Vietnam parliament to appoint new minister of natural resources and environment

The National Assembly, Vietnam’s highest legislative body, will focus on personnel issues on Monday, the first day of their one-month working session, including the appointment of a new Minister of Natural Resources and Environment.

Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha now concurrently holds the position.

On the same day, the National Assembly's (NA) Standing Committee will also propose the legislative body dismiss Nguyen Phu Cuong from the position of NA member and Chairman of the NA's Finance-Budget Committee.

Cuong had submitted a letter to resign from the NA positions last Tuesday, a day after the Central Party Committee approved to remove him from the organization.

In November 2022, the Inspection Commission of the Central Party Committee pointed out that Cuong, in his former job as secretary of Dong Nai's Party Committee in 2016-2021, was responsible for violations related to the equitization of some businesses in the southern province.

The NA's working session this time includes two phases, from May 22-June 10 and from June 19-23.

It is scheduled to conduct approval votes for eight draft amended laws and three resolutions, including those on protection of consumer rights, bidding, prices, digital transactions, entrance and departure of foreigners, a special development mechanism for Ho Chi Minh City, and others.

Notably, the NA will vote on a resolution on confidence votes of leaders elected or approved by legislative bodies at different levels.

The vote on the increase of Agribank's charter capital is also on the agenda. The NA's Standing Committee has already okayed a plan for the wholly state-owned lender to increase its charter capital by VND17.1 trillion ($729 million). As proposed by the government, the additional capital for the bank will come from the state budget.

The biannual meeting will also discuss nine draft amended laws, including those on land, housing, realty business, water resources, telecommunications, credit institutions, and others.

Also on the agenda will be the implementation of the plans on socio-economic development and state budget in the first months of 2023, Covid-19 tasks, and a highway project connecting the provinces of Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, and Lam Dong in the central and Central Highlands regions.

The workload to approve or discuss 20 draft amended laws and resolutions is double the normal rate, NA Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said at a preview event in April. A major focus will be the second discussion of the draft amended Land Law, Hue added.