NA gathers to ignite WTO bid

High on the agenda of the one-month session are amendments to 11 laws and passing the Commercial Law and Customs Law to harmonise Vietnamese regulations with international practices and WTO requirements.
The national legislature will also scrutinise 12 other draft laws, including the Intellectual Property Law and Import-Export Tax Law, which are in need of revision to bring them in line with WTO regulations.
National Assembly chairman Nguyen Van An acknowledged that the law-building tasks during the current meeting were more challenging than previous sessions, but streamlined law-making and approval procedures would allow the assembly to finish the set programme on time.
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung told delegates that there is a great deal the country needs to do in order to join the WTO, and the government was speeding up building legal documents to facilitate the international integration process.
Dung said the government had passed and submitted to the National Assembly’s Standing Committee a programme to push forward the draft law-making process this year, which will include 19 laws and bills and three ordinances.
The deputy premier said 10 draft laws and one ordinance had been completed for submission this session, and the government would instruct concerned agencies to finish creating the remaining drafts.
He added that the government was taking the initiative to boost bilateral and multilateral talks, while maintaining its principles in a flexible manner in order to complete negotiations as early as possible.
“The coming time is the decisive stage,” Dung said. “Preparation for negotiations to join the WTO remains huge and sophisticated.”
A government report stated that Vietnam has completed WTO negotiations with seven partners, including the EU, and is nearing the end of talks with a number of other countries.
“Multilateral talks have progressed considerably and a document about Vietnam’s admission into the WTO is being drafted,” said Dung.
He said the government had instructed every ministry and agency to work out programmes for international economic integration while educating people and businesses about the advantages and challenges that WTO membership will present to the country.
Dung told the NA that preparing for WTO admission was one of the five priorities for the legislative body this year.
Dung called for cooperation from all economic sectors and people to achieve an economic growth rate of 8.5 per cent in 2005. In the first quarter, GDP only grew 7.23 per cent, a number Dung said must be increased to 8.8 per cent over the remaining months of the year in order to achieve the year set target.
He asked state agencies at all levels to remove obstacles and barriers hampering business development. The government decided to set up a task force and has instructed provinces and cities to follow suit to address administrative problems hindering the growth of business and production.
He said measures had been outlined to attract foreign investment with a focus on eradicating discrimination between domestic and foreign investment, simplifying administrative procedures and promoting transparent and consistent policies.
Other measures to lift economic growth include concentrating state investment on key projects, promoting export and services, and speeding up the reform of state-owned enterprises. Meanwhile, the government is exerting great efforts to curb inflation and stabilise the macro-economy.
Dung conceded that administrative procedures remain a big problem in relations between government agencies and the business sector.
He asked ministries and localities to review and revise regulations that present difficulties for companies and citizens in the fields of land and house registration and transfers, investment and construction project licensing, and export, import and customs procedures.
The deputy premier said one of the key tasks the government continues to focus on is the fight against corruption and inefficient spending. He also said the government is reviewing an anti-corruption ordinance in preparation for building anti-corruption and thrift practice laws.