(VOVworld) – On the occasion of the New Year, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has written an article called “Finalizing institutions, enhancing people’s right to mastery to achieve 2014’s targets, creating the basis for rapid and sustainable development”. We bring you the gist of his article.

The article is divided into 4 parts. In part 1, Prime Minister Dung stressed the need to finalize institutions and enhance people’s right to mastery. Over the last 30 years, Vietnam has gained outstanding achievements in reforming its institutions, expanding democracy, and implementing the market economy mechanism with major breakthroughs since the 6^th National Party Congress. Appropriate renovations have helped Vietnam from a less developed country become a middle-income nation. The international community has acknowledged Vietnam’s achievements in poverty reduction. However, Vietnam’s competitiveness has not improved and its economic restructuring has been slow while there remain a number of social problems. Therefore, institutional reform and enhancing people’s right to mastery are crucial to regain the momentum for rapid and sustainable growth. Prime Minister Dung said that democracy was President Ho Chi Minh’s ideology. Democracy and the socialist state governed by law go together in modern political institutions. The state must be governed by law and law must ensure justice. Limitations in people’s right to freedom must be carefully considered with the aim of safeguarding national defense and security, social order and the nation’s fine moral and cultural values. The approval of the 2013 revised Constitution has made it easier for the implementation of President Ho Chi Minh’s ideology. Prime Minister Dung said that to enhance people’s right to mastery, the state should guarantee their right to be involved in legislation, to elect their representatives, and to own property. Rights must go together with social responsibility and citizen duties, the most important of which is to abide by the law. According to Prime Minister Dung, in 2014, priority will be given to formulating and revising laws to implement the Constitution while promoting the building of a state governed by law, enhancing people’s right to mastery, and fine-tuning the socialist-oriented market economy institution. Efforts will be made to improve law enforcement and to build a strong and transparent state apparatus. Cabinet members will be required to raise their sense of responsibility in the formulation and issuance of legal documents.

Part 2 refers to the fine tuning of the socialist-oriented market economy institution with the purpose of creating a level playing field and boosting administrative reform. Prime Minister Dung said that this is a strategic breakthrough mentioned in the Resolution of the 11^th National party Congress. Two foremost tasks will be applying market prices on goods and essential services and ensuring healthy competition. There should be policies to support the poor, social beneficiaries, ethnic minorities, and people in remote and disadvantaged areas and to eliminate business monopoly and mechanisms that create unhealthy competition, particularly in accessing resources. Attention will be paid to the restructuring of state-owned enterprises with a focus on equitizing foreign-invested sources and selling the stocks that the State does not need in line with market regulations. State-owned enterprises will focus only on crucial areas and national defense.

Part 3 touches on boosting agriculture restructuring toward higher value, sustainable growth and new rural development. Prime Minister Dung said that this is an important part of Vietnam’s economic restructuring plan, which requires the application of science and technology and the restructuring of agricultural production. Farmers will play the central role in agriculture restructuring and new rural development. Efforts will be made to attract investment in rural areas, develop agriculture, industry, and services, build necessary infrastructure, and reduce poverty while protecting the environment and preserving the cultural identity and traditions of rural Vietnam.