Vietnam government considers cabinet reshuffle

Jul 30, 2007, 17:48 GMT

Hanoi - Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung officially presented a planned cabinet reshuffle to the communist country's parliament on Monday, in a long-planned move to streamline the government and bring in younger officials.

The proposal, which must be approved by the National Assembly, would increase the number of deputy prime ministers to five from current three. It would also reduce the number of ministries 22 from 26.

Current Minister of Education Nguyen Thien Nhan, 54, and Hoang Trung Hai, 48, the minister of industry, are expected to be promoted to deputy prime minister, according to sources in the Communist Party, which agreed on the new cabinet lineup earlier this month.

The plan would merge Ministry of Fisheries with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, according to Vietnamnet, an online newspaper. Sources said that the current Minister of Agriculture Cao Duc Phat would head the revamped ministry.

The ministries of Industry and Trade would also be merged and headed by Vu Huy Hoang, currently the party chief of Lang Son province.

Three ministries and committees would be combined into a new Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, reportedly to be led by Nguyen Tuan Anh, currently general director of the Vietnam Tourism Administration.

Another new ministry would cover Information and Communication, according to Dung's proposal, combining the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication with the Ministry of Culture and Information, whose current minister Le Doan Hop is expected to take the new portfolio.

The National Assembly is scheduled to discuss the proposal for three days before voting Thursday.