National Assembly will focus more on international integration

National Assembly (NA) Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan stated that the agenda for the session will focus on considering and debating supplementary reports on the nation's socio-economic situation and the state budget situation for 2019, and the implementation of the Socio-economic Development Plan and state budget plan in the first months of 2020.

The National Assembly will adopt major co-operation deals with the EU

“The year 2020 is the last one of the country’s 2016-2020 Socio-economic Development Plan (SEDP). Thus, all of you, the NA members must thoroughly and objectively analyse and discuss the current situation in order to apply proper solutions to recovering the economy after COVID-19, contributing to the accomplishment of the goals of the SEDP, and laying firm groundwork for the next stage of development,” chairwoman Ngan said.

The legislature will also consider and decide on the National Target Programme on Socio-economic Development of Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas for 2021-2030, which is aimed to develop such minorities and areas in a more comprehensive and sustainable manner.

Notably, the legislative body will consider and adopt 10 laws and many draft resolutions (see box), while providing comments on another six laws, so as to institutionalise the policies and orientations of the Party and the government, regulations of the Constitution, and contributing to renewing and consolidating the NA apparatus. This will help improve the formulation and enactment of legal documents, laying down the legal foundation for the improvement of the domestic investment climate in favour of investors and enterprises.

“The laws will help create more transparency and equality among enterprises and investors,” the Chairwoman stated. “They will also help mobilise resources in society, further increasing the competitiveness of the economy and of Vietnamese enterprises in particular.”

Besides this, the NA will also consider and pass three international treaties including the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement, and the nation’s accession to Convention No.105 on Abolition of Forced Labour of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

“This will be an important milestone for the country’s international integration, laying a substantial foundation for Vietnam to boost exports, diversify export markets and export items, building up a more transparent legal and investment climate, which will enable the country to attract more investment from the EU and other regions,” Chairwoman Ngan stated.

“This will also help highlight our country’s determination to implement commitments related to labour trade agreements and perform its obligation as a member of the ILO,” she continued. “The adoption of these international treaties is quite suitable to the policies of the Party and the state during the country’s international integration process related to economy, labour, and society.”