VietNamNet Bridge – The 13th National Assembly’s (NA) sixth session has been hailed as historic, ushering in a new period of national construction and defence.

The session concluded in Hanoi on November 29 after 40 days of intensive work and finalised all items on its agenda.

NA deputies have approved the revised constitution and Land Law, and decided on a number of socio-economic development targets. These outcomes are significant contributions to implementing the five-year development programme lasting until 2015, a pre-condition for future growth.

In his closing speech, NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung affirmed the session’s success, crediting it to the deputies’ solidarity and sense of public responsibility.

The sixth session, the longest National Assembly meeting, marks the midway point in the implementation of the 11th National Party Congress’s resolution.

Deputies debated and approved important legislation including the Law on Practicing Thrift and Preventing Wastefulness and the Law on Citizen Reception.

They officially adopted the revised constitution and Land Law, certain to have major impacts on national development, political stability, security, social order, and people’s livelihoods.

Three resolutions were approved, creating a firm foundation for Vietnam to achieve its development targets. By deciding to adjust 2013 and 2014 budget estimates, the NA raised budget deficits for those two years to 5.3% of GDP. The resolution on socio-economic development in 2014 increased the GDP growth rate goal to 5.8%.

The legislature also set a number of targets for poverty reduction, job generation, education and training, healthcare, environmental protection, construction, and new rural development, and agreed to issue additional government bonds during the 2014–2016 period.

Quang Ngai Provinical Deputy Nguyen Cao Phuc underlined the need to stimulate growth and economic demand over the next two years by increasing public investment in key national projects, restructuring public investment, generating more employment, clearing excess stock, managing and disbursing investment wisely, and adopting flexible fiscal and monetary policies.

Personnel decisions were another highlight of the sixth legislative session. The NA elected two new Deputy Prime Ministers: Foreign Affairs Minister Pham Binh Minh and Vu Duc Dam. Dam is in charge of cultural, social, scientific, and educational issues. The deputies also appointed a number of deputy heads to select NA agencies.

They carefully discussed the NA’s responsibility for issues of public concern, such as law enforcement in the 2009–2012 period, anti-corruption efforts, and implementing NA resolutions from the third, fourth, and fifth sessions’ Q&A sections.

Commentators and deputies are optimistic history will regard the sixth legislative session as a defining moment in the country’s construction and development.

Source: VOV