Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm chairs the first meeting of the central steering committee for institutional perfection and law enforcement in Hà Nội on Monday. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Measurable progress must be achieved by the end of 2026 in reducing administrative procedures, removing institutional bottlenecks and improving legal frameworks across key sectors, Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm stressed while chairing the first meeting of the central steering committee for institutional perfection and law enforcement in Hà Nội on Monday.

The event saw the presence of Prime Minister Lê Minh Hưng, deputy head of the central steering committee; National Assembly Chairman Trần Thanh Mẫn, deputy head; and Permanent member of the Party Central Committee's Secretariat Trần Cẩm Tú, permanent deputy head; among others.

The top leader, who also serves as head of the steering committee, called for efforts to accelerate the finalisation and effective operation of the committee’s working mechanism and inter-agency coordination arrangements. He also urged thorough preparation of major draft laws, resolutions and policy proposals for submission to the National Assembly, while addressing delays in issuing implementation guidelines.

Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm in a group photo with participants of the first meeting of the central steering committee for institutional perfection and law enforcement. VNA/VNS Photo

General Secretary and President Lâm requested that following the meeting, relevant agencies move immediately to implementation, develop plans to monitor, supervise and inspect the execution of the meeting’s conclusions, and provide regular reports on completed tasks, delays, difficulties, issues beyond authority and matters requiring resolution.

He emphasised that assignments must not be reduced to slogans and rejected situations where agencies report that initiatives have been launched, studied or disseminated without being able to identify completed deliverables, promulgated legal documents, simplified administrative procedures, resolved legal inconsistencies, and accountability at leadership level.

The meeting reviewed four groups of issues, including foundational documents serving the steering committee’s operations; specialised reports on major mechanisms, policies and solutions to institutionalise Party guidelines in areas such as state-run economic sector development, foreign-invested economic sector development and air pollution control in big cities; a report on reviewing, amending, issuing and abolishing legal provisions to streamline administrative procedures and unreasonable business conditions in 2026; and a proposal on the revision of the Criminal Procedure Code to meet judicial reform requirements in the new period.

The steering committee called for continued alignment around a renewed understanding of the state economy as an integrated whole comprising the state budget, public assets, land, natural resources, infrastructure, national reserves, state-owned enterprises, state-owned credit institutions, state capital in enterprises and public service units.

It stressed that improving the efficiency of state resource utilisation should remain central to institutional reform, while priority should be given to removing bottlenecks affecting national strategic resources and creating breakthroughs in the governance of state-owned enterprises.

Regarding the development of the foreign-invested sector, the committee urged the timely and fully institutionalisation of Party policies, with priority placed on developing targeted, competitive and preferential investment support mechanisms tied to performance and commitments linked to technology, research and development, technology transfer, workforce training, domestic value creation, local supplier development, green transition, and digital transformation.

It also called for mechanisms to select, manage and supervise strategic investors, alongside stronger national coordination and regional connectivity in attracting foreign investment.

On tackling air pollution in major cities, the steering committee advocated a shift from controlling separate emission sources towards outcome-based air quality management. It also called for the development of an integrated and modern environmental data system, stronger monitoring and early-warning mechanisms, and clearer accountability for each sector, locality and emission source.

The committee further requested ministries and ministry-level agencies to treat the reduction and simplification of administrative procedures and unreasonable business conditions as a continuous and regular task rather than a short-term campaign. It also urged a transition from pre-approval controls to post-inspection management based on risk governance, alongside tighter control over the introduction of new administrative procedures and business requirements.

Regarding the proposed revision of the Criminal Procedure Code, the committee requested continued research and refinement of procedural mechanisms to strike a balance between safeguarding justice and combating crime, while also encouraging remediation, asset recovery, the removal of obstacles and mobilisation of resources to support socio-economic development. — VNA/VNS