DIVISION OF SENIOR GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 002134

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MLS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/22/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL ECON PINR VM
SUBJECT: DIVISION OF SENIOR GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES
STRENGTHENS PM'S HAND...AT LEAST ON PAPER


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Classified By: Ambassador Michael W. Marine per 1.4 (b),(d)

Summary and Comment
--------------


1. (C) Based on the recent formal division of GVN
responsibilities among the Prime Minister and his three
Deputy Prime Ministers, PM Nguyen Tan Dzung may be well
placed to be a more powerful PM than his predecessor. This
is thanks to his direct oversight responsibilities for
Vietnam's most powerful ministries, including National
Defense, Public Security and Finance, but it remains to be
seen to what extent his influence on paper will translate
into the real thing. Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister
Pham Gia Khiem, on the other hand, is actually shedding
responsibilities, possibly a reflection of lack of confidence
in his abilities. End Summary and Comment.

How they Stack Up
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2. (SBU) The GVN recently made public the division of
responsibilities among the Prime Minister and his three
Deputy Prime Ministers. Standing Deputy Prime Minister (and
former Finance Minister) Nguyen Sinh Hung has been placed in
charge of general economic matters and directly oversees the
ministries of Trade; Construction; Industry; Post and
Telematics; Transportation; Agriculture and Rural
Development; Fisheries; Natural Resources and Environment;
Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs; and Health, as well as
the State Bank of Vietnam.


3. (SBU) Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong was named
standing chief of the Central Anti-Corruption Committee and
is also now responsible for coordination between the
Government and the Party Secretariat, as well as relations
between the Government and the Supreme People,s Court and
the Supreme People,s Procuracy. DPM Trong will also
directly supervise the Ministry of Justice and the Government
Inspectorate. Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem
is responsible for diplomacy, international relations, human
rights and border issues.


4. (SBU) In ascending to the position of Prime Minister, PM
Dzung delegated to DPM Hung oversight responsibilities for a
number of portfolios he had previously managed, namely
general economic matters and the ministries of Industry,
Construction and Trade. Dzung also kept for himself
oversight of most of the GVN,s key ministries, including
Planning and Investment, Finance, National Defense and Public
Security. PM Dzung also manages the Office of the Government
and the ministries of Internal Affairs; Science and
Technology; Education and Training; and, Culture and
Information.

"PM Dzung More Powerful Than His Predecessor"
--------------


5. (C) According to Professor Ngo Van Hoa, an historian with
Academy of Social Sciences who also has close ties to a
number of Central Committee members, PM Dzung's continued
supervision of the ministries of National Defense and Public
Security "make him an even stronger Prime Minister, at least
on paper, than former PM Khai." Moreover, Standing DPM Hung
is considerably weaker than his immediate predecessor, Dzung,
"because of his purely economic background," Hoa added.


6. (C) Putting DPM Trong in charge of the GVN,s
anti-corruption campaign "may, in theory, help to speed up
Vietnam's anti-corruption efforts, given his concurrent Party
responsibilities as chief of the Internal Affairs
Commission,8 Ngo Cuong, Editor-in-Chief of the Supreme
People's Court-affiliated Judicial Journal, said.
Furthermore, by appointing Trong to take charge of
anti-corruption efforts, "the Party is trying to send a clear
signal about its commitment to tackle government corruption,"
Professor Hoa told us.

Lack of Confidence in DPM/FM Pham Gia Khiem?
--------------


7. (C) On the subject of DPM/FM Pham Gia Khiem's
responsibilities, UNHCR Vietnam Chief of Mission and longtime
political observer Vu Anh Son pointed out that Khiem,s
responsibilities are actually diminished. "If you look at
the most serious social problems in Vietnam now -) health
and education )- they were Khiem's previous
responsibilities, and their removal from his oversight sends
the message that the government has no faith in his

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abilities," Son suggested. While not commenting on Khiem's
capabilities, historian Hoa said that the assignment of the
position of Foreign Minister to a Politburo member may
reflect the Party's desire to elevate the status of the MFA.
Hoa quickly added, however, that no MFA Vice Ministers were
elected to serve in the current Central Committee, indicating
"the MFA,s continuing weak position within Vietnam's
bureaucracy."

Comment
--------------


8. (C) To what extent PM Dzung's responsibilities for
overseeing Vietnam's most powerful ministries will translate
into personal power and influence for himself remains to be
seen. For example, in the case of the Ministry of Public
Security, although the PM technically supervises Minister Le
Hong Anh, he is in fact outranked by Anh, who is second only
to Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh within the
Politburo. On the subject of DPM/FM Pham Gia Khiem, adding
to his woes may be the assignment of former DPM and foreign
affairs expert Vu Khoan to serve as the PM's Special Envoy on
foreign affairs, perhaps another sign that Khiem does not
inspire confidence in those above him. Based on his poor
performance in recent meetings -- such as with PACOM's
Admiral William Fallon and Ambassador-at-Large for
International Religious Freedom John Hanford -- this lack of
confidence may be warranted. End Comment.
MARINE