Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly or Quoc-Hoi (498 seats; members
elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 19 May 2002 (next to be held 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - CPV 90%, other 10% (the
10% are not CPV members but are approved by the CPV to stand for
election); seats by party - CPV 447, CPV-approved 51
Judicial branch:
Supreme People's Court (chief justice is elected for a five-year
term by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president)
Political parties and leaders:
only party - Communist Party of Vietnam or CPV [Nong Duc MANH,
general secretary]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
none
International organization participation:
ACCT (observer), APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Nguyen Tam CHIEN chancery: 1233 20th Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 861-0737 FAX: [1] (202) 861-0917 consulate(s) general: San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Michael W. MARINE embassy: 7 Lang Ha Road, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi mailing address: PSC 461, Box 400, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [84] (4) 772-1500 FAX: [84] (4) 772-1510 consulate(s) general: Ho Chi Minh City
Flag description: red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center
Economy Vietnam
Economy - overview:
Vietnam is a densely-populated, developing country that in the last
30 years has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of
financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a
centrally planned economy. Substantial progress was achieved from
1986 to 1997 in moving forward from an extremely low level of
development and significantly reducing poverty. Growth averaged
around 9% per year from 1993 to 1997. The 1997 Asian financial
crisis highlighted the problems in the Vietnamese economy and
temporarily allowed opponents of reform to slow progress towards a
market oriented economy. GDP growth of 8.5% in 1997 fell to 6% in
1998 and 5% in 1999. Growth then rose to 7% in 2000-04 even against
the background of global recession. Since 2001, however, Vietnamese
authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to economic
liberalization and international integration. They have moved to
implement the structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and
to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. However,
equitization of state-owned enterprises and reduction in the
proportion of non-performing loans has fallen behind schedule.
Vietnam's membership in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and entry
into force of the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade in December 2001 have
led to even more rapid changes in Vietnam's trade and economic
regime. Vietnam's exports to the US doubled in 2002 and again in
2003. Vietnam is working toward accession to the WTO in 2005. Among
other benefits, accession will allow Vietnam to take advantage of
the phase out of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, which
eliminated quotas on textiles and clothing for WTO partners on 1
January 2005. Vietnam is working to promote job creation to keep up
with the country's high population growth rate. However, in 2004,
high levels of inflation prompted Vietnamese authorities to tighten
monetary and fiscal policies.