Vietnam Approves Major Bureaucratic Reform to Cut Costs and Boost Efficiency

Vietnam’s National Assembly has approved an ambitious bureaucratic reform plan to cut up to 20% of government bodies, aiming to reduce costs and enhance administrative efficiency. The decision follows an amendment to the Law on Organising the Government, enabling the reduction of the state apparatus, including five ministries, four agencies, and five state television channels.

General Secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party, To Lam, emphasized that the plan will not only save state budget funds but also improve system performance. The move has garnered support from investors, diplomats, and officials, although short-term administrative delays are expected in the industrial hub reliant on foreign investment.

Key mergers include the planning and investment ministry with the finance ministry, the transport ministry with the construction ministry, and the natural resources and environment ministry with the agriculture ministry. The government assured that foreign investment project approvals will remain unaffected.

This reform aligns with global post-pandemic cost-cutting measures, similar to those by Argentina’s President Javier Milei and former U.S. President Donald Trump. Vietnam’s state media reported that 100,000 state officials could be impacted, with Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh stressing the need to remove underperforming employees and prevent state agencies from becoming havens for incompetence.

The overhaul highlights Vietnam’s commitment to economic growth and administrative streamlining, enhancing its appeal to foreign investors and improving public sector efficiency.