State management of external information

25/11/2016
The Government issued Decree No. 72/2015/ND-CP on management of external information activities.This Decree prescribes the management of external information activities; and responsibilities of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies and People’s Committees of provinces and centrally run cities (below referred to as provincial-level People’s Committees) for the management and implementation of external information activities.
Contents of state management of external information:To develop and propose competent agencies to promulgate or promulgate according to competence legal documents, strategies, master plans, plans and programs on external information activities; To organize and manage scientific research into external information; to provide professional training, refresher training and retraining for external information forces; To manage, guide, proactively provide information for Vietnamese news and press agencies; to proactively provide information for foreign news and press agencies; to provide information for overseas Vietnamese and international communities; to provide information on the world situation into Vietnam; To carry out international cooperation on external information activities; To inspect, examine, handle violations and settle complaints and denunciations in external information activities in accordance with law; To hold preliminary and final reviews of external information activities; to propose commendation and reward as well as discipline for agencies, organizations and individuals engaged in external information activities.
Provision of information on the world situation into Vietnam is as follow:
+ Information on the world situation into Vietnam means information on the world situation in various fields, information on relations between Vietnam and other countries and other information aiming to boost political, social, cultural, defense and security relations between Vietnam and other countries; serve national economic development; and step up the international integration of Vietnam.
+ Information on the world situation into Vietnam shall be collected, summarized and provided to competent agencies, the press and people of Vietnam by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, overseas representative missions of Vietnam, other overseas agencies and organizations of Vietnam and news and press agencies of the Government (Vietnam News Agency, Vietnam Television, Voice of Vietnam) according to their law-prescribed functions, tasks and powers.
The Database on external information will include:
+ The database on external information is a system of data digitalized and integrated from data systems of ministries, ministerial-level agencies and provincial-level People’s Committees to serve the external information task.
+ The database on external information is a source to provide official information on Vietnam to the mass media at home and abroad and serves information search, learning and research into Vietnam.
The Ministry of Information and Communications shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, provincial-level People’s Committees and related agencies in, developing, managing and exploiting the database on external information.Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, provincial-level People’s Committees, overseas representative missions of Vietnam and Vietnamese news and press agencies shall provide information for the development and completion of the database on external information.
Overseas bureaus of Vietnamese news and press agencies (below referred to as overseas news bureaus) shall provide information on the situation of host countries into Vietnam for press agencies of the Government. Overseas news bureaus shall: Coordinate with related ministries and agencies in introducing and promoting the image of the land, people, history and culture of the Vietnamese nation; provide information on the socio-economic situation, guidelines of the Party and policies and law of the State of Vietnam;Coordinate and implement international cooperation programs in the fields of information and press. Vietnamese news and press agencies shall direct their overseas news bureaus in providing information and participating in activities serving external information tasks at the request of the Ministry of Information and Communications; and periodically and irregularly report to the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on external information activities of their overseas news bureaus.
This Decree takes effect on October 22, 2015. The Prime Minister’s Decision No. 79/2010/QD-TTg of November 30, 2010, ceases to be effective on the effective date of this Decree.