Absolutely do not administrativeize the activities of the National Assembly, legalize the provisions of decrees and circulars (*)

Dear Congress,

Dear leaders, former leaders of the Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front, revolutionary elders, international guests, distinguished delegates,

Dear compatriots, soldiers and voters nationwide,

Today, the 15th National Assembly solemnly opened its 8th session. According to the program, this is the session with the largest workload since the beginning of the term and is also the first session responsible for institutionalizing the Resolution of the 10th Central Committee, the 13th tenure, urgently bringing the Party's policies into practice and solving many other important issues of the country, creating a premise to immediately prepare in all aspects for us to enter a new era, an era of the Vietnamese nation's rise. On behalf of the Party and State leaders, I respectfully send to the leaders, former leaders of the Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front, National Assembly deputies, distinguished guests, representatives of diplomatic corps, international organizations attending the opening session of the session to all voters, people, compatriots, soldiers nationwide, and our compatriots abroad my greetings, wishes for health, happiness and success. I wish the session a great success.

Dear comrades and ladies,

The 10th Conference of the 13th Party Central Committee has recently been a great success. The Politburo and the Secretariat have also organized a national conference at the grassroots level to thoroughly implement the Resolution of the 10th Central Committee Conference with a very high spirit of innovation, solidarity and unity. The 10th Central Committee Conference discussed and decided on many important contents, unified awareness and action, focused on leadership and direction to accelerate, break through, and complete the goals and tasks of the 13th Congress term, and prepare for the 14th Party Congress. At the conference, the Central Committee assessed that since the beginning of the 13th Congress term, the world and regional situation has had many complicated developments, with issues beyond forecasts and unprecedented, posing many difficulties and great challenges to the task of building and defending the Fatherland.

The passing of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is a great loss, leaving behind endless sorrow for the people and soldiers of the whole country. In that context, our Party has demonstrated its steadfastness as a unified bloc in will and action, promptly perfecting the leadership of the Party and State with high consensus, thereby leading and directing the entire political system to strive to continue to achieve great and comprehensive achievements in all fields. The main goals and tasks of 2024 have basically been completed and exceeded the set targets, including many positive highlights. Politics and society are stable, economic growth is high compared to the region and the world. Major balances are ensured, we increase salaries without increasing prices, foreign investment has increased, culture and society continue to develop, and the material and spiritual life of the people is increasingly better met. The movements to eradicate hunger, reduce poverty, eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses, and support people to overcome the consequences of Typhoon Yagi have demonstrated the good nature of our regime. The spirit of mutual love, national love, and compatriotism has been strongly aroused in difficult times. National defense and security potential has been strengthened, the Fatherland has been firmly protected, foreign relations have continued to be expanded and upgraded, demonstrating Vietnam's proactive and positive contributions to world politics, the global economy, and human civilization.

These important achievements have further consolidated the foundation, potential, position and international prestige of our country over 40 years of renovation, creating a new appearance, new position and strength so that we can be self-reliant, confident, self-reliant, self-reliant, and proud of our nation, leading the country into an era of self-improvement in the coming time. In the overall achievements of the country, there is a very important contribution from the National Assembly in general, and the 15th National Assembly in particular. In recent times, the activities of the National Assembly have been innovated, more substantial and effective. The National Assembly has increasingly promoted its role as the highest representative body of the people, the highest state power body with three important functions.

Regarding legislation, since the beginning of the term, the National Assembly has passed 43 laws and more than 60 resolutions. The National Assembly Standing Committee has also issued 45 resolutions and 3 ordinances. In this 8th session, the National Assembly is expected to continue to pass 15 bills, 3 legal resolutions and give opinions on 13 draft laws, including 1 Law amending 3 laws in the field of investment, 1 Law amending 7 laws in the field of finance and asset management. There are very new draft laws, in line with development trends such as the Data Law and the Digital Technology Industry Law, demonstrating the National Assembly's high sense of responsibility. The Government has also promptly grasped and implemented the policies of the 10th Central Conference. These documents will make an important contribution to perfecting the legal system, removing difficulties and obstacles, overcoming bottlenecks, adjusting aspects of socio-economic life, ensuring human rights and serving national development.

The National Assembly's supervisory activities have also been constantly improved, focusing on pressing issues of life, contributing to perfecting policies and laws, ensuring discipline and order, and promoting state agencies to better perform their tasks. The National Assembly has also accompanied the Government in deciding to promptly issue many important policies and guidelines, which are of great significance to the country's socio-economic development, taking care of people's lives, especially in difficult times such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Assembly's foreign affairs have also been expanded with many outstanding activities, and the National Assembly has also been elected to many important positions at major and prestigious forums in the world.

However, frankly admitting that there are still shortcomings and limitations in the organization and operation of the National Assembly that need to be overcome soon. Of the three biggest bottlenecks today, namely institutions, infrastructure and human resources, institutions are the bottleneck of bottlenecks; the quality of law making and improvement has not met the needs of practice; some newly issued laws have had to be amended; regulations are not really consistent and overlap; many regulations are still difficult, hindering implementation, causing loss and waste of resources; and have not created a truly favorable environment to attract resources from domestic and foreign investors and to unlock resources among the people. Administrative procedures are still cumbersome; online public services, although improved, are not yet convenient and smooth. Law and policy enforcement are still weak links; decentralization and delegation of authority are not thorough; responsibilities are not clear; Arrange and consolidate the organization of the state administrative apparatus to be streamlined, operate effectively and efficiently, reduce the number of focal points and intermediate levels that are still inadequate. A part is still cumbersome and overlapping, between the legislative and executive branches, which have not really met the requirements of improving the effectiveness of state management. The existing problems and limitations that have lasted for many years need to be urgently overcome, not to hinder development, cause waste, and miss the development opportunities of the country in the new era. This is the responsibility of the entire political system, but a great responsibility rests on the shoulders of the National Assembly, the agencies of the National Assembly, the National Assembly deputies and the Government.

In addition, through the work, it is shown that hostile and reactionary forces always thoroughly take advantage of the process of building and perfecting institutions and laws to influence, steer, and even sabotage, identifying this as the shortest and fastest way to transform Vietnam's politics. Criminals and interest groups also seek to influence for their own benefit. If they are not truly wise and courageous for the common cause, an inappropriate institution can cause twists and turns in the country's development.

From the above issues, in order to meet the country's development requirements in the new era, I respectfully request the National Assembly to continue to strongly innovate its organization and operations 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, 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 opening up all resources for development. Management thinking is not rigid, and resolutely abandoning the thinking that if it cannot be managed, it must be banned. Legal provisions must be stable and have long-term value. The law only regulates framework issues and issues of principle, and does not need to be too lengthy. Practical issues that fluctuate frequently 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 law-implementing organizations, closely following reality, standing on the ground of Vietnamese reality to build appropriate legal regulations, learning from experience while doing, not being hasty but not being perfectionist to lose opportunities; taking people and businesses as the center and subject.

Regularly evaluate the effectiveness of policy quality after promulgation to promptly adjust inadequacies and contradictions, reduce losses and waste of resources, proactively detect and quickly remove bottlenecks caused by legal regulations. Promote decentralization and delegation of power with the motto of local decisions, local actions, local responsibilities. Thoroughly reform administrative procedures, reduce compliance costs, create the most favorable conditions for people and businesses. Focus on controlling power in law-making, tighten discipline, promote responsibility, especially the responsibility of leaders, resolutely fight against negativity and group interests. Proactively, actively, and urgently build a legal corridor for new issues and new trends, especially issues related to the 4.0 industrial revolution, artificial intelligence, digital transformation, green transformation, create a legal framework to successfully implement the digital transformation revolution, creating a breakthrough in national development in the following years.

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 and explanation activities, supervision of legal documents; focus on monitoring, reviewing and urging the implementation of recommendations after supervision. Innovate the process of deciding on the state budget to ensure substance along with supervision of budget implementation, gradually replacing the issuance of resolutions with laws on finance and budget.

At this session, the volume of work to supervise and decide on important national issues is also very large, the reality is posing, voters are looking forward to, such as assessing the socio-economic situation in 2024 and the tasks of socio-economic development, finance, and budget in 2025; supervising the topic "Implementation of real estate market management policies and social housing development from 2015 to the end of 2023"; considering and deciding on the investment policy of the National Target Program on cultural development; investing in the North-South high-speed railway project; establishing Hue city under the Central Government... I request the National Assembly and National Assembly deputies to promote their roles and responsibilities in discussing and deciding on these important issues.

Third, strongly innovate the organization and operation of the National Assembly, ensure effective and efficient operation, improve the quality and efficiency of the implementation of tasks and powers of National Assembly deputies, considering this as one of the key factors to innovate the operation of the National Assembly. The operation of the National Assembly, the agencies of the National Assembly, and National Assembly deputies must be in line with their roles, clearly defining the functions, tasks and relationships 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 in being exemplary and making important positive contributions to building institutions for national development with the spirit of innovation, reform, wholeheartedly serving the Fatherland and the People. Regularly cultivate, train, maintain moral qualities, discipline, order, improve working qualifications and capacity, maintain close contact, honestly reflect the opinions and recommendations of voters and be subject to their supervision. Always engrave in mind and carry out the advice of the great President Ho Chi Minh to National Assembly deputies to strive to maintain the independence of the Fatherland, strive to seek happiness for compatriots, always remember and practice the saying "forget the interests of the country, forget the interests of the family, for the common good, forget the interests of the individual". Arrange and perfect the National Council, Committees, and agencies of the National Assembly, ensure effective and efficient operations, continue to expand and improve the effectiveness of the National Assembly's foreign affairs work, contributing to enhancing the role and position of Vietnam in the international arena.

Dear comrades and ladies,

The world is in a period of epochal change, the country is also standing at the historical door to enter a new era, the era of national development. The country's burning reality is posing urgent problems that need to be solved, the people are waiting and expecting the decisions of the Party, the State, and the National Assembly. I request the National Assembly, the agencies of the National Assembly, and the National Assembly deputies to promote the spirit of solidarity, responsibility, innovation, breakthrough, and excellently fulfill their responsibilities, contributing to the solidarity of the entire Party, the entire people, and the entire army, striving to soon successfully build a socialist Vietnam on par with the great powers of the five continents, as the wish of the great President Ho Chi Minh and the aspiration of the entire nation.

Once again, I wish good health to the leaders of the Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front, National Assembly deputies, distinguished guests, international delegates, and all comrades, compatriots, voters nationwide and our compatriots abroad.

Thank you very much.

(*): Title given by Hai Duong electronic newspaper