Etiquette
Cultural Dos and Taboos
1. Do not cross your index finger with the middle finger as a gesture of good luck.
2. When dinning in a Vietnamese home bring a gift to show the family respect and appreciation. Do not present the host or friends with a gift wrapped in white paper. The gift itself should not be white. White is associated with death and is considered bad luck.
3. Remove shoes before entering a private home or place of worship.
4. A handshake is an acceptable form of greeting between persons of the same age, but it is customary to bow to those who are older or of high social rank.
5. When dining out with Vietnamese friends or business associates expect the person who initiated the invitation to pay.
6. There is a great respect given to elders. They are always greeted first. Never use direct eye contact when speaking to an elder. Never insult an elder, it will be a poor reflection on you and will damage personal and business relationships.
Useful links for students of culture:
Foreign Language Phrases for Travelers
http://www.travlang.com/languages/
National Anthems
http://www.thenationalanthems.net/
Holidays Around the World
http://www.earthcalendar.net/
International Recipes
http://members.tripod.com/~GabyandAndy/Internation_Recipes.html
http://www.world-recipes.info/
People
Cultural Demography
Ethnic Vietnamese constitute 87 percent of the country’s population totalling about 83 million. The Chinese make up the largest minority group; the Chinese comprise about three percent of the population and are concentrated in the south. About 50 other ethnic groups comprise the remaining 10 percent of the population; the most of whom are Tay, Thai, Muong, Hoa, Khmer and Nung scattered over mountain areas, each group numbering about one million.
Language
During the years of Chinese rule, Chinese was the official language in Vietnam. During the French domination, French was used in administrative, educational and diplomatic areas. Since independence from France in 1945, the Vietnamese language has gradually obtained its dominating position and is now the only official language in the country. Chinese, French, Khmer and English are still spoken in some circles.
Religion
In terms of religion, Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam among other belief systems are practiced in Vietnam.
Cultural Influences
Although Vietnamese culture was strongly influenced by traditional Chinese civilization, the struggle for political independence from China instilled a strong sense of national identity in the Vietnamese people. In addition, nearly 100 years of French rule from 1858 to 1954 introduced some European elements into Vietnamese culture. However, the people continue to observe rites honoring their ancestors and attach great importance to family, indicating the persistence of tradition
Human Development
The Vietnamese government administers virtually all educational facilities, and most Vietnamese have at least a primary school education. Literacy is high among the general population, with 92 percent of the female population and 95 percent of the male population aged 15 and over being able to read and write.
In terms of health and welfare, life expectancy in Vietnam is 70 years of age, according to recent estimates. The infant mortality rate of Vietnam is 30.83 deaths per 1,000 live births.
A notable measure of human development is the Human Development Index (HDI), which is formulated by the United Nations Development Program. The HDI is a composite of several indicators, which measure a country’s achievements in three main arenas of human development: longevity, knowledge and education, as well as economic standard of living. In a ranking of 177 countries, the HDI places Vietnam in the medium human development category, at 108th place.
Note: Although the concept of human development is complicated and cannot be properly captured by values and indices, the HDI, which is calculated and updated annually, offers a wide-ranging assessment of human development in certain countries, not based solely upon traditional economic and financial indicators.
Foreign Investment Climate
BackgroundVietnam is a poor, densely-populated country that has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally-planned economy. Substantial progress was achieved from 1986 to 1996 in moving forward from an extremely low starting point – growth averaged around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian financial crisis highlighted the problems in the Vietnamese economy, but rather than prompting reform, reaffirmed the government’s belief that shifting to a market-oriented economy would lead to disaster. GDP growth of 8.5% in 1997 fell to 6% in 1998 and 5% in 1999. Growth then rose to 6% to 7% in 2000-02 even against the background of global recession. These numbers mask some major difficulties in economic performance. Many domestic industries, including coal, cement, steel, and paper, have reported large stockpiles of inventory and tough competition from more efficient foreign producers. Since the Party elected new leadership in 2001, Vietnamese authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to economic liberalization and have moved to implement the structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The U.S.-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement entered into force near the end of 2001 and is expected to significantly increase Vietnam’s exports to the U.S. The U.S. is assisting Vietnam with implementing the legal and structural reforms called for in the agreement.
Foreign Investment Assessment
Vietnam generally encourages foreign investment. In an effort to improve Vietnam’s attractiveness to foreign investors, the National Assembly approved a number of changes to the Foreign Investment Law. The government of Vietnam has also noted that its long-term development strategy to the year 2020 involves attracting and utilizing oversees capital, both foreign direct investment official development assistance. This official stance notwithstanding, Vietnam is not regarded as a particularly hospitable investment environment. The legacy of the country’s command economy, even as it transitions into a “state-supervised” market economy remains problematic. While the government attempts to implement reforms in this regard, foreign investors trying to operate in this environment must cope with a wide range of problems and costs. These include poorly developed infrastructure, an under-developed legal system, a cumbersome financial systems, a massive bureaucracy, a regulatory system lacking transparency, high start-up costs, arcane land acquisition and transfer regulations, and a shortage of skilled workers.
Labor Force
Labor force: 45.74 million
Labor force – by occupation: agriculture 63%, industry and services 37%
Agriculture and Industry
Agriculture – products: paddy rice, corn, potatoes, rubber, soybeans, coffee, tea, bananas, sugar; poultry, pigs, fish
Industries: food processing, garments, shoes, machine-building, mining, cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, coal, steel, paper
Import Commodities and Import Partners
Imports – commodities: machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel products, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorcycles
Imports – partners: China 13.7%, Taiwan 11.4%, Japan 11.3%, South Korea 11%, Singapore 10.4%, US 5.7%, Thailand 5.4%, Hong Kong 4.2%
Export Commodities and Export Partners
Exports – commodities: crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes
Exports – partners: US 21.9%, Japan 13.8%, Australia 6.8%, China 6.5%, Germany 5.8%, Singapore 4.6%, UK 4.4%
Telephone System
Telephones – main lines in use: 4.402 million
Telephones – mobile cellular: 2.742 million
Telephone system: general assessment: Vietnam is putting considerable effort into modernization and expansion of its telecommunication system, but its performance continues to lag behind that of its more modern neighbors
domestic: all provincial exchanges are digitalized and connected to Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City by fiber-optic cable or microwave radio relay networks; main lines have been substantially increased, and the use of mobile telephones is growing rapidly
international: country code – 84
satellite earth stations – 2 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)
Internet Users
Internet hosts: 340
Internet users: 3.5 million
Roads, Airports, Ports and Harbors
Railways: total: 2,600 km
Highways: total: 93,300 km
Ports and harbors: Cam Ranh, Da Nang, Haiphong, Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Long, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Vinh, Vung Tau
Airports: 19 total; with paved runways, 16
Legal System and Considerations
The legal system is based on communist legal theory and French civil law system. Foreign investors should note, however, that dispute and claims settlement mechanisms remain under-developed. Economic Courts, in addition to hearing bankruptcy cases, have jurisdiction over cases involving business disputes. Outside the court system, dispute resolution also can be pursued through the Economic Arbitration Centers.
Corruption Perception Ranking
As reported by Transparency International, from least to most corrupt (1-145) — 102, placing Vietnam in the more corrupt portion of countries covered by this index.
Cultural Considerations
A handshake is an acceptable form of greeting between persons of the same age, but it is customary to bow to those who are older or of high social rank. Indeed, there is a great respect given to elders that should imbue all personal and business relationships.
National Security
External ThreatsNo foreign nation poses an immediate threat to
Vietnam ’s national security.
Vietnam is involved in several territorial disputes with neighboring countries. The governments of Vietnam, Brunei, China, Malaysia, and the Philippines disagree over the sovereignty of the
Spratly
Islands. Rights to the oil and gas reserves beneath the adjacent seabed are at the crux of the matter. The waters surrounding the chain of approximately 100 islands and reefs are highly coveted for fishing. The matter has led to periodic eruptions of tension between Vietnam and
China in particular. In 1988, over 70 people were killed during a military exchange between the two countries over the contested territory. However, in March 2005, the national oil companies of each country signed a joint accord to begin conducting seismic activity in the area. The
Parcel
Islands represent another point of contention between Vietnam and China, as well as
Taiwan. Both Vietnam and Taiwan claim the disputed islands, but
China currently occupies them. Both China and
Vietnam have ratified a maritime boundary and joint fishing agreement in June 2004, but implementation of the agreement has been delayed. Finally, the governments of Cambodia and
Laos have protested the cross-border incursions of Vietnamese squatters.
Crime
Vietnam has a generally low rate of crime. While theft is fairly common, crime of a more violent nature is rare. Also,
Vietnam is a minor producer of poppy and probably serves as an interim destination for Southeast Asian heroin.
Insurgencies
There are no insurgent movements operating inside or outside of
Vietnam that directly threaten its government or general population. Turbulent conditions prevailed there throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, shaped by civil war, the austere measures the government employed to foster reunification of the North and South, the invasion of
Cambodia, and political isolation from the rest of the world. Oppression and poverty at home prompted hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese to flee the country during the 1970s and 1980s. As a result of the significant government reforms, including an easing of commercial polices and the adoption of a new constitution, the situation began to improve in
Vietnam in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In recent years, the country has enjoyed a generally high degree of internal stability.
Terrorism
There is no specific threat of attacks against targets in
Vietnam. Recent attacks in Southeast Asia, including the 2002 bombing of a popular nightclub in Bali, Indonesia, underscore the potential risk of similar acts of violence throughout the region, however. Jemaah Islamya, the Southeast Asian affiliate of al-Qaida allegedly responsible for the Bali bombings, has been active in many countries near
Vietnam.
Vietnam is party to eight of the twelve international conventions and protocols pertaining to terrorism.
Prime Minister of Vietnam
In May 2006, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Phan Van Khai announced that he was nominating Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to be his successor when he steps down from office. After serving two five-year terms, the prime minister said that the time had come for the country to be led by a younger generation of politicians. Prime Minister Khai had announced in April 2006 that he intended to step down from his post during the Congress of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party.
In late June 2006, the National Assembly in Hanoi approved the resignations of President Tran Duc Luong, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, and Assembly Speaker Nguyen Van An. The announcement of the resignations was part of a broader cabinet shuffle aimed at rejuvenating the country’s leadership (as discussed above). Given its political orientation, the Communist Part was expected to appoint successors to the top spots. Discussions ensued to decide on possible replacements. Reports suggested that the new president was expected to be Nguyen Minh Triet and, as noted above, the new prime minister would be Nguyen Tan Dung.
As an economic liberal, Nguyen Tan Dung would be following in the footsteps of outgoing Prime Minister Khai who gained acclaim for moving Vietnam towards the market reforms that transformed the Vietnamese economy in the 1990s. Giving a glimpse of what his focus might be as head of government, he spoke of Vietnam’s strong record of economic growth as well as the country’s problems of inequality during an opening address to the National Assembly. Dung also said that he would be focusing on the need for greater institutional transparency and accountability in order to deal with rampant corruption.
Political Conditions
In late 1997, Vietnam’s government experienced changes in two of its top three positions. Phan Van Khai and Tran Duc Luong were chosen new prime minister and president, respectively. Like his predecessor, Vo Van Kiet, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai was an advocate of market-style reforms and was expected to continue the economic restructuring program initiated in 1986.
At the time, General Secretary Do Muoi stayed in power to facilitate a smooth transition, but in January 1998, he was replaced by Lt. Gen. Le Kha Phieu. Le Kha Phieu was elected by old-guard communists who were looking to slow the pace of economic reform and keep the economy under tight state control.
Despite possible conflicts over economic policy, all three new leaders agreed the government appeared to have lost touch with the people and sensed growing discontent over high taxes and corruption.
Riots in the Thai Binh and Dong Nai provinces — prompted by tax hikes, land acquisition and corruption among local officials — sparked a concerted response by the Communist Party in early 1998. The government, which blamed the riots on press announcements of government reacquisition and sale of Roman Catholic Church property, began by imposing tight restrictions on journalists, including control of information supplied to them, and increased monitoring.
In May 1999, laws were passed that would require the news media to pay compensation to parties damaged by their reporting, regardless of the factual basis of the report.
Also in May 1999, Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party launched a two-year campaign of criticism and self-criticism among its 2.4 million members to shore up the image of the party, which had become tarnished by corruption at all levels.
In January 1999, three officials were executed and 17 more jailed for embezzling more than $50 million from Tamexco, a state-run import-export company.
In March, anti-corruption laws were introduced that required senior civil servants to report assets and imposed punishments on officials who accept bribes. The same month, the Communist Party called for measures to delineate people’s rights and enforce them at a local level.
In May 1999, 77 people went on trial for defrauding state banks of hundreds of millions of dollars. All 77 defendants in the case, including 51 business directors or deputy directors and 18 bank officials, were charged with defaulting and appropriating public properties worth 5,186 billion Vietnam dong, or about $US350 million.
In a six-month period ending in July 1999, 51 Communist Party members from Ho Chi Minh City were stripped of their membership, expelled mainly for corrupt behavior in economic activities and intentional violations of state laws. Another 154 party members received disciplinary sanctions.
The campaign against corruption was part of a greater package of reforms designed to overcome the economic crisis and enhance Vietnam’s investment climate.
Earlier, in December 1997, new banking laws implemented by the National Assembly gave more control over monetary policy and supervision of commercial banks to the Central Bank. Then, in February 1998, the government devalued the dong by five percent and again in August by seven percent to compete regionally for foreign investment. At the same time, nearly 200 state companies were slated for privatization. Further reforms were implemented in July that introduced financial incentives for foreign investors.
In January 1999, shares in a national company were sold to foreigners for the first time. That same month, the government took the unprecedented step of disclosing details of the national budget, although specifics of the defense and public security budget were excluded.
In September 1999, the government decided to allow about 30 percent of state-owned enterprises to sell, lease, transfer or entrust their businesses to speed up shifts to profitability. In November 1999, the government began eliminating army control of 200 businesses that were not security-related.
Meanwhile, the Vietnamese government came under fire in 1998 and 1999 by international groups for its poor human rights record. In addition to the tight media controls implemented by the government and lack of religious freedom, Vietnam was criticized for suppressing criticism of the Communist Party and its policies. Legislation allowed the detention of individuals for up to two years without trial if accused of threatening national security.
The sentencing of 30 protesters against the sale of Roman Catholic Church property in 1997 was also condemned by international groups and the European Union. Perhaps in response to such criticism, the government freed 5,000 prisoners in August 1998. However, some dissidents were required to leave the country upon release.
In November 1998, the secretary-general of the Communist Party said human rights values would be introduced only in accordance with the national situation and not dictated by foreign entities.
The Communist Party continued to suppress dissenting views, even within itself. In 1999, two members were dismissed for criticizing the party. In March 1999, the government announced it would not allow human rights investigations.
In February 2000, Vietnam was criticized in the United States Department of State human rights report. The document described Vietnam as having an all-powerful one-party government as well as serious problems with human rights. The government continued to repress basic political freedoms and numerous abuses, the report said. Vietnam’s single-party politics continued to take action against those who criticize the government, the State Department also said.
In March 2002, the United States Department of State released the human rights report for 2001, which claimed that among other human rights violations, “The Government continued to repress basic political and some religious freedoms and abuses by the Government increased.” In response, Vietnam denounced the report. Vietnamese officials have stressed they do not imprison people for their political or religious beliefs, but rather that those who are in prison are there for having broken the law or threatened national security.
As a communist party-dominated country, religious freedom remains a highly sensitive subject for authorities. The government only recognizes five official religious leaderships in the country, and all other religious groups are outlawed. People have been detained because of their religious beliefs, and some have risked their lives to protest against the government’s policy toward religion.
In September 2001, Ho Tan Anh, a member of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, set himself on fire and died in protest of the repression of religious freedoms by the communist authorities.
In October, a Roman Catholic priest in Vietnam was sentenced to 15 years in prison for undermining national unity and violating a detention order. The priest, Father Thadeus Nguyen Van ly, wrote to a United States congressional committee in March urging the lawmakers not to ratify a bilateral trade agreement until Vietnam eased restrictions on religious freedoms. He was put under house arrest shortly afterward and taken into custody in May. The priest was a longtime critic of the Vietnamese government and had previously spent 10 years in prison for speaking out in opposition.
The issue of repression continued to emerge the following year. In 2002, the Communist Party ordered the seizure and destruction of several unauthoriszd books penned by notable dissidents.
Earlier, during 2001, a refugee crisis arose as a result of the violent land riots of February and March of that year. Thousands of ethnic Central Highlanders gathered to protest the loss of their ancestral forests to coffee plantations, the influx of Vietnamese migrant workers clearing the land for the plantations and the religious restrictions imposed upon Protestants by the government.
Throughout the rest of 2001, approximately 1000 ethnic Montagnards fled to Cambodia to escape the persecution they endured after the riots. The Cambodians refused to grant the refugees asylum-status and Vietnam refused to recognize the refugees as such and instead considered them illegal immigrants. There were reports of both countries taking the refugees back to Vietnam by force.
The United Nations Committee on Refugees (known by the acronym UNHCR) intervened in January 2002 by creating a repatriation agreement between the two countries and the UNHCR. The agreement allowed the UNHCR to monitor the voluntary repatriation of the refugees back to Vietnam.
Human rights organizations and the United States government demanded the refugees be given asylum status and told the United Nations that it was unsafe for the refugees to be returned home. However, in February 2002, the program was stopped after United Nations workers reported they were physically assaulted and verbally threatened while trying to prevent the refugees from being forcefully returned to Vietnam. In late March 2002, only 15 refugees had been successfully returned to Vietnam by the UNHCR. The United States offered asylum to the remaining several hundred refugees but it was unclear if they would be allowed to leave Cambodia.
In recent years, the government and the Vietnamese people continued to place the country’s priority on economic development. Since 1986, Vietnam has been undergoing a policy known as “Doi Moi,” or Renovation, which aims to relieve the country of its socio-economic crisis. The economy is far more open in Vietnam than it used to be. In July 2000, the nation opened its first stock exchange center in Ho Chi Minh City, which was seen by the Vietnamese government as an important measure to mobilize capital for economic development.
Vietnam has also been making efforts in its bid to join the World Trade Organization. In December 2000, the National Assembly approved a 7.5 percent target for the country’s gross domestic product growth in 2001, the first year of the new socio-economic development strategy for the decade.
Acknowledging that Vietnam’s growth rate had been hampered by low levels of technology, delays in economic reforms, weak competitiveness and low efficiency, the Vietnamese government has been determined to take breakthrough measures to create a transparent and predictable business climate. To better manage economic reforms, the government has also decided to work on administrative improvements, seeking a more efficient personnel structure.
Officials have vowed to separate governance from business management and rid state affairs of nonproductive activities. Furthermore, as Vietnam moves into the global market economy, the government in March 2002 lifted the restriction on communist party members’ participation in private business enterprise.
From late 2001 and throughout 2002, the Vietnamese government initiated a number of social and economic reforms. Measures were taken to create more jobs, expand education, build more medical facilities, improve infrastructure in impoverished areas to promote trade, and develop urban planning to accommodate the potential growth of Vietnamese cities. The long-term vision of the Vietnamese government was to reduce poverty to below 10 percent by 2005.
Another ongoing problem was that of corruption. In this regard, the Vietnamese government admitted government corruption had become widespread. During the ninth party congress, many delegates advocated “grassroots democracy” as the most effective remedy to deliver the party from corruption and opaque government. For them, the grassroots democracy means bottom-up participation in decision-making and budget supervision and linking party promotions to public feedback.
Meanwhile, in terms of government, the Communist Party of Vietnam held the ninth congress (convened every five years) in Hanoi in 2001. The party appointed its new secretary-general, the country’s most powerful leadership post. Nong Duc Manh replaced Le Kha Phieu, who was forced to step down. The change of the party secretary-general was seen as a positive trend in the country toward a more open and modernizing society. Unlike his predecessor who was an army general and regarded as too conservative to continue, Nong Duc Manh was the country’s first secretary-general without direct experience of Vietnam’s wars for independence. Showing himself as a modernizer and reformist, Nong Duc Manh said in his first news conference he wanted Vietnam to be an industrialized country by 2020. He also promised to crack down on corruption, fight against bureaucracy and wastefulness.
In 2002, the elections for the National Assembly were held and resulted in an elections victory for the ruling Communist Party. Of course, no opposition parties actually contested the election. Also in 2002, President Tran Duc Luong was reappointed for a second term by the National Assembly. Prime Minister Phan Van Khai was also re-appointed for a second five-year term.
A year later, in August 2003, the most pressing issue facing Vietnam was the matter of possible inclusion in the World Trade Organization (previously discussed above). The World Bank has expressed support for the notion of Vietnam joining the World Trade Organization, however, it also cautioned that Vietnam must do much to open its markets and institute reforms, if it is to achieve its goal of joining the international trading body by 2005.
Following four days of meeting with Vietnamese officials, the news agency Agence France Presse reported that World Bank Managing Director Shengman Zhang said, ‘The World Bank fully supports Vietnam’s ambitious goal of becoming a WTO member by the end of 2005.” Zhang went on to say that Vietnam “has to take prompt action in order complete accelerated market reforms in the next two years.”
Of particular urgency has been the need to ameliorate Vietnam’s bureaucratic infrastructure and its pervasive climate of corruption and mismanagement. A strong reform program was scheduled to begin in early 2004.
From the latter half of 2003 and well into 2004, Vietnam was regarded as one of the most rapidly-advancing economies in Asia. Indeed, the communist country was benefiting from more foreign direct investment than other capitalist countries in the Asia-Pacific region, such as Thailand or the Philippines.
Amid these developments in which Vietnam has moved toward integration into the international community has been a continuing system of democratic suppression. In July 2004, a Vietnamese man was sentenced to over two years in prison for undermining the country’s system of communism by availing himself of the Internet. (Note: The government of Vietnam controls access to the Internet and tends to block access to particular websites it determines to be problematic.) Although Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, a democracy activist, was detained in March 2003 for using the Internet to exchange information and disseminate a critical essay about government control of the media, it was not until 2004 that he was actually sentenced. Dr. Que was one of three people arrested and sentenced for such activities. In his particular case, the People’s Court found him guilty of, “abusing democratic rights to jeopardize the interests of the state, and the legitimate rights and interests of social organizations and citizens.” The government said, however, that he, like the other two dissidents — Pham Que Duong and Tran Khue — would likely be released early due to the time already served.
Meanwhile, relations with the United States became a focus area. In November 2003, the first warship from the United States visited the country since the Vietnam War, effectively sailing into port close to Ho Chi Minh City. Then, in July 2004, the United States-based United Airlines announced its decision to commence flights to Vietnam. By late 2004, the first commercial flight from the United States landed in Ho Chi Minh City since the end of the war. Then, in mid-2005, Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai met with United States President George W. Bush in the United States. It was the first visit by a Vietnamese leader to the United States since the end of the war.
In August 2005, on the anniversary of the August Revolution of 1945, which led to the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, Nong Duc Manh, offered a national address. In that address, Nong Duc Manh called for the preservation of the state of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Nong Duc Manh also used the occasion to call for reform of the political and economic systems. He said there was a need to reform the operation of legislative work, to build a strict and transparent judicial system in order to protect justice and human rights. He also noted there was a need to fight against bureaucracy, corruption and waste; and to build an efficient administrative apparatus that wholeheartedly served the people. His remarks preceded several measures to open up the Vietnamese economy to market forces, starting with the some limited privatization of state-owned enterprises.
In May 2006, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Phan Van Khai announced that he was nominating Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to be his successor when he stepped down from office. After serving two five-year terms, the prime minister said that the time had come for the country to be led by a younger generation of politicians. Prime Minister Khai had earlier announced in April 2006 his intent to step down from his post during the Congress of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party.
As an economic liberal, Nguyen Tan Dung would be following in the footsteps of outgoing Prime Minister Khai who gained acclaim for moving Vietnam towards the market reforms that transformed the Vietnamese economy in the 1990s. Giving a glimpse of what his focus might be as head of government, he spoke of Vietnam’s strong record of economic growth as well as the country’s problems of inequality during an opening address to the National Assembly. Dung also said that he would be focusing on the need for greater institutional transparency and accountability in order to deal with rampant corruption.
The nomination of Nguyen Tan Dung was set to be confirmed at the National Assembly meeting, which commenced on May 16, 2006 and was expected to last for six weeks. Along with the anticipated confirmation of Dung, a number of other changes in leadership positions were slated for approval, such as the confirmation of a new president and a new foreign minister.
The National Assembly meeting was also expected to address a number of multi-million dollar corruption scandals, which have plagued the Communist Party in recent times. General-Secretary Nong Duc Manh warned that the corruption scandals posed a real threat to the legitimacy of the Communist Party. In this regard, he said, “This is the fight against one of the major dangers that do harm to our regime.”
In late June 2006, the National Assembly in Hanoi approved the resignations of President Tran Duc Luong, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, and Assembly Speaker Nguyen Van An. The announcement of the resignations was part of a broader cabinet shuffle aimed at rejuvenating the country’s leadership (as discussed above). Given its political orientation, the Communist Party was expected to appoint successors to the top spots. Discussions ensued to decide on possible replacements. Reports suggested that the new president was likely to be Nguyen Minh Triet and, as noted above, the new prime minister would be Nguyen Tan Dung. Indeed, these replacements became official by the close of the month.
– June, 2006
Supplementary sources: Far Eastern Economic Review, BBC News, Agence France Presse.
