NA Standing Committee convenes 46th session The 46th session of the National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee opened in Hanoi on March 7, expecting to complete preparations for the 11th meeting of the 13th NA scheduled for this month.   NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung speaks at the NA Standing Committee's 46th session (Source: VNA) In his opening remarks, NA Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung said the 11 th meeting, the last gathering of the 13th legislature, will decide on the country’s major matters in the next five years regarding socio-economic affairs, national defence and security, foreign relations and mid-term finance. At the meeting, a number of positions will be adjusted in order to ensure the State’s smooth operation after the Party Central Committee made personnel decisions following the 12th National Party Congress, he said. The top legislator expressed his hope that the NA Standing Committee and relevant agencies will make thorough preparations for the upcoming meeting to make it a success. Minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh presented reports on socio-economic development outcomes in 2015 and during the 2011-2015 period, a report on the socio-economic development plan for the next five years, and another on the mid-term public investment plan for 2016-2020. The report on the supplementary assessment of the actualisation of the socio-economic development plan in 2015 shows that national GDP grew about 6.68 percent, the highest increase since 2008, even higher than the 6.5 percent reported to the legislature and the set target of 6.2 percent. By the end of last year, around 1,526 communes or 17.1 percent of total communes nationwide and 15 districts have been recognised as new-style rural areas, according to the report. More than 1.6 million jobs were created in the year, 1.6 percent higher than the target set previously. The unemployment rate hit about 3.29 percent, meeting the set target of below 4 percent. Poverty rates among households dropped to below 4.5 percent and among districts slid to 28 percent, the report said. In the next five years, efforts will be focused on macro-economic stability, economic restructuring in tandem with growth model reform, democracy, social equality and progress, climate change response, natural resources management, environmental protection, national defence and security, and international integration, in order to quickly turn Vietnam into a modernity-oriented industrialised country. To meet these goals, the ministry laid out 12 key tasks and measures. Another report presented by Finance Minister Dinh Tien Dung reveals that State budget overspending in 2015 hit 256 trillion VND (11.52 billion USD), accounting for 6.11 percent of GDP. State budget collection was close to 997 trillion VND (44.9 billion USD), up nearly 86 trillion VND (3.9 billion USD) or 9.4 percent of the estimated figure. Also on March 7, the committee heard a report delivered by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on land use plans for 2016-2020. VNA