The second session of the 16th National Assembly (NA) opened in Hanoi on October 17. NA President Tran Thanh Man called for institutional reform, high-quality legislation and effective policy decisions to unlock resources and promote rapid, sustainable development.
Attendees included General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam; Prime Minister Le Minh Hung; Standing Member of the Party Central Committee's Secretariat Tran Cam Tu, together with incumbent and former Party and State leaders, ambassadors and representatives of international organisations in Hanoi.
In his opening remarks, NA President Man said the session takes place shortly after the fourth plenum of the 14th Party Central Committee and less than two months after the NA's first extraordinary session, demonstrating the determination and urgency to institutionalise the Party's guidelines and decisions, address bottlenecks, mobilise resources and create new drivers for rapid and sustainable national development.
He urged relevant agencies to strengthen coordination, address major and complex issues on which opinions remain divided, and meet document-submission deadlines to give deputies sufficient time to study the materials and make informed decisions.
NA President Man said Vietnam had achieved encouraging socio-economic results despite numerous difficulties and challenges. Vietnam’s GDP grew by 9.01% year on year in the first nine months of 2026, the highest growth rate in 15 years. Major economic balances have been broadly stable, social security has received due attention, national defence and security have been maintained, foreign affairs have achieved important results, and efforts to build the Party and combat corruption, wastefulness and other negative phenomena have continued.
According to NA President Man, the fourth plenum of the Party Central Committee reached a consensus on key targets and tasks for 2027, calling for faster growth and breakthroughs to build momentum for subsequent years. High growth must be underpinned by productivity, competitiveness and self-reliance, while maintaining long-term stability, promoting social progress and equity, protecting the environment and improving people's living standards.
He stressed that the NA’s decisions must be timely, sound, well-targeted and feasible, and deliver tangible results. Improving the quality and effectiveness of legislative work, supervision and decisions on major national issues remains essential, alongside ensuring close links between institutional reform and implementation, as well as between development objectives and the effective mobilisation, allocation and use of resources. Therefore, this session is expected to address a substantial workload across three key areas.
NA President Tran Thanh Man delivers the opening remarks at the second session of the 16th National Assembly. (Photo: VNA)
On legislation, the NA is scheduled to consider 47 draft laws and resolutions, including 43 expected to be adopted and four to be discussed. This is the largest legislative workload since the beginning of the 16th NA's term. Many bills cover broad areas and directly affect production, business activities, people's legitimate rights and interests, and national development, particularly in land, housing, real estate business, investment, state budget, and law-making and enforcement.
The goal is not merely to pass a large number of laws and resolutions, but to ensure that they are of high quality, practical, consistent and coherent with the broader legal system, NA President Man stressed.
On socio-economic affairs, state budget and other important issues, deputies will review the implementation of the 2026 plan and decide on socio-economic development targets, the state budget estimate, central budget allocation and public investment plans for 2027. They will also approve the final accounts of the 2025 state budget and consider other important issues within their authority.
Regarding supervision, the NA will examine reports on voters' and people's recommendations, the settlement of those recommendations, citizen reception, the handling of petitions and complaints, and conduct question-and-answer sessions.
Emphasising that a heavier workload required greater responsibility and higher standards, the NA President said that clearly established issues with sufficient political, legal and practical grounds should be decided promptly, while new and contentious matters require thorough analysis to identify the best solutions.
Quality must not be sacrificed under pressure to meet deadlines, but caution must not become a reason for delay, he said, stressing that every decision must clearly define responsibilities, resources, implementation conditions, oversight mechanisms, feasibility and effectiveness.
NA President Man urged deputies to uphold their political resolve, intellect and sense of responsibility to voters, the people and the nation; attend all sittings, thoroughly study documents and actively contribute substantive and practical opinions. National interests and the legitimate rights and interests of the people must always come first, he emphasised.
The top legislator expressed his confidence that the second session of the 16th legislature will fulfil its entire agenda to the highest possible standard.
