This statement was made by Secretary of Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Tran Thanh Man at a working meeting with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) on February 13.
Reporting on VCCI’s operations and development directions, VCCI President Vu Tien Loc said that a national entrepreneur agency was established on October 13, 1945 as the National Saving League of Industrialists and Commercialists.
“At that time, President Ho Chi Minh sent the first letter to this organization, saying that while other circles in the country are struggling for national independence, the industrialist and commercialist circle are to work hard for a strong and prosperous economy," he added.
Particularly, regarding the responsibility of authorities to the development of the industrialists and commercialists, President Ho Chi Minh pointed out, “The government, the people and I will be dedicated to supporting the industrialist and commercialist circle.” However, this organization was later dissolved.
In 1963, the Party and the State decided to re-establish the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “At that time, it was named the Chamber of Commerce of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, working as a representative body of the business community as directed by President Ho Chi Minh. Prime Minister Pham Van Dong signed a decision on approval of its Charter,” Dr. Loc said.
In 1963-1993, the Chamber of Commerce called on businessmen to join national liberation. “Only after the early 1990s, did the role of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry start to improve. By 1993, the new functions and tasks were officially and clearly defined at the Second Congress of VCCI,” he added.
In 2011, the Politburo issued a resolution on promoting entrepreneurial roles. For the time being, VCCI has been assigned to represent four circles: business community, entrepreneur force, employers and business associations. VCCI is also a national body representing the entire business community constituted by 700,000 businesses and more than 5.2 million business households.
And, VCCI is also an active member of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front.
In particular, Dr. Vu Tien Loc said that over the past time, VCCI has performed its functions well as a vanguard force disseminating Ho Chi Minh's thoughts about businesses and entrepreneurs, and as an aggressive institutional reformer.
VCCI has proposed and participated in drafting Resolution 09 on building the entrepreneur force in Vietnam and contributed to building and popularizing the Law on Enterprises. VCCI is also a vanguard force in advancing international integration in Vietnam.
VCCI is the Chair of the APEC Advisory Council and the Chair of the Vietnam Business Forum. The agency gathers 16 international business associations in Vietnam. It is the Vice Chair of the Advisory Council of the Prime Minister. It initiated the establishment of the Business Association of Overseas Vietnamese.
Along with that, VCCI is also at the forefront of supporting Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and establishing a SME support system.
VCCI takes the lead especially in promoting business startup and entrepreneurship. "The VCCI Startup Movement has been carried out for 16 years, with a series of startup support programs being launched continuously,” Dr. Loc stressed, adding that the agency also launches patriotic business and entrepreneur movements. VCCI’s Thanh Giong Cup is now a prestigious national award.
The VCCI President also noted that VCCI has always been a vanguard in negotiating trade agreements and advancing Vietnam’s international integration. VCCI has not only expanded the market but also promoted reforms in Vietnam.
VCCI has also actively participated in the Central Committee of Vietnam Fatherland Front, like taking part in the patriotic entrepreneur movement and the Buy Vietnamese Campaign, a movement that encourages Vietnamese people to use Vietnamese goods.
VCCI published Research Report on “Vietnam's Sustainable and Balanced Competitiveness” under the research topic “Vietnam’s Economic Competitiveness: Reality, issues and solutions” within the framework of the Theoretical Scientific Research Program in 2016 - 2020 launched by the Central Theoretical Council of the Party Central Committee. Research results will provide scientific arguments to draft documents of the 13th Party Congress. Featuring 36 topics joined by leading experts, the research report will be defended and put forth recommendations this March.
At the same time, VCCI is appreciated for proposing a reduction of 50% of business conditions. “In the recent meeting of the Prime Minister's Working Group, the Prime Minister said that not everyone was happy to hear the voice of VCCI. But, it is necessary to listen to such independent, responsible criticisms to promote Vietnam's reforms,” Dr. Loc said.
VCCI, therefore, strongly recommended cutting business conditions, administrative procedures and specialized inspections. As directed by the Vietnam Front Committee, VCCI recommended tax and customs reforms and supported sustainable business development.
Furthermore, VCCI has contributed to important national foreign affairs. Last year, together with the Vietnam Business Summit, the Mekong Sub-regional Summit and the World Economic Forum on ASEAN, both successfully organized by VCCI, were highly appreciated by the international business community.
Expressing his great pleasure at VCCI’s achievements, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Central Committee of Vietnam Fatherland Front Tran Thanh Man shared his thoughts on his first visit to VCCI headquarters.
“With a long development history, especially in the international economic integration period, VCCI has made positive contributions to the country’s socioeconomic development,” he stressed.
“Achieving a trade value of US$475 billion, with US$40 billion from agriculture exports, a GDP of US$245 billion and a forex reserve of US$60 - 62 billion is praiseworthy. Especially, macroeconomic stability is a magnet to investment flows. These achievements come from the effort of the Party and the entire people, with a considerable role of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry,” Mr. Man affirmed.
However, the Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Fatherland pointed out many shortcomings in socioeconomic development. Firstly, infrastructure is not guaranteed. Secondly, the application of advanced scientific achievements to production is weak. “Production equipment invested by enterprises has not met strong development requirements of the ongoing technological revolution,” he emphasized.
Thirdly, Vietnam started from an agriculture-based economy and people’s circumstances are still hard. Therefore, he affirmed that VCCI’s roles in socioeconomic development plans are very important.
“I have always believed that the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry is an active member of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, a pioneering member in movements launched by the Front like calling for support for flood victims, enhancing productivity and monitoring the progress of the investment and business environment in the tax and customs sectors. At National Assembly forums, Government forums, domestic and international forums, VCCI has helped the Front collect recommendations for business community development,” Mr. Tran Thanh Man emphasized.
He added that VCCI is an independent organization with a very strong voice, a very effective performance. The special context in 2019 places extremely important tasks on VCCI but it will perform better in the year, he believed.
T.H
Vietnamese
10/12/2024
Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City
