HÀ NỘI - General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng on Saturday asked the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission to improve its operations by coming up with high-quality, strategic projects and conducting objective and persuasive appraisals.

In a post-new year meeting with the commission, Trọng demanded that the commission, a strategic think-tank re-established in 2012 for the Party Central Committee, the Political Bureau and the Secretariat on socioeconomic issues, should honour outstanding individuals and models and actively join the fight against corruption, bureaucracy and wastefulness, especially in loss-making State-owned enterprises, he said.

“The commission needs to pay heed to raising public awareness of the Party Central Committee’s policies, guidelines and resolutions in order to facilitate their realisation by creating a high level of consensus,” Trọng said.

“On the other hand, it should also call out distorted and wrongful notions”.

He suggested that the commission improves its working style and train a contingent of qualified staff that works to build a strong and transparent Party organisation.

Last year, the commission was assigned for the first time to prepare seven important socio-economic project plans and submit them to the Party Central Committee and the Politburo in 2017.

He said the projects should review the outcomes of the Party’s policies and guidelines on socio-economic development over the past years, and contribute to realising tasks and goals set by the Resolution of the 12^th Party Congress.

Tackling key issues

In early 2016, the commission closely tracked the nation’s socio-economic situation and proposed solutions to address drought in the south-central and Central Highlands regions, saline intrusion in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta, foreign firms’ domination of Việt Nam’s retail market, and coastal land allocation to foreign investors in the central region.

The think-tank also offered feedback on the Political Bureau and Secretariat’s significant schemes; as well as draft decrees, resolutions, projects and reports of ministries and other agencies including offices working under the Party Central Committee.

It held seminars to collect expert opinion on socio-economic development and enhanced ties with various collaborators, scientists and agencies at home and abroad.

The commission completed 18 scientific studies last year and is currently working on 11 others.

It held 59 working sessions with ministries, agencies and localities; 42 conferences and seminars; met with 41 international delegations and signed cooperation agreements with 36 agencies.

Politburo member and head of the commission, Nguyễn Văn Bình, pledged to work closely with the staff to fix existing shortcomings and fulfill assigned tasks this year. – VNS