'Urgently complete the streamlining of the apparatus, prepare to arrange administrative boundaries'

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chairs the regular Government meeting in February 2025. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

On the morning of March 5, concluding the regular Government meeting in February, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested that in the coming time, along with focusing on ensuring macroeconomic stability, promoting growth, responding to trade competition... ministries, branches and localities continue to perfect the streamlining of the apparatus and prepare for the arrangement of administrative units.

Socio-economic development continues to be positive.

At the meeting, the Government focused on assessing the socio-economic situation in February and the first two months; the national target program; the disbursement of public investment capital; the implementation of Resolution 25 of the Government and the key directions for the coming time. The Government also discussed rice production and export; the implementation of infrastructure projects in the southern region, especially the issue of filling materials for projects in the Mekong Delta.

In particular, Government members assessed and analyzed the context and situation in March and the coming time, proposed key leadership, direction and management in the coming time so that by 2025, growth must be at least 8%, creating momentum, creating force, creating foundation, creating new momentum to achieve double-digit growth in the following years.

The Government assessed that in February and the first two months of 2025, the socio-economic situation continued to grow positively. The entire political system, people, and businesses, under the leadership of the Party, have been proactive, creative, and determined to accelerate the economy, make breakthroughs, and successfully achieve the 2025 growth target, creating momentum for double-digit growth in the coming time.

In particular, the macro economy is stable, inflation is controlled, major balances are ensured. The average consumer price index (CPI) in 2 months increased by 3.27% over the same period. State budget revenue reached 25.4% of the estimate, up 25.7% over the same period. Import-export turnover increased by 12%, trade surplus is estimated at 1.47 billion USD. Total registered FDI capital is over 6.9 billion USD, up 35.5% over the same period; realized capital reached nearly 3 billion USD, up 5.4%.

Regarding the disbursement of public investment capital, by the end of February, ministries, agencies and localities had assigned 748.3 trillion VND in detail, reaching 90.6% of the plan, and estimated payment of 60.4 trillion VND, reaching 7.32% of the plan assigned by the Prime Minister.

For the 3 National Target Programs, ministries, agencies and localities have allocated about 20,000 billion VND in detail, reaching 91% of the plan; the estimated disbursement of investment capital is nearly 4,400 billion VND, reaching about 20% of the plan. Implementing Resolution 25 of the Government, ministries, branches and localities have basically completed the development of growth scenarios.

The Government assessed that, despite many positive results, many challenges affecting economic growth are increasing, especially external impacts. Growth drivers have not really accelerated clearly. All levels, sectors and localities need to make more efforts, urgently, resolutely and innovatively implement work, ensuring adherence to the proposed growth plan and scenario; urgently perfect the organizational apparatus; monitor, grasp closely, and respond flexibly and effectively to the situation, especially to the policy adjustments of countries, including tax and import-export policies.

The Prime Minister said that in February 2025, the Government will continue to resolutely direct the implementation of the Resolutions and Conclusions of the Central Committee, the Politburo, the National Assembly, the Government, and the Prime Minister's directions. In which, ministries, agencies, and localities will immediately focus on handling work after the Tet holiday; urgently implement and complete the streamlining and rearrangement of the apparatus, ensuring smooth operation of the Government; resolutely and synchronously implement solutions to promote growth with a target of 8% or more.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chairs the regular Government meeting in February 2025. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

The Government continues to focus on building and perfecting institutions, reforming administrative procedures, improving the investment and business environment; organizing 8 working sessions with domestic and foreign enterprises; contributing to organizing meetings between the heads of the 3 Parties and 3 Governments of Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia; organizing the pilot implementation of a number of special mechanisms and policies to create breakthroughs in science and technology development, innovation, and national digital transformation; urban railways in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City; Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong railway.

Also in February, the Government submitted amendments and supplements to the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents; issued 38 Decrees, 18 Resolutions, 23 Official Dispatches, 2 Directives; organized 1 Special Session on Law-making; issued a Decision assigning tasks to 24 working delegations of Government members to work with localities; established 7 inspection delegations to review and remove difficulties and obstacles related to key transport projects; and organized major holidays well.

Along with that, the Government inspected, urged, and resolved difficulties in key infrastructure projects such as Long Thanh airport, Ho Chi Minh City Ring Road 3, Tan Son Nhat Terminal T3, Dong Dang-Tra Linh expressway, Dung Quat-Sa Huynh coastal road, Quang Ngai-Hoai Nhon expressway; worked with and resolved recommendations from Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Da Nang, etc.

Agreeing with the assessment that the socio-economic situation in February and the first two months of the year was better than the same period last year, with eight outstanding results; while pointing out a number of shortcomings, limitations, difficulties and challenges, the Prime Minister emphasized that striving to achieve a GDP growth rate of 8% or more in 2025 is still a big challenge and requires continued efforts.

Prepare countermeasures for problems arising in world trade competition

Stating the causes of the existence, limitations, lessons learned, viewpoints on direction and management; directing the implementation of key tasks and solutions in the coming time, the Prime Minister requested ministries, branches and localities to continue streamlining the apparatus, improving effectiveness and efficiency; urgently develop a project to merge a number of provincial-level administrative units, not organize at the district level, continue to merge commune-level administrative units and submit it to the Government Party Committee before reporting to the Politburo.

Stating the task of maintaining macroeconomic stability, controlling inflation, ensuring major balances of the economy, the Prime Minister directed the implementation of a proactive, flexible, timely, effective monetary policy, harmoniously and synchronously coordinated with a reasonable, focused and key expansionary fiscal policy. In particular, striving to reduce the interest rate level, through tools such as rediscount interest rate, refinancing interest rate, overnight lending interest rate, priority sector lending interest rate as directed by the Government, bank bill interest rate; increasing revenue, reducing expenditure, saving expenditure; reducing taxes, fees and charges...; ensuring credit capital for the economy associated with credit quality, focusing on production, business, priority sectors, absolutely not allowing a shortage of credit capital for the economy.

The Prime Minister emphasized that it is necessary to ensure that there is no shortage of energy, especially electricity, oil, gas, and electricity; to prepare for the Government meeting at the end of the week to have countermeasures for issues arising in trade competition, to adjust policies of other countries, especially tax policies and issues related to Vietnam, and to resolve difficulties in economic relations with the United States.

The Prime Minister pointed out that ministries, branches and localities must synchronously, resolutely and effectively implement the Conclusions and Resolutions of the Central Committee, the Politburo, the National Assembly and the Government, especially Conclusion No. 123 of the Central Committee, Resolution No. 57 of the Politburo, Resolutions No. 01, 02, 25 of the Government, and Directive No. 05 of the Prime Minister.

Ministries and presiding agencies shall promptly issue guiding documents, Decrees detailing the issued laws and Resolutions; effectively organize the activities of the Steering Committee for review and organize the handling of problems in the legal system.

Relevant parties review and propose competent authorities to consider expanding the application of a number of pilot and specific mechanisms and policies that have been approved by the National Assembly in localities and have proven effective; accelerate the completion of institutions for new growth drivers; and complete regulations on the management of digital assets and digital currencies.

Deputy Prime Ministers, Ministers, and heads of government agencies attend the regular Government meeting in February 2025. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

The Head of Government directed to prioritize promoting growth, renewing traditional growth drivers, and promoting new growth drivers. In particular, strengthening inspection, urging, removing difficulties and obstacles to accelerate the disbursement of public investment capital, especially for key and important national projects; urgently completing the allocation of the entire state budget investment plan. In case of failure to allocate on time, the Government will recover the unallocated capital to allocate to other projects in need of capital to accelerate progress; intensifying the promotion and attraction of large-scale, high-tech FDI projects, especially in the processing, manufacturing, electronics, semiconductor, hydrogen industries, etc.; promptly handling difficulties and obstacles of FDI enterprises to accelerate the progress of projects.

The Prime Minister requested to develop a plan to proactively implement appropriate solutions to promote harmonious and sustainable trade with the US, China, and major partners. Effectively exploit the 17 signed FTAs; promote negotiations and signing of new FTAs, exploit new and potential markets; focus on implementing specific solutions to stimulate consumption, promote e-commerce, and cashless payments; promote the campaign "Vietnamese people prioritize using Vietnamese goods"; have specific plans and synchronously implement solutions to promote attracting domestic and international tourists. The Ministry of Public Security will study and soon expand the visa exemption for a number of suitable countries.

Ministries and branches focus on directing and urging the effective implementation of Resolution 03 of the Government to implement Resolution No. 57 of the Politburo on science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation, including appropriate document forms that clearly define the monthly time for each task.

Relevant parties review mechanisms, policies and solutions to focus on promoting the development of science and technology, innovation and digital transformation; focus on reviewing and perfecting mechanisms, policies and solutions to promote the implementation of strategic breakthroughs, creating substantial changes in economic restructuring associated with transforming the growth model towards greening, developing knowledge-based economy, circular economy, sharing economy, new industries and fields such as semiconductor chips, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things...; perfect the Resolution on mechanisms and policies for breakthrough development of the private economic sector, perfect the dossier proposing the development of a National Assembly Resolution on an international and regional financial center in Vietnam.

Reminding the continued effective handling of outstanding and long-standing issues, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assigned ministries, branches and localities, according to their functions, tasks and authority, to focus on implementing solutions to handle long-standing backlog projects, especially real estate projects, to avoid waste, to promote the responsibility of leaders, and to promptly report if beyond authority.

The Head of Government directed to focus on the fields of culture, society, environmental protection, natural disaster prevention and control, and climate change response; continue to maintain and strengthen national defense and security; maintain social order and safety; further promote the work of preventing and combating corruption, negativity, and waste.

Relevant parties should strengthen foreign affairs, international integration; information and communication, create social consensus, especially policy communication, improve the effectiveness of mass mobilization work; well implement the principle of grassroots democracy; consolidate the great national unity bloc; contribute to creating social consensus and well implementing the set socio-economic development goals and tasks./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/khan-truong-hoan-thien-tinh-gon-bo-may-chuan-bi-sap-xep-dia-gioi-hanh-chinh-post1016823.vnp