PM calls for better governance at trade ministry
PM calls for better governance at trade ministry
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the Office and the Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance, under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, to ensure better governance, in line with their functions and duties.
The PM made the statement while addressing a conference of the ministry to review the results for 2018 and to carry out the targets for 2019 in Hanoi City today, January 17, reported the local media.
The Government leader named many achievements of the ministry such as the removal of many business conditions, and its roles behind the record export revenue, international economic integration and the development of the domestic retail market.
The country earned US$243.5 billion in imports and exports last year, up 13.2% from a year earlier. Export turnover increased significantly in all markets, especially those holding free trade agreements with Vietnam and demanding markets such as South Korea, Japan, the European Union and the United States.
However, he also pointed out some shortcomings of the ministry, especially its market surveillance agency.
He said that the Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance was responsible for inspecting goods to prevent the sale of counterfeit, pirated and substandard products and other trade fraud, which have witnessed complicated developments and have thus caused adverse effects on the restructuring, production, business and competitiveness improvement of local businesses.
He urged the ministry to hold a conference on market surveillance, with a focus on the coordination with local governments.
The PM asked the ministry to intensify the fight against corruption, maintain discipline and set typical examples.
“The Office under the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance must gain extensive experience. Selecting young people is necessary, but experience is urgently needed,” he said.
The development of the local ecommerce sector is quite slow, while logistics costs remain high, according to the Government leader.
The ministry is not proactive enough in devising and adjusting strategies and master plans, he added. As a result, some plans involving electricity and energy were executed slower than expected, leading to management difficulties.
He stated that the ministry has yet to develop industries with strong competitiveness and is thus having difficulty fulfilling the targets of industrialization, smart industry, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the digital era and e-commerce development.
The level of business cooperation among firms within the same sectors and beyond is limited. In addition, the links between domestic businesses and foreign-invested firms are modest, particularly in terms of technology transfer and participation in global value chains.
The PM said that the organization of the domestic market had exposed many inadequacies. He also called for the ministry to find ways to prevent the local retail market from falling into the hands of foreign players.
In terms of the tasks for 2019, the PM said the ministry should pay special attention to scientific and technological measures, in addition to solutions prescribed in the first and second resolutions of the Government for 2019.
The leader also required the ministry to speed up the equitization, State capital divestment and restructuring processes of State-owned enterprises and further handle the shortcomings and weaknesses of projects that are behind schedule and ineffective, in line with their approved plans.
“Vietnam must become a manufacturing powerhouse of the world and an investment destination that has a good environment for all economic stakeholders to develop their production and business operations,” stated the PM.
