The National Assembly Standing Committee and the Government have agreed to continue to work closely in 2009 to submit the country’s important issues to the legislature for consideration.

The agreement was reached during a conference in Hanoi on February 21 which was co-chaired by NA Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

They agreed to supplement and issue important bills to help the Government better perform its role in managing the country’s socio-economic affairs to minimise the impact of the economic slowdown and ensure social welfare.

They also agreed to intensify inspections and supervision, build a mechanism for providing and sharing information and attend their regular sessions to deal with issues that arise in a timely manner.

To increase the efficiency of the law-making process, they concluded that the National Assembly sessions will last for a month, with the mid-year meeting beginning on May 5 and the year-end gathering on October 20. Regular Cabinet meetings will not coincide with the National Assembly Standing Committee’s sessions. Question time will be encouraged at the National Assembly Standing Committee’s sessions to draw ideas for similar question times at the sessions of other National Assembly Committees.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung highlighted the close coordination between the NA Standing Committee and the Government in recent times, saying it has helped the Government run the economy effectively.

The efficiency of such coordination model should be enhanced in all areas, especially in legislation and supervision programmes as well as in deciding on the country’s important issues, said Mr Dung.

PM Dung proposed that the Government Office and the NA Office outline their joint working programmes this year and the following years for relevant agencies to follow. He said that the two sides will meet every six months to review their coordination model and more meetings will be held if required.

NA Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong proposed that both sides detail issues in their coordination programmes to ensure operational efficiency.

“We are determined to realise the resolutions adopted by the National Assembly for each year and the whole tenure with a focus on the quality and efficiency of the work,” said Mr Trong.

Reports delivered at the conference showed that the National Assembly Standing Committee and the Government coordinated well in 2008, especially in preparing sessions of the National Assembly and the Cabinet as well as activities of the NA Chairman and Vice Chairmen, the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers.

VietNamNet/VOV