The State Streamlining Powers Ahead
And Hanoi's 2nd defense expo
Good morning! Hello to all new readers, and welcome to the latest edition of the Vietnam Weekly. If you’re reading this through a shared link, subscribe below. A reminder that starting in January, these free Friday newsletters will largely go behind the paywall, with just a summary available to non-paying readers.
Earlier this week, paying subscribers got an initial review of Ho Chi Minh City’s first metro line, which I had the chance to ride on Wednesday. The Bến Thành – Suối Tiên route officially opens at 10 am on Sunday after 12 years of construction, and tickets are free the first month. A very exciting, long-awaited step for the city!
If you want to support the newsletter without committing to a recurring subscription, you can also Buy Me a Coffee.
This is the last Vietnam Weekly of 2024 as I’m taking next week off for Christmas. I’ll be back with something around January 1. In the meantime, happy holidays and thank you for reading!
Government Streamlining
General Secretary Tô Lâm and Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính continue to push two goals: a major restructuring of the state apparatus with a coinciding effort to reduce public waste.
Việt Nam News reported that on December 1st, General Secretary Lâm told a government conference on the streamlining plan “that each level and sector must evaluate and propose a suitable model for their respective agencies and units so that a plan to rearrange the political system's apparatus is completed and reported to the Party Central Committee in the first quarter of 2025.”
Additionally, every agency and government organization must “properly carry out the policies and regulations concerning officials, Party members, civil servants, public employees, and workers affected by the reorganization to ensure fairness, publicity and objectivity.”
PM Chính, meanwhile, published a dispatch ordering all organizations and localities to “promote thrift practice and wastefulness combat.”
To quote Việt Nam News again, the prime minister demanded that officials “boost leadership and directions over the work; minimize administrative procedures as well as compliance cost and provide the best possible conditions for people and enterprises; eradicate the mechanism of "asking - giving"; increase power decentralization for agencies and localities; and augment the monitoring, assessment, and accountability of state agencies, cadres, civil servants, and public employees.”
The high-level streamlining plan, meanwhile, has been finalized, according to VnExpress: eight ministries and ministerial-level agencies will be maintained, namely the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Government Office, the Government Inspectorate, and the State Bank of Vietnam.
The other 14 will be restructured, rearranged, or merged, with the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs being eliminated, along with the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations and the National Assembly's Committee for External Relations.
General departments, bureaus, and public service organizations across all levels will be cut by up to 20%.
There’s a lot of excitement over this planned reduction in bureaucracy, though many issues need to be ironed out. As Reuters notes, many thousands of public servants will likely lose their jobs, an eventuality that requires further planning.
The aggressive timeline demanded by General Secretary Lâm means this will move fast – the goal is to have this reorganization completed by the middle of next year so that the National Congress in early 2026 can solidify the many new arrangements mentioned above.
This is going to be a fascinating process to watch.
The Defense Expo
The Vietnam International Defence Expo 2024 - the second of its kind - started yesterday and runs through Sunday at Gia Lâm Airport in Hanoi. Its motto is ‘Peace, Friendship, Cooperation for Mutual Development.’
It features over 200 exhibitors from 27 countries including – as Channel News Asia noted – several that are at war with each other, namely Israel, Iran, Russia, and Ukraine.
Local media has devoted prominent coverage to the event, including photo essays of anti-aircraft missiles, tanks, drones, and armored personnel carriers used by the Vietnamese military – with many of these systems produced domestically.
Some of these systems could be exported to other countries in the future.
Seven Su-30MK2 fighter jets put on an aerial show to open the expo, along with several helicopters and a martial arts display on the ground.
The American presence is getting a lot of attention thanks to the arrival of two A-10 ground attack jets and a C-130 cargo plane.
Back in July, Reuters reported that Vietnam and the U.S. were discussing a potential deal for C-130s, so it’s notable that one is at the expo.
Historically, Vietnam relied on Russia for much of its military gear, but that dependence has waned considerably in favor of equipment from other countries and domestically developed weapons. Major exceptions include Vietnam’s fighter jet fleet and six attack submarines, all bought from Russia.
Speaking of Russia, they also have weapons on display, including some being shown overseas for the first time.
Data Corner:
US$744 million (VND18.9 trillion): The amount Vietnamese lost to online scams in 2024 according to the National Cybersecurity Association. Investment fraud was the most common type.
150: The number of electric buses that will serve 17 ‘feeder’ routes connecting areas of HCMC to nearby metro stations starting today. \
51%: The share of phones sold in Vietnam in Q3 that cost US$200 or less as the country shuts down its 2G cell network.
Extra Links:
HCMC Catholic neighborhoods glitter with Christmas decorations (VnExpress International)
Trump’s Tariffs Helped Northern Vietnam Boom Like Never Before. What Now? (The New York Times)
Fewer Voices, More Control: Vietnam Reshapes Its Media (Fulcrum)
Vietnam Embraces Green Technology to Dominate ESG Trends (Mekong Dispatch)
"Công tử Bạc Liêu" Asks, 'What Would You Do if You Won the Lottery?' (Saigoneer)
Human trafficking from Vietnam to Europe: What can be done? (DW)
Have a great holiday and see you in 2025!
The Elon effect strikes again......