The second session of the 13 th National Assembly (NA) opened in Hanoi on Oct. 20.

Before the opening ceremony, NA deputies laid a wreath and paid tribute to late President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum.

Addressing the opening ceremony, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung pointed out the country’s advantages, difficulties and challenges.

He stressed that both domestic and foreign situations required the country’s highest determination and suitable solutions to ensure the implementation of the target of curbing inflation, stabilising the macro-economy, ensuring social security, restructuring the economy in combination with modernising the growth model and make efforts to achieve better results in the remaining months of 2011, creating a firm foundation for 2012 and future years.

Chairman Hung said in the second session the NA will review the Government’s reports regarding socio-economic development for the 2005-2010 period and 2011, the socio-economic development plan for the 2011-2015 period and 2012; State budget estimates and central budget allocation in 2012.

The NA will also consider the results of the implementation of the national target programmes in the 2006-2010 period, the implementation of the 2011 plan and 2012-2015 national target programmes, the 2011-2015 Government bond plan, the 2011-2020 land use scheme and 2011-2015 land use plan as well as summarising a project to plant five million hectares of forest.

The NA is expected to approve five bills and a draft resolution and give opinions on 13 other bills.

The NA will supervise the implementation of environmental laws and policies at economic zones and craft villages, consider a number of reports on supervision results made by the Council of Ethnic Minorities and NA Committees, hear reports on voters’ petitions since the 8 th and 9 th sessions of the 12 th NA, and adopt a resolution on the NA’s supervision programme in 2012.

The NA will also consider reports of the NA Standing Committee, the Council of Ethnic Minorities, the NA’s Committees, the heads of the Supreme People’s Procuracy and the Supreme People’s Court, as well as Government reports on anti-corruption and practising thrift, among other issues.

Chairman Hung prosposed the NA continue building a scheme to further renovate and raise the efficiency of the NA’s activities and put forward proposals to renovate the NA’s activities and amend and supplement the 1992 Constitution and laws on the organisation of the State apparatus relating to the NA.

At the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung presented the Government’s reports on the socio-economic plan for the 2011-2015 period, the socio-economic performance in 2011 and the socio-economic plan for 2012.

PM Dung said that in a unstable economic context, despite shortcomings in management and monitoring work, with the great efforts, dynamism and creativity of the whole people and the political system under the sound leadership of the Party and the effective management of the State, Vietnam has overcome difficulties and challenges and effectively responded to complicated developments of the world and domestic situations to record important achievements.

The country has seen an average annual GDP growth rate of 7 percent with developed socio-economic sectors, improved people’s living standards and a rapidly declining poverty rate, he noted.

Vietnam is implementing tasks for 2012 and the 2011-2015 period in the context of rapid and unpredicted changes in the world situation, Dung said, adding that the world economy sees complicated developments and hidden factors threatening global stability and economic growth.

Therefore, the overall objective of Vietnam in 2012 is to prioritise controlling inflation, stabilising the macro-economy, maintaining an appropriate growth in combination with renovating the growth model and economic restructuring, and improving quality, efficiency and competitiveness, the PM stressed.

The country will ensure social security and welfare and improve people’s living standards while maintaining political stability, consolidating defence and security and social order and safety, and improving the efficiency of foreign relations and international integration.

The Government leader mentioned key measures to successfully implement set objectives, focusing on curbing inflation and stabilising the macro-economy, as well as solving difficulties for businesses.

Delivering a report on voters’ opinions and suggestions, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee (VFFCC) Huynh Dam said that to prepare for the second session of the 13 th National Assembly, the Presidium of the VFFCC, in coordination with the NA Standing Committee, had collected 1,026 opinions and suggestions from voters and people nationwide to be submitted to the NA.

Chairman of the NA Economic Committee Nguyen Van Giau presented a report on verifying the contents of the Government’s socio-economic reports./.