume of legislative tasks, and laws and resolutions adopted during those sessions contributed greatly to removing institutional bottlenecks, creating a favourable legal corridor for socio-economic development and ensuring national defence – security.
At the 5th extraordinary session in January, the parliament passed the Land Law (revised), one of the most important legislative tasks in the 15th tenure. The new law introduces many new regulations, such as land use rights and obligations for foreign citizens of Vietnamese origin, access to land for both individuals and businesses, and land valuation.
Furthermore, the passing of the law on amendments and supplements to several articles of the Land Law, Housing Law, Real Estate Business Law and Law on Credit Institutions which allowed the Land Law to take effect earlier than initially planned, from August 1, 2024, helped promptly resolve bottlenecks and unlock the full potential of land resources while developing a healthy property market, creating motives for development.
The NA agencies, following directions of Party General Secretary To Lam, made profound changes in their mindsets and methods in lawmaking, in the direction of ensuring state management requirements while encouraging innovation, unleashing production capacity and resources for development; and enhancing decentralisation and administrative reform. The laws are concise and clear, stipulating issues under the authority of the NA and removing provisions that fall under the jurisdiction of the Government, ministries and other agencies, and not turning into law contents of circulars and decrees. For specific issues that are in the process of development or are not stable, the laws provide a framework and delegate the detailed regulations to the Government, ensuring flexibility of the Government's governance to meet the needs arising in reality.
At the 8th session, the NA passed 18 laws and 21 resolutions and provided initial feedback on 10 other bills. Many draft laws and resolutions were considered and adopted through a streamlined process at one session, with new provisions to remove roadblocks for investment, production and business activities, accelerate the pace of projects using public investments, promote growth, and create a legal basis for emerging issues and trends, so as to successfully carry out the digital transformation revolution, helping the nation stay aligned with current trends and develop robustly in the new era. The NA also discussed and adopted multiple mechanisms and policies to settle national issues in a timely manner, improve the people’s material and spiritual lives, and respond to the practical needs of society. For example, the Law on Health Insurance (amended) has stipulated the gradual integration of medical services covered by health insurance across hospitals at different levels.
Particularly, the building and submission to the NA for approval of the Public Investment Law (revised), the law on amending and supplementing several articles of four laws in the area of investment, and the law on amending and supplementing several articles of nine laws in the area of finance and state budget are standout example of the profound mindset changes in lawmaking with a spirit of reform and under the motto of “localities decide, localities carry out, and localities take responsibilities”. The Party Central Committee, the National Assembly and the Government play the role of building and completing mechanisms, and conducting supervision and inspections, ensuring clarity in responsibilities and results; do away with the “ask-and-give” mechanism; and make the people and businesses the centre and the subject of development.
What are the priorities of the NA in 2025? How will the organisational restructuring, in line with Resolution 18-NQ/TW, be implemented to further enhance the NA's effectiveness and efficiency?
The year 2025 will be marked by many significant events. Party committees at all levels will organise their congresses leading up to the 14th National Party Congress, while preparations will also be underway for the election of deputies to the 16th NA and People’s Councils at all levels for the 2026–2031 term. In this context, the NA, its committees and deputies will continue to uphold the spirit of solidarity, responsibility, innovation, and breakthrough, focusing on the following priorities:
First, working for the concerted and effective implementation of decisions made at the 15th NA’s 8th session. Administrations at all levels, sectors, and agencies in the state apparatus, especially the NA's committees and deputies, must promptly enforce the laws and resolutions recently approved by the NA, fully grasp the requirement for innovation in law building in association with effective law enforcement, fostering a positive ripple effect across the political system and the public. Furthermore, proactive coordination to prepare the agenda and content for the 9th and 10th sessions of the 15th NA is also important.
Second, the NA will pay attention to and effectively manage the fight against corruption, wastefulness, and other negative behaviours within agencies under the NA, the NA Standing Committee and the NA Office; while raising awareness and sense of responsibility among officials and Party members on a scientific work mindset and efficient time management, as well as fostering social responsibility and ethics in line with strict enforcement of order and discipline. The NA will continue to improve the institutional framework for preventing and combating corruption, wastefulness, and other negative phenomena, as well as strictly punishing violations; address root causes of corruption, wastefulness, and other negative phenomena; and cultivate a culture of frugality, making thrift practice and combating wastefulness a daily task for individuals and organisations alike.
Third, the NA will build and implement plans to review the performance of the 15th term, drafting the structure, composition and personnel for the 16th tenure, and direct preparations for the election of deputies to the 16th NA and People’s Councils at all levels in the 2026 – 2031 term.
Fourth, the NA will focus efforts on reviewing the implementation of Resolution 18-NQ/TW, completing schemes, regulations, and documents for submission to the Party Central Committee's meetings on schedule, while strictly adhering to urgent requirements regarding the restructuring and streamlining of the political system's organisational apparatus to meet the nation's needs in the new era. Integrating ideological with organisational work is also important. This period requires each official, Party member, employee, and organisation to assess their capacities and align them with the demands of the new context to arrange personnel and carry out organisational restructuring aimed at improving the quality and efficiency of the NA’s and its deputies’ duties and power.
The NA’s steering committee for the review of Resolution 18-NQ/TW has developed a plan, timeline, and specific assignments. Accordingly, the focus will be on restructuring and improving the Council for Ethnic Affairs, NA committees and agencies under the NA Standing Committee, to ensure their effective and efficient operations. Clear distinctions will be made regarding the functions, duties, and relationships among various agencies, especially those of the NA and of the Government, to ensure coherence and harmony in the national governance process.
In addition, the NA will conduct study and review of laws, ordinances, and resolutions related to the organisation and operation of the NA in particular, and the entire political system in general, with a view to proactively make proposals to the NA and the NA Standing Committee for amendments and supplements, thereby providing a legal basis for the reform, restructuring, and streamlining of the organisational apparatus. This will ensure that the Party’s policies are implemented swiftly and effectively once they are officially approved by the Party Central Committee.
Institutional building and perfection for development is one of the three strategic breakthroughs defined in the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress. What innovations will the National Assembly implement to better fulfill the task assigned by the Party and the people, helping to bring the country into a new era?
To continue to step up institutional building and perfection for development, and ensure a close connection between law-making and law enforcement, the NA's Party Delegation and the NA Standing Committee will direct the implementation of the following tasks:
Firstly, continuing to monitor and implement legislative tasks according to Conclusion 19-KL/TW of the Politburo, Plan No. 81/KH-UBTVQH15 dated November 4, 2021, and Plan No.734/KH-UBTVQH15 dated January 22, 2024, of the NA Standing Committee; conducting a summary of the implementation of the project on orientation for the Law and Ordinance Building Programme for the 15th NA and developing the orientation for the Law and Ordinance Building Programme for the 16th NA. The NA Council for Ethnic Affairs and NA committees will enhance proactivity, ensure the quality and progress of the verification and revision of projects under the NA’s Law and Ordinance Building Programme for 2025.
Secondly, considering the organisation of the first Legal Forum, continuing to propose innovations in law-making linked to renewing law-making mindset and process. In the process of reviewing, proposing, and perfecting legal regulations, it is necessary to operate smoothly and synchronously two mechanisms: (i) “The Party leads, the State manages, the people master”; and (ii) “People know, people discuss, people do, people inspect, people supervise, people benefit”. The NA will continue to coordinate with the Government to regularly evaluate the effectiveness and quality of mechanisms and policies to properly adjust inadequacies and contradictions, and minimise losses and waste of resources.
Thirdly, continuing to improve the quality of the proposals for the Law and Ordinance Building Programme; ensuring the order of priorities regarding the urgency of issuance and feasibility of the programme, balancing the workload of the NA and its agencies; basically addressing the situation of adding too many proposed contents shortly before the NA's sessions.
On the occasion of the New Year 2025, do you have any messages to voters, the people across the country, and the Vietnamese community abroad?
The year 2025 is of utmost importance and has many urgent tasks that need to be completed. The NA will continue innovating itself strongly, enhancing its operational efficiency, uniting and acting under the leadership of the Party, overcoming all difficulties and challenges, striving to achieve the highest possible socio-economic development goals, contributing to the successful implementation of the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress, preparing for Party congresses at all levels, leading to the 14th National Party Congress, preparing for the election of deputies to the 16th NA and all-level People's Councils for the 2026-2031 tenure, creating a foundation for strong innovation and development in a new era of the nation.
I expect that the people, voters across the country, as well as our compatriots abroad, will unite together and join hands to contribute to national construction and development; continue to accompany and provide valuable opinions for the NA so that it can better perform its functions and duties.
As a new spring is coming, with confidence and pride in the path of renewal of Vietnam, I wish all compatriots, voters across the country, and the Vietnamese community abroad a new year full of health, happiness, and success.
(Source: VNA)
