Vietnam Weekly would like to continue publishing some observations on modern and effective national governance in the era of national development by Associate Professor Dr. Le Hai Binh - Alternate Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Editor-in-Chief of the Communist Magazine, as presented in the proceedings of the national scientific conference "The New Era, the Era of National Development of Vietnam - Theoretical and Practical Issues". Raising social awareness about the aspiration for development: Associate Professor Dr. Le Hai Binh believes that it is necessary to raise awareness and action among millions of people as one, with all subjects in society sharing a common national pride and self-respect, and a common aspiration and strategic goal for national development in the era of national progress, as directed by General Secretary To Lam: “This is the era of development, the era of prosperity under the leadership and rule of the Communist Party, successfully building a socialist Vietnam, a prosperous people, a strong nation, a democratic, just, and civilized society, standing shoulder to shoulder with the great powers of the world. All citizens will have a comfortable and happy life, supported in development and wealth creation; contributing increasingly to peace , stability, and development of the world, the happiness of humanity, and global civilization. The destination of this era of progress is a prosperous people, a strong nation, a socialist society, standing shoulder to shoulder with the great powers of the world… by 2045 becoming a developed socialist country.” "Development, high income."

Mobilizing all resources and all stakeholders in society to participate in national governance. Photo: Hoang Ha

Unifying the aspirations and vision for national development will change the perceptions and actions of all stakeholders, forming the basis for uniting all forces in society, overcoming differences, strongly igniting national pride, self-reliance, self-confidence, self-strength, and national pride, creating a combined strength to overcome difficulties and challenges, seize opportunities, and work together to build a strong nation, a prosperous society, and a happy people. Enhancing the leadership and governing capacity of the Party: Entering a new era with the strong impacts and influences of rapidly changing and unpredictable domestic and international situations, our Party must address a series of issues to both enhance the role, authority, responsibility, and leadership and governing capacity of the Party, and to enhance the role, authority, responsibility, effectiveness, and efficiency of state agencies as stipulated by law. Furthermore, the functions, tasks, authority, and responsibilities between Party organizations and State agencies, as well as the authority and responsibility between collective leadership, heads of Party organizations, and heads of State agencies, must be clearly defined. The organizational structure of Party agencies must also be designed and organized in the most streamlined manner, avoiding overlapping or dual power between Party and State agencies. A rational structure, both in terms of quantity and quality, of Party leaders and managers must be built, possessing strong political acumen, outstanding qualifications, qualities, and capabilities, a determination for innovation, and a dedication and aspiration to contribute. The leadership team, including key officials and strategic-level cadres, must possess strong character, dedication, strategic thinking, vision, and a desire to contribute. They must dare to think, speak, act, and take responsibility, confront difficulties and challenges, innovate, act decisively for the common good, be professionally competent, and have a scientific and professional work style. They must remain steadfast in the Party's leadership line; at the same time, they must enhance scientific governance capacity, ensuring democracy and governance according to the law. Scientific approach is demonstrated by ensuring that all Party decisions are consistent with objective laws, current realities, and forecasts, with the interests of the people at the center. Democratic approach is demonstrated by collective leadership and individual responsibility; unity and solidarity within the Party are the core elements for implementing democracy in society and national unity. The Party's leadership methods must be reformed to ensure political, revolutionary, and modern approaches, adapting flexibly to the times. The Party focuses on leading, directing, and supervising the national governance system and the State's governance capacity. It is necessary to continuously improve the Party's leadership and governing capacity to adapt to the new situation and context in the era of national development.

In the New Era, institutions, policies, and laws are the driving force and the resources that create development. Photo: Pham Hai

Building and perfecting institutions, policies, and laws that foster development: To build a modern and effective national governance system, Vietnam needs to focus on building and perfecting the institutional system in the direction of democracy and the rule of law, fostering development in accordance with the Party's viewpoint on building a socialist rule of law state of the people, by the people, and for the people. A breakthrough in thinking is needed to solve the institutional problem, which is the "bottleneck" of "bottlenecks". To achieve this, first and foremost, it is necessary to innovate thinking in building and perfecting institutions, policies, and laws in the following direction: In the new era, institutions, policies, and laws are the driving force and the resource for development. Policies and laws are enacted to solve problems linked to the requirements and demands arising from practice. Institutions and policies are the resource for development. Therefore, a practical and realistic approach must be applied in the development and implementation of policies and laws; Ensuring alignment with the country's actual conditions, addressing life's challenges, and finding development paths from practical experience. Proactively researching and developing policies and laws for new issues and trends to create a legal framework for the operation of the digital economy , digital society, digital government, and digital nation. The development and refinement of policies and laws must shift from a management mindset to a development-oriented mindset. Shifting from a "choose what to give" mindset to a "choose what to reject" mindset in policy and law planning and implementation. Ending the "request-and-grant" mentality, providing favors and easily giving rise to corruption and negative practices in the operation of public agencies, and adopting a "request-and-response" mindset focused on service provision, meeting customer satisfaction, and promoting cooperation and sharing among stakeholders. When formulating policies and laws, the approach shifts from emphasizing the establishment of "obligations" to focusing on establishing regulations that "protect and guarantee the rights" of stakeholders. This movement moves from a mindset of law enforcement not merely as a "public duty," but also towards instilling a "responsibility to serve" the people and society in the development and implementation of laws. It ensures that regulations for the State, officials, and civil servants "are permitted to do what the law prescribes and allows"; and for citizens "are permitted to do what the law does not prohibit," ending the mindset of "prohibiting what cannot be managed" to foster development. Institutions, policies, and laws aim towards the happiness of the people. Happiness is the highest cultural value, the goal and aspiration that every nation wants to bring to its citizens in the process of organizing and implementing policies. The happiness index of individuals and nations serves as a "predictor" of the comprehensive and sustainable development of each country. From focusing solely on economic development indicators, the State now approaches happiness in policy and legal analysis by placing economic indicators in correlation with criteria related to safety, well-being, friendliness, humanity, and positive experiences and emotions within each individual in society.

Happiness is the highest cultural value, the goal and aspiration that every nation wants to bring to its people. Photo: Vu Minh Quan

The approach to happiness must be reflected in the stages of policy and law development, implementation, and evaluation. Therefore, national managers and leaders will have a more comprehensive and insightful perspective in making decisions to govern the country. Institutions, policies, and laws establish and operate a streamlined, strong, effective, and efficient political system. The overall restructuring of the entire political system, in accordance with General Secretary To Lam 's directive: "streamlined - strong - efficient - effective - efficient," aims to maximize value creation and improve the quality of service to the people. The design and operation of the political system's apparatus should be based on scientific organizational principles, be practical, and ensure optimal system performance. In particular, the design must ensure that each public organization within the system is placed in the right position, with the right role and function, so that the public administration truly becomes a value-creating machine, building sustainable national development. First and foremost, focus on reorganizing the apparatus, minimizing intermediate layers, clearly defining authority, eliminating overlapping functions and responsibilities, and segmenting according to the principle: Clear tasks, clear people, clear duties, clear responsibilities. At the same time, to increase transparency and effectiveness, the principle of accountability and a performance-based evaluation mechanism should be applied. Develop and apply sets of indicators to accurately measure and evaluate the effectiveness of public organizations. Furthermore, promote decentralization, delegation of power, and delineation of authority between different levels of government, with the motto "local authorities decide - local authorities act - local authorities are responsible," in order to increase local initiative and optimize the decision-making process. Simultaneously, it is necessary to strictly control power, tighten discipline and order, and resolutely combat corruption, negative practices, and "group interests" in the process of formulating and implementing policies and laws. The synchronized implementation of solutions that are "lean, efficient, effective, and efficient" is not only an urgent task but also the foundation for building a modern, robust national governance system that meets Vietnam's development and integration needs in the new era. These solutions will help maximize the strength of the political system, enhance the state's governance capacity, and ensure the effective operation of public agencies, creating momentum for sustainable development and bringing the country closer to the goal of becoming a developed nation by 2045. Improving the capacity and ethics of officials and civil servants: A modern and effective national governance system requires a team of officials and civil servants who not only possess high professional competence but also adhere to ethical standards and demonstrate accountability to the people and society.

Institutions, policies, and laws establish and operate a streamlined, strong, effective, and efficient political system. Photo: Thach Thao

The public service is run by a team of professional, responsible, dynamic, and competent officials and civil servants. The evaluation of officials and civil servants is based on work performance through measurable and substantive indicators. Those who are incompetent must be resolutely removed from public service. The team of officials and civil servants in a modern and effective national governance system must truly be the elite and outstanding members of society to govern society. There should be a salary policy that creates motivation for work, so that officials and civil servants can work with peace of mind, develop the social value of the civil service profession, and always wholeheartedly dedicate themselves to the ideal and aspiration of "serving the Fatherland and the people." Applying digital technology in modern and effective national governance is crucial . First and foremost, it is necessary to develop and apply shared digital platforms, ensuring interconnectedness between agencies in the political system, from the central to local levels. Simultaneously, we must accelerate digital transformation in workflows, data management, and the provision of comprehensive, high-level online public services, serving citizens and businesses anytime, anywhere, regardless of administrative boundaries. Leveraging artificial intelligence, big data, and advanced technologies will enhance analytical and forecasting capabilities, supporting rapid and timely decision-making. Alongside this, we must ensure cybersecurity, national data security, and build a team of digitally competent and skilled officials and civil servants. This is a strategic step for national governance to adapt quickly to the digital transformation context, meeting the requirements of modern management and sustainable development. Mobilizing the participation of all stakeholders in national governance is key to maximizing the combined strength of society and promoting effective and sustainable governance. To achieve this, a clear legal framework is needed, creating conditions for all segments of the population, the business community, social organizations, and associations to participate and contribute their opinions to the policy-making and implementation process. Alongside this, it is necessary to promote transparency and openness of information, and encourage the supervisory role of society. This will increase consensus and shared responsibility. Each entity in society, according to its role and function, will strive to contribute its maximum value to national development in the following way: society provides resources, the market allocates resources, and the State creates institutions and regulates resources rationally. The concerted efforts of all entities will create a solid foundation for the aspiration of national development, in line with the realities and requirements of Vietnam's reform. ***** In the era of national progress, building a modern, efficient, and flexible national governance system not only meets the requirements of international integration but also serves as the foundation for realizing Vietnam's development aspirations. The proposed solutions, ranging from enhancing the Party's leadership capacity to perfecting the rule of law and applying digital technology , are pillars for building a transparent, accountable, and innovative governance system that meets the needs of the people and creates momentum for sustainable development. With the unity of the entire nation and the correct leadership of the Party, Vietnam will steadily advance to become a developed nation, standing shoulder to shoulder with the world's leading powers by 2045.

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