Solemn opening of the 8th session of the 15th National Assembly

Attending the opening session on the morning of October 21 were: General Secretary, President To Lam; Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh; Standing member of the Secretariat Luong Cuong; Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Do Van Chien.

Also attending were former General Secretary Nong Duc Manh; former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung; former National Assembly Chairmen Nguyen Sinh Hung and Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

Leaders, former leaders of the Party, State, Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, international guests... also attended.

Before the opening of the session, leaders of the Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front, and National Assembly deputies laid flowers and visited President Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum.

Before starting the session, delegates observed a minute of silence to commemorate soldiers who sacrificed their lives and people who died due to natural disasters in recent times.

The same morning, the National Assembly held a preparatory session.

Unblocking resources, overcoming bottlenecks

Chairing and delivering the opening speech, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man stated: The 8th session of the 15th National Assembly takes place after the very successful 10th Conference of the 13th Party Central Committee. This session is of great significance, the National Assembly will discuss and decide on many issues to promptly remove difficulties and obstacles in terms of institutions and policies, unblock resources, overcome bottlenecks, all for the socio-economic development of the country and ensure the people's lives.

At the preparatory session, the National Assembly deputies reached a high consensus and voted to approve the content, time, agenda and method of conducting the session. The National Assembly will work for 29.5 days, from October 21 to November 30, 2024; divided into 2 phases: phase 1 from October 21 to November 13; phase 2 from November 20 to the morning of November 30. At this opening session, General Secretary and President To Lam will deliver an important speech.

Regarding legislative work, the National Assembly Chairman said that this is the key content, taking up most of the session's time, with 31 draft laws and draft resolutions being discussed; of which, the National Assembly will consider and strive to pass 18 draft laws, 3 draft resolutions on legal norms and discuss and give initial opinions on 10 other draft laws. This is a session with a very large volume of legislative content; the draft laws and draft resolutions considered by the National Assembly at this session are related to many sectors and fields that are urgently required in practice and are of great interest to many businesses, voters and people nationwide.

Therefore, on the basis of concretizing the Party's policies and resolutions, starting from practice, taking people and businesses as the center, the National Assembly Chairman suggested that National Assembly deputies promote democracy, intelligence, professionalism, science, and focus on comprehensively contributing comments on both the content and legislative techniques of the draft laws. "The law needs to be concise, only regulating issues within the authority of the National Assembly, not legalizing issues under circulars and decrees; not being perfectionist, not hasty; not rigidly regulating; shifting management thinking to unlocking resources, strengthening decentralization and delegation of authority thoroughly and substantially, ensuring sufficient capacity for individuals and decentralized agencies to organize and carry out work," the National Assembly Chairman emphasized.

The National Assembly Chairman requested to cut down and simplify administrative procedures; control power, not allow group interests and local interests in laws and resolutions, ensure that when laws and resolutions are passed by the National Assembly, they are of high quality and have a long lifespan, create favorable conditions and give the Government proactive and flexible authority in the process of organizing law implementation, linking law making and law enforcement to achieve the highest efficiency.

Objective and comprehensive assessment of the socio-economic situation

Regarding socio-economics and state budget, the National Assembly Chairman said that the 10th Conference of the 13th Party Central Committee was held earlier than usual, giving the National Assembly Standing Committee, the Ethnic Council, and the National Assembly Committees more time to study and examine the Government's reports to submit to the National Assembly on the results of the implementation of the socio-economic development plan and state budget in 2024; socio-economic development plan, state budget estimates, central budget allocation plan in 2025 (including the 3-year state budget and finance plan for 2025 - 2027); the implementation of the public investment plan in 2024 and the decision on the public investment plan in 2025.

The National Assembly considered and decided on the establishment of Hue city under the Central Government; investment policy for the National Target Program on Cultural Development for the 2025-2035 period; investment policy for the National Target Program on Drug Prevention and Control until 2030; investment policy for the high-speed railway project on the North-South axis and many other important contents.

The National Assembly Chairman requested that National Assembly deputies closely follow the Resolutions of the Party, the National Assembly, and the Government on socio-economic development; analyze and evaluate objectively and comprehensively, focusing on major issues, important achievements, shortcomings, limitations, and weaknesses, and propose practical and effective solutions; pay attention to new impacts and difficulties arising from complicated developments in the world and regional situation, especially overcoming the severe consequences of natural disasters and floods in 26 northern provinces and cities and some central provinces. In addition, National Assembly deputies are interested in discussing and giving comments on the suitability, feasibility, and effectiveness of policies; consistency and synchronization with legal regulations to promote resources, take advantage of development opportunities, to successfully carry out socio-economic development tasks for the 2021-2025 period, contributing to the successful implementation of the Resolution of the 13th National Congress of the Party.

Promote democracy, further enhance the sense of responsibility

Regarding supreme supervision, the National Assembly will listen to the Report synthesizing opinions and recommendations of voters and people; consider the Report on the results of supervision of the settlement of voters' recommendations; conduct questions and answers; supreme supervision on the topic "Implementation of policies and laws on real estate market management and social housing development from 2015 to 2023"; discuss and consider reports of the Government, agencies of the National Assembly, Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Court, Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme People's Procuracy and the State Audit; and discuss and give first comments on the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Supervisory Activities of the National Assembly and People's Councils.

Regarding personnel work, the National Assembly will consider electing the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and a number of other personnel work contents under its authority in accordance with Party regulations and State laws.

Emphasizing that the workload of the 8th Session is very large, on behalf of the National Assembly Standing Committee, the National Assembly Chairman requested that National Assembly deputies continue to promote democracy, further enhance the sense of responsibility, conduct thorough research, discuss enthusiastically in a constructive spirit, contribute many quality opinions, and meet the expectations of voters and people nationwide.

Strong innovation in legislative work

Immediately after the opening speech of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man, General Secretary and President To Lam delivered an important speech before the National Assembly. After highly appreciating the results of the National Assembly's activities in recent times and frankly pointing out a number of limitations, General Secretary and President To Lam suggested that the National Assembly continue to strongly innovate its organization and activities in the spirit of Resolution 27 dated November 9, 2022 of the 6th Conference of the 13th Party Central Committee on continuing to build and perfect the socialist rule-of-law state of Vietnam in the new period. In particular, focusing on emphasizing 3 issues:

Firstly, strongly innovate legislative work, including transforming the thinking of law-making towards both ensuring the requirements of state management and encouraging creativity, liberating all productive forces, and unlocking all resources for development. Legal provisions are stable and have long-term value; the law only regulates framework issues, issues of principle, and frequently changing practical issues are assigned to the Government and localities to regulate, to ensure flexibility in management. Absolutely do not administrativeize the activities of the National Assembly, legalize the provisions of decrees and circulars.

Innovate the process of building and organizing the implementation of laws, closely follow reality to build legal regulations, learn from experience while doing, do not be hasty but also do not be perfectionist to lose opportunities, take people and businesses as the center.

Second, better perform the function of supreme supervision and decide on important issues of the country. It is necessary to promptly study and clearly define the methods and forms of supreme supervision of the National Assembly, in accordance with reality, avoiding overlapping with the activities of other state agencies, causing waste. Continue to improve the quality of questioning, explaining, and supervising legal documents, focusing on monitoring, reviewing, and urging the implementation of recommendations after supervision. Innovate the process of deciding on the state budget, ensuring substance, along with supervising the implementation of the budget; gradually replace the issuance of resolutions with laws on finance and budget, etc.

Third, strongly innovate the organization and activities of the National Assembly to ensure effective and efficient operations, improve the quality and efficiency of the implementation of the duties and powers of National Assembly deputies; consider this one of the key factors of the key to innovate the activities of the National Assembly. The activities of the National Assembly, the agencies of the National Assembly, and National Assembly deputies must be in the right role, know their lessons, clearly define the functions and tasks of the relationship between agencies, especially the agencies of the National Assembly and the Government, ensuring closeness and harmony in the national governance process. The National Assembly and National Assembly deputies need to be highly unified, exemplary, leading, making positive and important contributions to institution building and national development, with the spirit of innovation and reform, wholeheartedly serving the Fatherland and the people...(See full text of Comrade To Lam's speech here).

It is estimated that 14/15 targets for the year will be achieved and exceeded.

Next, reporting on the results of the implementation of the socio-economic development plan for 2024; the expected socio-economic development plan for 2025, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assessed that in general, the socio-economic situation in the following month is more positive than the previous month, the following quarter is higher than the previous quarter, the first 9 months have achieved many important results, higher than the same period in most areas. It is estimated that 14/15 targets for the whole year will be achieved and exceeded (the target of GDP per capita will be achieved if GDP growth is over 7%). Notably, the target of labor productivity growth exceeded the set plan, after 3 years of not achieving it.

Regarding tasks and solutions for the last months of the year, the Prime Minister requested all levels, sectors and localities, based on their functions and powers, to continue to focus on synchronously and effectively implementing tasks and solutions in all fields. In particular, continuing efforts to overcome the consequences of natural disasters, especially storm No. 3; stepping up prevention and control of landslides, subsidence, drought, saltwater intrusion... Proactively and actively mobilizing maximum resources to immediately implement support policies, including ensuring that people do not lack food, clothing or shelter; students must go to school, the sick must be treated; supporting seeds and seedlings, restoring and developing agricultural, forestry and fishery production; creating conditions for business households and enterprises to quickly restore the supply chain and promote socio-economic development, creating jobs and stable livelihoods for people...

After the Prime Minister's report, the Chairman of the National Assembly's Economic Committee presented the Report on the verification of the results of the implementation of the 2024 socio-economic development plan; the projected socio-economic development plan for 2025. Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Do Van Chien presented the Report synthesizing the opinions and recommendations of voters and people sent to the 8th Session of the 15th National Assembly. Member of the National Assembly Standing Committee, Head of the People's Petitions Committee of the National Assembly Standing Committee Duong Thanh Binh presented the Report on the results of supervising the settlement of voters' recommendations sent to the 7th Session of the 15th National Assembly.

On the afternoon of October 21, the National Assembly continued to work on personnel work and give opinions on a number of reports and submissions.